Tulsidas - Poet of Ramcharitmanas

Dadi: "Guddu, have you heard of Tukaram - the poet who drowned his poems?"

Guddu: "Yes, Dadi! The one whose poems floated back after 13 days!"

Dadi: "Good memory! Tonight I'll tell you another beautiful story from his life - about how he released his greatest attachment."

Guddu: "What attachment?"

Dadi: "His wife, Ratnavali. Tukaram loved her desperately - so much that he couldn't bear even a moment away from her."

Guddu: "That sounds romantic!"

Dadi: "Too romantic, beta. When Ratnavali went to visit her parents, Tukaram couldn't wait. He set out at night, in a storm, to see her."

Guddu: "In a storm?"

Dadi: "The river was flooded. But his love was blind. He jumped in and swam across, grabbing what he thought was a log to help him float."

Guddu: "What was it really?"

Dadi: "A dead body. He didn't even notice in the darkness. When he reached Ratnavali's house, all the doors were locked. He saw what looked like a rope hanging from her balcony and climbed up."

Guddu: "Let me guess - it wasn't a rope?"

Dadi: "It was a snake! A poisonous snake. But in his obsession, he didn't notice. He knocked on her door, soaking wet, having floated on a corpse and climbed a serpent."

Guddu: "What did she say?"

Dadi: "She lit a lamp, saw the snake, and was horrified. Then she said words that changed his life forever: "If you loved Lord Rama half as much as you love my body, you would be free.""

Guddu: "That's harsh!"

Dadi: "It was, beta. But it was the truth he needed to hear. Tukaram saw himself clearly - a man so attached that he would hug snakes and corpses. Not love, but slavery. Not devotion, but addiction."

Guddu: "What did he do?"

Dadi: "He left that night. He became a wandering monk, composing poetry and singing to God. Eventually, he wrote the Ramcharitmanas - one of the most beloved religious books in history!"

Guddu: "Wait, Dadi - that was Tulsidas, not Tukaram!"

Dadi: "*laughs* You caught me, clever boy! Yes, this story is about Tulsidas, not Tukaram. They were both saint-poets, both devoted, both transformed by hard lessons."

Guddu: "So Tulsidas's wife helped him become a great saint by scolding him?"

Dadi: "Sometimes the people who love us most must say difficult things. Ratnavali didn't hate him - she saw he was wasting his devotion on the wrong thing. She redirected his passion."

Guddu: "Like when you told me I was spending too much time on games instead of studying?"

Dadi: "Exactly! I wasn't being mean - I was helping you redirect your energy. Tulsidas said later, "She was my greatest guru. She showed me my chains. Only one who sees their chains can remove them.""

Guddu: "So he was grateful to her?"

Dadi: "Very grateful. He wrote: "I loved her too much - too much for her good, too much for mine. I made her carry the weight of my completion. No human can carry that weight. It belongs only to God.""

Guddu: "That's deep, Dadi."

Dadi: "The lesson is this, beta: we can love people, but we shouldn't make them our everything. No person can be your whole world. When you do that, you crush them with expectation. Love freely, love fully, but remember - your peace should come from inside, not from anyone outside."

Guddu: "I'll remember that."