Our true victory lies in loving Ram without hating Ravana, for if we despise him we carry with us all the baggage of his negative traits, says OSWALD PEREIRA on the occasion of Dussehra today
To most of us, Dussehra, signifies triumph of good over evil, as Lord Ram vanquished the demon King Ravana. We celebrate Lord Ram’s victory with so much fanfare, burning effigies of Ravana to satisfy ourselves that all his evil traits have been destroyed.
But personally, I look up to Ram as a God that didn’t really feel victorious while defeating Ravana in the conventional sense that we humans do. He had so much of compassion for Ravana as he lay dying. Indeed, he gave the demon king chances to mend his ways and when he had no option but to see his end, there was not even a tiny fragment of hatred for him.
Because Lord Ram like Lord Krishna or Jesus Christ doesn’t hate those who do harm or are evil. They continue to have love and compassion for them and don’t judge them or condemn them. That’s the difference between humans and Gods.
Ravana himself was a very evolved person and considered to be the most revered devotee of Shiva. A learned scholar, he was well-versed in the six Shastras and the four Vedas. Ravana’s ten heads represented his 10 qualities, which are Kama (lust), Krodha (anger), Moha (delusion), Lobha (greed), Mada (pride), Maatsyasya (envy), Manas (mind), Buddhi (intellect), Chitta (will) and Ahamkara ( the ego).
It is his negative qualities that proved to be his nemesis. When Lord Ram defeated Ravana, his target of attack were elimination of the negative traits in the demon king and not the person or his spirit.
It’s been 7,000 years since Ravana was vanquished and with him the negative traits that were the cause of his downfall. There have been thousands of Dussehra celebrations to commemorate the event since then.
But our beautiful blue planet continues to be plagued by strife and unhappiness, as we humans are still struggling to overcome the negative traits that were the cause of Ravana’s sad end.
While we profess love and devotion for Lord Ram and chant his Holy Name, the Ravana in us is far from gone. Following Ram was Krishna, Christ and so many prophets, saints and sages. Humans learnt a lot from them but didn’t seem to digest much of their teachings.
In these modern times, there are scores of spiritual gurus and teachers, who claim to be representatives of God. Religion and spirituality has progressed and become corporatised.
So have our vulnerabilities to attacks against our freedom, individual and democratic rights. Ravana has now acquired new clothing.
However, there is hope and even the possibility of a real victory.
Our victory lies in loving Ram without hating Ravana, for if we despise him we carry within us all the baggage of his negative traits. Let us lay to rest Ravana and bring in more of Ram and his noble, divine qualities into our lives, which would lead to soul-consciousness and self-realisation.
Oswald Pereira, a senior journalist, has also written eight books, including The Newsroom Mafia, Chaddi Buddies, The Krishna-Christ Connexion, How to Create Miracles in Our Daily Life and Crime Patrol: The Most Thrilling Stories. Oswald is a disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, and practises Kriya Yoga.
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Featured Image Courtesy: Nirakar Shankhua on Youtube
There are a few aspects of this issue that I feel are “transcendental.” This creation is founded on duality. So bad must always coexist with good. It means there is little point in “preaching” to others as to what they should or shouldn’t do. Geeta clearly and emphatically says that we are all made up of our own individual combination of three gunas that drives our thoughts and actions. That is why it says, निग्रहम किम करिष्यती – what purpose can be served by trying to suppress your inherent nature? That is the reason why we should not hate the bad, even more importantly hate any individual howsoever bad he may appear to be.
Another slightly off track but still relevant transcendental aspect is about the background of creation. The creation seems to be “underdesigned” in the sense that just a few broad laws are designed at the macro level while leaving micro level functioning free. So we have to just “let it be!” Why hate anyone and poison our own mind?