Victory over Ego: The Lesson of Ravana

The episode

Ravana was no ordinary villain. He was a grandson of the sage Pulastya, a master of the Vedas, a musician, a devotee of Shiva, and ruler of the richest city in the world. He was warned again and again. Maricha told him that Ram was dharma in human form. Sita told him. Hanuman told him in his own court. His brother Vibhishana told him and was kicked out. Kumbhakarna told him, and so did his wife Mandodari. He heard them all and changed nothing.

The reasoning

The Ramayana could have made its villain a brute. It chose a scholar, and that choice is the lesson. Knowledge, talent, wealth and even religious devotion do not protect a person who believes that rules are for others. Ravana's ten heads are often explained as great learning; what he lacked was a single moment of saying "I was wrong".

Two things undid him. Desire: he wanted what was not his. And pride: having taken it, he could not bear to give it back, because that would mean admitting a mistake before his court. Notice that until the last day he could have ended the war by returning Sita. Ram sent Angada to offer exactly that. Ego made the price of peace feel higher than the price of ruin.

Ram is his mirror image. He had less of everything, an exile with an army of forest folk, but he listened to advice, shared credit, and asked the Ocean politely before raising his bow.

How to practise it

• Keep at least one person near you who will tell you that you are wrong, and do not punish them for it.
• When several people who care about you give the same warning, assume they are right.
• Learn to say "I made a mistake" early, when it is cheap.
• Measure yourself by restraint, not by ability.
• Do not want what belongs to another: a person, a position, or praise.

Burning Ravana's effigy on Dussehra is meant as a yearly reminder to burn these in ourselves. Next: Ram Rajya: leadership as service. The war is told in the Yuddha Kanda.