by KESHAV PRASAD VARMA | Jan 29, 2017 | Religion
Saint poet Tulsidas was a devotee of Rama. He is well known for his epic poem Ramacharitmanasa which narrates the life and deeds of his lord. It is the most widely read book by the Hindus. Tulsidas also wrote a large number of devotional poems dedicated to Rama. In folklore, there is a story describing a visit Tulsidas had once made to a Krishna temple. Tulsidas stood before the idol and looked at it– Krishna was standing there in full splendor, with his characteristic peacock feather tucked in his curly hair and a flute in his hands. Tulsidas smiled, and impromptu recited a couplet which expressed his first impressions and heartfelt emotions. With flute in hands and peacock feather in your hair, O lord, you present yourself very well. But before Tulsi bows his head, Please take the bow and arrow in your hands. Then he bowed before the idol. Rama is always visualized by his devotees, and depicted in paintings and idols, holding a bow in his left hand and a quiver of arrows behind his right shoulder. Tulsidas’s prayer was, “O Lord, please show me yourself as Rama.” The story goes that the idol transformed itself and when Tulsidas raised his head after bowing, it was Lord Rama standing there holding his bow and quiver of arrows. Why did Tulsi do that? Krishna is also a god and as popular as Rama is; what is more, He also is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, as Rama is. Why did Tulsi insist that he would see the God only as he had always visualized Him, and...
by KESHAV PRASAD VARMA | Jan 29, 2017 | Philosophy
Mirza Ghalib is one of the greatest Urdu poets. He lived in the nineteenth century but remains very popular in our times too. Poetry lovers would often quote him to embellish their conversation and writing. Ghalib is a poet of Love and expression of love’s various moods is the primary theme of his poems. So the appeal of Ghalib’s poetry is universal and he is widely appreciated. Ghalib did not write on pure philosophical topics, but philosophic musings also appear in Ghalib’s poems, randomly intertwined with other themes. Some of his verses unfold the Vedanta philosophy; Advaita to be more specific. ‘Advaita’ means ‘not being two’. It is a non-dualistic interpretation of reality. The fundamental premise of Advaita is, ‘The God and all that exists in the world is, in reality, not two (or many) separate entities: it all is only one’. One may call that reality God or give it another name. In these verses, Ghalib speaks on this core concept of Vedanta. And he does so beautifully, employing powerful imagery, and with his characteristic display of mastery over the language. We shall take up a few lines from two of his poems and try to fathom the depth of his thoughts. “Jab ki tujh bin nahin koi maujud Phir ye hangama Aye Khuda kya hai” When there is no other presence anywhere, It is you and nothing without you, Then O God, what is this turmoil around? This is pure Advaita. Adi Sankarcharya, the great philosopher of the eight century, who is credited with bringing Advaita philosophy into focus, had explained this theme in the following verse,...
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