Dushera, the Hindu festival passed us on 22
nd
October. Depending on which part of the Country one hails from or rather the
community, two events in Hindu mythology, namely; the slaying of a demon by
Goddess Durga and the defeat and the death of demon king Ravana of Lanka at the
hands of God incarnate Lord King Rama of Ayodhya, are celebrated on this day as
a sign of the triumph of good over evil.
Image credit : http://www.icytales.com/the-good-side-of-ravana/
What I have found notable these last few years, has been the
number of articles that I have read in defense of Ravana. The modern interpretation
of Ravana by quite a few makes him out to be the martyred and principled villain
and Rama the victorious but flawed hero. Even Amish Tripathi’s new book the Scion of
Ikshvaku, essentially an interpretation of the worshipped Valmiki Ramayan
paints the demon king as a dark but principled character, as also his brother
and sons who stood by him. On the other hand, Ravana’s brother Vibeeshan, the
one who betrayed him to Rama is now being seen as a negative and selfish person
who put his own interest before that of his family and nation.
As children the original tale inspired us, but my generation
remained unquestioning of the embedded morality. Today however, people are
ready to put higher morality to test, be it the mythical Gods. It is not just a
Hindu phenomenon but something that is happening worldwide. The fear of even being put to death by
fanatical fundamentalist followers is not deterring the brave to question the
age old interpretation of the holy texts by the guardians of various religions
to control those within their flock.
Are people right or wrong in humanizing the revered and
judging them? I don’t know and I don’t really care. What does concern me as a
human with reason is the growing frustration of people with the institutions of control which include both politics and worship. It is not that people around the world have become less Godly. In
fact, there is an increased interest in spirituality even with the young;
including those who prescribe to radical and blind acceptance.
Then what is right? Was there ever a right? My own
interpretation is that there is a war playing out between who have made
whatever they believe in right through the use of might and those who feel that
the so called teachings that may have been right in the past may not hold good
for the current times. World over, sentiments hurt, human blood and life shed
for depicting or interpretation of prophets and Gods in some form of art,
including words and comic book caricatures. Even worse; the attempt to prove superiority
of one form of God system over another. I wonder if hurting or killing in any God’s
name will earn a person a place in some mythical paradise? Here we are, in the
name of God, at war with one another, ready to destroy the one real paradise he
gave us called earth.
We have so many common and bigger problems to solve as
humanity – economic, environmental, hunger and disease, political suppression
and many such others which don’t strike mankind because of any form of religious
beliefs including atheism. This is not a
preach blog, but my personal inconvenient truth, where the difference between what
is really the good of God and the evil of Devil gets more and more blurry.
September
14, 2015
This came to me on whatsapp:
Dear Ravana.....Every year, on this day, we celebrate the
victory of good over evil....But..technically....your behaviour should be
re-classified from "Evil" to "Slightly Naughty". After all,
tumne kiya hi kya thha? I agree you kidnapped a lady in haste... But.. after
that...you gave her more respect we normally give to women in today's world. You offered her good food...shelter...and even
women security guards (not too good looking though). Your request for marriage
was full of humility..and you never threw acids when rejected. Even when Lord
Rama killed you.... you were wise enough to seek his apologies. And...I believe
you were more educated than half of our Parliament. Trust me dude...there ain't
no any hard feelings to burn you... just that it's the In-Thing. Respect !!
Oct 26 2015 : The Times of
India (Mumbai)
In the
time of Ram Lilas, effigies that don't burn easily
In the time of Ram Lilas,
we burnt the effigy of Ravan. These days though villainy reigns on the front
page and on prime time news and heroic feats are pushed to the back page. Ravan
may have been decisively burnt, but there are many Ravans whose effigies refuse
to burn too easily.
Top of the list is Dawood
Ibrahim. India's most wanted is the main prime time villain. Pakistan may deny
his whereabouts but when your daughter is married to the son of one of
Pakistan's most famous cricketers, then surely Me and Dad and many others
(except perhaps the ISI) know exactly where he is.
Hafiz Saeed: Another
villain from across the border. Cleric to some, terrorist to others, Saeed runs
an organisation whose office addresses always begin with AK 47. There can be
nothing holy about the Lashkar.
Maoists: Mamata Banerjee
walks out on them in a TV show, Arundhati Roy walks with them and the BJP
government thinks they are disguised as FTII students. They are extremists for
some, freedom fighters for others. In fact, Maoists are as enigmatic as Ravan.
Was he a villain or wasn't he?
Chota Rajan: Just to prove that dons have no religion, Bal Thacke ray once
famously said, `If they have Dawood, we have Chota Rajan'.
Now that's not a chota
statement to make but when you are the Shiv Sena supremo, you can get away by
creating your own hierarchy of villains.
Mohammad Shahabuddin: Four
time MP from Siwan, confirming that crime does pay when it comes to netagiri.
Now in jail, he spends more time in hospital than behind prison gates. Is this
a case of sickness in the body politic?
Veerappan: Perhaps the most celebrated moustache in recent times. He knew how
to separate the wood from the trees and elephants from their tusks. Lalu's
Bihar was no patch on Veerappan style jungle raj.
Corruption: This Ravan
refuses to die. Many avatars of Durga have tried to burn him, but he continues
to wage war, regularly turning out to be victorious.He is a rakshasa who unlike
the mythical Shiv-bhakt Ravan, worships no one except the odd telecom Raja.
Of course for many , Ravan
is also a hero, the Dravidian counter to the “Aryan“ Rama. Ravan was the
Brahmin pundit who many believe was a good king. No wonder the lines between
heroes and villains are blurred because when you have 10 heads, good and evil
both make headway together.
