Is Ravana all that bad? Or is anyone ….for that matter?
So who do I kill each Dussehra?
We grew up with stories and the story of Ram and Ravana stays etched in our memories. Dussehra reminds us of the victory of good over evil. In a dynamic grey world with blurring boundaries between what we label as good and bad , it is time we re-examine our ideas of good bad ugly and more. It is time we examine ourselves deeply and turn the spotlight inwards.
So is Ravana all that bad ? Who do I kill each Dussehra? Where have my ideas of Ram and Ravana come from? Carl Jung in his work “The Structure of Psyche” says “All the most powerful ideas in history go back to archetypes,” And where do these archetypes come from ? They exist in the collective unconscious . These models are innate, universal, and hereditary. Archetypes are learned, unlearned and they function to organize how we experience certain things. Ravana is a container of all that is bad – he is how we understand greed, dark power, lust. Ravana – is that dark shadow is an archetype that consists of the sex and life instincts. He is composed of our repressed ideas, weaknesses, desires, instincts, and shortcomings. He represents the wildness, chaos, and the unknown within me of which I am fearful. These latent dispositions are present in all of us .
Returning back to the myth there were facts abut Ravana that make you see him in a slightly different light – Apparently Ravana was the greatest devotee of Shiva, he performed a yagna and blessed Ram, imparted lessons in statecraft and diplomacy as he lay dying (to Lakshman), he was an extraordinary Veena player, had determination that could play with planetary alignments (of course besides being hot and handsome) . Ravana was aware of his impending doom. Apparently the name Ravana was given by Shiva. Even if Ravana was all enamored by and kidnapped Sita , he waited for her consent to accept him. There are many many interesting details if we care to explore myths and turn pages of our history books. And pick from there what is relevant, timeless, and ageless.
The idea of this piece is not to justify the dark and ugly but to see it for what it is . To see the dark within myself and to acknowledge it. And to also acknowledge the light which is also me . The idea is to re-examine my own ideas of good bad right and wrong in a new context. A monster, a demon, a dragon, or some other dark, wild, or exotic figure – all these are within and around. For it is the function of consciousness, not only to recognize and assimilate the external world through the gateway of the senses but to translate into visible reality the world within us. These archaic and mythic characters like Ravana that make up the archetypes reside us and they symbolize basic human motivations, values, and personalities. The idea of this piece is also to question my own beliefs and see myself and those around me in a balanced fashion. It is to kindle in my little way all the hard-work that is needed towards self awareness and meaning making.
