Creation runs on energy. This energy is for all of us. The question is what is our desire and how much energy can we hold? Take the example of the sun, which is a phenomenal source of energy.
The closer you get to it, the more heat you feel. But then, how much heat you desire or can bear depends on how close you can get to it. At times even if one has the desire, it so happens that as you come close to that energy and start reflecting that energy the ego comes into play. And because of that ego you separate yourself from that energy, imagining yourself to be the source of that energy.
Similarly, when you come close to a guru, you start reflecting his radiance and energy. If you take that glow to be your own, you err. The life cycle of Ravana is a perfect example in this context.
Ravana, in a previous birth, was the gatekeeper of Lord Vishnu and lived in Vaikunth. Being so close to the Supreme Lord, his ego grew and he started wielding his power over others, deciding who could meet the Lord and who could not. Once he denied entry to the Sanath Kumars. The monks cursed him to be separated from his Lord and be born on earth.
As Ravana, he once again started his journey to acquiring gyan of the vedas and various sciences of energy. Through his tapa and sadhna he was able to win over Lord Brahma. But he desired not the Lord, but a part of his shakti — the boon to remain unconquered among the devs and danavs (by now he considered humans to be no match to him and so did not ask for immunity from them).
With his newfound shakti he went to Kailash and tried to lift the mountain with his arms. Lord Shiva pushed the mountain back to its original spot with the mere pressure of his toe, crushing Ravana’s hand and indicating how every shakti has its physical limitations. Ravana was humbled and began the tapasya of Lord Shiva to access his power — again a desire for the physical. He was able to please the Lord, who granted him more power and once again Ravana’s ego came to the fore. This time he was humiliated in the court of Janak where, despite his phenomenal power and boons from Brahma and Shiva, he was unable to lift the Shiva’s dhanush, which was lifted effortlessly by Rama, a mortal.
Veiled by ego and avidya, Ravana left the court in anger, unable to identify his Lord — for the purpose of returning to whom he had taken a human birth. The Lord arranged for Ravana to meet him once again, this time in the battlefield, to not just be defeated, but also to be killed by a mere human. Despite all the power, all the vidyas and an armour-like body, a single arrow that pierced his navel killed him.
Dussehra is the day that marks the end of Ravana inside us, so that we may return to the source from where we started our journey. Regular practice of Sanatan Kriya and Ashtang Yog under the guidance of the guru takes a being through the experiences he desires and puts him on the path of final merger, the pleasure of which far exceeds the pleasure of any physical power or possession.
Yogi Ashwini, the
guiding light of Dhyan Foundation, is an authority on yoga, tantra and the Vedic sciences. His recent book is Sanatan Kriya, The Ageless Dimension. Contact him
at dhyan@dhyanfoundation.com
