|| SitaRam ||
|| Srimad Janakivallabho Vijayate ||
|| Srimad Goswami TulsidasCharankamalebhyo nama: ||

गिरा अरथ जल बीचि सम कहियत भिन्न न भिन्न |
बन्दउं सीताराम पद जिन्हहिं परम प्रिय खिन्न ||

(SrimadRAmacharitmAnas, Bal-Kand Shloka-18)

“I reverence the feet of SitA and RAm, 
who though stated to be different are yet identical, 
just like the word and its meaning or 
like water and the waveson its surface 
and to whom the afflicated are most dear"

 
'Alas! No-one reminded you of me'

- VinayPatrikA Pada-165, Goswami SriTulasidAsa





O Best among the Raghus, this alone is your greatness!

Neglecting the rich (or GunAbhimAnis, those proud of their virtues/money/position/learnings), You respect the poor (selfless) and shower Your grace on them primarily and abundantly. || 1 ||

(While) the Demigods get exhausted doing all various kinds of practices, still you are invisible to them even in dreams, Whereas, Kevat (NishadrAja Guha and all his kith and kin, the boatman, the forest tribes), bears and monkeys, wretches as they were, (but still) You took them all in your fold as your brothers   || 2 ||

Although (during the 14 years of exile), You wandered in the Dandak forest, in close company of the Group of Great Sages (Munis, such as SriAtri, SriAgastya, SriSharbhang, SriSutikshna, SriBharadvaja, SriValmiki and many others), But (on your return to Ayodhya from exile) you didn’t even mention about this once, (in stead) again and again you just kept on narrating the charming Love and affection of Vulture (GeedharAj Jatayu) and Shabari (the tribal woman of Dandak forest) !! || 3 ||

Accepting the word of a mere dog, You exiled the ascetic from the capital and made him ride the Elephant (conferred upon him the post of the head of Kalanjar Matha)

(And what to say about) the Calumniator of your spouse, dull-witted washer-man (who was instrumental in bringing about her lifelong exile, such grievous sinner), was lodged by You in your divine abode AyodhyA, according to Your own (unique) precepts || 4 ||

(such a grievous sinner who deserved to be sternly punished, was instead never once questioned by You, and was given permanent place in Your divine abode, just because he was poor and miserable…..is there a King such as You, in whose reign, there is hearing of the lowest of the lowly persons of the society)

In this court, there is respect for the destitute; this alone has always been the ongoing tradition of this court. 

O merciful towards destitute! Alas! No one reminded you of this poor Tulsi!!!  || 5 ||

===================================================

In this pada, GoswAmiji is reminding RAma about his merciful nature, he says to his Lord thus:

"O Best among the Raghus, I have come to know what Your real greatness is…."

When RAma asked with curiosity, GoswAmiji replied:

“Raghunandan! Your greatness is that You make others great !

You have such an infinite wealth of greatness that You are always eager to distribute it to others with free hands….

If we think deeply then we would realize that the real great person is not the one who is above other persons in status or virtues or any other way, and in whose company others seem lowly….but the one by whose company even the lowest of the lowly persons become great…

RAma is the King of all the worlds is not his greatness; his greatness is that by his merciful glances, even those persons who were thought of as the lowliest persons of society at that time, were transformed to holiest persons whom the people even today worship with much reverence. 

Ahalya who was a fallen one, completely isolated from the world, lonely and abandoned even by his husband, deserted by the whole world, who else could have accepted such an Ahalya, but by mere touch of RAma’s feet, not only was she re-united with his husband but now is also counted as one of the PanchaKanyA’s (five holy girls), and by whose remembrance in the early morning, one is freed from the great sins…the woman who was one herself a grievous sinner is now regarded as the eliminator of sins!! 

Others such as Kevat, the boatman, NishadrAja Guha and all his kith and kin, the village folks…. the tribal woman Shabari, the Vulture who is considered as the lowliest of the bird, the monkeys and bears, and even the Rakshasa Vibheeshan, are now considered as great prata: smaraneeya Bhagatvatas!

RAma with a mild smile, said to Tulsidas, “Tulsidas! Real Greatness is of you devotees, who are always eager to spread my glory in the whole world, and doesn’t even in dreams seek anything in return….but you know one thing, I am much more eager to give to you devotees. Because if you don’t expect anything from me, then, although you would get the glory that see so and so devotee has no desires, but what about me...I am also worried about my glory dear J”

This is RAma’s greatness, if anyone gives something to other person then he, in the least, wishes that the other person should acknowledge his generosity, but RAma, when he bestows something to his devotee then he feels as if the devotee is doing him a favor by accepting it…..when RAma bestowed the Lordship of Lanka to Vibheeshan after he came to RAma, seeking refuge….then see what GoswAmiji says there:

जो सम्पति  सिवा  रावनहि  दीन्हि दिए दस माथ |
सोई संपदा विभीषनहिं सकुचि दीन्ह रघुनाथ ||

"The Lord of Raghu’s, conferred on Vibheeshan, with much diffidence, the same fortune which Lord Shiva has bestowed on Ravana after the later had offered his ten heads to him in a sacrifice!!"

The Lord said, "O Vibheeshan, I know that you have no desire what so ever for the Lordship of Lanka, but you know friend I have one desire….I want to protect my Glory, and somehow it has been established in all the worlds that my sight never fails to bring its reward, and now if you don’t get anything then it would cause a big damage to my established fame J

Therefore my friend! Please accept this Kingdom of Lanka for my sake..."

 जदपि सखा तव इच्छा नाहीं, मोर दरस अमोघ जग माहीं |

"Even though my friend you have no carving, my sight in this world never fails to bring its reward"

This is the Sheel of our Sheel-Sindhu Raghav…even when He is showering his grace on the poor devotee, yet he feels like some poor fellow, re-paying the debts of a rich person…..!!

....and that is the reason it sometimes seems that the Lord gives priority to the lowliest and poor devotees who have come seeking him defeated and humiliated from the hands of plight, sorrows of this world, over those devotees who are GyAnis (learned)….but there is nothing wrong in it just as a mother equally loves all here children but yet the one who is still just a little baby, or the one who is ill, gets more attention from her…..if one of her sons comes home injured somehow, then she would immediately put the son currently sitting in her lap down and would rush to take care of her injured son…

Reflecting upon this KarunAmaya svabhav of his RAma, GoswAmiji reminds him, “O Lord have you changed your nature or what, because I am lying at the doorstep of your palace for so long but still you took no notice of me……but how can it be possible, surely its just my misfortune and nothing else.....it could only be that no one has reminded you of me (whom I have already asked for favor, i.e SriSeetAji, Lakshman, Bharat, Shatrughna and Hanumaan) otherwise you could not have waited for even a second to accept me and would have come rushing to me”

  || Sri SitARAmachandrArpanam Astu ||