Deeper Dive into Diwali: How to Conquer the Ravanas Within and Around Us

Dena Merriam

Diwali is a time of celebration, a time for family and friends to come together, for special foods and on occasion, fireworks, after all it is the festival of lights.  For some, it also a time to reflect on the meaning of the defeat of Ravana, the victory of Prahbu Ram and Mata Sita over the forces that threatened the world during their lifetime.

But if we only think of this battle as belonging to the past, we perhaps miss the greatest meaning of this festival, which guides us to reflect about our lives today and the current world situation. Coming soon after Navaratri, where we invoke the presence and blessings of the Devis, it is a season filled with powerful potential.

The Eternal Battle Between Light and Darkness

The avatars take birth for our benefit, collectively and individually, for you and me.  They are engaged not only in the grand battles on earth but the small ones as well, the ones we confront every day, which teach us to transform our own negative emotions and to counter the destructive energies that harm not only us but the rest of the world as well.

The struggle to bring light into the world is both a personal and collective one, and it is a perpetual battle, taking place in all time periods.  It was fought during the time of Ram and Sita and must also be fought today. In Sita’s time, the negative forces of greed, arrogance and selfishness found their greatest expression in the personality of Ravana, the lord of Lanka, and his minions, who infused the collective mind with these harmful traits.  But these very same forces infect our societies today.

Who Is Ravana in Today’s World?

Who is Ravana but that which drags down human consciousness and sinks us deeper into materialism and delusion?  Qualities of greed, pride and deception that characterized the Ravana of Sita’s time still stalk the earth today.  How are we to battle the Ravanas of our time?  These oppressive characteristics are in full sight, but we cannot hope to conquer the outer destructive forces until we look within and transform the shadows that lurk in our own minds and hearts, the negative thoughts and emotions that lie latent within.

The Ravanas Within: Confronting Our Inner Shadows

In our modern world, Ravana-like forces are scarring the earth, threatening earth’s ability to sustain life and causing suffering to so many, as well as fostering divisions that prevent people from truly knowing their interconnection and interdependence with each other. Everything that divides us, that causes one group of people to hate or fear another is Ravana. Every action that oppresses and causes suffering to others is Ravana.

Embracing the Qualities of Ram and Sita

But while there is Ravana at large in the world today, there is also Ram and Sita, the benevolent forces that foster harmony, that counter greed with generosity, fear with trust and tranquility, and that transforms hatred into love and compassion.

We live in a time of transition where our political, economic, social and religious structures are being challenged, where the rapid development of technology is outpacing our wisdom to guarantee its safe and wise use.  The battle that Ram and Sita fought in Lanka offers much guidance about how to transform our current world situation.

As Ram and Sita did millennia ago, we can name, counter and disable the detrimental forces that cause division and harm, that take without giving, leading our societies toward a questionable future.  And we can cultivate internally the dharmic qualities that benefit not only ourselves but the whole of life. By turning inward, we can attune ourselves to a higher spiritual guidance that will prevent many unfortunate missteps. This is how we can conquer the Ravanas of today.

Dharma and the Path Towards a Balanced Society

The story of Ram and Sita is our story. It is a story for every generation and every culture. But, it is particularly relevant now as the world faces innumerable global challenges.  But to truly make their story our own, we must imbibe their message. We must also ask ourselves – what are the qualities of the dharmic society that we seek to envision?  How do we restore balance and create a world where no one group or nation is considered superior to another?  How do we restore balance to our planet and enable its ecosystems to heal themselves?  We speak of dharma but what does it mean for a society to live by dharma?  What does the victory of light over darkness mean for us today?

Dena Merriam is an internationally acclaimed author, interfaith leader and peace advocate. Founder of the Global Peace Initiative of Women (GPIW), she explores past lives, reincarnation, spirituality and ancient Indian wisdom. She received the prestigious 2014 Niwano Peace Prize.