Celebrating Tulsidas Jayanti: The Hindu Poet-saint, Reformer and Philosopher

• Tulsidas was attached to his wife Buddhimati until the day she told him to develop love for Lord Rama more than he has for her.He then abandoned home and became an ascetic
• Tulsidas wrote 12 books, the most famous being the Hindi Ramayan called, Ramcharitmanasa”
• It is believed that Lord Rama revealed Himself before Goswami Tulsidas

Everyone in India is well versed with Hindu festivals such as Diwali and Holi. However, only a handful of people is aware of the birth anniversary of the great Hindu saint-poet, who was also a philosopher and a reformer.

Observed on August 10, Tulsidas Jayanti celebrates the birth anniversary of an author called Sri Goswami Tulsidas. He gave birth to the most widely read Hindi adaptation to the Ramayan called the Ramcharitmanas.

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Born to Hulsi and Atmaram Shukla Dube in Rajpur, Uttar Pradesh, India in 1532, he was a Sarayuparina Brahmin by birth. Apart from that, he is considered to be an incarnation of Sage Valmiki, the author of the Sanskrit Ramayana. It is believed that, during the time of his birth,Sri Goswami Tulsidas did not cry and was born with all 32 teeth intact. He was known as Tulsiram or Ram Bola in his childhood.

• About Sri Goswami: Valmiki's Ramayana's reach was limited to scholars and other sages. It was Sri Goswami Tulsidas version of Ramayana called Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas that paved it's way into the hearts of a common man and popularized the story of Ram and Sita, therefore evoking a feeling of Ram Bhakti, particularly in North India. The dialect of the book was Awadhi, an Indo-Aryan language spoken primarily in Uttar Pradesh.

A lesser-known fact, Goswami Tulsidas is also considered to be the composer of Hanuman Chalisa, a devotional hymn dedicated to Lord Hanuman.

• Date and Day: Tulsidas Jayanti is observed on 'Saptami', in other words, the day 7 of the dark fortnight of the moon during the month of 'Shravana' which according to the Gregorian calendar falls in the month of August this year.

• Rituals: There are a few things that one witnesses on this auspicious occasion of Tulsidas Jayanti such as the recital of Ram-Charit Manas that takes place in all the temples along with the worshipping of Lord Rama, his wife Sita and devotee Hanuman with great religious zest. Adding to that, the devotees visit temples of Lord Rama and Hanuman and feed the Brahmins. North of India witnesses a lot of symposiums, seminars, and lectures all based on the teachings of Sri Goswami Tulsidas.

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• Significance: Tulsidas Jayanti, a day that gives the common mass a reason to express their gratitude towards a great writer; a writer that got the story of Lord Rama, a Supreme Being, into the lives of an ordinary man.Sri Goswami Tulsidas gave a popular form to Brahman's and his work emphasized on bhakti.

'The Supreme Self who is the embodiment of joy and ocean of Bliss, from which a small droplet fills the three worlds with happiness, He is 'Rama', the very home of bliss and the comforter of all the three worlds.' -Sri Goswami Tulsidas mentioned in Ramacharitamanas.

Lastly, the teachings that he attempted to impart through his twelve outstanding works will forever be remembered and celebrated every year in the name of 'Tulsidas Jayanti festival.'

At the age of 91, Tulsi entered the Abode of Immortality and Eternal Bliss and left his mortal body and in 1623 A.D. In the holy city of Varanasi (then Benaras), he was cremated at Asi Ghat near the river Ganga.

– by Karishma Vanjani, an intern at NewsGram. Twitter: @BladesnBoots

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