भरोसो जाहि दूसरो सो करो।
मोको तो रामको नाम कलपतरु कलि कल्यान फरो ॥ १ ॥
करम उपासन,ग्यान,बेदमत, सो सब भाँति खरो।
मोहि तो 'सावनके अंधहि' ज्यों सूझत रंग हरों ॥ २ ॥
चाटत रह्यो स्वान पातरि ज्यों कबहुँ न पेट भरो।
सो हौं सुमिरत नाम-सुधारस पेखत परुसि धरो ॥ ३ ॥
स्वारथ औ परमारथ हू को नहि कुंजरो-नरो।
सुनियत सेतु पयोध पषाननि करि कपि कटक-तरो ॥ ४ ॥
प्रीति-प्रतीति जहाँ जाकी, तहँ ताको काज सरो।
मेरे तो माय-बाप दोउ आखर हौं सिसु-अरनि अरो ॥ ५ ॥
संकर साखि जो राखि कहौं कछु तौ जरि जीह गरो।
अपनो भलो राम-नामहि ते तुलसिहि समुझि परो ॥ ६ ॥Verse 1: Bharoso jāhi dūsaro so karo, Moko to rāmako nāma kalpataru kali kalyāna pharo.
Verse 2: Karama upāsana, gyāna, vedamata, so saba bhānti kharo, Mohi to ‘sāvanake andhahi’ jyon sūjata ranga haron.
Verse 3: Chāṭata rahyo svāna pātari jyon kabahuṁ na peṭa bharo, So hauṁ sumirata nāma-sudhārasa pekhata parusi dharo.
Verse 4: Svāratha au paramāratha hū ko nahi kuñjaro-naro, Suniyata setu payodha paṣānani kari kapi kaṭaka-taro.
Verse 5: Prīti-pratīti jahāṁ jākī, tahāṁ tāko kāja saro, Mere to māya-bāpa dou ākhara hauṁ sisu-arani aro.
Verse 6: Saṅkara sākhi jo rākhi kahaun kachu tau jari jīha garo, Apano bhalo rāma-nāmahi te tulasīhi samujhi paro.
When All Paths Lead to One Name
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of spiritual practices out there? Meditation, yoga, rituals, philosophical study, the options are endless. Now imagine someone standing up and saying, “I respect all of this, but I’ve found my answer in just two syllables.”
That’s exactly what Goswami Tulsidas does in this stunning pada from his Vinay Patrika. And he does it with honesty, humor, and humility.
“Let Others Do What They Will…”
The verse opens with a refreshingly candid statement:
“Bharoso jahi dusaro so karo” – Let those who trust in other paths follow them.
There’s no judgment here, no claim that other paths are wrong. Tulsidas ji simply says: For me, in this Kaliyuga, Ram Naam is my kalpataru, my wish-fulfilling tree.
This is sheer humility. He’s not preaching; he’s sharing his truth.
The Monsoon-Blind Devotee
“Mohi to ‘savanake andhahi’ jyon sujata ranga haron” – Like someone blind to all colors except green during the monsoon, wherever I look, I see only the green of Ram’s Name.
Yes, karma yoga is valid. Yes, meditation and knowledge are true paths (karma upasana, gyan, vedmat; so saba bhanti kharo), all these Vedic methods are completely true. But Tulsidas ji? He’s like someone who only sees green in monsoon season; Ram-Nam is all he perceives, everywhere he looks.
This isn’t ignorance; it’s the beautiful obsession of a devotee who has found his home.
The Hungry Dog Who Found Nectar
Here’s where Tulsidas gets brutally honest about his own past:
“Chatat rahyo svana patari jyon kabahuṁ na peta bharo” – I was like a dog licking empty leaf-plates, never satisfied.
Imagine that image. A stray dog goes from one discarded plate to another, licking scraps, never full. That was him, chasing worldly pleasures, trying different spiritual practices, always left wanting more.
But then came Ram-Nam.
“So hauṁ sumirata nama-sudharasa pekhata parusi dharo”
Suddenly, he’s not licking scraps anymore. The divine nectar (amrit-rasa) is served before him. Not just liberation (mukti), which he says is now within easy reach, but something even greater: divine love (prema-rasa).
This is profound. Tulsidas is saying that through the Name, he’s transcended even the desire for liberation. He’s drinking the nectar that liberated souls crave.
The Bridge That Defies Logic
In the Ramayana, when Hanuman’s Vanar army built a bridge to Lanka by writing “Ram” on stones that miraculously floated?
“Suniyata setu payodha pasanani kari kapi kataka-taro” – I’ve heard that the monkey army crossed the ocean by building a bridge of stones.
Tulsidas ji invokes this story to make a point: Ram-Nam works. Period.
It’s not a philosophical maybe. It’s not “this might work for some people.” The Name has proven power; it made stones float, helped an army cross an ocean, and defeated evil itself.
“Svaratha au paramaratha hu ko nahi kunjaro-naro”
For him, there’s no “elephant or man” confusion here (a reference to Ashwatthama Deception).
During the Kurukshetra war, there was a critical moment involving deceit and half-truths:
The Incident
Dronacharya, the great warrior and teacher fighting for the Kauravas, was virtually invincible in battle. To defeat him, Krishna suggested a strategy involving his son, Ashwatthama.
The Pandavas killed an elephant named Ashwatthama (not the warrior). Then Bhima loudly announced: “Ashwatthama is dead!”
When Drona heard this, he was devastated, thinking his son had been killed. But he needed confirmation. He turned to Yudhishthira, known for never lying.
Yudhishthira said: “Ashwatthama hathahath, iti nara va kunjara va” (“Ashwatthama is dead – the man or the elephant”)
But as he spoke the last part (“nara va kunjara va” – man or elephant), Krishna had conch shells blown so loudly that Drona couldn’t hear the qualification.
The Result
Drona, believing his beloved son was truly dead, lost his will to fight and was subsequently killed.
Tulsidas’s Point
When Tulsidas says “nahi kunjaro-naro” (not the elephant-or-man confusion), he’s referencing this infamous incident of:
- Ambiguity used for deception
- Half-truths that mislead
- Uncertainty that paralyzes
He’s declaring: Ram-Nam is NOT like that Mahabharata deception. There’s no ambiguity, no half-truth, no confusion about whether it’s effective. It simply WORKS , for both worldly and spiritual goals.
Unlike that tragic moment of doubt and treachery in the Mahabharat, the power of Ram’s Name is certain, clear, and unambiguous.
Ram-Nam accomplishes both worldly and spiritual goals; there’s no doubt about it.
Two Letters = Two Parents
This might be the most tender verse in the entire pada:
“Mere to maya-bapa dou akhara hauṁ sisu-arani aro” – These two letters, ‘Ra’ and ‘Ma’, are my mother and father. I’m just a stubborn child clinging to them.
Picture a small child throwing a tantrum, refusing to let go of their parents’ hands. That’s Tulsidas with the syllables of Ram’s name.
“Priti-pratiti jahan jaki, tahan tako kaja saro” – Where one has love and faith, there one’s work is accomplished.
There’s something profoundly moving about a great scholar and poet describing himself as a child stubbornly holding onto two letters. It strips away all pretense and shows us the heart of bhakti: childlike trust and love.
The Sacred Oath
The final verse carries weight:
“Sankara sakhi jo rakhi kahaun kachu tau jari jiha garo, Apano bhalo rama-namahi te tulasīhi samujhi paro”
With Lord Shiva as my witness, if I’m lying, may my tongue burn and fall out. I’ve realized this truth: my welfare lies only in Ram-Nam.
This isn’t poetic exaggeration. This is a solemn declaration. Tulsidas is staking his reputation, his integrity, everything on this truth.
He’s saying: This isn’t theory. This isn’t philosophy. This is my lived experience.
Why This Matters Today
In our age of spiritual shopping, where we hop from one practice to another, always looking for the next breakthrough, Tulsidas offers something different: depth over breadth.
He’s not saying you must abandon everything else. He’s showing what happens when you commit fully to one path, one practice, one Name.
The beauty is its accessibility. You don’t need:
- A guru’s initiation
- Years of study
- Ritual purity
- High birth
- Wealth
Just two syllables: राम (Ram).
The Revolution in Simplicity
What makes this pada revolutionary is its democracy. The Vedic paths Tulsidas mentions, karma, upasana, and jnana, traditionally required learning, guidance, and specific circumstances.
But the Name?
The Name is available to everyone. The beggar and the king. The learned and the illiterate. The pure and the struggling.
That’s the kalpataru, the wish-fulfilling tree, he’s talking about.
You don’t have to choose Ram-Nam. Tulsidas ji himself says: follow what you trust (bharoso jahi dusaro so karo).
But if you do choose it, choose it with the wholehearted devotion of a child clinging to their parents. Choose it knowing that in Kaliyuga’s complexity, sometimes the simplest path is the most profound.
Two letters. Infinite grace.
राम (Ram)
