Tulsidas

 The story you’re referring to is about Tulsidas, the great devotee of Lord Rama and author of the Ramcharitmanas. This incident is said to have transformed his life.

🌊 The Story: Crossing the River for His Wife

Before becoming a saint, Tulsidas was deeply attached to his wife, Ratnavali.

One day, Ratnavali went to her father’s house across the river without informing him. When Tulsidas returned home and found her gone, he became extremely restless and couldn’t bear the separation.

It was night, and the river (often said to be the Yamuna) was in flood due to heavy rain. Despite the danger:

• He swam across the flooded river in the dark.
• Legend says he unknowingly used a dead body as a float, thinking it was a log.
• He climbed into her room by holding onto what he thought was a rope, which was actually a snake.

So intense was his attachment that he didn’t notice any of this.

💬 Ratnavali’s Words That Changed His Life

When Ratnavali saw him, she was shocked and ashamed. She told him:

“If you had even half this love for Lord Rama instead of this body of mine made of flesh and bone, you would attain salvation.”

Her words struck him deeply.

🙏 The Turning Point

That night transformed Tulsidas. He realized his worldly attachment and renounced family life. He left home, became a devotee of Lord Rama, and later composed the Ramcharitmanas, which became one of the most important devotional texts in Hinduism.

✨ Moral of the Story

• Intense attachment can be redirected toward spiritual growth.
• Sometimes harsh truth from loved ones leads to awakening.
• Transformation can happen in a single moment of realization.

If you’d like, I can also tell this story in a short dramatic storytelling style.

Don't let yesterday use up too much of today." ~ Will Rogers

 Don't let yesterday use up too much of today." 

~ Will Rogers

The epitaph on Shakespeare's grave is a curse.

 Yes, it is — and a famously blunt one.

The epitaph on the grave of William Shakespeare in the Holy Trinity Church reads:

Good friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear,

To dig the dust enclosed here.

Blest be the man that spares these stones,

And curst be he that moves my bones.

It’s essentially a warning: leave the grave undisturbed or be cursed.

Why the curse?

In Shakespeare’s time, it was not uncommon for graves to be disturbed. Sometimes bones were removed to make room for new burials. The curse was likely meant to discourage anyone from relocating or tampering with his remains.

Whether Shakespeare himself wrote it isn’t certain, but tradition strongly suggests he did.

And interestingly — it seems to have worked. His grave has never been moved.

Zen. Farmer horse son. What is is. Let us see

Zen. Awareness behind thoughts

SRM

 

Ramana Maharshi

Did he have cancer?

Yes. In 1948, Ramana Maharshi was diagnosed with sarcoma (a type of cancer) in his left arm. Despite multiple surgeries and treatments, the cancer returned. He left his body in 1950 at Sri Ramanasramam in Tiruvannamalai.

Was it caused by smoking dangerous plants?

No credible historical record suggests that his cancer was caused by smoking plants or intoxicants. Ramana was not known for drug use. Accounts from devotees and biographers describe him as living a very simple, austere life.

Was it because of enlightenment?

From a medical standpoint, cancer is a biological disease involving abnormal cell growth. Enlightenment does not cause cancer.

From a spiritual standpoint (especially Advaita Vedanta, which Ramana embodied):

• Ramana consistently taught: “I am not the body.”
• When asked about his illness, he reportedly said, “The body has its own karma.”
• He showed remarkable equanimity toward pain, often refusing special treatment.

So two perspectives can exist at once:

1. Medical view:
   His physical body developed sarcoma.
2. Non-dual (Advaita) view:
   The Self (pure awareness) is untouched by birth, illness, or death. The body-mind appears and disappears in consciousness.

Your reflection — “He did not get cancer; the body did” — aligns closely with Ramana’s own teaching. However, that is a metaphysical interpretation, not a medical explanation.

Did he suffer?

Witnesses say he experienced physical pain but showed extraordinary peace. He did not deny the body’s condition — he simply did not identify as it.

One of his well-known responses when devotees wept about his illness was:

“Where can I go? I am here.”

If you’d like, we can explore this deeper:

• The Advaita understanding of illness and karma
• How Ramana described pain vs. suffering
• Or how enlightenment relates to the body

Tell me which direction you’d like to go.

Benny Benjamin. Benimadhav