Omkar Dattatray
Hindus have celebrated Vijay Dashmi also called Dussehra on 11th of October with enthusiasm and much pomp and show .On this auspicious occasion Hindus have burnt the symbolic effigies of Meghnat ,Kumbkaran and Ravan to marks the triumph of good over evil and truth over untruth .It is so good that every year on the occasion of Dussehra those evil and demonic forces represented by Kumbkaran ,Mehgnad & Ranana are consigned to flames with louder cheers from the large number of spectators in various parts of the country .Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupdi Murmu has participated in Ravan Dahan at red fort Delhi and UP chief minister Yogi has taken part in burning effigies of the three demons in his constituency Gorkpur .We should also burn and kill the demon within ourselves to eradicate vices and evils afflicting our society .India is invaded by various vices and evils today and there is urgent need to burn and kill these vices and evils to free our society .On the occasion of this year’s Dussehra festival let us resolve to burn the Ravana which resides within our mind so that society becomes a good place to live and lust ,greed ,anger ,illusion of maya is bade a good bye .Our gurus told us always to kill the Ravana within us which means he represented Ego ,Bad habits ,Lust ,Greed etc .Ravana is a demon and evil and cannot be considered good as some people consider him. Some consider Ravana a learned man-vidvan { Vedic Scholar}.It means they have never studied Valmiki Ramayana .Such people believe in their own blind faith .Killing Ranana within means killing our ahankara or lust .Yes ,killing the effigy of Ravan is meaningless unless we kill Ravan that lies within us .Then burning of the effigies of Rava,Kumbraran and Megnad is tradition or culture designed for acknowledgement as well as reminding everyone about following dharma .Also this type of culture/traditions motivates persons as these are mass celebrations which uplift spirit and bring unity among masses ,bond them together apart from just being celebrations .Dussehra is a symbol of good over evil .It’s the time when Lord Ram killed Ravan and all bloodshed stopped .Similarly ,we all have a Raavan within our minds .This Raavan doesn’t let us think positively .Also ,it builds an egoistic image of us in everybody else’s eyes .Though we don’t need to give a damn about anybody else but still something worth noting .As Raavna’s death was triggered by her sister ,who aggravated him to go out and snatch Sita Maa from there as Lord Laxman refused her proposal and cut her nose apart .Similarly ,the ego and all dirty feelings in our minds are triggered by bad habits .Certain bad habits like smoking ,drinking ,and prostitution have become the norm nowadays .But they don’t let your mind work freely. They just clutter your mind and these thoughts keep coming again and again. And these thoughts ruin your life .They are like cracker in Dusshera’s Raavan which will make you burst out .In the end ,one’s life would just be like the burnt out Raavan whose statue would be dwindling here and there .So let us pledge together ,we will try to kill the Raavan within this Navratri ,and won’t let it take over our minds. .Let the good within us take over the evil .Remember ,lust is the gateway to hell .In Bhagavad -gita ,Lord Krishna says that lust ,anger and greed are the gateway to hell .Ravanan is a symbol of lust ,or uncontrolled desire ,especially in the form of sexual desire .From Ravana’s life we can understand how dangerous lust is and how it completely ruins one’s life .As soon as one develops lustful thoughts and starts acting on them ,one’s misery begins .Ravana’s suffering and humiliation began as soon as he desired to enjoy Sita Devi and started acting on his lustful propensity .Although he succeeded in Kidnapping Sita ,he was not even able to go close to her .He foolishly thought that Sita ,the eternal consort of Lord Rama ,would be captivated by his heroic deeds and vast wealth and kingdom .Ravana had ten heads which represented qualities that he possessed .These were lust ,greed ,delusion ,pride ,will ,intellect ,mind ,ego ,envy and anger .The story of why Ravana had such evil traits dates back to before he was born .How would we know what goodness is if it is not seen through the prism of evil? It helps us to value all good things in our life .Goodness can prevail in the world only if all that is evil is destroyed .The role of Ravana ,the antagonist in Ramayana serves us as a reminder of this lesson. .Ravana had twenty hands that represented his immense power .As already said above ,the story of why Ravana had such evil qualities dates back to before he was born .His mother ,Kaikesis father ,Sumail ,wanted his daughter to marry someone more powerful than him ,so that he may be blessed with an extraordinary heir .As no king proved to be more powerful than Sumali ,sages were approached .Kaikesi chose sage Vishrava to be her husband .But sage warned Kaikesi that she had approached him at an inappropriate time ,when he was praying ,and so ,their children would be attracted to evil .But the two got married anyway ,and thus ,Ravana was born .While his good qualities made him a great leader and a learned scholar of the Vedas ,his bad qualities clouded his judgment .His greed for power led him to usurp the Kingdom of Lanka from his uncle ,Kubera .His lust for Sita and desire to control her took him down a path of self-destruction .His envy for Rama led to him kidnapping Sita and taking her to Lanka. Here he imprisoned her, an indication of his great ego that wished to possess something it could not have along with his delusion that this was the only way she could be his .His pride stopped him from doing right thing and setting Sita free ,and anger led him to having to fight Rama to keep her under his control -a battle that he eventually lost .Conflict and unhappiness followed Ravana throughout his life. His deep rooted insecurities were the reason he designed a life for himself that gave him anything but peace .The Indian festival of Dussehra celebrates Ravana’s death at the hands of Rama .His lack of moral compass and refusal to adhere to societal norms led to his downfall.
These qualities of Ravana are inherent in all of us .But his story teaches us that always allow our good qualities to guide us through life, for the bad ones will only lead to destruction .In short we should kill all the demonic qualities and vices within ourselves so that we will lead a peaceful life and society will become worth peaceful living and good will prevail in human society .So we should celebrate Dussehra with traditional fervor and continue to burn the effigies of the three demons of Ravana ,Meghnad and Kumbkaran .But at the same time what is more required and pressing need is to kill Ravan within meaning thereby that we should kill all vices and demonic attributes within for the successful life and peaceful and contented society.
(The writers is a columnist, social and KP activist)
