"There are so many corrupting influences now--violence, drugs, and all that... If people would be like Sita, there would be no more pain, no more suffering in the world."
One young girl describes her realizations:
"Its taken me a while to appreciate her. As I've gotten older, I've realized that doing what others tell you to do is not being Sita. She did more than that. At first I saw her as being passive...but she doesn't have anger where she is lashing out at others or herself. When I was young, I thought you had to be a dumb person to be Sita, not anymore."
and Anne and Shana point out a favorite:
"People are trying to make an air-conditioned bungalow, an air-conditioned car, but they don't teach how to make an air-conditioned mind....The character of Sita can make an air-conditioned mind."
On May 1, 2001 falls Sita Navami--the day when the Earth Goddess gave birth to Sita-devi. King Janaka tells us what happened: "One day, when I was plowing the fields, I found her under the ploughshare and gave her the name Sita. Thus after emerging from the earth itself, she has grown up in my care."
Thus was born the most famous Goddess in history. The story of Her birth, marriage, exile, abduction, (in)famous agni-pariksha (fire ordeal), and banishment is known and loved throughout South and Southeast Asia and, indeed, in much of the rest of the world as well. Whether conveyed through music and mime, poetry, popular folk tales, dramatic performances, video, comic books, epic narrations, or what have you, the story of Sita has captured the hearts of over a billion people. To this day she is our most favorite goddess.
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