The qualities which differentiate Shri Ram and Ravan

In any human, there are two sides, the good and bad. It is up to the human to select among the two. The choice decides the path of destiny. Shri Ram and Ravan were both renowned for their power and earned great fame, however Shri Ram became the representation of good while Ravan of the bad, and it was totally out of the choices they made. It was purely the choices they made in their lives which decided their destiny.

In a very early age, Ravan attained great fame and conquered three worlds and was invincible. However he started controlling all creation by creating fear in them. He ill-treated everyone as inferior to him and thought only himself as superior. On the contrary, Shri Ram who was highly knowledgable and courageous,never controlled nor troubled anybody with his power, instead protected them. This made him dear to all, unlike Ravan who was only feared.

Shri Ram always believed in equality. Even the vulture Jatayu also was regarded by Shri Ram as equal to his father. It is because of this affection, that Jatayu gave his life for Shri Ram. Ravan instead disrespected Jatayu as a mere bird and ridiculed Jatayu’s advise to leave Mata Sita. When he came to know about Jatayu’s strength, he resorted to deceit and killed him by breaking the rules of warfare. This earned him the wrath of Shri Ram. Ravan’s inequality towards others, led to his end.

Shri Ram loved Sita the most. Although as a prince, Shri Ram had all the liberty to get married to as many women, he chose to be a Ekapatnivrat. Mata Sita was his friend and beloved too. Shri Ram respected her opinion and advice and gave the utmost importance to the relation of husband and wife. Ravan too had a pious wife Mandodari, who was very devoted to Ravan, but Ravan took her for granted and never paid any attention to her wise counsel. In spite of many attempts of Mandodari requesting Ravan to reconcile with Shri Ram, he neglected her advice and gave her pain and suffering. Although having many wives who were devoted to him, Ravan’s lust for the other woman led to his doom.

Shri Ram loved his brothers most dearly and was ready for any sacrifice for them. All the brothers too were devoted to his service. Shri Ram always praised them for their services to him, but never showed authority as the eldest brother. On the other hand, Ravan never respected his younger brother Vibhishan for his noble virtues. While Shri Ram leaves his kingdom for Bharat, Ravan makes Vibhishan homeless by banishing him from Lanka. As a result, Vibhishan turns foe to his own brother and supports Shri Ram in killing Ravan.

Ravan was a powerful warrior, and had acquired great weapons from Brahma Ji and Bhagwan Shiv. However, he never respected his own weaponry and used him according to his will and wish with arrogance. Shri Ram on the other hand always respected the weapons he gained from his gurus and used them diligently to destroy evil forces, but never to show off his power. His humility was his greatest virtue and that made him victorious over Ravan.

It is not the abilities what makes a person successful, but the choices made. Shri Ram chose good over bad and that made him greater than Ravan. All humans have the two paths set, whether one becomes a Ram or Ravan depends upon the choice made by them.