It was a great read.We all know about Rama and Ravana and the way it has been put by " Anand Neelakantan " is amazing.No matter how good the story is , a great story teller makes it even more interesting.I am not very much into mythology , all the Ramayana I know is from the movies which gives us enough to understand that Dharma always wins over Adharma.
He has written something really interesting stuff in here
QUOTING " ANAND NEELAKANTAN "
Steadfast spouse
It will be interesting to ask this simple question. Had Ravana won the final war instead of Rama, would our concept of right and wrong have undergone any change?
Maybe, the poets would have told us that Ravana followed the Dharma to the last word. History is always written by the victors. His abduction of Sita might have been justified as a revenge for mutilation of his sister by Lakshmana. When Rama could not accept his wife without a test of purity by fire, Ravana had stood by his wife in a much more serious circumstance.
Valmiki Ramayana speaks about an incident when Angada and other vanaras entered Ravana’s harem and molested Mandodari. This was done as a war strategy to prevent Ravana from completing his prayer that might have made him invincible. However, Ravana accepted his wife even after the incident and was not worried about what the world would think about her. There was no Agnipariksha for Mandodari.
This may earn him lots of fans from the modern day feminists, but a deeper reading of the epic will make them understand that while Ravana could charm any number of ladies to his bed, he was not above using force whenever he felt necessary.
Life philosophy
The Jabalists may argue that, in contrast, the materialistic Ravana lived his life in his own terms, ruled a huge empire, wallowed in luxury, stood by his wife when required and died a warrior’s death in his old age. The arguments the conventional society will offer them, like Rama’s life shows how one has to be steadfast in one’s Dharma irrespective of the consequences, will only invite their derision.
Justifications such as a better afterlife or the attainment of Moksha also will not have any meaning for Jabalists as they do not believe in the unknown. They will just point out the contrasting life and death of the Dharmic Rama as against that of the materialistic Ravana for supporting their argument.
The Jabalists may even say that, people may be worshipping Sri Rama as God, but they follow Ravana in practice. The mad rush towards the materialistic pleasure that marks the modern lifestyle shows that people have embraced Ravana’s life philosophy of enjoying life at any cost rather than the self- sacrificing Dharma of Rama.
Like so many Dasaras of the past three thousand years or more, Ravana will get burst into a million pieces in every street of India this Dasara too. The Asura king will be roaring with laughter at the irony of it, for he knows that despite the deification of his foe, it is his life philosophy that has finally won out among the people.
In ultimate reckoning, the great materialist philosopher has the last laugh, for he has achieved what the great avatars, prophets, saints, Mahatmas, Bodhisattvas and sons of God have collectively failed to achieve despite all their preaching holy books, efforts and sacrifices since the dawn of civilisation. Going up in flames a million times over and over is a small price to pay for the universal practice, if not acceptance, of one’s life philosophy.
Looks like a great mind who has great way of story telling . Ravana was Asura , we don't follow Ravana but we do invest more time in materialistic things , it is tough to follow the righteousness of Rama but deep down we believe in it and we want to follow it.But it is difficult and since he implemented that all his life and he is Purushottam and he is the God and we are not. We are not following the philosophy of Asura but we are proving that following the right path of Dharma is tough ....really tough.
This makes me think of my own life , where have I been and where am I right now.It's right to myself but not as per the so called guidelines of Dharma.As Indian woman is always expected to put the family first but sub consciously every woman wants to think about herself too but she is not allowed to.But the day a woman stands up for herself , all the good she has done goes down the flush and she is labeled as the most selfish woman on earth who doesn't understand love , relationships , emotions and Values.
It's not wrong to find your happiness , and happiness is how we define it, it doesn't have to be laughs and joy all the time.Sometimes you are happy to just to find yourself.You may not know what you want but you know what you don't want and that could the first step in knowing yourself.And it's never too late to take that first step.
Happy Vijaya Dahami to all you great people out there.
