Ramayana_VOLUME V with index

Ravana
but because he was not putting his knowledge into practice, he became worse
than one who has no knowledge at all. (SSB 1977 p.115)
In our daily life, we exhibit several bad qualities like anger, jealousy, and
comparing ourselves with others. These bad qualities should be given up and
sacrificed. Because Ravana had these qualities which go contrary to the
purusharthas, he became a rakshasa. Ravana may have been a devotee, may
have been a very learned, but in spite of this because he had these four bad
qualities which are contrary to purusharthas, dharma, artha, kama and
Moksha, he became a sinner. To such people, whatever dharma you may
preach, it will appear as if it is wrong. (SSB 1977 p.161-162)
Master the Senses:
Even Ravana acknowledged the nobility of Rama before he breathed his last.
He gave a message to the people in his last moments, “Oh people, I lost my
sons, brothers, my entire clan and kingdom as I could not control my desires.
Do not become slaves to the senses, like me. Follow the ideal of Rama and
sanctify your lives” (SSS Vol. 32 Part II p.71)
Cleanse the heart and control the senses:
One can escape from the house on fire, but not from the senses, which are
ignited by the fire of evil qualities. (DD 19.11.99 p.3-4)
The light or the lamp however can only dispel: the darkness outside but
cannot remove the darkness that envelopes the heart as a result of attachments
and aversions carried from previous lives. Not all the blaze of light which
filled Lanka when Hanuman set it on fire could remove the darkness from
Ravana's heart. Because his heart was filled with lust and hate, no light could
penetrate it.
Even as the lamp needs a container, oil, wick and a matchstick to light it, for
lighting the inner flame, one needs a container in the form of renunciation
(Vairagya), the oil of devotion (Bhakti), the wick of mental concentration, and
the matchstick of true awareness (Tatwajnana). Even if any one of these four
is lacking, the light of self cannot be lit. (SS August 1987 p. 209)
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