Tulasīdāsa and Rāma nāma
Tulasīdās in his Rāmcharitmānas, prior to beginning his retelling of the Rāmāyaṇa pays homages to all the gods, sages and Rāma himself. He writes of the immeasurable power of Rāma nāma:
“In the four ages and the four Vedas, his name is mighty, but mightiest of all in Kali Yuga; there is no other refuge.”
Tulasīdās proclaims himself a humble poet, who may not be very skilled, but by writing the name of Rāma, how Sarasvati herself would descend from the heavens and respond to his devotion. “My verses are clumsy, but my theme is high — the story of Rāma that brings blessings to this world.” “The story of Raghunātha brings great fortune and association with the Lord’s great glory will render my verses worthy and agreeable to the good. The ashes of the burning-ghat, when smeared on SIva’s body, are lovely to contemplate and cleanse from sin.”
“Herein is the noble name of Raghupati, pure and the essence of Purāṇa and Veda; the name wherein all blessing dwells, the name that banishes ill fortune. A composition that is admirable and the work of a good poet has no beauty without the name of Rāma, just as a lovely woman, fair as the moon and richly adorned, is not seemly if unclad. But those verses that have no evidence, the work of a poor poet, wisemen repeat and listen to with reverence if they know they are stamped with the gloryof Rāma’s name; for good man appreciate what is excellent in them as bees consume nectar from a flower. Though there be no poetic grace in my verses yet in them is the splendor of Rāma manifested.”
“I pay homage to Rāma, the Name of Raghuvara, signifying fire and the sun and moon; the essence of Brahmā, Hari and Hara; the vital breath of the Veda; impersonal, unique, treasure-trove of all perfections; the Great spell uttered by Maheśa, who teaches it as effecting final release at Kāśi. The father of poetry (Vālmīki) knows the power of the Rāma nāma, for he was purified by repeating it backwards.
“Devotion to Raghupati is the season of rain; his faithful servants are the growing rice, and the two fair syllables of Rāmā’s name the months of Śravaṇā and Bhādoṃ (Bhādrapada).”
“Of the two syllables of the Name of Raghuvara, one gleams like a royal umbrella and one like a jeweled crown over all the letters of the alphabet. Two sweet and ravishing syllables that are like the two eyes of the alphabet and the life of the faithful, are easy to remember, bring happiness to all; confer gain in this world and salvation in the next; are lovely to repeat, hear and contemplate; they are as dear to Tulasi as Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa. When they are uttered, devotion separates them, but they are as naturally bound together as Brahma and the individual soul; Sweet taste and satisfaction they bring, like the nectar of salvation; like the tortoise and the serpent, upholding the world; as a bee to the lovely lotus of the faithful soul..”
“A name and that which is named are regarded as one and the same, but the close connexion between them is that of master and servant. Name and form are two attributes of God; they are ineffable and without origin, known only through right understanding. It is a mistake to ask which of the two is the greater and which is less; when they hear the difference between them, the good will understand. Forms are seen to be dependent on names; the form cannot be known separate from the name. Any particular form cannot be recognized, even if placed on the hand, unless the name is known; but if without seeing the form one meditates on the name, the form too enters the heart as an object of passionate devotion. The mystery of name and form is unutterable; it brings joy to those who understand it, but it cannot be expressed. If you would have light within and without, place the Name of Rama on your tongue, like a bejeweled lamp on the threshold of the door.”
“Those who are rid of all selfish desire and rest absorbed in devotion to Rāma have made their souls like fish in the ambrosial lake of the love of the Name.”
“There are two forms of the Absolute — impersonal and personal; unutterable, fathomless, without beginning and unique. In my judgement Rāma nāma is greater than both, for by its own power it has made both subject to itself. The two forms of the Absolute may be known like fire; the one within the wood, the other visible. Both forms are hard to understand, but both are made known by the Name; and therefore I declare that His Name is greater than the Absolute and than Rāma. The Absolute is all-pervading, one, indestructible, the very essence of True Being, Consciousness and Bliss; but though such an immutable Lord dwells within the heart, every creature in the world is miserable and sad; but when one seeks out the true significance of the Name and practices its utterance, that Lord becomes manifest, as the value of a gem when it is examined. Thus the power of the Name is immeasurably greater than the impersonal; and I declare that in my devout and loving belief, the Name is greater than even Rāma.”
translation of verses taken from “The Holy Lake of the Acts of Rāma” by W. Douglas P. Hill
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