by Tulsidas
(45)
Tell me, what effort is required to follow the path of devotion?
Neither abstract contemplation is needed, nor fire-sacrifices, prayer, penance, or fasting,
Only a simple and honest disposition, a heart without crookedness,
And complete contentment with whatever comes your way.
If one who calls himself my servant, yet looks to other men for support,
Tell me, what faith does he have in me?
But why draw out my discourse any further?
This is the behaviour, brothers, by which I am won:
To have neither enmity nor strife, neither longings nor fear—
Every direction is full of joy for such a man.
He who undertakes nothing for gain, and is without attachment or pride,
Free from anger and sin, who is clever and wise,
Ever devoted to the company of the good,
And regards all pleasures, even those of heaven and ultimate liberation, as worthless as a blade of grass,
Who is staunch in his support of bhakti, free of wickedness,
And has pushed away all false doctrine,
Who is devoted to singing my virtues, is intent upon my name,
And free of selfishness, arrogance and delusion—
The joy that such a man experiences is known
Only to one who has become one with God, the embodiment of supreme bliss.’
(46)
Upon hearing Ram’s words as sweet as nectar,
All clasped the feet of the all-merciful Lord, and cried,
‘You are our mother, our father, our guru, our brother,
O abode of compassion, you are dearer to us than life!
You are our selves, our wealth, our home, Ram.
O remover of the distress of the suppliant, you are our benefactor in every way!
No one but you can give us such instruction,
For even mothers and fathers are devoted to their own interests.
In this world, there are only two disinterested benefactors—
You yourself, and your servants, O slayer of demons.
Everyone else in this world is selfish and self-serving,
And is not interested in the greater good even in dream.’
Hearing their words steeped in love,
Raghunath rejoiced in his heart,
And on receiving his permission, they returned, each to his own home,
Discussing the Lord’s pleasing discourse as they went.
Uma, the residents of Avadh, both men and women,
Were the very picture of fulfilment,
For Raghunayak, the Absolute embodied, sum of truth, knowledge and bliss,
Ruled there as king.
(47)
One day, Muni Vasishtha came
To visit Ram, the abode of bliss.
Raghunayak received him with great reverence,
And washed his feet and drank of the water.
‘Ram, listen to me,’ said the muni with folded hands,
‘I have a request, O ocean of mercy.
After seeing your deeds,
My heart is bewildered.
Even the Vedas cannot comprehend your immeasurable greatness,
So how can I describe it, divine Lord?
The profession of a family priest is very humble,
The Vedas, Puranas and the scriptures regard it with scorn.
When I would not accept the position, my father, Brahma, said to me,
“You will benefit from this in the future, son.
Brahm, the Supreme Spirit, will take on the form of a man,
And appear as a king, the ornament of the Raghu clan.”
Then I thought to myself, if, through this office,
I find him who is the object
Of all contemplation, fire-sacrifices, penance and charity,
No other work can equal this.
(48)
Prayer, penance, religious observances, meditation, the performance of one’s own duties,
The various virtuous acts prescribed by the Vedas,
The pursuit of true knowledge, compassion, self-restraint, bathing in holy places,
The pious practices recommended by the Vedas and holy men
The recitation and hearing of the scriptures and numerous Puranas—
All these are means to accomplish
But one glorious end:
Unceasing love for your lotus feet.
Can dirt be removed by washing with dirt?
Can ghee be obtained by churning water?
Without the water of loving devotion, Raghurai,
The inner dirt can never be removed.
He alone is all-wise, learned, knows the true essence of all things,
Is the abode of virtue, endowed with complete understanding,
Wise, and possessed of all auspicious attributes,
Who is devoted to your lotus feet.
My lord, I ask of you one boon.
Grant it, Ram, in your grace—
In each and every future birth of mine, O Lord,
May my love for your lotus feet never diminish.’
(49)
With these words, Muni Vasishtha returned home,
Leaving Ram, the ocean of mercy, greatly pleased in his heart.
Then he, who is ever gracious to his servants,
Took with him Hanuman, Bharat and his other brothers
And went out of the city. There, the merciful one
Called for elephants, chariots and horses.
After inspecting them, he graciously praised them all,
And distributed them amongst the people, giving each one what he deserved and desired.
The Lord who removes all weariness himself grew weary,
And retired to a cool mango grove,
Where Bharat spread his own robe for him.
There the Lord took his seat, with all his brothers attending upon him.
The Wind’s son then began to fan him,
His body trembling with devotion, his eyes filling with tears.
There is no one as fortunate
Or as devoted to Ram’s feet as Hanuman,
Whose love and devotion, Girija,
The Lord has praised again and again with his own mouth.
