💖 A Love Story That Became Devotion

 When a child's world crumbles at birth — losing a mother's warmth, a father's care, and society's acceptance — that child could be consumed by anger or despair.

But Goswami Tulsidas turned his suffering into a path of love, transformation, and divine realization.

🌱 A Childhood of Loss and Abandonment

Tulsidas's mother, Hulsi Devi, passed away just days after his birth. On the fourth day, his father abandoned him, believing he was born under an inauspicious star (Abhuktamool).

He was raised by a kind caretaker named Chuniya, who loved him as a mother would. But fate struck again — she died when Tulsidas was only five years old.

He was then cast out by villagers, branded as a bearer of misfortune.

In those harsh days, a stray dog fed him bread. Later, Tulsidas wrote in his works that it was “Mata Bhavani” (Mother Goddess) who fed him in that moment — a spiritual interpretation of compassion he received in a loveless world.

🧘‍♂️ A Guru Appears: The Turning Point

At this tender age, he met Saint Narharidas, a revered teacher from the Ramananda lineage.

Narharidas initiated him into the spiritual path, gave him the name Tulsidas, and introduced him to Ram Bhakti (devotion to Lord Rama).

Tulsidas received his Upanayana (sacred initiation) in Ayodhya and began his spiritual education at Soron (Sukarkhetra).

💓 Tulsidas — The Lover First

Before becoming a saint, Tulsidas was a lover — a man who had never known affection, warmth, or belonging. When he married Ratnavali, he found in her the world he never had.

He loved her deeply. For someone who had never received love, this relationship felt like heaven on earth.

He would spend his days thinking about her, living in her love. It was not lust — it was a wounded soul clinging to its only solace.

❌ Misunderstood by Many

Unfortunately, some people misinterpret this phase of his life and label Tulsidas as “lustful” or “weak.”

But how can one judge a man who had been denied all forms of love — parental, social, emotional — until marriage?

His love was not lust. It was human. Pure. Honest. Longing.

🔁 From Human Love to Divine Devotion

One day, realizing that Tulsidas’s attachment to her might be pulling him away from God, Ratnavali said these life-changing words:

“If you had loved Lord Rama even half as much as you love this mortal body of mine, your salvation would’ve been guaranteed by now.”

That sentence shook Tulsidas to his core.

That day, he renounced worldly attachment and directed all his love toward Lord Rama.

He didn’t abandon love — he elevated it. He transformed it.

📜 The Devotee Emerges: A Legacy of Bhakti

Tulsidas went on to compose the Ramcharitmanas, a retelling of the Ramayana in the common language (Awadhi) that touched every heart.

He wrote many other immortal works, including Hanuman Chalisa, Vinay Patrika, Kavitavali, and more.

His writings were not just literature — they were cries of devotion, expressions of love, and mirrors of surrender.

👣 The Depth of Devotion: A Famous Story

Once, during a communal feast organized by Saint Namdev, Tulsidas arrived for food but had no leaf-plate (pattal) to eat from.

He placed a devotee’s shoe before him and said:

“If even the dust of a devotee of Rama can touch me, my life will be blessed.”

That was not a man of lust — that was a man of limitless reverence.

💌 Tulsidas: My Ideal Lover

Today, people glorify lovers like Romeo-Juliet, Heer-Ranjha, Laila-Majnun.

But for me, Tulsidas was the truest lover.

He loved with intensity. He loved with surrender.

He was a lover of his wife, and when the time came, he became a lover of God.

True love is not what burns you out. True love elevates you — to the divine.