Acharya Prashant explains that the one who has ten heads is Ravan. This is not about someone who had ten heads in the past, but about the state of having ten heads now. He suggests that we all have not just ten, but hundreds or thousands of heads. The ten heads symbolize the inability to be one, a state where the mind is fragmented. The mind is subjected to various influences, and each influence becomes an entity, a world, a head, or a face. This is why we are not one. He contrasts this with Shri Ram, who has only one head. Ravan, despite being a great scholar, is different in front of Shiva than he is in front of Sita, showing his fragmented nature. Shri Ram represents oneness, while Ravan represents multiplicity. The number ten is symbolic, meaning 'more than one'. Anyone who acts differently on different occasions is Ravan. Interestingly, none of Ravan's ten heads are his own. A person with ten heads has no head of their own; they all belong to nature, society, and circumstances. Such a person cannot belong to anyone because they do not belong to themselves. Ravan is operated by countless centers, each with its own history and influence, such as attraction, knowledge, hatred, greed, or doubt. In contrast, Shri Ram has no such center; he is one with the open sky, the infinite. For the infinite, every point is the center. Shri Ram is always self-centered; wherever he is, the center is there. Ravan, with his many centers, is not committed to any and wanders from one to another, living in constant internal conflict. The arrow of Dussehra should be aimed inwards. Ravan's identity is that all his arrows are aimed outwards. We often try to kill Ravan while being Ravan ourselves. To defeat the ten-headed one, one must first 'cut off' one's own head, meaning to erase the self. Only one who has no head of their own can defeat the one with a thousand heads. We enjoy killing the effigy of Ravan annually because he never truly dies, which gives our ego a false sense of immortality, making us believe that just as Ravan returns, so will we. Internal division is the very definition of Ravan. The Upanishads state, 'Naalpe Sukhamasti'тАФthere is no happiness in the small or fragmented. To live a small, fragmented life within boundaries and under external influences is to be Ravan. To live peacefully, as vast as the sky, is to be Ram. There is no middle ground; one who is not Ram is Ravan. It is either Truth or Maya, awakening or darkness, surrender or ego. To be Ravan is a laborious task, with each head having its own demands, leading to endless expenses and troubles.
