There is an epic story told across India and Nepal of a 10-headed demon named Ravana, who abducts Sita, the wife of Rama (one of the avatars of Lord Vishnu) – and takes her to Lanka. With the support of Hanuman (King of the Monkeys) alongside a few other allies, Rama slays Ravana after a long battle and manages to save Sita.
The festival Daśaharā (Dussehra) celebrates exactly that: victory of good over evil narrated in the epic Ramayana. Like many legends, this story offers us multiple levels of interpretation. On one hand, we get a clear understanding on how to act in a virtuous and noble way, and see the difference between light and dark, good and evil. If we, however, look deeper – we will realise this could be seen as an internal map of our consciousness and the experience of the Self on the spiritual path.
Ravana can be seen as a heartless and violent archetype, however it is said that he was one of Shiva’s most dedicated devotees, a great scholar who mastered the 6 Shastras and 4 Vedas, and a capable ruler. His knowledge and skills, however, clouded his ability to see the ultimate truth and blinded him with Ego; he represents the ahamkara (the ego-identity) and the ten indriyas – the five senses of perception (jñānendriyas) and the five organs of action (karmendriyas).
When the ego hijacks these ten faculties, our perception becomes clouded, actions are driven by selfish motives, and we mistake our small, isolated self for the ultimate reality or truth. We believe our skills are the fruit of our actions, and we let them become our identity. The ten heads sprout anew every time we feed our desires, our selfishness, or our sense of separation from the rest of creation. The feeling of being special – the false understanding of reality – is what caused Ravana to find his demise.
In Patanjali Yoga Sutra, we see a similar reading of these hindrances – or obstacles, to the ultimate goal of yoga. These are the pancha klesha – ignorance (avidyā), the ego or I-ness (asmitā), the attachments (rāga), aversions (dveṣa) and the fear of death or clinging to life (ābhiniveśaḥ) (PYS 2.3).
Yet, it is crucial not to fall into the trap of labelling everything as ‘ego’ and demonise it. In its healthy form, the Ego acts as our psychological guard. It helps us establish boundaries, process sensory and emotional inputs and navigate the world. The goal of spiritual practices is not to murder the ego and ignore emotions and feelings, but to let them arise, validate and integrate them and put them in perspective of our greater goal. Through the practice we take the seat of the sakshi – the witness, that which sits behind the happenings of the mind and is able to see the intricate experience within the inner world. By practicing self-study, we are able to see how the Ego can transform from a tyrannical force to a useful tool and understand its mechanics, when its force is at play and our judgment is driven by it.
When the Ego finds a way to be channeled it becomes a tool to realise the Self, and – as a consequence – we notice more and more when we fall into its trap; which is manifested in forms of selfishness, jealousy, fear, anger and attachments. The moment we notice these, we start to realise how our thoughts, words and actions impact others when they’re driven by these forces. The more we practice, the more we establish our actions in āhimsa (non-violence), an attitude that sees others the same way we see ourselves.
If Ravana is the clouded, overpowered ego, Rama represents the Atman; the real, pure, higher Self and the embodiment of Dharma. Yet, because the Atman has taken on a human form, Rama must operate within the limitations of our finite/physical reality. His journey beautifully demonstrates that spiritual realisation does not require isolation or detachment. He steps fully into the human experience, going through exile, grief, and profound loss.
However, despite playing the role of a human bound by the laws of nature, his actions are never guided by personal fear or agenda, but by virtue and duty. He is not afraid to ask for help, and within this human framework, he does not fall into the trap of the Ego to claim omniscience. To bridge the apparent gap between our isolating Ego and the Divine – a separation that feels only real to the human mind (polluted by illusion, māya) – we need Hanuman. Hanuman represents the purest form of Bhakti (devotion) and Prema (selfless, Divine Love). He is the vital force that spans the illusion of distance, reminding us that we carry the ability to reconnect with our true nature at all times.
Patanjali talks about this ability; to attain the identity of the Divine (re-join into it as One – to find Yoga) we must surrender to the Divine.
Īśvara praṇidhānād vā (PYS 1.23) – by giving your life and identity to God, you attain the identity of God. (Commentary by Sharon Gannon)
Bhakti is what makes any practice go from mundane to spiritual. Like Martyna Dharmina Febre says in her June 2022 FOTM – https://jivamuktiyoga.com/fotm/as-you-worship-so-you-become/ “if we aren’t consciously focusing our mind on something beyond ourselves or some sort of sacred energy, we might end up worshipping mundane issues like ambition, vanity, arrogance or insecurity in our practice and by that taking their form over time”.
Through bhakti, we bridge the seemingly infinite gulf between the jīvātman (the individual soul) and the paramātman (the Higher Self, the Absolute). When we act without the desire for personal reward – a state the Bhagavad Gītā calls niṣkāma karma (selfless action), the illusion of separation dissolves.
When we chant and celebrate the name of Rama, we are celebrating the victory of these qualities over the darkness of avidyā – ignorance. We are calling for that inner light that is able to notice the 10-heads when they are guided or tricked by our delusion, to soften the grip of the Ego enough to see behind it and connect with the true nature of the Self. The Eternal Reality.
Like in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad – we read:
asato mā sad-gamaya
tamaso mā jyotir gamaya
mṛtyor mā amṛtaṁ gamaya
śāntiḥ, śāntiḥ, śāntiḥ
Lead me from the untruth to the truth
Lead me from darkness to light
Lead me from death to immortality
