(Tulsidas' greatest work, an epic poem in which he retelle...)
Tulsidas' greatest work, an epic poem in which he retelled Rama's life
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/hindu2/2016/02/ramcharitmanas-hindi-english-pdf-download/
1578
(Another work of Tulsidas, a poem that is a prayer to Rama)
Another work of Tulsidas, a poem that is a prayer to Rama
http://freehindibooksforyou.blogspot.rs/2014/08/vinay-patrika-tulsidas.html
गोस्वामी तुलसीदास
Tulsidas was born in Rajapur, a village in the Banda district of Utter Pradesh, North India. He is a descendant of the long lineage of Ramagandi Sampradaya, a branch of Sri Vaishnavism, a denomination that exists within the Hinduism’s Vaishnavism tradition. His parents were Atmara Dubey and Hulsi Devy, a rather poor couple.
According to the legend, Tulsidas spent twelve months in his mother’s wombs and, when he was born, instead of crying he uttered Rama. This is why he was named Rambola. The same legend says that a boy born under the unfortunate star is a danger for his parents’ health if they don’t abandon the child immediately. The parents kept the child at first but when his mother died just days after he was born, Tulsidas’s father abandoned him, leaving him to a cousin of the midwife to raise him. She, too, died when Tulsidas was five and he found himself on the street, forced to beg for food.
He was soon adopted by Narharidas, an ascetic who was a descendant of Ramanand. He took little Rambola to Ayodhya and perform his sacred-thread ceremony, giving him the name Tulsidas. They soon moved to Sukar-khet (Paska), where they lived for five years and where Narharidas told Tulsidas the story of Sri Ram. Another ascetic by the name of Shasha Sanatana came into Tulsidas’ life and took him to Varanasi, which was known as the city that gave great opportunities for learning.
Tulsidas started learning Sanskrit and soon showed his intelligence. He quickly became adept at it, able to remember entire texts after only hearing them once. He also studied Hindu philosophy and soon became a renowned scholar, deciding to leave Varanasi to return to his homeplace.
When he came back to Rajapur, Tulsidas looked for his father but found out he died. He began living in the home of his ancestors and started narrating the “story”of Ramayana. He soon married a girl named Ratnavali, with whom he had a son named Tarak, who didn’t make it through infancy. The legend goes that once Tulsidas went to a temple, his wife returned to her father’s home. When Tulsidas came back, she objected that he isn’t even half as devoted to her as he is to God. This led Tulsidas to leave her immediately and renounce her and his home to become an ascetic (Sadhu).
Tulsidas traveled all around India, visiting different holy places. When he found himself in Varanasi again, a divine command told him to go to Ayodhya to write a long poem about Sri Ram that will be written in the local dialect and become an immortal epic. When Tulsidas arrived in 1575, a seat had already been waiting for him and he was able to begin writing the Ramcharitmanas. He wrote for almost three years and then returned to Varanasi with his love for God inflamed, eager to share with others. Thanks to his charm and devotion, he gathered people in large numbers and read the epic poem to them.
It doesn’t come as a surprise that a resistance was developed towards Tulsidas, whose popularity was growing, as Varanasi was a stronghold of erudition and orthodoxy. Two thieves were even sent to steal copies of Ramcharitmanas (there were only a few copies that existed as printing wasn’t an option in that time). When they entered Tulsidas’ home during one night, they found two men with bows and arrows guarding the work. They were terrified and they decided to retreat. When they told Tulsidas of their plans the next day, he realized that Lakshman and Sri Ram were protecting the Ramcharitmanas themselves. From that day, the thieves became devoted to Rama.
Around 1607, Tulsidas suffered from boils all over his arms. This is when he composed the Hanuman Bahuk, where he described his pains and prayed to Hanuman’s glory, virtue and strength to free him of the great pain he was experiencing. The boils were cured after he finished the composition.
Another of his later work is the Vinay-patrika. When a criminal Kali Yuga begged for food calling “Give me, a murderer, alms, for the love of Ram”, Tulsidas was there to hear him. He called him to his house and gave him food, although it angered lots of people. Tulsidas argued that the criminal was purified but people insisted on taking him to the Nandi stone image and, if it eats out of Kali’s hands, they will agree that he is purified. Indeed, the image did eat out from the killer’s hands, and this inspired Tulsidas to write the Vinay-patrika, a poem in which he prays to Rama to give the criminal devotion (Bhakti).
Tulsidas died in 1623 in Varanasi, and boils are mentioned as a possible cause of death.
(Tulsidas' greatest work, an epic poem in which he retelle...)
1578(Another work of Tulsidas, a poem that is a prayer to Rama)
Tulsidas belonged to the Ramanandi Sampradaya, a branch of Vaishnavism and now one of the largest Hindu sects who mainly puts an emphasis on worshipping Rama.
Although one of the goals of his work was to uplift the society, Tulsidas never engaged into politics.
Tulsidas’ main thought when it comes to his philosophy is that he tries to reconcile and assimilate various cultures and tenets of Hinduism. He even mentioned in the first part of the Ramcharitmanas that he wrote in accordance with different scriptures – the Vedas, Puranas, Tantra, Upayedas and Smriti. His goal was a general social uplift and increasing bhakti aimed to Rama and raise the divine consciousness at the entire humanity.
He argues that the only way to attain God is to repeat the name of Rama. He believes that “ra” and “ma” are only two consonants that should be written above all others in Sanskrit because they form the word, Rama. Although the general belief is that Rama is the seventh avatar of Vishnu, Tulsidas seldom states that he is even higher than Vishnu. He considers Rama to be the supreme brahman and the source of avatars.
People believed that Tulsidas’ was a reincarnation of Valmiki, the original composer of Ramayana.
Quotations: I bow down to the whole world by folding both hands, considering all of it to be it to be a manifestation of Sita and Rama.
He was a worshipper of Rama and therefore a member of Ramanandi Sampradaya sect.
Tulsidas is described as a “great soul” (mahatma), a pure person whose love and longing for God was immense.
Physical Characteristics: Tulsidas was an ascetic , so his physical appearance was modest.
Tulsidas married Ratnavali in 1583. They had a son together but he died in infancy. Tulsidas renounced his wife and his house after his wife objected him that he should at least as half devoted to her as he is to God.
