Lesson from Ravan

The triumph of good over evil also marks the triumph of our soul's goodness over that of the egoistic mind. As a spiritual seeker, I believe that Ravan is not evil the way we like to portray him to be. His qualities such as his knowledge, his intelligence, sharp thinking and his mastery over anything he chose to undertake have not been appreciated but his ‘misdeeds’ have been highlighted over and over again.

Every character in the Ramayana has a well defined role and message to give to the world. We tend to see them all as the background characters but in fact, if you read the Ramayana carefully, you will realize how beautifully etched out each character is. Needless to mention, Ravana's character deserves more analysis and a deeper study. All I am saying is that Ravan is not evil the way we like to believe he is, period.

To me, Ravan symbolizes all that is perfect in us till we allow one powerful desire to blind us to what is ethically right. Ravan was a great spiritual seeker who failed coz he was Master of everything except his Mind. It led him to undertake destructive actions. He became blinded by the position of power that he occupied. He assumed that his power was enough to conquer anything in this world including Sita. Let me make it clear that I am not defending Ravan here.

Lesson for us from Ravan: Master your mind before it becomes your master.

Hey, I’d like to know your thoughts on Ravan. Do share your thoughts on this.

Comments

Paresh Palicha said…

Wonderful Swapna :) Another thing I've heard about Ravana is that that his knowledge was self-attained. That made him egoistical. While Rama had a Guru to guide him at every juncture in his life. A Guru also teaches you to be humble.

October 24, 2012 at 4:24 PM

KParthasarathi said…

In Rama we have greatness and goodness.In Ravana we have only greatness without an iota of goodness.It is human trait to be fascinated by great characters, even criminals like Chambal dacoits or a Veerappan,or tyrants and dictators by their exploits but they never win our respect and love.They evoke fear and submission.Ravana no doubt brought prosperity and spllendour to Lanka but had a base character.He violated women killing their protectors and after ravishing Ramba got cursed that his head will explode if he dared to do it with any woman.That fear alone kept Sita safe.He was cruel,cunning and treacherous.When Brahma satisfied with his penance offered him a boon,Ravana asked for immortality.When Brahma declined ,he asked that he should not be killed by Devas,gandharvas ,kinnaras and the like except men and animals.He was so sure of his prowess and in his ego excluded men.Ravana despite all his attainments in various fields was basically a wicked man and the incarnation was to free the universe from this evil.The moral would be greatness alone is not adequate without goodness accompanying it.It is a vast subject and cannot be confined in a short paragraph.

October 24, 2012 at 10:13 PM

Swapna Raghu Sanand said…

Many thanks for reading this post and sharing your thoughts on it Paresh.

October 30, 2012 at 1:01 PM

Swapna Raghu Sanand said…

@KP Parthasarathy: There is no doubt that in Lord Rama, we explore greatness and goodness. As you mentioned, this is a vast subject that we cannot confine it in a short para. There is so much to learn from in the Ramayana.

October 30, 2012 at 1:03 PM

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