At that moment, Muni Narad arrived
With his vina in his hand,
And began to sing Ram’s sweet renown
That remains ever fresh and new.
(50)
‘Look upon me, O lotus-eyed Lord,
You who remove all sorrow by your gracious glance alone.
O Hari, dark as the blue lotus, you are the honeybee
That sips on the nectar of the lotus that is the heart of Shiv, Kam’s enemy.
Breaker of the might of the Rakshasa hordes,
You bring joy to munis and holy men, annihilate sin,
And are as beneficent to Brahmans as a raincloud to new crops.
You are the refuge of the helpless, and the protector of the humble.
By the might of your arms, you destroyed earth’s great burden,
And killed the demons Khar, Dushan and Viradh.
Hail, O slayer of Ravan, embodiment of bliss, greatest of kings,
You who are the moon to the lilies that are Dasharath’s clan.
Your glory is renowned in the Puranas, the Vedas and the Shastras,
And sung by gods, munis and saints.
Kind and compassionate, the destroyer of false pride,
Infinitely noble, you are Koshal’s ornament.
Your name destroys the impurities of the Kali age, and puts an end to worldly attachment.
O Lord of Tulsidas, protect your humble devotee!’
Muni Narad thus lovingly
Sang Ram’s praises.
Then, with the ocean of beauty held in his heart,
He returned to Brahma’s realm.
(51)
‘Girija, pure and holy is this tale,
All
of which I have now told you to the best of my understanding.
Ram’s acts are without number and unbounded,
And even the Vedas and Sharada cannot relate them all.
Ram is infinite, and infinite are his virtues,
Infinite are his incarnations, his deeds and his names.
You may count the drops of water in a shower of rain, or the grains of dust upon the earth,
But Raghupati’s doings are beyond enumeration.
This sacred tale gives entry to Hari’s own abode,
And whoever hears it acquires unceasing devotion to him.
Uma, I have related to you the same pleasing tale
That Kak Bhushundi told Garud, king of the birds,
And through it, I have recounted a few of Ram’s virtues.
Now, Bhavani, what shall I tell you next?’
Uma rejoiced to hear the auspicious tale,
And said in sweet and modest tones,
‘Blessed I am, and most fortunate, Purari,
To have heard the virtues of Ram, which remove the fear of rebirth.
By your grace, O most gracious Lord,
I have attained my desire and am free of delusion.
I now know the glory of Lord Ram,
The sum of knowledge and bliss.
(52A)
My husband, from the moon of your mouth
Flows the nectar that is Raghubir’s story.
My heart drinks it in with the cups of my ears,
But refuses to be satisfied, my steadfast lord!
(52B)
They who can be satisfied with listening to Ram’s acts,
Have not understood their special and unique essence.
Even the great munis free from worldly bonds
Listen forever to Hari’s virtues.
Those who wish to cross the ocean of this existence,
Find in Ram’s story a sturdy ship.
Even the worldly find Hari’s praises
Delightful to the ear and pleasing to the mind.
Is there anyone in this world with ears
Who finds no joy in Raghupati’s story?
Those who do not like his tale must be
Dull of mind, destroyers of their own souls!
While you recited Hari’s tale, the Manas lake of his exploits,
I listened, my lord, with boundless joy.
But this that you just told me—that this beautiful story
Was sung by Kak Bhushundi to Garud—
This raises grave doubts in my mind.
Bhushundi is free from worldly attachment, steadfast in wisdom and knowledge
And has great love for Ram’s feet—
But how can anyone in the form of a crow have attained to Ram’s bhakti?
(53)
Amongst a thousand men, Tripurari,
There may be one who is steadfast in his vows of piety,
And amongst ten million pious men,
There may be one averse to worldly pleasures and devoted to asceticism.
Amongst ten million ascetics, so the Vedas say,
There may be one who attains to perfect knowledge,
And amongst ten million such enlightened ones,
There may be one freed of worldly bonds whilst still in this world.
Amongst a thousand such, it is difficult to find that abode of bliss
Who has perceived his unity with the Absolute and become one with it.
But even more than the pious, the dispassionate, the wise,
The emancipated, and the ones who have merged with the Absolute,
The one most difficult to find, O king of gods,
Is the one devoted to Ram’s worship, free of pride and illusion.
So, O master of the universe, help me understand,
How did a crow attain to Ram’s bhakti?
Explain this too, O husband—
If he were devoted to Ram, intent upon wisdom,
Endowed with all the virtues, and resolute of mind,
Why did he receive the body of a crow?
