Ramayan is one of the oldest epics written by Rishi Valmiki, which is enriched with values, filled with life skills, and decorated with the concept of victory of good over evil. We all have heard about the heroic deeds of Lord Ram, how he killed the invincible Ravan; about how dutiful Hanuman was towards Lord Ram; about the commitment of Laxman towards his elder brother, Ram; about the piousness of Sita; about the valour of Ravan, etc. Let's try to gain further insight from this sacred repository of invaluable messages by analysing some more aspects. Conscience or 'Atman;, our inner self is the most pious entity seated in every individual. The conscience always and always gives a warning before we take any decision, which, if ignored or avoided, can result into disasters. This tenet applies very strongly in the domain of relationships. Ramayan exemplifies and illustrates the same. On seeing the golden deer in the forest, Sita was tempted and asked Lord Ram to get it for her. Thereafter, on sensing danger on Lord Ram's life, she asked Lakshman to go for his help. Lakshman tried to explain her that he smells some suspicion, but she was adamant and refused to listen. Reluctantly, Lakshman went and what followed, we all know... ultimately Sita was abducted and taken to Lanka. Here, although Lakshman's conscience was telling him not to go; however, Lakshman succumbed to the persistent emotional pressure by Sita and went. This illustrates that one must always and always listen to his
conscience or Atman, even if it means temporarily hurting his own near and dear ones. There is another story in the same epic, where Surpnakha (Ravan's sister) tries to entice Lakshman and Ram. Despite Ram's continuous refusals and telling her that He and Laxman are married, she did not stop luring them. Instead, she went on hurling abuses at Sita. Subsequently, Lakshman got terribly angry and he cut her nose. She went to Ravan with her cut nose and narrated the story, without telling him her fault.
Ravan got angry and without giving a thought or getting into the intricacies of the matter, he vowed to take a revenge, and reacted by abducting Sita. Though being a brother, it was his duty to protect his sister; but, he, not once gave a thought to investigate the matter at his own end and analyse it wisely. He  did not care to patiently contemplate by taking into account the different angles that could have been involved in the situation. And, thus, without knowing the exact details, without any evidence, without any verification, he decided that wrong was done to his sister. This resulted in his own end. In fact, not only his end, rather, the end of his entire dynasty.
Ravan abducted Sita, committing the greatest sin of all times... against a woman who was pure, pious, and
completely devoted to her husband. Where one of Ravan's brother, Vibhishan, persuaded and tried to
convince him to send Sita back to Lord Ram, the other brother, Kumbhakaran, succumbed to Ravan's
pressure and supported him in his misdeed. Let us analyse the result. Vibhishan, in the short run, got kicked out and was disowned by Ravan; whereas Kumbhakaran was appreciated, well patted, and showered with love for supporting him. However, since Vibhishan listened to his conscience, he benefitted in the long run. He became a devotee of Lord Ram and was later crowned as the king of Lanka.
Whereas, Kumbhakaran was killed in the war he fought favouring Ravan and won nothing. Had Kumbhakaran also realised and attempted to convince Ravan, along with Vibhishan, may be history would have been different. This clearly illustrates that there may be situations in personal and professional life fetching initial or short-term happiness, but eventually that might result in a deeper pain or problem. However, one must
be far sighted, one must listen to his conscience, even if it requires to go through initial discomfort, for perpetual happiness.

Thus, Ramayan not only narrates how Ravan was killed by Lord Ram, but also projects the lessons to impart the message that conscience is Supreme. No matter how close a relationship is, whether that of siblings or that of a spouse, the voice of conscience should never be ignored. One must aim for a higher level of contentment rather than short term happiness. After all, aim of every individual is to live a
worthy and contented life.

Gurudev Shri Ashutosh Maharaj Ji
(Founder & Head, Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan)