Burning Ravana

It's Dusshera today...a Hindu festival that signifies victory of good over evil which ends when Ram conquers the evil demon Ravana.....I'am not a religious person, so these Hindu mythology stories of Ram & Krishna only seem to as the epics of Homer like Iliad to me,  they are a piece of literature, that give me an insight into the society, people & times they were written in....1 read them to have a better understanding of the evolution of Hindu & Indian society & the Hindu mindset.
                                           So, When i woke up today & checked my twitter & other social networking sites, I was expecting to see a lot of Happy Dusseherra wishes & status messages...but as i was going through my Public timeline on twitter i saw a lot of people discussing about the relevance of burning Ravana as a symbol of evil in modern times....when the devil is so commonly rampant...I read questions like" Ravana has been damned to be burnt at the stake of evil for eternity....but rapists & terrorists & murderers in our times just spend 10-20 yrs in prisons or maybe a lifetime..so is our system of justice flawed?"....the questions were many as I saw people dissecting the events & characters of Ramayana.
                                          This happens every year....The new generation India questions the age old traditions that they grow up with without questioning the significance behind them, to find the relevance of these practices in their present day lives...As read through & pondered....this thought came into my mind:


                                  Our ancestors believed strongly in Symbolism...all these ancient texts are filled with characters & acts that stand for some symbolic meaning..So, What was the symbolism behind burning of Ravana year after year on Dusshera at the hands of Ram...my answer is  " That the purpose behind throwing Ravana (considering the great scholar he was) to this eternal damnation of being burnt as a symbol of evil, was to set an example for people that would act as a deterrent to prevent them from doing wrong, it was meant ,so that every year when they looked at the effigy of the man burning & realized who he had been, they would also realize that one wrong act could subject them to such an eternal hell, Who would want such a fate???"
                                                Thus even in our times, the symbolism of this day has not diminished, it's just that we have lost the meaning behind the symbol!!!

Diwali

Since i was a kid Diwali & Christmas have been my favourite time of the year.......the time since ramlila began till the five days of diwali , used to be my most awaited time of the year.....even more awaited than my birthday!!....even today (and more so now that, i live away from home...and look forward to joining my family for diwali vacations) and i think it will remains so forever..... & now that i think about it  the reason for this feeling of absolute delight that fills me every year is not 'cuz it's a holiday season..or not 'cuz of the expectations of new clothes,gifts & sweets...or presently, of being able to get away from work to go home, meet family and friends. Yes all these add to the cheer.....but I believe even if these were not there I would still feel the same joy at this time...it's because it's not these material things about Diwali that have made me so happy all along......but it's this feeling that I have felt..............to me it is a time of the year when every person ,be it a child or an adult or be it rich or poor, a person who is happy or sad, anxious or distraught....in what ever state of mind......every person, maybe even for just a few moments, feels joy filling there hearts & lives....they feel a delight and enjoy it without giving a damn to anything else.
According to hindu religion...this festival has a divine symbolism......but to me this festival is divine not 'cuz of the mythological beliefs associated with it but 'cuz of this simple reason.......that this is a festival that brings happiness and cheer into our lives and all around us.....because it is the time of the year when we go about sharing...sharing our joy, our happiness,our achievements, our lives with family,with friends...sometimes even with strangers.....sharing trebles the joy....adds on to our own and of others....and brings to those who for some reason may not have it......it is this sharing that gives this festival all it's cheer and pomp more than anything else.
over the past few years I have heard people say and felt it too that commercialisation as overtaken the spirit of Diwali.......but I still believe, just as I beleived years ago, when I wrote an assay on "Diwali the festival of lights"....that Diwali is a festival of lights...not the lights of the earthen lamp or the bulb strings......but of the enlightened lives & enlightened souls of people who are experiencing the most basic emotion of being human.....the joy of sharing.....it is just this feeling that we need to remind ourselves and rekindle the beautiful delight that this festival brings to our lives and those around us.

wishing u all a very happy,prosperous,safe and clean Diwali.
njoy!!!