What is the difference between Ramayana and Ram Charit Manas?

When Tulsidas composed Ramcharitmanas, someone asked him, “Baba, why didn’t you name it Ramayana?” Because its name is Ramayana. Just add the words Valmiki Ramayana, Adhyatmik Ramayana. Why did you choose the name Ram Charit Manas?

Baba said – because there is a huge difference between Ramayana and Ram Charit Manas. Ramayana means Ram’s temple, Ram’s house, when we go to the temple, we have to go at a particular time, One has to take a bath to go to the temple. When one goes to the temple, one does not go empty handed; one has to take some flowers or fruits with oneself. There is a condition for going to the temple; one has to go to the temple after being clean.

And Manas means lake, there is no such condition in the lake, there is no time restriction, there is no caste discrimination that only Hindus can take bath in the lake, anyone can be there, no matter what kind of person he is? And when a person is dirty, only then he goes to take bath in the lake. One can sit in mother’s lap at any time and in any way.

Therefore, those who have become pure should go to Ramayana and those who want to become pure should come to Ramcharitmanas. The story of Ram removes the defects of life.

“Ramcharit Manas Ehinama, Sunat Sravana Paaya Vishrama”

When Tulsidas wrote these words on the book, he didn’t write them horizontally, but vertically.

Ram
Charit
Manas

Someone asked Goswami ji why he wrote it standing up, then Goswami ji said Ramcharit Manas is the ladder to see Ram, to meet Ram. Just like when we get our house painted, we put up a wooden ladder, which is called Naseni in our place, which has sticks attached to it.

Goswami ji says that Ramcharit Manas is also a ladder to meet Ram, on placing the foot on its first rung one gets the darshan of Shri Ram Chandra ji, that is, if someone reads only Bal Kand, then he will get the darshan of Ram ji.