Tirumala Tirupati Lord Venkateswara
This is the very first time in three years that I am touching religion on my blog post. Though I agree that all of us can have varied opinions on this post, please ensure that your comments do not hurt the believers and staunch advocates of the Good God. I also wish to express that this post is definitely not open for any argument on this blog site. :-) We respect every fellow reader/writer's opinion and freedom of right. Your comments will be accepted only on this understanding. Thank you.
Last week, I had a chance to visit Tirupathi, Andhra Pradesh, India. I strongly recommend you google for details on the temple if you have no clue what I am talking about. The intent of the post is purely an expression of what I noticed.
Most believers know that it is not the Darshan(chance to see the deity) which you plan but it is the Darshan which He gives. I had heard that, but read this in one of the local restaurants in Tirupathi. Although it does not sound true enough, it is very true. You could be living in the neighbourhood but would not get a chance to visit the temple. There have also been instances when people have gone all the way up the Sapthagiri ( Seven Hills) and have returned with no luck to see the Good God in the Sanctum Sanctorum. I believe this is true of anything special that happens to us in life, and more so when it comes to visiting temples.
As a child, I had a lot of complaints about having to wait in long queues to see God. I remember expressing it quite often while in the queue to see Lord Venkat, the last time we visited Tirupathi. I used to think that there is no point in waiting in a long line, stressing yourself so much for hours together, putting up with the crowd, the sweat, the ache in your feet, the hunger and the boredom that comes soon after you are done with praying for a good score in the upcoming half-yearly exams. :-)
May be this was loud enough, so I never had a chance till last week to visit Tirupathi. May be because times changed as much as my opinions and perspectives, so I got a chance to visit Tirupathi again after many years. I was and am super-thrilled at the idea.
The thronging crowd of devotees,the clean roads, the systematic arrangements to handle the crowd, the amenities required, the easy reach facilities.....
The beautiful scenery, the dense forests, the winding roads, the biting cold breeze....
The busy traffic, the half a dozen languages that you get to hear, the exquisitely done art pieces of the Lord Venkateswara, the varying prices, the smart business men....
The non-stop chanting of the Lord's name, the festivity in the air all the time, the energy levels at any time of the day, the people of varied age groups that you get to see....
All these caught my attention and I saluted the Good God. All for the love of the Good God, the omnipresent.
We continued waiting in the queue. This time I did not have any complaint because my only motive was to see this great deity. I had chanced to draw the picture of Lord Venkateswara five years ago and wondered how long it would take the priests to decorate the deity the way they have been doing over the years. I have heard accounts from people about the long wait and finally when they did get close to the sanctum sanctorum everything about the wait faded in their minds.
The different queues merged at one specific spot and from then on, you are not on your own, because the crowd pushes you and strangely I was not angry, but was very amazed and amused at the eagerness that all of us shared to see the deity.
From my past visit, I was expecting to be able to go as close as possible to the sanctum sanctorum. This time, the queue was stopped about three rooms' distance away from the sanctum sanctorum.
When our turn came, I knew what pushed people to push everyone around..
For the fraction of a minute that I chanced to get to the front of the queue,
I almost lost my grip...
forgot where I was...
everything around me faded...
the crowd did not matter...
there was no ache or pain...
all the complaints vanished...
Nothing, just nothing can equal the grandeur, the sanctity, the divinity, the beauty, the sense of satisfaction, the bliss, the graceful feeling, and the inner sense of happiness when you get a split-second glimpse of the Almighty, Omnipresent Lord Venkateswara's deity at the Tirumala Temple.
When I was guided ( read it as pushed) out of the queue onto the temple courtyard to look at the rest of the grandeur in the form of the Golden Gopuram ( google for this please ), I felt like this whole darshan was an illusion... it was more of a divine picture painted on space as a canvas and wiped off in a magical moment...
I had a glimpse and the illusory effect I have in my mind is never enough to take in all the details of the unreproducible, decorative, supreme, and divine deity in Tirumala.
I want to term this Tirumala Magic. If you get a chance, you are lucky. If you have been getting this chance often, I am sure you will agree.
Last week, I had a chance to visit Tirupathi, Andhra Pradesh, India. I strongly recommend you google for details on the temple if you have no clue what I am talking about. The intent of the post is purely an expression of what I noticed.
Most believers know that it is not the Darshan(chance to see the deity) which you plan but it is the Darshan which He gives. I had heard that, but read this in one of the local restaurants in Tirupathi. Although it does not sound true enough, it is very true. You could be living in the neighbourhood but would not get a chance to visit the temple. There have also been instances when people have gone all the way up the Sapthagiri ( Seven Hills) and have returned with no luck to see the Good God in the Sanctum Sanctorum. I believe this is true of anything special that happens to us in life, and more so when it comes to visiting temples.
