tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100791158359408086.post3873542692887234097..comments2024-03-21T12:09:12.775-07:00Comments on Mahabharata Podcast: Episode 83 - Daksha's SacrificeLawrence Manzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12849457241634723440noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100791158359408086.post-16404111693403843992011-12-03T15:07:56.422-08:002011-12-03T15:07:56.422-08:00I'm so deep in the rules of morality in the Ma...I'm so deep in the rules of morality in the Mahabharata that I can tell you what makes Ravana a bad guy-- on two counts. The first is not that he stole Rama's wife, but that he failed to first vanquish Rama. We saw that in the abduction of Draudpadi-- Jayadratha was criticized only for failing to first kill the Pandavas. Apparently it was otherwise OK to steal her.<br /><br />But we know that sometimes the rules are meant to be broken, and that for a good cause, one may break the rules and still be considered righteous. The distinction is very subtle-- it's OK to break the rules if you are good, but not OK if you are bad. And Ravana is bad. That's just a fact. Therefore he has no excuse for breaking the rules.<br /><br />In our relativistic age, it is hard to accept that one side in any fight is good and the other side is bad by definition, but in these ancient tales, it is assumed that everyone could distinguish the good guys from the bad. And I'm not sure that they are wrong about that...<br /><br />Thanks for staying with me so long!Lawrence Manzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12849457241634723440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100791158359408086.post-35198218929968284192011-12-02T08:40:11.068-08:002011-12-02T08:40:11.068-08:00I was just rewatching Sita Sings the Blues, it occ...I was just rewatching Sita Sings the Blues, it occurred to me that Ravana didn't do anything wrong according to the Dharma of a kshatriya or at least not much. He had great spiritual power and he kidnapped a woman of his caste to marry her. He didn't force himself on her. It's true that he should have fought rama for her, but he must surely have felt justified if the kind of reasoning used for justification in the Mahabharata is applied to his case. He wants her and can't think of a way to get her without trickery. It makes me wonder about the moral message of the Ramayana even more than the Mahabharata. Any thoughts?MusicJoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18435552621811132380noreply@blogger.com