TULASIDAS

' Is there another fool like me? Entangled in the love of my wife, I forgot Lord Rama and I have just wasted all my time! Never again shall I forget Sri Rama and never shall I think of woman. Sri Rama is everything to me.' So resolving, Tularam became "Tulasidas" from that day.

What his mater had been saying in his discourses came back to his mind: 'Sri Rama is all merciful and all-powerful. He is so magnanimous that he will never forsake his devotees.'
-Well, then swill Sri Rama forsakes me?

Tulasidas's, mind was made up. He now traveled to Chitrakoota.
On his way he visited many holy places. He was in the company of devotees and saints.

What worry could an ascetic have? Where he halts is his town, where he rests is his home. The devotees of Rama are his relations. The earth is his bed and the sky is the roof.

Tulasidas formed a brotherhood of the devotees of Rama. He sand and composed songs. He wrote books and preached to people.
Though he was learned in Sanskrit, he composed poetry in the languages the people spoke. They were only different dialects of Hindi used in North India. He wrote for the common man and not for the learned, it was in the languages actually used by the people that he gave talks and discourses glorifying Bhakti.

Tulasidas hailed Rama as the protector of the universe and declared that the very name Ra-aa-ma represented the three powerful deities-Agni, Surya and Chandra.

Tulasidas extolled Rama. His Ramayana is suffused with his own deep devotional experience. He exclaimed, "Rama! I have no abilities of any kind. I have practiced no system of yoga. I have not developed any method of meditation. I have no possessions of any kind. I have only one thing and that is my love. I love you for love's sake."

Tulasidas said, "Rama! I am helpless, poor and crippled." Why did he say he was a cripple ("Angaheenudu")? He had hands, legs, head and everything else. Nevertheless, he declared that he was a cripple. What is the inner meaning of this? "What is the use of having hands when I am unable to serve you, Oh Rama! What is the use of having eyes when I am unable to see you? So, I am verily blind." Tulasidas declared that limbs that are not used in service of the Lord are as good as lost.

Tulasidas described the relationship between Bhaktha and Bhagawan. The clouds bring the mercy, the love, the grandeur of the ocean and the fragrance of the atmosphere and shower them over the entire land; so too, the Bhakthas carry these great traits wherever they go. Just as gold is dug, out of mines, these virtues also are part of the Divinity in man.

Tulasidas was the great one who proclaimed that human life is redeemed when every talent and every moment are utilised by humanity for realising the Divine. To God, all objects in the universe are alike because they are the manifestations of the Divine.
Tulasidas demonstrated the fact that wherever you go, whatever you feel, the name of Rama is contained therein. Thus, Tulasidas reached the end of his life by proclaiming the greatness of Rama's name.