Ravana Worshipped Shiva. But Did He Ever Surrender His Ego?
When devotion becomes a pursuit of power, are we celebrating Bhakti or glorifying arrogance? There is something about our relationship with the Ramayana that has troubled me for years. Every Mahashivaratri, I see countless posts, videos, musical performances, and discussions celebrating Ravana as one of the greatest devotees of Lord Shiva. We hear the magnificent Shiva Tandava Stotram. We admire Ravana’s scholarship, his musical abilities, his mastery of sacred knowledge, and his extraordinary austerities. And almost inevitably, someone declares: “Ravana…