38 (#1). Jagadguru Rambhadracharya.(Photo in # 385)
Swami Rambhadracharya was born on 14 January 1950 as Giridhar Mishra.He is a great religious leader, an educationalist, a scholar in Sanskrit, a polyglot, a spontaneous poet, an author, a philosopher, a commentator, a composer, a playwright, a singer and a Katha artist based in Chitrakoot in India.
Who could think or even believe when told that such a great accomplish-er has been blind ever since he was a small baby!
Rambhadracharya has been blind since the age of two months, but he has never used Braille or any other aid to learn or compose.
He is one of four incumbent Jagadguru Ramanandacharya, and has held this title since 1988. Rambhadracharya is the establisher and head of Tulsi Peeth, a religious and social service institution named after Tulsidas the famous saint. It is located in Chitrakoot.
He is the founder and lifelong chancellor of a University for the Handicapped in Chitrakoot, which offers graduate and postgraduate courses exclusively to disabled students.
Rambhadracharya can speak 22 languages, and is a spontaneous poet and writer in Hindi, Sanskrit, and several other languages.
He has composed more than 90 works, including four epic poems, a Hindi commentary on Ramacharitamanas of Tulsidas, a Sanskrit commentary on the Ashtadhyayi in verse form, and Sanskrit commentaries on the scriptures Prasthanatrayi.
He is regarded as one of the greatest authorities on Tulsidas in India and is the editor of the critical edition of Ramcharitmanas. He is a katha artist and his Katha programs are held regularly in different cities in India and other countries, and are telecast on television channels like Sanskar TV and Sanatan TV.
(To be continued...)