Sitting with Sita: Working With the Sadness of our Times

I’ve been struggling with being all consumed and devastated by some of the realities we face today. From racism to mass extinction and from oil spills to destruction of the rainforest I sometimes find the sadness of it all to be overwhelming. I used to turn away from that which was not positive, thinking this was somehow the path to happiness. It’s not, it’s called denial. 

I’ve been sitting with the Goddess Sita. We hear of Sita as the devoted wife of Rama. She unconditionally loves him, trusts him, serves him and has unshakeable faith in their love. She knows without a question of a doubt that they are soul mates. Her love is the unconditional giving that is inherent within everything.

Sita represents my devotion to the Divine, the Great Goddess. She is the archetypal role model of self-sacrificing love, trust and faith in the Great Mother, the Universal Consciousness. Her love shows me how to relax my personal will so I can rest in the unconditional loving acceptance that is beyond my physical existence.

Sita is my capacity to experience transpersonal love in the face of suffering and grieving. Sita’s gift is the ability to turn my sadness, grief and frustration into all encompassing faith and compassion. She is not a surface level happiness or joy — her love is devotional and therefore requires personal sacrifice, a surrender of personal will.

While her lesson lies in a passive kind of service — she teaches how to go on loving and living and serving my loved ones day to day, even when I want to curl in a ball, cry, or scream bloody murder at the injustices that are a part of Reality — her service is to the Divine, that which is beyond pain, suffering, happiness, wealth. Connecting with her helps release the lump in my throat, the knot in my stomach and the fury in my jaw.

I think that to “hold the pain and suffering that unfolds daily in this world, with love, without despair” (Sally Kempton) is perhaps one of the most powerful lessons of service today. As much as I try to effect positive change in the world there is a part of me that must come to terms with the dark and devastating aspects of Reality.

Emotional health comes from letting emotions flow freely, not hiding them behind a smile and “living my bliss.” There’s so much pressure in the modern day yoga world to be positive, shine bright and see the good but these are only surface level understandings of a much bigger truth. Bliss only comes from a deep acceptance of what is and a surrender of excessive personal agenda.

In sitting with Sita, I’ve learned to drop into my Divine Nature to access the all-embracing, unconditional love of the Goddess (Divine) within me. This has strengthened my capacity to accept what is and offer love and compassion in the face of heartache and injustice. I always learn from nature. Nature just gives. Without expectation, asking nothing in return.