Ravana wasn’t all bad. He, by all accounts, was educated, ran a good kingdom, worshiped the demigods and was good looking. In other words, he wasn’t your typical demon – horribly ugly, angry, with horns coming out the side of his head.
He was just a big materialist who got in over his head. And this can happened to the best of us. There are many Ravana’s lurking in the shadows, and yes, some inside of us.
Pride comes before a fall. Ravana had that. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. He had that. He also had envy. And that led to his ultimate downfall.
Envy is a force to be reckoned with. It starts off in a mood of admiration – we really admire what belongs to someone else, then we wish we had it, then we don’t like the person who has it, then we begin to plan how to get it. It can quickly take over our head and our heart.
Lust is a companion to envy. When Arjuna asks Krishna what is it that forces a person to do terrible things He replied – “It is lust only, the all-devouring sinful enemy of the world”. We then end up doing things that are hurtful to ourselves and others.
Ravana was envious of Rama because he had Sita. His envy turned to desire and he kidnapped her, desperately trying to make this beautiful woman love him. When tensions and warfare loomed on the horizon because of Sita’s abduction, he would not return her, even when his most shrewd advisors told him to do so. They could see the writing on the wall, but he couldn’t, as he was now soaked in pride and anger which made him completely foolish.
Envy is compared to a snake. It can come upon us quietly, weaving in and out of our consciousness, pinching us here and there, but really waiting for us to take the bait. Once we latch on to envy, it draws us deeper, breeding bitterness, resentment, ill-will and a host of other goblins.
Envy is what brought us away from the spiritual world and what holds us here. Learn from Ravana’s story. It is said that bad things happen when good people don’t speak up. When we feel that pinch of envy lurking – banish it at once. Be the good person to stand up for yourself, the protection of your own soul. Envy knows what it wants; you need to know more. And be ready fight the good fight.
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