Tulsidas was one of the best poets ever to have graced Bharat. His verses were written in Hindi and accessible to everyone. He is well known for the work, which was referred to as the greatest book ever written by Gandhiji, ‘Ramacharita manasa’
Tulasidas was born in the year 1532 to a brahmin family in the town of Rajapur. He suffered separation from his parents at a very young age and was not taken care of by his relatives. He came into contact with some saints who advised him to surrender to Lord Rama. Thus, he got associated with a Hanuman temple and ate whatever was given to him. Not much is known about Tulasi’s guru, but he met him in Sukarkheta. Since tulasidas was not mentally equipped at that time for complex philosophies, his guru advised him to take up the path of devotion to Rama. As time grew on, Tulasi’s love for Rama grew deeper and deeper.
However, in his youth, he got married to a woman named Ratnavali. Once his wife went to stay with her parents for a while. Tulasi, not being able to bear the separation, went to meet her. Ratnavali is said to admonished Tulasi by saying ‘I am just a bag of flesh and bones. Why are you so attracted to it ? Why don’t you love Lord Rama with the same fervor?’ This type of retort is not typical of Indian wives (at least during that time). One wonders whether Ratnavali was itself spiritually inclined or whether God determined it was the appropriate time for Tulasi to leave the family life. Anyway, Tulasi contemplated on this remark and left all connections with the family life.
After bidding goodbye to family life, he lived in Chitrakuta for some time before 1564. He used to go around houses for alms. One day, he came to the house where his wife and father-in-law lived, but he did not recognize them. Though the wife recognized him, she just gave him alms and food. When she insisted that he partake spices like pepper, salt etc, he replied that he had his own supply of spices in his possession. Early next morning, when Tulasidas was preparing to leave the house, his wife requested him to take her with him. But, he refused saying that he has renounced family life. Ratnavali was angered and remarked, ‘You have spices in your possession, but not wife. What kind of renunciate are you ?.’ Tulasidas recognized the folliness of being attached to food, and thanked his wife for the lesson and threw away all his remaining possessions. He, then, migrated to Kashi. Scholars have rightly pointed out that Rama charita manasa would never have been written if not for Ratnavali’s remarks. Though he made several pilgrimages throughout the country, his permanent residence was in Kashi. He commenced writing rama charita manasa in Ayodhya but came back to Kashi.
Nabhaji, the author of Bhaktamala (1600), writes that Tulasidas was an incarnation of Valmiki itself born again to explain Ramayana in the vernacular langauge. This raise in his fame naturally created many enemies, who attacked his caste, his asceticism etc, but Tulasi does not seem to have been bothered by this.
Tulasi was a personification of humility. He declares in the Manasa that he is no poet and he is imperfect and only sings the excellence of Rama according to his poor wit and understanding. This is the case in his other works Gitavali (1571), Kavitavali (1612), Barvairamayana (1612) and one of the best works, Vinaya Patrika (request to Rama). Tulasi, should not, however, be considered partial to Rama in exclusion to others. He appreciated the diverse tenets of Saiva, advaita and samkhya philosophies. He authored 22 different works. He never became attracted to miracles or money. Once the powerful king Jahangir offered him money in return for the performance of some miracles. Tulasi retorted ‘Who needs money when one has the love of (and for) Rama ? What use is miracles before his glory ?’
In Kashi, he became the head of the monastery in lolarka kunda and was designated ‘Gosain.’ Around 1612, he started to suffer from acute arm pain, boils causing uprooting of his hair and also seems to have suffered from the epidemic in the local area. Having dedicated his life to Lord Rama, these were considered to mere trifles and Tulasi passed away on the third day of the dark fortnight in the month of Shravana in 1623.
Taken from Biographies of Indian saints
PRAYER
Lord Rama! My honour is in Your hands.
You are the protector of the poor; I surrender myself at Your Feet.
I have heard of the sinners whom You have reclaimed.
I am an old sinner, pray extend Your loving hand and take me to Yourself.
To destroy the sins of the sinner, and to remove the ailments of the afflicted is Your occupation.
Grant me devotion to You, O Lord, and confer Your grace on me!
GLIMSE OF THE INVISIBLE
Lightning flashed in my eye, O friend,
And brightly did shine the light of the moon.
I got a glimpse of the Invisible within,
And thirst and longing for the Lord were aroused.
My ears received the boon of Unstruck Music,
And Knowledge came like the explosion of light, O Friend.
Dark clouds began to scatter and the sight
Of the Divine Mansion was revealed unto me.
Beyond the sun, the moon and the tunnel,
Tulsi beheld the abode of the Lord Almighty.
Translation by S. L. Sondhi
TRUTH LIES WITHIN
Within the body lies the essence which the Vedas and the Puranas are seeking.
Within this body exists the entire Universe, so the sagacious Saints say.
Recluses, ascetics and monks are searching for Him in variegated garbs.
Rishis, munis and avdhoots lay stress on scriptures and holy books.
The learned of the world, puffed up with pride in their scholarly traditions, remain deluded by their erudition.
They delude the world through the practice of pilgrimage, fasting and charity;
They glorify bathing in holy waters and their gollowers bear the evil consequences.
They get lost in rituals and external observances and never can reach the destination.
Such is the state of people in this world
Who keep revolving in the cycle of eighty-four.
Only the Saints have attained the Ultimate, O Tulsi,
They obtain liberation who realize this truth.
The pedantic are engrossed in the practice of traditions,
And evermore, in their ego, are they enslaved by delusion
Translation by S. L. Sondhi
THE RAINY SEASON
In whom longing for the Beloved hath taken abode,
Every moment his body becometh feeble and enervated.
A stream of tears constantly flows from his eyes;
The pangs of pain ceaselessly smart his body and mind.
Like rivers in Sawan and Bhadon, overflows the stream of my love.
Day and night I long for Him and tears fall like incessant rain.
The pain for my Beloved increasingly penetrates my being every moment;
My attention can be transfixed on nought but him,
Even as the moon bird never gets satiated by looking at the moon.
Dark clouds gather and burst with thunder, and lightning dazzles the eyes.
The peacock crows in delight and the rain bird sings his longing.
I yearn for thee evermore, my body keeps wasting away in anguish.
When I listen to the Sound, I lose my patience and I write to my Beloved.
With mind and soul as my couriers, I send my message to His inaccessible abode.
When I hear the tidings of His well-being,
My heart is filled with love and delight.
Ever since this yearning for the Lord has taken hold of me,
I have severed all connections with the world.
Translation by S. L. Sondhi
WITHIN THIS BODY
Within this body
breathes the secret essence.
Within this body
beats the heart of the Vedas.
Within this body
shines the entire Universe,
so the saints say.
Hermits, ascetics, celibates -
all are lost
seeking Him
in endless guises.
Seers and sages perfectly parrot
the scriptures and holy books,
blinded by knowledge.
Their pilgrimage,
and fasting,
and striving
but delude.
Despite their perfect practice,
they discover no destination.
Only the saints
who know the body's heart
have attained the Ultimate, O Tulsi.
Realize this, and you've found your freedom.
While teachers trapped in tradition
know only the mirage
in the mirror.
