| PREFACE | ||||||||
His Holiness (HH) Sri Sat- Guru (Great Master) Dutt Chile Maharaj of Kolhapur, in the state of Maharashtra, India is a powerful manifestation of divine energy that incarnated itself in the twentieth century. In a very quiet way, H.H. Chile Maharaj ignited the flame of love of God in every section of the society. Simultaneously he inspired those who came to him, to perform Satkarma (pure and good deeds) and lead constructive lives. I too got the opportunity to see H.H. Chile Maharaj on a few occasions. In 1986 AD, H.H. Chile left his worldly body by his own volition. From 1994 onwards, by grace of H.H. Chile Maharaj, I started receiving some spiritual messages, if I may call them, during periods of my own introspection and meditation. Around this time, I did Siddha Samadhi Yoga (SSY) , which is a holistic training in meditative techniques . The process of receiving the messages seemed to become more clear hereafter. I started noting them down to the best of my ability. Quite a few of the writings are meditative state re-constructions of some events that have occurred in the life- time of Lord Rama and his wife Sita, Lord Krishna and his consort Radha and other holy incarnations. As I was feeling totally flabbergasted by this spiritual process, I approached Dr.U.M.Pathan, Vice Chancellor (Retd.), Marathwada University in Nov.1995 and sought his guidance. Dr. Pathan is a renowned scholar of Indian thought. He understood the whole process and encouraged me to keep writing and compiling the messages. Accordingly , more like a humble servant than an author, I continued noting down the thoughts. Around this time, I also sought blessings of one Sat-guru Thakur Maharaj in Pune. He prophetically said, “The real importance of this Kavya will be manifested to people after you (have ceased to exist).” In 1998 I received inspiration from H.H. Chile Maharaj to compile the meditative thoughts into a SITA SHAKTI KAVYA as a “Women’s Empowerment Anthology” and present it to devotees and researchers. In November 1998, a researcher from Canada Ms.Lindy Stewart, doing her ‘term abroad’ at Pune University initiated a survey of Women’s Role Models in Modern India. This survey was followed up by me and it revealed that SITA has a unique position of respect in the hearts of common people. This encouraged me to continue to work on the anthology. However, I continued to be in a state of indecision, since the anthology was emerging without my conscious control on it. With a sense of doubt then, in January 1999 I approached Dr. Siyaram Tiwari, Prof., Vishwabharati Shanti Niketan ( a University set up by Noble Laureate Ravindranath Tagore) and an authority on the life of Rama and Sita. He heard me out and said that the job of the anthology- writer is to document with purity the expressions of his inner self. It is not for him to judge the anthology by himself. That would be a job for students and scholars.. Encouraged by this, I then proceeded to complete the Sita Shakti Kavya .
Meanwhile Pandit Uday Deshpande ,a God-loving composer of Pune, composed selected poems of the “Sita Shakti Kavya” into soulful music. Mr. Ravindra Sathe, a renowned vocalist was among the singers. “ I feel that this Kavya (Anthology) is pristine , and it has given me considerable satisfaction to sing the same,” said Mr. Ravindra Sathe. PUBLICATION OF SITA SHAKTI KAVYA . Dr.Avanish Thanawala kindly performed the first Granth-Puja (offering of the book ) in July 2000.
This Kavya is a unique effort to portray SITA as an empowered mother and specially bring forth the valuable Sanskar (value-system) she imparted to her twin children Lav and Kush,” said Mrs. Shantabai Shelke. Brig.P.V.Gole (Retd.), AVSM , Chairman ,Development Education (International) Society introduced me and the Kavya in the most heart warming manner.
This English version of SITA SHAKTI KAVYA is an abridged version of the original in Hindi, to give our brothers and sisters from the WORLD COMMUNITY a glimpse and perception of this work . The first copy of this was presented to Fr. George Hess of Xavier Institute of management, Bhubaneshwar for seeking his guidance. Now, through this presentation, may all,the young and the old , find inspiration from this SITA SHAKTI KAVYA , a Women’s Empowerment Anthology. Om Shantih (peace) , Shantih, Shantih Humble Author: Pradeep Wagh Development Education (International) Society Prabhat House, Damle Path 56/20A, Law College Road, PUNE 411 004 India Tel/Fax +91 20 5439101 e-mail: deispune@vsnl.com |
