'Gandhi was assassinated because he agreed to partition.'...'Chinese are shrewd and cruel people'...'Communism    means to oppose any development initiative'...'Nehru and his policies screwed India'...

At times, it occurs to me that we live in a world where everybody has an 'opinion' on everything, or rather i should say 'an expert opinion'

When I was a child, the first 'big' story book I came across was 'Ramcharitmanas'. When my grandfather handed it to me, he remarked that Goswami Tulsidas decided to pen this epic after 20 years of dedicated research and study of several great works of Hindu mythology. 'He took 20 years to start writing? Must be a really dumb fellow!' Thats what I felt at the age of eight....

I still do not consider 'Ramcharitmanas' a literary marvel, probably because of my antipathy towards Ram or because the style of writing does not appeal to me in the same way as do those of Kabir, Meera or Raheem, the other contemporaries of Tulsidas. However, I can never deny the fact that not only Ramcharitmanas is the most celebrated and revered epic poem of all times but also it revolutionized several facets of religion and literature by making both of them accessible to the masses. Moreover, it is undoubtedly the most loved work of literature in the country. 

Creating any such phenomenal work seeks countless years of perseverance,  seeks a thorough study of the subject and seeks humility to know more, understand better. 

"Swantah sukhaya Tulasi Raghunath Gatha" (I have sung this song of Lord Ram for self satisfaction). These words speak of humility borne out of knowledge and it is this humility where the poet's greatness lies.

The question is, Can we bring about an constant thirst for perfection that does not allow us to settle for something mediocre or shallow? Can we bring about the same urge for knowledge, an eye for every minute detail, a continuous pursuit for excellence, in everything we do, opine or ideate?