Vijayadashami: Victory of awareness over ego

By Swami SukhabodhanandaEvery year on Vijayadashami, we celebrate Ram’s victory over Ravan and the Divine Mother’s victory over Mahishasur. Effigies burn, prayers rise and goodness is proclaimed victorious. Yet a question remains: if Ravan was destroyed long ago, why does he still seem so alive within us?Mythology is not only a story about the past. It is also a mirror held before the human mind. Ravan had ten heads. We may have a thousand: anger, jealousy, greed, fear, resentment, pride and the endless demand to be right. Burning an effigy takes a few minutes. Understanding tendencies it represents may take a lifetime. The festival therefore asks us to move beyond spectacle into self-enquiry: ‘what am i feeding in myself each day?’Ravan was learned, accomplished and a devotee of Shiv. Yet his learning did not free him from arrogance. This is an uncomfortable reminder that information is not transformation. We may know scriptures and still be unable to accept a simple criticism.Consider two colleagues. One wins an argument but spends the evening replaying every insult. The other loses the argument, learns something and returns home peaceful. Who has truly won? The world measures victory by applause, status and achievement. Spiritual wisdom asks a different question: after the applause fades, what is the quality of your inner life?Ego is not only the loud declaration, “I am superior.” It can whisper, “Nobody respects me,” or “Why was i not appreciated?” Sometimes it even says, “Look how humble i have become.” Ego changes its costume but keeps the same centre: ‘me and mine.’This is why the battle with Mahishasur is so revealing. The demon changes form repeatedly, just as ego shifts from pride to self-pity, from anger to wounded innocence. Durga represents the awakened Shakti that sees through these disguises. Her victory points not merely to the defeat of a demon, but to the dissolution of ignorance.Durga evokes courage to face what we ordinarily avoid. Lakshmi reminds us of the wealth of gratitude, generosity and harmony. Saraswati awakens discrimination and wisdom. On the tenth day, Vijayadashami, this journey finds its symbolic fulfilment.But what exactly is victory? The first victory is recognising our destructive tendencies. The second is refusing to identify with them. Anger may arise, but must i become anger? Fear may visit, but must i build my home in fear?There is a third, subtler victory. The ego that proudly announces, “I have overcome my ego,” has quietly returned through the back door. Awareness does not need to advertise itself. Like light, it simply reveals what is there. We need not hate our weaknesses; hatred only creates another battle. We can observe them with honesty, learn from them and cease giving them unquestioned authority.Ram symbolises dharm: strength guided by wisdom; action rooted in responsibility and power restrained by values. Ravan reminds us that brilliance without inner mastery can become bondage. The real question is not whether we admire Ram, but whether Ram’s qualities guide our responses when life challenges us.Vijay means victory, Dashami marks the tenth lunar day. Let its meaning extend beyond the calendar. Each time understanding replaces resentment, compassion replaces hostility and humility replaces pride, a little Vijayadashami happens within us.Swamiji will be conducting online workshops; for details contact: +91 95135 60103/+91 99017 77003Disclaimer: Views expressed above are the author's own.