The questioner observes that figures like Ravana and Kansa, despite their great penance and worship, acted against Dharma. He equates this with the worship of the common person, which is also driven by selfish motives, and asks why only Ravana is condemned. He suggests that we should be burning our own effigies, as our actions are essentially like Ravana's, stemming from a lack of knowledge. Acharya Prashant responds that any story, poem, historical text, and the traditions that arise from them are given to us so that we may burn ourselves through them. However, whatever is given to a person, they will only do what they want to do. He explains that today, the word 'Dharma' (religion) has become a name associated with ill-will. If you call someone religious, they become cautious. This has happened because the highest thing, Dharma, is given to the ego for its welfare and liberation. Nothing lower than Dharma has the capacity to help us. Dharma is the highest thing that can be entrusted to us for our well-being, but we use it for the protection and enhancement of the ego. Acharya Prashant further explains that an idol is a myth for the one whose purpose for the idol has been fulfilled. An idol is a door, but one should not get stuck at the door; one must transcend it. This does not mean the idol is useless for someone who has not yet reached its height. To reach the thoughtless state, one must first explore the limits of thought. The formless is the truth, but to reach it, one must pass through forms (murti). Everything that can be imprinted on the mind, thought about, or spoken of is a form. Even if you say you have nothing to do with idols, you are surrounded by them; the people you interact with, the things you read, even a wall, are all forms. The question is, what kind of idols do you want to be surrounded by? The mundane ones of daily life, or the idols of Ram and Krishna, which can inspire you to enter the formless? Idols are not the final thing, but they are a good means to reach it. He concludes that we are all devotees. If you are not a devotee of the right subject, you will be a devotee of some foolish subject. This is the utility of devotion (bhakti). The journey to purity must be undertaken by every new being, starting from zero. This is an endless game. Consciousness, as long as it exists, will be somewhat mixed and polluted. Its journey towards purity must be undertaken again and again. This is why we have this mission, this entire undertaking of 'Ghar-Ghar Upanishad' (Upanishads in every home), so that you can give meaning to your life and liberate your consciousness.
