Quote Originally Posted by Webimpulse View Post
Namaste HDF,

I have a question about a particular point in the Ramayana. Admittedly I haven't read that far into the Ramayana yet (it's a long book, even when translated into English by Ramesh Menon), but I did hear about one part of the Ramayana that is confusing to me. Again, I haven't gotten to this part yet, but if someone could explain it to me, that might help me understand the Ramayana better.

The part I'm referring to is the part where supposedly Sri Rama has to seek the blessing of a prominent priest (or whatever the proper title is) in order to defeat Ravana. The problem being for Rama is that the most prominent priest at the time of the story is none other than Ravana himself. And yet Ravana does the puja for Rama anyway.

Maybe there's something else in the Ramayana I haven't gotten to yet that would explain this, but right now I'm confused why Ravana would essentially doom himself by granting a blessing to his enemy. In another thread on the Ramayana I did read about how some of the themes of the Ramayana involve love and forgiveness between unexpected sources, even bitter rivals or mortal enemies. Still, though, from what I've read so far, Ravana doesn't seem like the type of villain who would essentially do a favor for his enemy and contribute to his own downfall.

Maybe someone can explain this better for me? Don't worry about "spoiling" the story for me; I'm sure I will still get spiritual uplift from the Ramayana.
Namaste Webimpulse,

There is a tendency to interpret the Ramayana as a black-and-white moral treatise, with Rama representing pure good and Ravana representing pure evil. The reality is significantly more complex, and incidents like this serve to highlight this complexity. The Rakshasas were not a race of purely evil beings; Ravana's brother Vibhisana was a devout Vaishnava, and he ended up joining the side of Rama and providing valuable intelligence during His battle with Ravana. This is confirmed by the following verse from the Bhagavad Gita:

Chapter 10: The Opulence of the Absolute Bg 10.30
TEXT 30
prahladas casmi daityanam
kalah kalayatam aham
mrganam ca mrgendro 'ham
vainateyas ca paksinam
SYNONYMS
prahlādaḥ—Prahlāda; ca—also; asmi—I am; daityānām—of the demons; kālaḥ—time; kalayatām—of subduers; aham—I am; mṛgāṇām—of animals; ca—and; mṛgendraḥ—the lion; aham—I am; vainateyaḥ—Garuḍa; ca—also; pakṣiṇām—of birds.
TRANSLATION
Among the Daitya demons I am the devoted Prahlāda; among subduers I am time; among the beasts I am the lion, and among birds I am Garuḍa, the feathered carrier of Viṣṇu.
PURPORT
Diti and Aditi are two sisters. The sons of Aditi are called Ādityas, and the sons of Diti are called Daityas. All the Ādityas are devotees of the Lord, and all the Daityas are atheistic. Although Prahlāda was born in the family of the Daityas, he was a great devotee from his childhood. Because of his devotional service and godly nature, he is considered to be a representative of Kṛṣṇa.
There are many subduing principles, but time wears down all things in the material universe and so represents Kṛṣṇa. Of the many animals, the lion is the most powerful and ferocious, and of the million varieties of birds, Garuḍa, the bearer of Lord Viṣṇu, is the greatest.