Raavan: Enemy of Aryavarta (Ram Chandra #3)

by Amish Tripathi

Why does the soul insist on hanging on to the body until the absolute last minute? Even when death is clearly the better alternative?

each time he heard this, he drove himself harder, for how could Raavan be any less than the best?

to be true to their dharma even if those around them were not.

one hundred and eight—was significant too.

any wise person would know that to blame an entire community for the faults of a few was to take an extremely myopic view of things.

Mahadev, the Destroyer of Evil,

Vishnu, the Propagator of Good,

the beauty of stealing from a thief; he cannot complain.’

The absence of hands signified that He would not enact any karma of His own. The absence of legs showed that He would not move, either towards you or away from you. He was neutral. He would take no sides in petty human rivalries. He was beyond personal likes and dislikes. Some believed that it was inaccurate to even assign a gender to the God. He was beyond such petty divisions. He was unity. The source. Most importantly, He had no eyelids. His eyes were forever open. He was always watching.

This world is full of selfish people. They will tell you what you want to hear in order to get what they want from you. To protect yourself, you must know how to use them to get what you want.

Be clear about what you want. But hide it well. It will help you get what you want.’

It is ominous for a man to feel desire; for a man who is bound up in desire feels compassion and fondness.

People who are innately decent and straightforward tend to accept others at face value.

‘All of us have been through times when life seemed unfair. In such situations, we can choose to see ourselves as victims and blame the rest of the world. We can drown ourselves in the false comfort of knowing we are not responsible for our difficulties and expect others to change our lives. Or, we can pick ourselves up. Be strong. And fight the world.’

Only if you put your duty above yourself do you even have a chance of attaining a life of dharma. Selfishness is the one thing that’s guaranteed to take you away from it.’

‘Life is unfair to everyone. As Sikhi Buddha said, the fundamental reality of life is dukha. There is no escaping the grief that permeates every corner of this illusory world. Accepting this basic truth is the first step towards trying to overcome it.’

The possibility to turn negative into positive always exists. But it takes a Goddess to inspire the change.

A person is defined by what he or she does. By his vocation or career. Karma defines the individual. A person without karma may as well be dead.’

calmness and centeredness are always elusive because people assume they have to do something, gain good karma, to get there.’

It’s very difficult to be calm and centred if your entire focus is on that. For karma is action in the hope of something in return. Like, if you give charity to someone, you expect at least respect in return. It’s a transaction.

Without our karma, we may as well be dead. But karma should not be the centre of our lives. If we truly discover our Being, our Swatatva, and live in consonance with what we are meant to be, then everything becomes easy.

‘What you term a monster is the fire every successful man has within him,’ continued Vedavati. ‘A fire that will not let him rest. A fire that drives him to work hard. To be smart. To be relentless. Focused. Disciplined. For those are the ingredients of success. That fire is like a monster that will not allow you to lead an ordinary life.

there are no fish to be found in water that is too pure?’

When grief overwhelms someone, when they are enraged at what fate has done to them, their fury often overflows and is inflicted upon the world. That’s the only way in which they can cope with their own life—a life that holds no meaning anymore.

How a person treats those weaker than them is a good indicator of their character.

If you are a parent who is only concerned with the here and now, you will give your child whatever she wants, because you want to see a smile on her face. But if you are a parent thinking of your child’s future, you will realise that spoiling your child is the worst thing you can do.’

The world usually suffers most at the hands of those who believe in perfection, those who don’t realise that there is no one ideal. The truly wise, however, realise that you can only look for an optimal solution, not an ideal solution. A solution that could help most people is worth pursuing. Because there can’t be a solution that will help all people.

‘Dharma is complex. We could spend whole lifetimes discussing what it is and what adharma is. But what truly matters is whether our intentions are dharmic—the outcome is beyond our control and cannot therefore be a measure of dharma.’

We are thinking of the good of others, and not just our own objectives. That is the first step towards dharma. When you ignore your own selfish interests for the sake of others.’

‘Lord Vidur said that there are two ways to waste money. One, by giving charity to the unworthy. Second, by not giving charity to the worthy.’

the Gods like indirect speech.

Deciphering the message keeps the fun of philosophy alive. Also, the understanding thus derived feels like an achievement. If there is no sense of achievement or wonder, even the most important message fails to find its target.’

Those who are soft on the inside become harder with the right amount of stress, and those who are hard on the inside become softer. If you think about it this way, then the right amount of stress becomes necessary to balance your character. Too much stress is not good—it may break you. But no stress is not good either. You need the right amount of stress to balance your character and make you grow.’

A real man is one who respects himself and treats others with respect too.’

A fool is worshipped in his home. A chief is worshipped in his village. A king is worshipped in his kingdom. A knowledgeable person is worshipped everywhere.

‘Every human being is a pawn, Dada. But in chess, the pawn that breaches the other side suddenly becomes very powerful.’

But chess is a representation of real life. How you play chess says a lot about how you live as well.’

navrasas, or nine major emotions, as described in the Natyashastra: love, laughter, sorrow, anger, courage, fear, disgust, wonder and tranquillity.

‘Climb over the wall of emotions you have for me, my brother,’ said Raavan. ‘Leave me, and find dharma. I am too far gone. There is no hope for me.

Sita was the child of Prithvi. Sita was the daughter of Vedavati.

Sita will be the perfect Vishnu, the ideal hero. Because the villain will never be able to bring himself to kill this hero.’

‘Now, we use all our resources, our soldiers, our money—and Hanuman—to attack Lanka. Sita will destroy Raavan. And all of India will accept her as the Vishnu.’

Vashishtha stepped even closer and stared coldly at Vishwamitra. Their friendship was long dead. Its remains burned in the pyre that was consuming the woman they had both loved. From that same seething fire, a new enmity was being born. An enmity that would last more than a hundred years.