Ravana's love

Why Ravana, the king of Lanka, the inventor and the scientist, the author of the magnificent Shiva Tandava Stotram, reached such heights in religion, has suffered a cruel defeat eventually? If its love for God, for Seeta, was true - why it has fallen by hand of God? Certainly, it was a rajasic love and one expression of this love is when in seeking God, we are secretly motivated by some ego drive of our own. In occultism, some turn to God with the ultimate goal of acquiring supernatural or occult powers. The ulterior motive of others it's to expand domination. Then it is possible to name it a fanaticism. I think this is a negative faith without love.

A believing, an unselfish, an intellectual man can become a fanatic, and commit the greatest of cruelties. To devote oneself without reservations to God or to an idea, substituting for God, whilst ignoring man, is to transform a man into a means and a weapon for the glory of God or for the realisation of the idea, and it means to become a fanatic -- wild-eyed and even a monster. 

The man, in whom intolerance reaches the point of flaming up, of fanaticism, is like a jealous person, and he sees everywhere only one thing, only the treason, the betrayal, only the breaking of fidelity to this single thing, he becomes suspicious and mistrustful, he discovers everywhere conspiracies against his beloved idea, against the object of his faith and love. The man fanatically intolerant, just like the jealous person, is very difficult to bring back to reality. The fanatic, obsessed with a maniac pursuit, sees all around the snares of the devil, but he is always the one who himself persecutes, torments and executes. The man, in the grip of a persecution mania, and who senses enemies all around him, -- is a very dangerous being, he always becomes the persecutor, he it is that persecutes, rather than that they are persecuting him.

The hostile powers become blended together and present themselves as a single enemy. This is entirely like, as if a man were to make the division not into the I and a multiplicity of other I’s, but rather into the I and the not-I’s, wherein the not-I presents itself to him as a single being. This strange simplification facilitates the struggle. Torquemada was a non-avaricious and unselfish man, he wanted nothing for himself, he devoted himself entirely to his idea, his faith; in torturing people, he made his service to God, he did everything exclusively for the glory of God, and in him there was even a soft spot, he felt malice and hostility towards no one, and he was of his kind a “fine” man.

The fanatic -- is an egocentric. He, certainly, is prepared to acknowledge himself a sinner, but can never acknowledge himself as having fallen into error, into self-deception, into self-smugness. Which is why he considers it possible, amidst his own sinfulness, to torment and pursue others. The egocentrism of the fanatic of whatever the sort of idea, of whatever the sort of teaching, expresses itself in this, that he does not see the human person, he is inattentive to the human personal path, that he is unable to establish any sort of relationship to the world of persons, to the living, concrete human world. He altogether is unwilling to induce the truthfulness of something, he is altogether uninterested in truth.  

A man always reacts with force out of fear. There is nothing stronger than fear. A maniacal idea, inspired by fear, also is quite extreme a danger. The spiritual healing from fear is necessary for every man. But There is no fear in love. And I trust that the Love can cure . The love for man, for women, for thought, for cognitive knowing, is likewise a love for criticism, for the developement of dialogue, a love for thoughts foreign to one, and not only one’s own. Love for God and Love of God.

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA