Tulsidas
Tulsidas (1532-1623) was the author of the great bible of the Hindi-speaking peoples, the Hindi Ramayana called Sacred Lake of the Deeds of Rama.
O Madhava! Such is your mystic power of illusion [maya]; however much one may strive, one does not overcome it unless and until You bless with Your grace. . . . Knowledge, devotion, manifold spiritual means-- all these are of course true; none of these is false; but Tulasi says in full confidence that the grace of the Lord alone can dispel that illusion.
[From Vinayapattrika, No. 120]
Many are the means of crossing over the ocean of transmigration which the pure words of the Vedas speak of. But Tulasi says: "Real happiness of heart cannot be attained without giving up the ideas of 'I' and 'mine.'
Source: De Bary, WM. Theodore. Sources of Indian Tradition. New York: Columbia University Press, 1958.
Source: De Bary, WM. Theodore. Sources of Indian Tradition. New York: Columbia University Press, 1958.
