usband to allow her to accompany Him to the forest for fourteen years, she made it a point to tell Him that she would not cause Him any afflictions while in the forest.
“Undoubtedly I shall always live upon roots and fruits, living with you always I shall not bring about your affliction.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, Sec 27)
Lord Rama, God Himself, was ordered to live in the forest by His father Maharaja Dashratha, the king of Ayodhya. Being married at the time, the Lord wanted His wife to remain at home where she would be protected. Maintaining a wife is not an easy task for a husband, even in the most perfect of conditions. During that time, the Treta Yuga, forest life was meant only for people in the renounced order of life, sannyasis. It would have been very difficult to protect Sita while living in such austere conditions. The Vedic injunction is that a wife must be protected at all times by the husband, and she is to be looked after with the same attention as one would give to a child. It is for this reason that the Lord wanted Sita to remain in the kingdom for the duration of the exile period.
Sita Devi, however, was the incarnation of the goddess of fortune, Lakshmi. Lakshmi is the wife of Lord Narayana, who is God Himself residing in the spiritual world. If one comes across paintings or photos of Lakshmi-Narayana, one will often see Lakshmi massaging the feet of a resting Lord Narayana. It is not that the wife is treated as a servant. That would be missing the meaning behind such a scene. The constitutional position of all living entities is to serve God, but this fact is only realized after one makes steady progress in the execution of devotional service. Sita Devi, being a pure a devotee of God, always wanted to serve her pati or Lord, and it is for this reason that Rama allowed her to do so by eventually acquiescing to her request. God is very nice in that he voluntarily enters into loving relationships with His devotees based on their desires. Sometimes God will assume the form of a son, a husband, or even a lover simply to satisfy His devotees.
From Sita Devi’s example, we can learn the proper method of devotional service. Obviously God is purely spiritual, so He is not capable of suffering any afflictions. Still, our attitude should be that we shouldn’t needlessly bother the Lord for material things.
"One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Krishna favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service." (Shrila Rupa Goswami, Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu)
Instead of repeatedly asking from the Lord, we should give to Him. By constantly chanting His name, reading His books, serving the lotus of feet of His devotees, and offering Him prayers, we can offer all our thoughts, words, and deeds as a sacrifice to the Lord. In return, He rewards us with eternal devotion to Him, which is the greatest boon in life.