THE UNTOLD STORY OF SITAAn Empowering Tale of Our Time
When the Bright Moon Rises: The Awakening of Ancient Memories is DENA MERRIAM’S story of her rich and extensive past lives. It is a love story between the sages and the cosmic forces known as the deities and love between two individuals seeking to express this universal force of love that exists within us all. It is also a study of karma, the cosmic law of cause and effect. Dena weaves her story through her life that begins in Vedic India, around the 9th century BCE, when two people meet. It is the seeding of a love that cannot be fulfilled then, but which comes to fruition about 9,000 years later, during the Tang Empire in China. The lovers are reborn as the renown poet Li Bai and his poet wife, Lady Zong Shu. The awakening of her previous births initiates an inner struggle that is only resolved under the guidance of her Daoist Master. This is a story of love and compassion, trust, truth, living with grace and inner peace.
From its first pages, this book will invite the reader to become involved in some of the more esoteric aspects of ancient spiritual wisdom. After a brief introduction, it launches into the exquisitely emotional story of a woman named Sundari, who lived the younger years of her life in a half-primitive tribal clan in India which was later forced to join the more robust urban culture growing up along the rivers. That culture was attempting to stay true to the sacred teachings known as the Vedas. Although full of spiritual wisdom and poetry, this book is not a steamy memoir of passionate romantic liaisons but a recounting of Dena's journey towards spiritual knowledge. The method through which she recalls her earlier lifetimes is only lightly covered in these stories, but the value of past life memory to self-understanding is obvious and repeatedly demonstrated. These stories stand out for their meaning and relevance. They are carefully crafted, and very much seem to be told from the viewpoint of the roles that Dena played as she lived on Earth. In each one, it is she telling us of her own experiences. And although her name changes in each life, she remains the same being, with the same basic approach to life, the same dreams, the same deep ability to love and feel love. Dena’s book attempts to accurately portray her past lifetimes, and there are few, if any, authors writing memoirs of this type. When the Bright Moon Rises may well be the beginning a whole new literary tradition 
In her latest book, DENA MERRIAM takes a new look at the classic Ramayana by tearing away the patriarchal lens through which the story is traditionally viewed. In the traditional account, Sita is a secondary figure and her true nature is hard to access. In this reading of the story, told by the people of Sita’s household, the role of the sacred feminine is predominant.
Sita is a beloved figure throughout Southeast Asia, but the message of her life extends beyond these audiences and bears universal import. This is particularly relevant for the modern age, when a new understanding of feminine wisdom and leadership is needed as we face an unprecedented ecological crisis. Mata Sita and Sri Ram were instrumental in setting the foundation for a new civilization during a time of transition from one era, or yuga, to another. We stand at a similar time in history as we experience the passing of one era and intuitively feel the birthing of another, as yet unknown. One thing seems certain, however: the new society we are striving for must be ecologically based. There is great value in looking to lessons of the past in order to move forward. During Sita’s time on earth, humanity was beginning to shift from a nature-based way of life toward greater material development. Many concepts were implanted in the collective mind at that time that guided the subsequent development of human civilization. We have now reached the pinnacle of this development and are reaping the results of our abuse of earth’s resources—its land, water, and air. To survive as a human community, we will need to incorporate into our lives a new-found appreciation, respect, and love for the natural world, a love that was exemplified in the life of Mata Sita. During the life journey of Mata Sita and Sri Ram, each assumed roles that were different, yet equal in importance. Neither could achieve their life’s mission without the other. Their lives exemplify a balance of the masculine and feminine qualities and energies, despite how patriarchal forces have tried to shape the Ramayana narrative to suit later social norms. If we recapture something of life during the higher ages, we can see the story with new eyes and perceive the inner dynamic that drove the outer narrative. Remembering the harmony that existed during the higher ages will help us re-calibrate our society so that it honors the sacred feminine and the sacred masculine, both of which are needed to help restore balance to our society and to the earth. About Dena Merriam
Dena Merriam is the Founder and Convener of the Global Peace Initiative of Women (GPIW), bringing spiritual resources to address critical global challenges, such as conflict, social justice, and ecological scarring of the earth. Over the years she has worked to bring greater gender balance and balance between the Abrahamic- and Dharma-based religious traditions for a more inclusive interfaith movement. Merriam served as Vice Chair of the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders, held at the United Nation in New York in the year 2000. She subsequently convened a meeting of religious and spiritual women leaders at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, and from that gathering founded the Global Peace Initiative of Women in 2002. Among GPIW’s many programs is the organization of a session on the inner dimensions of climate change at the annual UN Climate Summits. In 2008, Ms. Merriam was one of the founding members of the Contemplative Alliance, which later became a program of GPIW, to explore how meditation and contemplative practices are reshaping the spiritual landscape of our societies. For over 40 years, Dena Merriam has been a devotee of Paramahansa Yogananda, a practitioner of Kriya Yoga meditation, and a student of the great texts of the Vedic tradition. Ms. Merriam received her Master’s Degree from Columbia University in sacred literature, and she has since served on the boards of such prestigious organizations as: the Harvard Center for the Study of World Religions; the Interfaith Center of New York; The International Center for Religion and Diplomacy; the Manitou Foundation; the All India Movement for Seva (AIM for Seva); and the Gross National Happiness Center in Bhutan. As well, she was an advisor to the board of Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association, and in 2014 she received the Niwano Peace Prize for her interfaith peace efforts. She is the author of My Journey Through Time: A Spiritual Memoir of Life, Death and Rebirth and—just published in 2019—The Untold Story of Sita: An Empowering Tale for Our Time. Her website is: www.gpiw.org/ |