They say people will cherry pick and pluck what they want to see and hear. Read in Wendy Doniger’s book ‘The Hindus, An Alternate History’ about the vestigial mention of the three components of the mind in Ramayana!
Sigmund Freud proposed the three levels our minds are controlled; id which satisfies us with primal satiety needs of hunger, libido, sleep and resorting to violence, the
ego which acts as
the rein to control id but sometimes fail to control and superego as the master controller which conforms an individual to the norms of society.
Surprise, surprise. The author found the same comparison through the presence of the Ravana, King of Lanka King and his brothers.
Kumbhakarna, the younger brother got a boon from the God (by mistake, mispronunciation) of ability to spend most of the time sleeping. And that is what he did - eating and sleeping (personification of id). Ravana, the learner of many arts and knowledge obtained the boon of power so
powerful undefeated by
any ogre, beast or angel. This is an epitome of my or the ego, which tries to seek pleasure and avoid pain. The youngest of them, Vibhishana, is the level headed one who is more grounded, like Superego, always have held on situations. He apparently tried to dissuade the egoistic Ravana against kidnapping Sita and waging
war but instead was banished from Lanka.
Vibhisana then became a turncoat and fought for the side of righteousness, Rama!
Freudian slip ~ any action, such as a slip of the tongue, that may reveal an unconscious thought.
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