The Turning Point - Goswami Tulsi Dass

Goswami Tulsi Das, is well known for his famous Granth ‘Ramcharitmanas’. He had married to a Brahmin girl. One day when he was away from his house, his wife went to her parents house without telling him. He loved his wife so much that even for one night he could not bear the separation. He decided to go to her parents house to fetch her. But that day the weather was very bad. It was raining cats and dogs. Still he decided to go to her parents house. Even though the distances were not long ones, yet as in those days means of transport were scarce, one had to walk all the way. Then there was a river in between. Due to bad weather neither there was any boat or the boatman there. He was wondering how he will cross the river. Suddenly he saw a log floating in the water. He took its support and swam across the river. When he reached the other end, he realized that the so called log was but a dead body. Still his mind was set on meeting his wife. He reached home. There was a pitch dark all around. It was quite late in the night. The house was closed from all sides. He knocked and knocked but due to the stormy weather no one responded.

Finally he decided to jump in the house across a wall. He saw a rope. He held it fast and reached on the top of the wall to jump within. He succeeded but soon he realized that the rope was but a long snake. Anyway when he reached the room of his wife, she was astonished to see him. She enquired how he reached in such a bad weather. Tulsi Das told her everything frankly. Instead of feeling happy, she scolded him saying that you should be ashamed of yourself that you came running to meet me. I don’t appreciate this sort of love. You love my body which is nothing but bones and flesh. Had you loved Sri Rama like this, you would have got Mukti.

The comments of his wife touched him so much, that he did not wait there any longer. He even did not take food also. That was the turning point of his life. He became totally attached to Sri Rama and detached himself from the other relations. It is then only that he was able to write such a wonderful Granth, ‘Ramcharitmanas’.