The auspicious month of Shravan is on-going and the pious have their code of conduct to be maintained during this period like abstinence from Himsa(Violence) hence non-vegetarian food is not consumed during this period, moderation in other sense indulgences/intoxication – hence abstinence from alcohol, etc. This actually proves the point that we very well know what is not good for our system both at an individual level and collective level and yet find it difficult to adhere to what is good, that we need periods such as Shravan, Ramaadan, Lent, etc to remind us that moderation is the way of life and not indulgence.
The desirable qualities(Daivi/Deva’s) and the undesirable(Asura’s) are both within us, it is upto us which ones we choose to uphold.
According to the Bhagavad Gita (16.6-16.7), all beings in the universe have both the divine qualities (daivi sampad) and the demonic qualities (asuri sampad) within each.The sixteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita states that pure god-like saints are rare and pure demon-like evil are rare among human beings, and the bulk of humanity is multi-charactered with a few or many faults. The Gita states that desires, aversions, greed, needs, emotions in various forms “are facets of ordinary lives”, and it is only when they turn to lust, hate, cravings, arrogance, conceit, anger, harshness, hypocrisy, cruelty and such negativity- and destruction-inclined that natural human inclinations metamorphose into something demonic (Asura).
Devas(God’s) and Asuras (Demons) are within all of us & are simply expressions of our own intent – noble or other”wise”…
Most of us are fence sitters who would normally prefer noble intent till it is inconvenient or the other”wise” seems more “interesting” as the lyrics of a famous Billy Joel song says”I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints, the sinners are much more fun….”
We put Saints on Pedestals and pray to them since it is easier to simply pray to a saint than to be one and in the process miss the point completely that we ourselves could be one only if we are able to observe Sh-Ravan in its true spirit and that is to subdue the “Ravan” within us….
Bodhisattva 