As a child, I had a lot of complaints about having to wait in long queues to see God. I remember expressing it quite often while in the queue to see Lord Venkat, the last time we visited Tirupathi. I used to think that there is no point in waiting in a long line, stressing yourself so much for hours together, putting up with the crowd, the sweat, the ache in your feet, the hunger and the boredom that comes soon after you are done with praying for a good score in the upcoming half-yearly exams. :-)
May be this was loud enough, so I never had a chance till last week to visit Tirupathi. May be because times changed as much as my opinions and perspectives, so I got a chance to visit Tirupathi again after many years. I was and am super-thrilled at the idea.
The thronging crowd of devotees,the clean roads, the systematic arrangements to handle the crowd, the amenities required, the easy reach facilities.....
The beautiful scenery, the dense forests, the winding roads, the biting cold breeze....
The busy traffic, the half a dozen languages that you get to hear, the exquisitely done art pieces of the Lord Venkateswara, the varying prices, the smart business men....
The non-stop chanting of the Lord's name, the festivity in the air all the time, the energy levels at any time of the day, the people of varied age groups that you get to see....
All these caught my attention and I saluted the Good God. All for the love of the Good God, the omnipresent.
We continued waiting in the queue. This time I did not have any complaint because my only motive was to see this great deity. I had chanced to draw the picture of Lord Venkateswara five years ago and wondered how long it would take the priests to decorate the deity the way they have been doing over the years. I have heard accounts from people about the long wait and finally when they did get close to the sanctum sanctorum everything about the wait faded in their minds.
The different queues merged at one specific spot and from then on, you are not on your own, because the crowd pushes you and strangely I was not angry, but was very amazed and amused at the eagerness that all of us shared to see the deity.
From my past visit, I was expecting to be able to go as close as possible to the sanctum sanctorum. This time, the queue was stopped about three rooms' distance away from the sanctum sanctorum.
When our turn came, I knew what pushed people to push everyone around..
For the fraction of a minute that I chanced to get to the front of the queue,
I almost lost my grip...
forgot where I was...
everything around me faded...
the crowd did not matter...
there was no ache or pain...
all the complaints vanished...
Nothing, just nothing can equal the grandeur, the sanctity, the divinity, the beauty, the sense of satisfaction, the bliss, the graceful feeling, and the inner sense of happiness when you get a split-second glimpse of the Almighty, Omnipresent Lord Venkateswara's deity at the Tirumala Temple.
When I was guided ( read it as pushed) out of the queue onto the temple courtyard to look at the rest of the grandeur in the form of the Golden Gopuram ( google for this please ), I felt like this whole darshan was an illusion... it was more of a divine picture painted on space as a canvas and wiped off in a magical moment...
I had a glimpse and the illusory effect I have in my mind is never enough to take in all the details of the unreproducible, decorative, supreme, and divine deity in Tirumala.
I want to term this Tirumala Magic. If you get a chance, you are lucky. If you have been getting this chance often, I am sure you will agree.
Comments
Having said that, i also agree that the TTD administration has done a tremendous job in ensuring the smooth functioning especially when the numbers are increasing tremendously. If it wasn't for the top class management, the system would have totally collapsed and nobody would have any interest left to visit the temple in such a chaos inspite of their religious beliefs.
I had been to tirupathi in Dec 2009, and it was a wonderful experience. More than anything, the chilly weather on the hills was amazing..at around 8 in the morning, it almost gave the feeling that we were in Ooty at that time..
On a lighter note... i am not sure why have you written the disclaimer in the first paragraph... you have not written anything in the article to attract derogatory comments.. :)
The disclaimer is because, I have been hearing comments around the money that we need to pay for the darshan, the crowd, the fact that there is a lot of politics and other thoughts that disturb the idea of the Bhakthi :) And not everyone can criticize politely :) That is why I wrote the disclaimer. I publish all the comments that people post on my blog usually, unless I think it might disturb a community or hurt someone :) So, I wanted to make it clear to people that when it comes to the super power, I wont tolerate controversial talks :) I appreciate the time you've taken to read and write on this post. Thanks a bunch!!!
DARSHAN AND JOINING THEM WITH RS50 Q
IF TTD WANTS THEY CAN EVEN CHARGE RS.1000 PER TICKET OR MORE BUT THEY SHOULD PROVIDE DECENT PASSAGE A PARALLEL Q MAY BE CREATED FOR THOSE WHO ARE SICK OR WHO CAN AFFORD TO PAY AND WANT TO HAVE REAL QUICK DARSHAN.CORRUPTION AT ALL LEVELS MUST BE DEALT WITH HARSHLY.
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