Asura question

We live in a society that teaches us certain things as said by elders who have heard it from their forefathers, most of us are brought up in a society where one does not question authority or say God. The stories that we hear emphasize good by magnifying evil. Every person or a group holds a set of values which may not be acceptable by others or of a different group. A Classical example may be Ravana and Rama with set of principles that may be contradicting with each other as perceived by them. A quote worth mentioning here would be “ Truth has 3 sides , mine , yours and the truth “ . A Person shall be open to view and thoughts of others , things had to be viewed from others perspective , here in this case Ravana. The side which we stand by will tend to influence the values that we hold.

Ravana is sure portrayed to be a villain amongst ourselves for so many years, we sometimes forget that Ravana by himself had some of the finest qualities that a man shall possess, Rightly pointed out by Anjali in one of the comments , Ravana mastered the Vedas ,his interpretation stood different from the others , Ravana perceived the notions of Vedas by his values , He is till day considered the biggest devotee of Shiva . Ravana was overshadowed by the Virtues portrayed by the Gods. I would like to rephrase the question “was Ravana a demon? “to “ was Ravana portrayed a demon ? “ . Everyone has got a story of their side and it is sure worth listening to Ravana’s side of the story, Ravana may not have been a demon but well portrayed as one.

We celebrate everything that is good and just knowing that this is good we really do not mean we know what is good and what is bad. The whole teaching is a teaching we get from society and different the society would be the prospect would be differ. But something that is universal and that is our true nature we immediately can find what is good and bad after just little effort. Violence is bad we know but when we are attacked then violence becomes good. Lie is bad but when our vested interest is there it becomes good.
The world see only the bravery of victor and not the defeated one but it does not mean the defeated one is not brave. Through the pages of this book writer simply trying to say that demon and god always exist in our own body and it comes when we ask. Of course Ravana in not a demon and Rama is not a god. They are just a depiction of a certain level of goodness and badness and celebration of goodness is not anyhow a matter of burning Ravana and making Rama a god but it says to peek through the window of oneself and see where is goodness and badness there.

No Not really i do not think he was a demon at all...
After all he knew all the Vedas the biggest devotte of Lord Bholenath ...
I mean when Surpanakha went to Rama and Lakshmana they could have rejected her very nicely !!!!! as Asura as a sect was very permissive and women could select a partner of her choice ...so when lakshman cut her nose ...is it not a symbolic rape kind of a thing ????....as a loving brother the leader of her sect as a brother and king is it not his duty to avenge her insult?....whether we agree or not "Ghar ka bhedi lanka dhaye" i mean if Vibhisana had not revealed Ravanas secret point .....no one could have killed him maybe???

PLUS he never tried to force Sita

What did Ram do ???force Sita to give a Chasity test twice !!!

Ramayana is one story which makes me the feminist in me cringe .... :(
...I think that way i love /adore Mahabharata as it seems more human real ..i can identify with Panchali/Draupadi
For every Ying theres a Yang

Ravana as per some South Folklores a scholar, keen musician ...esp. master of the Veena, a good king a loving husband.... In fact, he woos Sita in such style ....that Rama pales in comparison

Good and bad are really relative terms. What is sin to you might just be somebody else's daily job. As a part of our upbringing, we are always told certain things. Do not eat beef. People who eat beef are "bad". This creates a narrow mindedness in us. So now when we know that the entire world consumes beef, on a daily basis, we find it hard to accept. What is a forbidden sin to you is just somebody else's protein and fat. Probably for the same reason the west looks at many things Indian as pretense. Sex was an art, a celebration and yet now it is a hush-hush matter to us. We fail to admit what we do.
If we see Ram as another human being who made as many mistakes as Ravana, the story is not there anymore! Ramayana isn't there. It fails to exist. Let's say Ram did more noble things than Ravan but he did commit some blunders. Not to highlight only the faults and forcibly pit Ram against Ravan though. DEMON is a relative term!

