let your virtues triumph over your vices.
As we were closing the Dussehra festival, my husband nephew asked him…
Why Ravana is burnt on Dussehra?
Why people are celebrating the victory?
My husband went on narrating the good as well as the bad qualities of Ravana. I felt his skills of good and evil brings an equilibrium to the equation of leadership and it is a must to introspect in our daily lives to learn, unlearn and relearn to live as a great leader eternally.
To begin, let us look at the negative traits of Ravana and his ten heads represent his 10 bad qualities and also symbolize the six "Shastras" and four "Vedas"
Kaam (lust) – Ravana’s lust for lord Rama’s wife Sita led to his end
Krodh (Anger/wrath) – Anger over Lakshmana without knowing the real context
Lobha (Greed) – Ravana was so greedy that he wished for eternal life and won many boons
Moha (obsession) – He went to an extent to take Lanka Mahal from lord Shiva as a gift
Mada (Pride/vanity) – His pride on his intelligence, power and does not care attitude led to his own disaster
Maatsarya (Jealousy/ Envy) - Lot of insecurities led him to conquer all 3 world – God, Demon, Human.
Ahankaara (Ego) – He has violent ego to possess all the things of others as his own e.g. Pushpak vahana from his brother, kidnapped Sita
Chitta (selfishness/will) – He did not care or sensitive to others feelings e.g.: Hanuman was not offered seat in his court.
Manas (Hatred) – He bullied God, hated anybody with more power and eventually broke & lost family relation in his reign.
Buddhi (Mind or Fear) - He was afraid of losing his power and that made him to be on negative track.
Many focus Ravana as an anti-hero, while there are many divine qualities of Ravana that will forever serve as an invaluable lesson and his skill sets are
Undying Devotion & Faith - Faith, it seems, can move mountains! And yes, Ravana had immense patience to please his supreme and obtained Chandrahas (moon sword) and he lifted Mount Kailash to show his devotion and powers to his mother. Time to reflect and identify your supreme/coach/mentor and have faith in their sovereignty and in parallel believe in your strength for progress.
Execution Strategy - Ravana was visionary, spontaneous in his decision-making + a great negotiator to get things done, identifying people skills, won flying chariot, dealt with powerful weapons, and ruled a city of gold. So today’s corporate leaders also need all of these tactics to move up the ladder.
Inordinate Scholar - Multiplicity of genius & conscious of time is the need of today’s world to sustain as a leader and Ravana was a Maestro of science with 64 types of knowledge and all arts of weaponry along with 6 Shastras and 4 Vedas made him to look upon as a great scholar even by lord Ram and other scholarly people.
Excellent Statesmanship – Knowledge and Power are the excellent tools of statecraft and Ravana was an acclaimed practitioner for his intelligence who brought changes in the political, economic, and social condition of his empire. He was looked upon by his rivalry too to learn his skills & Global digitization trend demands exceptional leaders as future analysts to grasp the condition with reasoning process, quick decision, & winning risk to empower the organization holistically.
Skillful Warrior – learning Know-how of powerful tools and application at the right time is a critical trait for excellency in the growth of leadership and Ravana had all the talent to master the gods and demons as he had learned many skills beyond his role and gained such boon with his hard work & perseverance.
Integrity – We live in the world of competition and rivalry in racing and being true to oneself while performing the duty with no hatred is the greatest quality of any leader. Ravana was a such leader who performed the necessary rituals for Rama before the war between himself and Rama even though those rituals were aimed at seeking divine intervention for his own death.
Passion with Purpose - Ravana is known for his courage, confidence, wisdom, and taking the risk was vibrant in all his actions like moving mount Kailash to please his mother, and cutting his head 10 times to get the boon from his deity. There are many such lessons to learn from his endeavors and such passion and purpose will enable you to continue on the success path with no regrets.
Eternally Ambitious - Ambitious leaders have sensible goals and demonstrate their desire for the result, increased influence and the role calls for entrepreneurial spirit. Ravana was such a leader with vision and making it a reality, ruling the 3 worlds, and his empire spread over Balidweepa (today's Bali), Malayadweep (Malaysia), Angadweepa, Varahdweepa, Shankhadweepa, Yavadweepa, Andhralaya and Kushadweepahe and this was possible with strong determination and aiming victorious journey for his growth.
Influential Leader – Ravana’s timely action to take power over gods, humans and demons was commendable, and he is a person with strong resilience to win. His ability of choices in selecting skilled people for his kingdom was phenomenal. Under his rule, Lanka was an idyllic city that flourished and envy of other nations. Identifying a series of campaigns for prosperity, creating great opportunity with meaningful impact on people & determination is the quality of effective influential leader.
Revolutionary - Ravana made great advancements in science, author of 7 books in Ayurveda, owning a flying machine the Pushpaka Vimana. He was an accomplished musician who played his own invented instrument – the Rudra Veena and introduced the 8th method in the fighting system which is practiced even today. His rational and innovative ideas teach us to focus on parallel learning, application of knowledge and intelligence distinguishes us as unique leader in this innovative world.
Ravana is a complex character as a villain or an intellectual personality, and he remains a powerful figure in Hinduism and above points are some of the worthwhile powerful leadership qualities of Ravana to reflect which yielded his performance at a higher level for himself and his kingdom.
Let us remember the fact that every individual has a mix of good and bad qualities. The lessons we can learn from Ravana is:
Need to control our senses,
Not getting provoked by selfish desires,
Practicing discipline,
Applying knowledge for the betterment of the future and success,
Abstain calling end for self.
To conclude, know that the demon is within! The goddess is within! This battle too is always within, and so is the triumph of one over the other. Who wins over the other? That choice is also within.
You should aim for positive over negative by doing the right things by always choosing the right path! Burn the evil qualities and enhance the best by choosing your intent right!
Would love to hear your views, do feel free to share your thoughts by leaving a comment and your victory over evil happens through focus😊
Comments