@teNaLi raMan@

Introduction

Countless stories are told about the wit and the wisdom of Ramakrishna. A poor orphan in his boyhood, he rose to be the favorite adviser of a powerful king. A scholar and a poet, Ramakrishna exposed superstition and stupid pride to ridicule.

Tenali Ramakrishna

Both man and animals weep. But only man laughs.Laughter brings a sense of lightness and freshness and infuses a new spirit.All people laugh; but only a few can make others laugh. And only a specially gifted man can make a king, careworn with the burden of administration, laugh!Laughter mirrors a man's nature. What does a man laugh at, whom does he make fun of and why-these can show how mature his mind is. A person, who laughs at the lame and the blind or at those who slip and fall on the road, shows his immaturity. So also the man who laughs in his vanity or to hurt the feelings of others. But humor which shows the foolish pride of others and tries to correct others is good humor which comes from a mind free from poison is good humor.
In olden times court jesters wereappointed to crack jokes and to amuse kings. Among these jesters the most famous was Tenali Ramakrishna. In any situation he had the right word and the right action to provoke the king and his courtiers to laughter. He became so famous that, if we want to praise any man's sense of humor, we call him a Tenali Ramakrishna.Ramakrishna was born in a village called Garlapadu in Andhra State during the early part of the sixteenth century. (Some people say that he was born in Tenali.) His father Ramaiah died when Ramakrishna was very young. The boy was deprived of his father's love. His mother Lakshmamma returned to her native place Tenali to live with her brother. Ramakrishna grew up in his uncle's town and so came to be known as Tenali Ramakrishna.Ramakrishna's mother was very anxious to educate her son. Those were days when the Vaishnavas were powerful. They thought one caste was superior and another inferior; they treated people according to their caste. There were many Vaishnava teachers in the place; they refused to teach Ramakrishna because he was a Shaiva.Ramakrishna was not at all grieved by this. He became carefree. From morning till night he was in the company of naughty boys; he was quite happy eating the mango, apple and tamarind he stole from gardens.Ramakrishna's mother was miserable because her son was utterly illiterate. She did odd jobs in many houses and fed- herself and her boy.