Why do some Hindus worship Raavan?

[ronki23]

The mind boggles

 

[stvdv]

Similar question "why do some worship Satan?"

 

[stvdv]

Ravana was powerful and evil.
I can understand why someone who is into evil and power worships Ravana

 

[Aupmanyav]

No, not at all. Stvdv.

Ravana had his good points. His ten heads represent 4 Vedas and 6 Darshanas. He was one of the greatest devotees of Lord Shiva. Offered his severed head when he fell short of one lotus on his vow of offering a thousand lotuses to Shiva daily. Never encountered Mother Sita without being accompanied by his wife, Mandodari (who incidently is considered one of the five most virtuous women in Hinduism - Sati, and who, of course, is supposed to be the daughter of a pre-historical King of my native city, Jodhpur. We still have the Mandore fort there named after her ). And when he was dying, Lord Rama requested him to teach Public Policy to his younger brother, Lakshaman. Hot-tempered Lakshaman stood near Ravana's head, but Ravana did not respond. Then Lord Rama stood near Ravana's feet and repeated his request with folded hands. It is then, that Ravana instructed Lakshaman in Public craft. Ravana is credited to have written one of the most beautiful praises of Lord Shiva, the Tandava Stotram.
Shiva Tandava Stotra - Wikipedia

Ravana and his brother, Kumbhakarna, were the door-keepers, Jaya and Vijaya, of Lord Vishnu's heaven, Vaikuntha, and had taken birth as humans only because of a curse from the four Sanat Kumaras. Even their becoming 'Rakshasas' was related to that as with that, they were able to return to Vaikuntha after just 3 births. Whereas, being good would have taken them 7 births. That is what legends say. The Jyotirlinga at Vaidyanatha, Devghar in India is credited to Ravana. Shiva had accepted Ravana's request to move from Mt. Kailas to Sri Lanka on the condition that his lingam should not be put on ground. If Ravana did that, Shiva would stay there only. But the Gods (Indra etc.) did not want that to happen. So, Lord Varuna made Ravana feel the need to pee, and had to place the lingam on ground and that is where Lord Shiva stayed for all times. Ravana had even constructed a sea-side palace in Sri Lanka for the residence of Lord Shiva and Mother Parvati (Koneswaram, Trincomalee, When Ravana failed to bring Lord Shiva to Sri Lanka, the palace was turned into a temple).
Most Hindus do not consider Ravana as evil.

Kailas; Vaidyanath temple, Deoghar, Jharkhand, India; Koneswaram temple, Trincomalee, Sri Lanka

 

[sayak83]

The mind boggles

Asuras always had many followers, overt and covert, among Hindus. Asuras believe power is its own justification, and humans are so easily attracted to such a message (fascism, communism, fanaticism of any kind).

 

[Aupmanyav]

Well, Asuras included such as Prahlada, Mahabali (great devotees of Lord Vishnu) or Banasura (a great devotee of Lord Shiva, for whom Shiva chose to fight even Lord Krishna).

 

[stvdv]

Ravana had his good points. His ten heads represent 4 Vedas and 6 Darshanas. He was one of the greatest devotees of Lord Shiva. Offered his severed head when he fell short of one lotus on his vow of offering a thousand lotuses to Shiva daily. Never encountered Mother Sita without being accompanied by his wife, Mandodari (who incidently is considered one of the five most virtuous women in Hinduism - Sati, and who, of course, is supposed to be the daughter of a pre-historical King of my native city, Jodhpur. We still have the Mandore fort there named after her ).

Thanks for your description of Ravana. I read another version from Sai Baba, describing Ravana as powerful but evil. Ravana had acquired a lot of knowledge (even more than Rama), but Ravana used it for selfish reasons, whereas Rama did not. And Ravana kidnapped Sita. That is why I called him powerful and evil.

You say Ravana never encountered Mother Sita without being accompanied by his wife, Mandodari. Are you sure? I remember the story, that Ravana kidnapped Sita and took her in his Pushpaka (if I remember correctly). I don't think Mandodari was with him at that time.

So it seems we have different sources about Ravana. Only God knows which is the true version

 

[Aupmanyav]

Yeah, Ravana did kidnap Mother Sita. Mother Sita was a mother to Ravana too, being the consort of his master, Lord Vishnu.But if Ravana had not kidnapped Mother Sita, why would have Lord Rama attacked Lanka and killed Ravana? That was something that Ravana and the Gods wanted for different reasons. Ravana wanted to get over with his second birth (his first was as Hiranyakashipu, Prahlad's father , whom the Lord killed with his Nrisimha avatara. And his third birth was as Shishupala, whom Lord Krishna killed). It was part of the deal with Sanat Kumaras. Jaya opted for three evil births but put the condition that in each of these three births, he would be killed by the Lord Himself and by no one else. That is why he had to kidnap Mother Sita. Gods of course, wanted him to be killed as he had usurped their kingdom. For this purpose, they asked Saraswati to poison maid Manthara's mind (Manthara too, just like Kaikeyi, loved Rama more than Bharat at one time), so that she would instigate Kaikeyi's mind to ask for an exile of Lord Rama from King Dasharath. If you are familiar with the Ramayana story you would understand the cross-connections; otherwise read my post twice. This is what we mean by God's 'leela'.

