Every house should have a tulsi plant, said P.T. Seshadri in a discourse. All the celestials and the Sun reside in tulsi. Brahma resides in the tip of the tulsi leaf. In the middle of the leaf, Lord Narayana and His Consort reside. If a person lights a lamp before the tulsi plant every evening and circumambulates the plant, he will reach Vishnu loka. If a person protects a tulsi pant from being eaten by a goat, then the Lord will protect him. If we consume tulsi leaves that have been offered in worship to Lord Narayana, then we will be cured of diseases. If we wear tulsi bead garlands, then we will attain Brahma tejas. If water that has fallen on a tulsi plant were to fall on us, then we will earn the merit of having had a dip in the Ganges. When Goddess Mahalakshmi emerged from the milky ocean, tulsi also emerged from the ocean. When Sita was in Lanka, as a captive of Ravana, She prayed every day to tulsi.
The Paadma Purana records the glory of tulsi. Sage Narada told Satyabhama, Krishna’s Consort, that he who gives will get something. But he who gives nothing will get nothing. Satybahama wanted Krishna by her side always. So she at once gifted Krishna to Narada, thinking that her act would be rewarded with Krishna staying with her always. But the sage took Krishna with him. He told Satyabhama that if she wanted Krishna back, she would have to give Narada whatever Krishna was worth. Krishna was then weighed and Satyabhama put all her wealth on the other side of the balance. But the balance still remained tilted towards Krishna. Narada then suggested that she place a tulsi leaf on top of all the gold she had placed and when she did that, the scale tilted towards the side holding gold, proving the auspiciousness of tulsi. Just one leaf of tulsi had so much merit.