Glories of Srimati Tulasi Devi
By Bharath Singh
Srimati Tulasi devi is one of the most exalted devotees of Sri Krishna. All scriptures stress the importance of getting the mercy of Tulasi devi if one is to make progress on the path of devotion. In the Skanda Purana it is said:
“Tulasi is auspicious in all respects. Simply by seeing, simply by touching, simply by remembering, simply by praying to, simply by bowing before, simply by hearing about or simply by sowing this tree, there is always auspiciousness. Anyone who comes in touch with the Tulasi tree in the above-mentioned ways lives eternally in the Vaikuntha world.”
Above this material world is the eternal spiritual world comprised of millions of Vaikuntha planets. The topmost planet in Vaikuntha is Goloka, which is presided over by Sri Krishna in His original Form. Here resides Vrinda devi, an intimate associate of and an expansion of Srimati Radharani. Her partial expansion is Tulasi devi in the Vaikuntha planets and they are all considered non-different from Her. Five thousand years Ago, when Sri Krishna descended on Earth to perform His pastimes, Vrinda devi created the proper environment for His pastimes in Vrindavana.
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