The Holy Basil

What do you think of first when I say “Basil”? Pesto sauce, or the yummy “green gravy pasta” as my girls call it or then pesto chicken maybe! While Italian Basil or Sweet Basil is a similar variety, the Holy Basil refers to what is known commonly in India as the “Tulasi” (तुलसी / तुळस).

Many of you would have noticed the Tulasi Vrindavan in front of many Hindu homes.

In the month of Kartik, just after Diwali, the तुलसी विवाह (Tulasi Vivaah - Marriage Ceremony of the Tulasi Plant) is celebrated all over India.

The Tulasi leaf is a must in every pooja, as also in every prasad or naivedyam.

Many older folks eat a tulsi leaf or two daily.

The younger folks may be acquainted with the Tulasi Green Tea!!!

In Hinduism, Tulasi is considered the most favourite of Lord Vishnu. He wears a garland of Tulsi leaves and no offering is considered complete without it.

Why is so much importance attached to this plant?

While researching this topic, I realized that the Tulasi plant finds mention in many different scriptures

– the Skanda Purana talks about the Tulasi plant itself being a place of pilgrimage; the Padma Purana states that the aroma of Tulasi purifies the surroundings, the Garuda Purana directs that no pooja, bath, food or drink is complete without Tulasi and so on. Charak, one of the early Physicians of Ancient India has mentioned it in his book - the Charak Samhita.

This shows the importance our ancestors attached to it.

Research on the shrub itself showed that it has a fragrant aroma and many medicinal properties right from being a good anti-oxidant to calming mind, anti-viral, anti-fungal, good against stomach infections and the list went on. From food, to medicine, to oils – for internal consumption as well as external use, the diminutive Tulasi shrub is highly effective in imparting clarity and lightness to body, mind and spirit.

Probably our ancestors realized the that this herb has very powerful applications.

Generally, connecting to Religion or God is a good way to get people to do things and that could have been the reason that the plant got associated with the Lord – just so that it finds it way in each home!

Having the Tulasi Vrindavan in your courtyard would ensure that everyone takes in the aroma on the way in and out, thereby benefiting from its purifying qualities.

Making it compulsory for prasad/naivedyam would mean that it gets consumed by the devotees and by the animals, and fish in the rivers (in the form of nirmalya) thereby improving their health and constitution.

The Shloka to be chanted when worshipping the Tulasi plant is –

यन्मूले सर्वतीर्थानि यन्मध्ये सर्वदेवताः। यदग्रे सर्ववेदाश्च तुलसि त्वां नमाम्यहम्।।

It means –

यन्मूले सर्वतीर्थानि - at whose roots are all the holy places

यन्मध्ये सर्वदेवताः - at whose middle reside all the Gods

यदग्रे सर्ववेदाः च* - at whose tip are all the Vedaas

तुलसि त्वां नमामि अहं* - O Tulasi, I pay obeisance to you

The gist of this Shloka is that

spending time near a Tulasi plant is like a pilgrimage (very beneficial);

touching and worshipping it is akin to worshipping all the Gods at one go;

and eating a leaf will make you all-knowing and wise.

Thus, one is urged to respect all the parts of the Tree.

If you have a Tulasi plant at home, sit at it when doing your morning meditation and Shanti mantra recitation (covered in an earlier blog) and reap the benefits of this humble shrub!

* - संधि-विग्रहः / Sandhi Vigraha - Two words joined in shloka have been separated.