Of course, I am an atheist 'advaitist' Hindu and I believe in none of this. But these are nice engaging stories. I know them well, because for a part of my life I was a theist.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Shiva's journey and Destination:

Mt. Kailas - Baidyanath - Koneswaram

 

[shivsomashekhar]

The story I have is Ravana and Bali were South Indian Dravidian kings (Shiva worshippers). The eventual Aryan (Vishnu worshippers) take over from the North led to their demise.

So, some people in the South who are not Brahmins are sympathetic to Ravana and Bali. I have heard that there are not many Rama temples in Tamilnadu for this reason. And also why Kerala worships Onam as Bali's festival.

These are just stories...but interesting, nonetheless.

 

[ajay0]

The story I have is Ravana and Bali were South Indian Dravidian kings (Shiva worshippers). The eventual Aryan (Vishnu worshippers) take over from the North led to their demise.

These are just mere stories. Rama, Krishna and Vishnu themselves were worshippers of the Shivalingam. This is the prevailing tradition in the Ramanathaswamy temple in Rameshwaram, famous Krishna temple in Guruvayur and Padmanabhaswami temple in Trivandrum ( where a giant statue of Vishnu is seen next to the Shivalingam).

 

[Aupmanyav]

Don't say Aryan Vishnu worshipers. By the time they arrived in Kerala, Aryans were totally assimilated. What the brahmins (probably) did was to amalgamate regional Gods like Vamana of Kerala, Nrisimha and Varaha of Andhra, Matsya and Kurma of God knows where, Parashurama and Krishna of Western India and Rama of Central India with Vishnu of Aryans, so that no one will feel aggrieved. The local stories of Ravana, Bali the monkey king and Mahabali also were incorporated and enhanced in puranas. Was there any war between North and South? I do not find any special reference. If there were kings, there always were wars.

 

[ajay0]

The story I have is Ravana and Bali were South Indian Dravidian kings (Shiva worshippers). The eventual Aryan (Vishnu worshippers) take over from the North led to their demise.

Here is what Wikipedia states on 'Arya'....

In Sanskrit and related Indo-Aryan languages, arya means "one who does noble deeds; a noble one".


Sanskrit epics

Arya and Anarya are primarily used in the moral sense in the Hindu Epics. People are usually called Arya or Anarya based on their behaviour. Arya is typically one who follows the Dharma.[citation needed] This is historically applicable for any person living anywhere in Bharata Varsha or vast India.[citation needed] According to the Mahabharata, a person's behaviour (not wealth or learning) determines if he can be called an Arya.[67][68]
Religious use
The word ārya is often found in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain texts. In the Indian spiritual context, it can be applied to Rishis or to someone who has mastered the four noble truths and entered upon the spiritual path. According to Nehru, the religions of India may be called collectively ārya dharma, a term that includes the religions that originated in India (e.g. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and possibly Sikhism).


"O my Lord, a person who is chanting Your holy name, although born of a low family like that of a Chandala, is situated on the highest platform of self-realization. Such a person must have performed all kinds of penances and sacrifices according to Vedic literatures many, many times after taking bath in all the holy places of pilgrimage. Such a person is considered to be the best of the Arya family" (Bhagavata Purana 3.33.7).

"My dear Lord, one's occupational duty is instructed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-gītā according to Your point of view, which never deviates from the highest goal of life. Those who follow their occupational duties under Your supervision, being equal to all living entities, moving and nonmoving, and not considering high and low, are called Āryans. Such Āryans worship You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead." (Bhagavata Purana 6.16.43).

According to Swami Vivekananda, "A child materially born is not an Arya; the child born in spirituality is an Arya." He further elaborated, referring to the Manu Smriti: "Says our great law-giver, Manu, giving the definition of an Arya, 'He is the Arya, who is born through prayer.' Every child not born through prayer is illegitimate, according to the great law-giver: The child must be prayed for. Those children that come with curses, that slip into the world, just in a moment of inadvertence, because that could not be prevented – what can we expect of such progeny?..."(Swami Vivekananda, Complete Works vol.8)

' Arya is not a race; Arya means a noble-minded person. The word Arya is often confused with a race. In the beginning, western historians propounded this theory of the Aryan race. That developed into Hitler's Aryan superiority. And when Hitler died, the Aryan race theory also died ! But the word Arya is used in sanskrit always for the noble-minded person. Take any sanskrit drama. The person will address another character as 'My dear Arya,noble-minded person'. And Buddha spoke of his teachings as Arya-satyani, Noble Truths. Noble is the word for Arya there. The four Noble truths, Arya Satyani. So, the word Arya was used by Buddha, as also by earlier Vedic literature. And this word, Arya is, therefore, a very great word in Sanskrit. Be an Aryan means, be noble-minded. Don't be petty, don't be small. ~ Swami Ranganathananda', commentary of the Bhagavad gita ( Volume 1,Chapter 2.88)