The festivals of Navaratri and Dussehra are glorious times of the year, filled with joy, celebration, and also with great lessons for our lives. Navaratri means "nine nights." The tenth day is called Dussehra. The festivals of Navaratri and Dussehra are in honor of the eternal victory of good over evil. At this time we celebrate both Goddess Durga’s victory over the demon Mahisasura, and Lord Rama’s victory over the evil Ravana.

Goddess Durga (Shakti) conquered the evil demon, thereby saving the world from his vicious tyranny. This victory is celebrated with great fervor throughout different parts of India. Shakti puja is performed in elaborate and lavish ways. However, our Indian festivals and traditions are not as simple as the celebration of one god who conquered one demon. The good and evil of which we speak is not as black and white as "god versus demon." The evil is not only on the outside.

Navarati should be a time of praying to Goddess Durga to remove the evil from within us, not only the evil in the external world. We must pray to her to annihilate our inner enemies – our ego, our greed, our anger – just as she vanquished the evil demon. These traits inside us are just as powerful, just as insidious, and just as deadly as any of the asuras or Rakshasas.

Let us note that Goddess Durga wears red, which symbolizes divine action. The Goddess is never idle. She is always busy in the destruction of evil in the world. As we vow to remove the evil from our own hearts and our own lives, we must be just as vigilant, just as active and just as conscientious. We must never become complacent; for the anger, greed, ego, and lust are always present, always lurking, and always ready to make home in welcoming hearts.

The tenth day of this auspicious festival is Dusshera, which means "the day in which the 10-headed demon was killed." On this day, Lord Rama defeated the 10-headed Ravana, thereby rescuing his wife Sitaji who had been kidnapped by this evil ruler of Lanka. The story of the war and Lord Rama’s victory is re-enacted with great fervor on this holiday. However, embedded within this scriptural epic, are vital messages for our lives today. We must not let the deeper lessons and meaning get overshadowed by the simple festivities of the day.

To begin with, let us look for a moment at this "evil Ravana" whose gory demise we celebrate. Ravana was a brahmin; he was a great vedic scholar who wrote numerous works on scriptural philosophy. He was powerful, dynamic, and beautiful in appearance. As the brilliant, handsome king of Lanka he had everything one would need to be happy and peaceful. However, he was arrogant, egoistic, greedy and lustful. His insatiable desires led him to crave more and more power, more and more money, and more and more beautiful ladies to fulfill his every whim.

Covetous desires can never be fulfilled, and the ceaseless quest for them brings only frustration. Therefore, regardless of how smart we are, how rich we are, or how beautiful we are, we are demons if our hearts are filled with anger and greed. This is, in essence, the difference between Rama and Ravana. Both were kings; both were learned in the scriptures (Ravana even more so); both were charismatic; both were beautiful. What makes Rama a lord and Ravana a demon? There is only one main difference: Rama’s heart overflowed with love, generosity, humility, and a sense of duty. Ravana’s heart, in contrast, was filled with avarice, hatred, and egoism.

As we celebrate this holiday, as we revel in Lord Rama’s victory, let us ask ourselves, "has the Rama in us been victorious over our own Ravana? Is the good in our hearts conquering the evil?" Dusshera is not only a holiday about Lord Rama and the demon Ravana. It is a holy day, about examining ourselves. When faced with a choice of how to act, do we act like Rama or like Ravana

Rama was in peace; Ravana was in pieces. But we ask, how to be like Rama? How to be godly and peaceful and righteous? How to win the "war of Lanka" within ourselves? Lord Rama has given us the perfect example through his life and his actions. The way to attain divinity, the way to be "perfect," the way to be in peace instead of pieces, is to follow his clear example.

Lord Rama’s primary message is: fulfill your duty without any selfish motives; put other people before yourself. When he was exiled to the forest, Rama did not complain, "but that’s not fair." He did not fight back in anger. Rather, he helped his father fulfill a promise; he lived according to his duty as a son and as a future king. He did not once think about himself, his own comforts, his own "rights." Rather, he abided by his dharma and his duty.

At the end of the Ramayana, Lord Rama must leave Sitaji in the forest, for his subjects doubt her chastity. How easy it would have been to choose his own happiness over his subjects’ faith. How easy it would have been for him to say, "You are all stupid! You are all just suspicious." But, he does not say that. Lord Rama knows that he is a king first, and a husband second. His primary duty is to his kingdom, to bring health, happiness and prosperity to his subjects. Having Sitaji remain in Ayodhya would bring only resentment and disharmony. Therefore, he acts, once again, according to selfless duty and chooses his kingdom over his own marital happiness.

Do we do this? Do we choose others first and ourselves last? Do we act with love, humility, and patience or with bitterness, egoism and haste? ? It says Ravayati iti Ravanha... This means that someone, anyone, who makes people cry is a Ravana. Anyone who brings joy to others is Rama.

So, on this day in which we celebrate the demise of Ravana, let us ask ourselves if our inner Ravana is dead as well. And, if not, let us vow that we will strive to bring forth the inner Rama and to vanquish the inner Ravana. Let us vow that, we, too, will be able to say, "Ravana is dead."

As we have seen, Navaratri and Dusshera are celebrations of the victory of good over evil, of the gods over the demons. However, let us not only rejoice in the historical and mythological victories; let us pray for a current victory of good over evil within ourselves. Then, we will really have something to celebrate!