Vijayadashami or Dussehra is the 10th day of Navratri and is one of the major festivals of Hindus. It is the victory of justice over injustice, of good over evil, of righteousness over unrighteousness.
According to legend, on this day Lord Rama conquered Ravana, the king of Lanka. It is also said that on this day Goddess Durga killed the demon Mahishasura and his entire evil army after fighting for 9 nights and 10 days.
Dussehra is a symbol of victory of our virtues over defects.
According to the 10 heads of Ravana, there are 10 doshas from which we are taught to fight and win on Dussehra.
(1) Sexuality (body lust): This sensual desire, promoting immoral character, can make a man commit some heinous crime.
(2) Krodha (Anger): When we are angry then our conscience ends, resulting in many offenses and quarrels. Controlling anger can save you from many future regrets.
(3) Moha (Attraction): The conscience of a man fascinated by sense objects is lost, and man starts walking on the path of sin. It is better to keep the attraction under control.
(4) Greed: What is received is insufficient. This is the root cause of greed, this greed causes many embarrassment and possible offenses, and then as they say, “greed is the evil force”, one must keep a long distance from greed for one’s own good. .
(5) Mada (excess of pride): To be proud of worldly possessions is vanity, it is both momentary and temporary. To remain humble and pompous, one must avoid excessive pride.
(6) Matsar (Jealousy): This jealous demon eats away our sense of reason and peace and takes away our prosperity and satisfaction from us.
(7) Selfishness (self-interest): Selfishness distances a person’s friends and relatives from him. Being a selfish person pays back in the end.
(8) Injustice: In our consciousness, we should always be just and should not support wrongdoing, whether it is related to society or our personal life.
(9) Inhumanity (Cruelty): Cruelty in all circumstances is a sin and should be avoided. Be kind and humble, standing up against cruel people will give us meaning in our lives.
(10) Arrogance (Pride): The fault of Ravana who caused complete destruction of golden Lanka. Identifying oneself with any object or subject is the ego, currently, most human beings are suffering from this defect. By staying away from a false ego, we can be happy in life.
In contrast to the above 10 doshas, we should nurture the following 10 powers,
(1) Courage: Not holding back from danger, challenge, difficulty, or hardship; Not doing faulty work even if it’s not popular.
(2) Perseverance: completing what has been started; Staying active in spite of obstacles.
(3) Integrity: presenting oneself as true; Taking responsibility for one’s feelings and actions. Demonstrate authenticity and honesty.
(4) Vinay: Let your achievements speak for themselves; Do not consider yourself more than an ordinary person.
(5) Self-regulation: It is a self-determined state of personal management that involves the process of guiding one’s own thoughts, behaviors, and feelings to reach goals.
(6) Love: Values close relationships with others, especially those involving mutual happiness, sorrow sharing and mutual caring.
(7) Kindness: Doing favors and good deeds for others. To act out of generosity, nurturing, caring, compassion, altruistic love and goodness towards others. Kindness always pays off and helping the needy person will never go in vain.
(8) Hope: Expecting the best in the future and working relentlessly to achieve it.
(9) Forgiveness: Forgiving those who have done wrong; accepting the shortcomings of others; giving people a second chance; not being vindictive.
(10) Wisdom: Being able to advise others wisely; Having ways of looking at the world that matter to oneself and to other people.
So, this Dussehra, win a war with these ten heads of Ravana and be prosperous and successful in life.
Vijayadashami “Victory of Dharma over Adharma”
