Dassehra

Every legend of Sanatana is loaded with symbolic significance. Ravana is symbolic of evil genius; Meghnath of violence and intimidation; and Kumbhkaran of sloth and gluttony. On the contrary, Lord Rama symbolically represents virtues; Laxamana, obedience; and Hanuman ji, immaculate power. Vijay Dashami signifies the end of the reign of terror and the establishment of an ideal world. Today is Dassehra, a Hindu festival which is known as Vijaydashmi – the anniversary of Lord Ram’s victory over Ravana. It is celebrated by burning the effigy of Ravana with a determination to follow the path of messianic Ram, who battled with Ravan for ten days, purging hearts of one vice a day, thus changing the social order completely, with no violence, hatred, anger, envy, temptation, conspiracy, theft, lie, lust and indolence. The air was serene, the conscience clear.

“राम राज बैठे त्रयलोका | हर्षित भये गये सब सोका ||

बयरु न कर काहू सन कोई | राम प्रताप विषमता खोई ||

नहि दरिद्र कोऊ दुखी न दीना | नहि कोऊ अबुध न लच्छन हीना ||

सब निर्दंभ धर्म रत पुनी | नर अरु नारि चतुर सब गुनी ||

सब गुनग्य पण्डित सब ज्ञानी | सब कृतग्य नहि कपट सयानी ||” – Sant Tulasi Das

O my countrymen! Do have a moment of quiet introspection and think if your Rama has killed the Ravana in you. If yes – Happy Dussehra!

A revolution in art, science, literature and learning has been modernizing the world and now the global culture is changing so fast that it has almost become difficult for most of the people to keep up with it, though India has already had it millenniums before. Ramayan and Mahabharat are the greatest epics ever written on the earth. Our Ram Charit Manas and Soor Sagar have sketched the great character of Lord of All the Worlds and of different forces that influence the universe. Purans, Vedas, Upnishads, and Sanskrit literature consists of the human experience which the whole humanity can store in millions of years. Our civilization, our culture, our faith, our knowledge are the oldest ones and have taught the world the great lesson of humanity. It is an irony that we are again the primary students in the vast college of nature. We never read our old books that can guide us to move ahead to every field of knowledge and therefore we are followers and not the leaders. We do not follow our religious pathfinders rather we are fancy-free, emancipated and untrammelled by spiritual rules and consequently, we live worse than sheep do. The followers of no other religion feel as free as we do and as a result we are divided in different unorganised groups. Often we feel we are defenceless and ineffectual section of society – why? It is because we never try to know how to practice our religion and to come together to share our feelings with our brothers.