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neither vowel), Brahma (pronounced by laying stress on the last vowel only) and brahmana (pronounced by laying stress on the first vowel and the last consonant).
     
The brahman means an infinitely expanded mind that has outgrown fear. In early Nigamic scriptures, the brahman is but an idea that eventually becomes a formless being. By the time of the Agamic scriptures, the brahman is given form as Shiva or Vishnu. The brahman is swayambhu, meaning it is independent, self-reliant and self-contained, and not dependent on fear for its existence.
Brahma is a character in the Agamic literature. He depends on fear for his existence. From fear comes his identity. Fear provokes him to create a subjective truth, and be territorial about it. The sons of Brahma represent mindsets born of fear: devas who enjoy wealth, asuras who fight to retrieve wealth, yakshas who hoard wealth, rakshasas who grab wealth, prajapatis who seek to enforce rules and tapasvis who seek to renounce rules. Brahma and his sons are either not worshipped or rarely worshipped, but are essential constituents of the world. They may not be Gods, but they are gods. Asuras and rakshasas started being visualized as 'evil beings' by Persian painters of the Mughal kings and being referred to as 'demons' by European translators of the epics.
Brahmana, more commonly written as brahmin, commonly refers to the brahmana 'jati', or the community of priests who traditionally transmitted Vedic rituals and stories. It also refers to brahmana 'varna', representing a mindset that is seeking the brahman.

    Ravan and Duryodhan descend from Brahma, unlike Ram and Krishna who are avatars of Vishnu; though born of mortal flesh, Ram and Krishna embody the brahman. Fear makes Ravan defy other people's rules. Fear makes Duryodhan pretend to follow rules. Both are always insecure, angry and bitter, always at war, and trapped in the wheel of rebirth, yearning for immortality. This is rana-bhoomi, the battleground of life, where everyone believes that grabbing Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, is the answer to all problems.

    Ravan and Duryodhan are never dismissed or dehumanized. Effigies of Ravan may be burned in North India during Dassera celebrations and sand sculptures of Duryodhan may be smashed in Tamil Nadu during Therukuttu performances, but tales of the nobility of these villains, their charity, their past deeds that may account for their villainy still persist. The Ramayan repeatedly reminds us of how intelligent and talented Ravan is. At the end of the Mahabharat, Duryodhan is given a place in swarga or paradise. The point is not to punish the villains, or exclude them, but first to understand them and then to uplift them. They may be killed, but they will eventually be reborn, hopefully with less fear, less rage and less bitterness.
    Vishnu descends (avatarana, in Sanskrit) as Ram and Krishna to do uddhar (thought upliftment), to turn god into God, to nudge the sons of Brahma towards the brahman. At no point does he seek to defeat, dominate, or domesticate. He offers them the promise of ranga-bhoomi, the playground, where one can smile even in fortune and misfortune, in the middle of a garden or the battlefield. Liberation from the fear of death and change transforms Brahma and his sons into swayambhu, self-contained, self-reliant beings like Shiva and Vishnu, who include everyone and desire to dominate no one. The swayambhu is so dependable that he serves as a beacon, attracting the frightened. Those who come to him bring Lakshmi along with them. That is why it is said Lakshmi follows Vishnu wherever he goes.

    Amrit, the nectar of immortality, takes away the fear of death. The quest for amrit makes Brahma pray to Shiva and Vishnu in Hindu stories. In Buddhist stories, Brahma beseeches the Buddha to share his wisdom with the world. In Jain stories, Brahma oversees the birth of the tirthankar. Both the brahmanas and the shramanas knew that amrit is not a substance, but a timeless idea.