Sita: Warrior of Mithila

Don’t be afraid of the dark, my child. Light has a source. It can be snuffed out. But darkness has no source. It just exists. This darkness is a path to That, which has no source: God. Wise

You will need to be mature and pragmatic. You must use your heart to decide the destination, but use your head to plot the journey.

Not everyone has the spirit to keep their character strong when their stomachs are empty.’ Sunaina

Many people are not wise enough to count life’s blessings. They keep focusing instead on what the world has denied them.

Ram wanted to marry a woman in front of whom he would be compelled to bow his head in admiration. P.

The worst enemy a man can ever have is the one who was once his best friend.

The fortunate ones die with their loved ones around them.

A society must always aim for balance. It needs intellectuals, it needs warriors, it needs traders, it needs artists, and it needs skilled workers. If it empowers one group too much or another too little, it is headed for chaos.

Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.’ Sita

When the axe entered the forest, the trees said to each other: do not worry, the handle in that axe is one of us.”’ Shurpanakha

The city enjoys the moon and the night. The jungle always welcomes the sun.’ This

Often the poor have more nobility in them than the actual nobility.

Too much of anything creates an imbalance in life. This is true even of virtues such as nonviolence. You never know when the winds of change strike; when violence may be required to protect your society, or to even survive.

You must use your heart to decide the destination, but use your head to plot the journey.

You need to be liberal, of course. For that is the Indian way. But don’t be a blind and stupid liberal.

The criminals among the rich are mostly driven by greed. One can negotiate with greed. But the criminals among the poor are driven by desperation and anger.

Life is not only about what we want, but also about what we must do. We don’t just have rights. We also have duties.

who, please explain, will fight Raavan’s hordes? The namby-pamby intellectuals of Mithila? What is the plan? Debate the Lankans to death?

People who only listen to their hearts usually fail. On the other hand, people who only use their heads tend to be selfish. Only the heart can make you think of others before yourself. For the sake of dharma, you must aim for equality and balance in society. Perfect equality can never be achieved but we must try to reduce inequality as much as we can.

The Masculine way is ordered, efficient and fair at its best, but fanatical and violent at its worst. The Feminine way is creative, passionate and caring at its best, but decadent and chaotic at its worst. No one way of life is better or worse.

You’ve really thought this through?’ ‘Happiness is not an accident. It is a choice. It is in our hands to be happy. Always in our hands. Who says that we can have only one soulmate? Sometimes, soulmates want such radically different things that they end up being the cause of unhappiness for each other. Someday I will find another soulmate, one who also wants what I want. He may not be as fascinating as Bharat. Or, even as great as Bharat will be. But he will bring me what I want. Simple happiness. I will find such a man. In my tribe. Or, outside of it.

Running away is never the solution. Confront your problems. Manage them. That is the way of the warrior.