Anand wrote: "Have we ever thought of seeing the world in enemy's perspective? Does the prism what we hold changes the hue of right and wrong? What if the most hated demon Ravana has a story to tell? What if Asu..."

Everything is based on Perspective, the perspective of Hitler will always be different. Ravana was praised by Ram also for his Knowledge, Braveness and his devotion to lord Shiva. Don't forget that Lord Rama was a devotee of Lord Shiva as well. If you would read the Ramacharitmanas, it is described as how and why Ravana had to choose the path which is considered "bad". Rama, who was a supreme human in his traits needed a competent foe else, there would be no Ramayana.
If you consider God as omnipresent, then you will feel that Good and Bad both is part of the God. And when you think that way you will feel that, there is neither good, nor bad, Only affection for Lord. The duel between Good and Bad is just in-fact the basis of the term called "Maya"(which does not exist). This is the basic characteristic of the world.

Ravana was a common man just like you & me. An intelligent & talented one for that matter. So he is the demon is only as much as there is in you & me.

His concern for his subjects & the fact that he did not believe in birth rights etc shows that his humane qualities. He is a human projected with a twisted view.

I just finished reading this book. I should thanks Mr. Anand for bringing up Ravana side of story. It was really very well written.
I hope we can expect more to come.

in my perspective both rama and ravana where demons so was any ruler. Who ever wishes to rule or enforce their ideas on people is a demon whether it is through waging war or subtle manipulation .

Even in Asura, Ravana is really not portrayed as a great king if you read between the lines. The Lanka kingdom was handed to him on a platter by a common man, and he only tries to have that man killed time and again and use him in the most demeaning fashion. It is Prahastha, Maricha, Jambumali et al who actually run the country by Ravana's own admission. He upsets his mother. At every point, he is only thinking insecurely of his own greatness and whether people worship him, fear him etc. That may not make him a demon - just human - but that does not portray him as a great man either. Even Mahabali exclaims "What have I unleashed"! And, of course, in the campaign to win India, he fares pretty badly and needs to be rescued.

Anjali, about Rama and the two tests he subjects Sita to - we must remember that Ramayana itself does not condone it and whether a tale or a historical event, shows Sita as rejecting Rama in the end. I also read a commentary on Kamba Ramayana where C. Rajaji says that the Ahalya episode itself was a warning to Rama not to judge or take action in haste, as if there was foreknowledge of things to come. Rama is portrayed as a human trapped by his nature and associated limitations. As all epics, it is aimed at catharsis.

Valmiki's Ramayana was supposed to be a story of an ordinary man so obviously the villain would become a demon asura of extraordinary powers who gets boon from Shiva for immortality against Devas, yaksha, gandharva but forgets the poor mankind. That's the reason why Rama had to be born as an ordinary man. Rama doesn't do miracles like Krishna does. A capable fighter, an ideal man, husband, brother and son. The more ordinary and virtuous that Rama is, Ravana becomes equally flamboyant, larger than life in the story. He is a genius, military tactician, artist, devout devotee of Lord Shiva, a scholar and a capable ruler. His only achilles heel was his lust. A lust that would destroy him!

We don't know whether he was a demon or not but Valmiki's descriptions of his kingdom does put his character under perspective. And you feel sorry for him at the end when he loses it all but for that one folly that he committed.

Ram and Ravan both were just a common man. Ravan had abducted Sita. I agree that was a mistake. But have we questioned that ever why???????????... what was the reason?????
There's a very simple question, if someone will abuse your sister not even verbally but physically alsothen what will you do????
Ravan's sister came to ram and lakshman and she had expressed his love or lust whatever to them......but they had shown their brutal and a very cruel bheaviour with her cut her nose and breast.......
compare to this big sin ravan has only kidnapped ram's wife.......and the main point is even after all these he never touched sita and harmed her physically.....ravan had taken care of her very well

so, who was wrong???? ram or ravan????