Vinaya-Patrika: Selected Works of Gosvami Tulasidasa- A Book of Devotion, Supplication & True Love for God in Set of 2 Volumes (Text in Nagari & Roman with an Exhaustive Translation)

About The Book

The book ‘Vinaya Patrika’ is a magnificent collection of beautiful, soulful and heart-touching prayers written by Gosvämt Tulasidäsa, an illustrious and blessed Indian poet-saint of the 16″ century, who was a prolific writer with wonderful books to his credit, as well as a great devotee of Lord Ram, a manifestation of the Supreme Being. All of Tulsidas’ books are centred on the theme of Lord Ram, but while the rest of them, the most significant being Ram Charit Manas, relate to the Lord’s story in one way or the other, the book ‘Vinaya Patrika’ is his Magnum Opus of Prayers; it is exceptionally rich in its devotional, spiritual and emotional quotient, and is equivalent to the famous Psalms of the Holy Bible, both in its spiritual value as well as in its ability to directly touch the heart, the mind and the soul of a person. In its verses, Tulasidāsa has expressed his anguish at the pain, sufferings and torments that Kaliyuga-the present era of sins, degradation, and degeneration of spiritual and moral values that are marked by lack of Dharma and commitment to serve Lord God has inflicted on living beings, and he asks his beloved Lord Ram to grant peace, solace, succour and redemption to him from all uncertainties, grief and worries that have overtaken him. In this, Tulasidāsa represents all of us in praying to the Lord. The verses of ‘Vinaya Patrika’ are composed in an exemplarily beautiful style of classical Indian poetry, and are set in accordance with the requirements of different tones and tunes of Indian classical music, called the various Raagas, so that they can be sung most melodiously and soulfully, which in turn plays the emotional string of one’s heart and stirs the listener as well as the singer to the core of his being, bringing his soul so much the closer to the Lord God. The initial verses of Vinaya Patrikā, i.e. verse nos. 1-61, are dedicated to different deities; the real beauty and wonder of the book begins thereafter, from verse no. 62 onwards, where the prayers are directly addressed to Lord Ram. Taken all-in-all, Vinai Patrika remains an unparallel collection of devotional prayers to Lord Ram.

About the Author

Ajai Kumar Chhawchharia left home when he was approximately 29 years of age due to an inner call of his heart that told him to devote his life in the service of his beloved Lord God, Sri Ram. Worldly attractions did not enchant him at all. So, he didn’t marry, and after his father’s death he came and settled permanently in Ayodhya, the holy town in India associated with Lord Ram. Presently he works as an honorary manager of a world famous Kanak Bhavan Temple at Ayodhya, and spends his time writing in English so that the world can access the wonderful nectar of metaphysical, spiritual and devotional philosophy that is contained in Indian scriptures for which they are so renowned.

Preface

Goswami Tulsidas (birth: Samvat 1589, corresponding to 1532 A.D; death: Samvat 1680, corresponding to A.D. 1623) was one of the greatest saint-poet-philosophers of 16th century India. He was a prolific writer par-excellence of devotional literature, was a realised soul who had established a direct communion with Lord Ram, the incarnate Supreme Being, and the masterly skill and wise craftsmanship with which he weaved great metaphysical and spiritual Truths so intricately into the texts that they gelled in perfectly, comfortably and un-intrusively with the broader framework of texts of his various books have no match in the history of Devotional Hindi Literature of India.