Pearls of Wisdom: Lessons for Life From the Chronicles of Lord Rama

It gives everyone irrespective of their educational capabilities the ability to enjoy the shower of devotion as propounded by the saint in his work. Everyone can perceive and experience in the inner realms, the divine nature of the characters and the incidents depicted therein. The person who chants "Raghunayaka Guna Gaan" will cross the ocean of birth and death peacefully and happily. One who takes to austere life without lust entering in to it reaches Supreme Bliss. True, that the work of the great Sant Tulasidas will give all that is needed by one in this life. True also that, one who does not know Hindi or does not understand even the very simple Hindi of Sant Tulasidas will do well to chant this book of commentary on 'Sri Ramcharitmanas' to get all that is needed by him in this life. This work also shows the necessity for TOTAL SURRENDER to the Supreme as enunciated by the Gurus following Lord Vishnu.

Smt. K V Vijayalakshmi, who is a nuclear chemist, is into shaping the young impressionable minds by her teaching for more than 20 years both in India and Africa. Her teaching has been about not only Chemistry but also introspection as to what life is and what goals the young should set themselves to achieve for a fruitful and meaningful life. People are not born great but become great by living a life that sets an example to others. She believes that Sanatana Dharma shows the world the ideal way one should lead the life while in this world. However, life throws a lot of questions and a life can be spent in trying to find answers to them.

Her continuous quest for answers through her life journey is outlined in this - her first book. She is happily married and has a son and a daughter and grandchildren. She is living in Gurugram, Haryana - India.

The universe created by the Lord and borne by Him has seen many a manifestation of Him in the form of avatars (incarnations). Shri Rama Avtar is one of them and the most meaningful to humanity - in so much as it teaches everybody as to how one should be and warns as to how one should not be. The Ramcharit - the story of Rama has been narrated in many countries in the world from time immemorial. The forms of such narrations, the storyline and the depiction of its characters, as divine or down to earth mortals, may from time to time and from country to country, differ but the basic comment that Sri Rama is the personification of all virtues and His acts are all teachings to humans, the greatest of Dharma, remains intact, in all the versions.

The mother of all Ramcharit - the history of Rama is the Srimad Ramayana by sage Valmiki. The southern part of Bharat ie., India, has Kamba Ramayana, written by a Tamil poet of great fame. The North has the 'Ramcharitmaanas' of Goswamy Tulasidas, who is also very famous. A uniform feature in the case of all these three great men is that their background did not have anything great to show acumen or poetic prowess to author such great works as they did later. It goes to prove that it is not the birth, it is not the education and it is not the training in the line or any other matter comprehensible to us that made them do what they did. It was but the divine Grace and pure wisdom bestowed on these great souls by the Lord Himself that made them, the ordinary mortals, to see-as we now see many things in television - the second by second life of Sri Rama, Sita, Hanuman and all other people of those days. It was Anubhuti - realization as if they were part of contemporary mankind of those days that made them write what they saw.

It was not fiction; it was not copying down what someone told previously. It was an authentic statement, narrating what they saw before them, participating in that, and at the behest of the Lord, recording them all in minute details. This proves that what Valmiki said was no different from what Kambar said or what Sant Tulasidas said. It was only that the same life story of Sri Rama was narrated to them by the Lord in different lights in their (mystic revelations) Anubhuti. They only penned it down. Therefore, Ramayana recited by all of them is equally sacred.

The Ramcharitmaanas of Sant Tulasidas is in Hindi, which is not a colloquium of today or even of those days. It is not usual literary Hindi, in which the other Hindi literature is written; it is Hindi related to Sanskrit, and it is musical and very much emphatic in its Bhakthi Bhava. The sanctity of Sri Rama and His life story is shiningly evident in every syllable of Ramcharitmaanas.

Srimathi K.V. Vijayalakshmi, out of her simplicity, says that she does not know Hindi. But she has written this commentary to Ramcharitmaanas! This goes to prove that she is endowed by Sri Rama with scholarly acumen, big and strong enough, to write this commentary which sparkles in many places with the great literary prowess and unparalleled devotion to Sri Rama and also to mahatma Sant Tulasidas. Her language is simple, apt and understandable to the common man. That fulfils her ambition that the great epic 'Ramcharitmaanas' must reach everyone, irrespective of their educational capabilities and everyone must enjoy the shower of Bhakthi, as propounded by the sant in the work.

The story of LORD Rama written by Sant TULASIDAS fulfils all our desires like Kamadenu (the celestial cow). It is equal to the Vedas. It is a mine of the four-fold rewards of human beings, namely, religious merit, prosperity, sensuous enjoyment and liberation. It is a source of definite delight, and it delights the heart by its very presence. It is a bridge for a person who wants to cross the ocean of mundane existence.

Sant Tulasidas had marvellous faith and devotion. Ramcharitmaanas of Tulasidas has the charm of a devotional spirit. The world has not yet fully recognised the merits of this incomparable work. This work is at source of infinite joy and a gift to the entire human race. Blessed are those who recite or listen to Maanasa Ramayana of Goswami Tulasidas. To know Tulasidas's Ramayana is to know all that needs to be known. It possesses a unique power. This is the reason why it is recited with love and devotion to this day. Sant Tulasidas had indeed given the highest truths of philosophy in a charming, graceful and plain language and in such a way that even an ignorant person can be benefited from it. It commands great respect from rich and poor alike. Written centuries ago, it still retains a freshness and charm almost unrivalled in the literature of the whole world. There can be no one who cannot be thrilled and inspired by the great events and noble ideas of the Ramayana. It has done a great service in the domain of spiritual development.

**Contents and Sample Pages**