Letting go of Negativity

Dussehra, also known as Vijaya Dashami in the southern states of India, is an auspicious day for many Hindus that symbolizes many things.

It can symbolize new beginnings, and people usually join school, an art form like music or dance, or try to take up something else new, on this day. Students give guru dakshina to their teachers on this day, as a form of gratitude for everything they’ve taught. 

It is believed that whatever is done on this day is equivalent to doing it a thousand times. This is why people recite many shlokas, sing devotional songs, and offer other prayers to invoke God's blessings. 

Vijaya Dashami is the last day of Navaratri, and on this day, the Marapachi Bommai, the most important dolls kept in golu, are kept in a lie-down position, signifying the end of Navaratri. 

The word ‘Dussehra’ can be split into two Sanskrit words- ‘dasha’ meaning ten, and ‘hara’ meaning defeat. This is the day Lord Rama killed Ravana, the ten-headed demon king of Lanka, who abducted Rama’s wife, Sita. In many parts of India, effigies of Ravana are built and set to fire, symbolizing the triumph of good over evil.

Burning the effigies of Ravana also symbolizes burning or defeating negative forces like ego, anger, jealousy, and pride. It is often these negative forces that hinder one’s sight, leading to miscommunications, and resulting in a divided world. 

There are several stories in Hinduism, that talk of negative forces, their consequences, and how one can seek forgiveness.

Sage Narada’s Mistake

Narada Muni was a great musician, who played the veena and sang songs in praise of God. One day, many people started praising him, and he began to think that he was the best musician. He started showing off, and though he sang well, he didn’t sing from his heart with devotion, like before. Lord Krishna realized this and decided to teach him a lesson. He invited him to play the veena at his party. 

At the party, Narada sang and played the veena. Everyone showered him with praise. Unknown to Narada, Krishna had also invited Hanuman to his party. After Narada had finished singing, Krishna asked Narada to lend his veena to Hanuman. Krishna told him that Hanuman was a great musician. Narada was initially hesitant and skeptical, but after much persuasion from Krishna, lent the veena to Hanuman.

As soon as Hanuman started to sing, the whole place was filled with a divine atmosphere. Everyone’s hearts started to melt, and even the stone on which the veena was kept, started to melt. Hanuman had left the entire audience in awe, with his soulful singing. Even Narada praised him. Narada hung his head in shame and went to retrieve his veena. He tried lifting the veena, but to his surprise, the veena didn’t budge, even after multiple attempts.

Several people came forward and tried but to no avail. An old musician told Narada that he had noticed that the stone kept in front had started to melt when Hanuman sang. Krishna asked Narada to sing to melt the stone again. Narada sang, but the veena stayed where it was. Hanuman then started to sing, and the stone melted once again. This time, Narada was able to take out his veena.

This story shows that ego can impair our vision, and push us away from our real goal. In this story, Naradha’s ego made him forget that singing for God was more important than singing for praise. 

The Story of Saint Purandharadasa

Sreenivasa was born to a rich merchant, Varadappa, who owned a gem shop. Varadappa was very kind, and always helped the poor and needy. In his old age, he decided to give his shop to Sreenivasa and his wife. Sreenivasa changed the way business was done and was only concerned about making more money. He was a miser and didn’t give a single coin to the poor. He even forbade his wife from giving charity and helping the poor. 

Once his father fell very ill. The physician suggested that Sreenivasa could give the ash of a few precious gems to cure his father. His wife tried to reason with him, but even then, Sreenivasa didn’t wish to help his father. In a few days, his father died.

Once a poor man came to his house and asked him for money. Sreenivasa sent him away, asking him to come the following day. The man came again, the following day, and Sreenivasa sent him back, saying the same. This continued for six months, and finally, Sreenivasa gave him some coins. But the man soon discovered that the coins were fake and worthless. 

The next day, he went to Sreenivasa’s home. Sreenivasa was away at the shop, but his wife was at home. He told her what had happened. She felt ashamed of her husband and gave her diamond nose ring to the man. The man thanked the wife and went to Sreenivasa’s shop to pawn the ring, and get money. Sreenivasa saw that the nose ring looked almost identical to his wife’s nose ring. But when he went back home, she was still wearing it. 

Sreenivasa then realized that the man was none other than Lord Vishnu himself. Sreenivasa now felt very ashamed of himself and decided to donate all his wealth to the poor and needy. He became Saint Purandharadasa and set up a system for teaching Carnatic music, and composed several Carnatic songs.

Greed comes from desire. Often, people wish to become rich, though they may already have more than what they require. One person’s greed, can lead to another person’s poverty, or deprive them of basic needs. This story shows that money isn’t everything, and helping others is more important than accumulating wealth.

The Boy and his Temper

Once there was a boy who lost his temper frequently. His father gave him a bag of nails, and asked him to hammer a nail into the fence, every time he lost his temper, and chant while he did so. 

Soon, there were many nails in the fence, but he found himself chanting, even when he was not hammering the nails. The number of nails he hammered into the walls, slowly started reducing, and soon there were no more new nails on the wall. 

His father then asked him to remove the nails from the wall, one by one, if he wasn’t angry for an entire day. After a while, there weren’t any more nails on the wall.

His father then showed him the holes in the fence. He said that when someone hurts a person due to their anger, often the wounds in their heart can’t be healed, like how the holes in the fence couldn’t be fixed. The father said that chanting helped overcome one’s anger.

Conclusion

These three stories show that ego, greed, and anger are negative qualities, that one must vanquish to be a good person. 

Dussehra is a day when we must let go of negativity and embrace positivity. Triumph of good over evil must start from within, by fighting against our inner demons and strengthening good values like generosity, truth, humility, and peace.