(54)
And tell me, gracious Lord, where did the crow
Learn this sacred and delightful story of the Lord’s doings?
And, O vanquisher of Madan, how did you hear this tale?
Tell me, for I am very curious to know.
And again, Garud is very wise and highly accomplished.
He is also Hari’s worshipper and very close to him.
So why did he go to a crow to hear this story,
Instead of the multitude of sages?
Also tell me, what was the conversation between
These two devotees of Hari, the crow and the devourer of snakes?’
Pleased by Gauri’s simple and gentle speech,
Shiv replied respectfully,
‘Blessed are you, Sati, pure is your mind,
And great indeed your devotion to Raghupati’s feet.
Listen now to that most sacred history,
Which, when heard, destroys all delusion,
For from it springs faith in Ram’s feet,
And man crosses the ocean of this existence without effort.
The king of the birds, too,
Asked the crow such questions.
I will reverently explain it all to you—
So listen, Uma, with attention.
(55)
My beautiful and bright-eyed one,
Hear how I heard the story that frees one from rebirth.
You first took birth in the house of Daksh,
“Sati” was your name then.
At Daksh’s fire-sacrifice you were insulted,
And in great anger, you gave up your life.
My servants then wrecked the sacrifice—
But all this you know already.
After that, my heart filled with grief,
And I was left lamenting for you, my beloved.
I wandered through lovely forests, mountains, lakes and ponds
Indifferent to their beauty.
Far away, to the north of Mount Sumeru,
There rises a majestic blue mountain.
It has four glittering golden peaks,
So lovely that I was captivated.
Upon each of those peaks grows a huge tree,
A banyan, a pipal, a fig and a mango.
On top of the mountain is a beautiful lake,
With jewelled steps enchanting to behold.
Its water is cool, clear and sweet,
And upon it grow lotuses of many colours.
Flocks of swans call in melodious tones,
And bees buzz pleasantly.
(56)
Upon that lovely mountain lives the bird, Kak Bhushundi,
Who outlives even the end of the world.
The numerous virtues and vices created by maya,
And delusion, love and other errors of judgement
Permeate the entire world,
But never go near that mountain.
Now listen, Uma, with affection,
How that crow, living there, worships Hari.
Beneath the pipal tree he practises meditation,
Under the fig tree he prays and performs fire-sacrifices,
And, having no other occupation except the worship of Hari,
In the shade of the mango tree he offers spiritual worship to the Lord,
And under the banyan tree he recites the story of Hari.
Countless birds come to hear him
As, with love and reverence, in many wondrous ways,
He sings of the marvellous acts of Ram.
All the swans of pure minds,
Which dwell forever upon that lake, listen to that tale.
When I went there and saw this sight,
Extraordinary joy arose in my heart.
Then, assuming the form of a swan,
I lived there for a time,
And after reverently listening to Raghupati’s virtues,
I came back to Kailash.
(57
)
Girija, I have thus told you the whole story
Of when I went to visit the bird Bhushundi.
Now listen to the story of why
Garud, king of the birds, went to the crow.
When Raghunath performed that act in battle,
Letting himself be bound by Indrajit,
(The thought of which fills me with shame)
The Muni Narad sent Garud to him.
After Garud had cut his bonds and left,
Great sorrow arose in his heart.
Recalling how the Lord had been tied up,
The enemy of serpents reflected to himself,
“It is the all-pervading and passionless brahm, the lord of speech,
The Supreme God transcending all maya and delusion,
Who has, I hear, taken birth in this world.
But I did not see his glory or power.
That same Ram, by the repetition of whose name
Men are freed from the bonds of this world,
Was bound by a wretched demon
In a serpent snare!”
(58)
Garud tried to reassure himself in many ways,
But could not understand and grew even more bewildered.
Weary with grief, his mind full of conjectures and suppositions,
He fell into delusion’s grip just like you.
Confused and troubled he went to the divine rishi Narad,
And told him the doubt in his mind.
Hearing his words, Narad was overcome by compassion and said,
“Listen, O bird, exceedingly powerful is Ram’s maya.
It robs even the wise of sense,
And taking over their minds, bewilders and confuses them.
The same delusive power that has often led me a pretty dance
Has now affected you, O king of the birds.
A great delusion has arisen in your heart, bird,
And it will not easily disappear by any words of mine.
Go to four-faced Brahma, O lord of the birds,
And do whatever he commands.”
With these words the divine rishi left,
Singing of Ram’s virtues as he went.
The most wise sage praised again and again
The power of Hari’s maya.
(59)
Then the king of the birds went to Viranchi,
And told him his doubt.
Upon hearing what he had to say, Viranchi bowed his head to Ram,