'
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.
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