Tirumala, heaven on earth…

Tirumala, the temple town on the pinnacle of the seventh hill of Venkatadiri is “Vaikuntam” or heaven on earth. The abode of the Lord Venkateshwara has inspired me over the years and I have visited his abode many times and shall continue to do so for as long as I am around. When I intuitively know it is time to be rejuvenated it is not a spa or a beach resort that I yearn for but his abode. I was in Tirumala last week, traveling from Bangalore by road. It takes around five hours to reach the city of Tirupati with a few short breaks in between. Tirupati is the pilgrimage town in Chitoor district of Andhra Pradesh. From Tirupati ( at the base of Tirumala ) I prefer walking up to Tirumala. The path winding through two of the seven hills is approximately twelve kilometers long and it takes another four hours to reach Tirumala with not too many stops in between. The foot trail commences at Allipri.

Walking up to Tirumala has given me more joy than anything else in this world. The four hours quite literally fly and I have always been fascinated with my ever surging energy levels. My energy levels are nowhere this high on other steep walks I have attempted and which last a fraction of the time too. The first hour and a half of the climb is quite difficult as the gradient is very steep and approximately a little over thousand steps in rapid succession are to be traversed before one reaches “Namala Konda “. After which, the  stretch is no more a knee breaker and there is a good ten meters between each step. There is approximately a two kilometer walk along the ghats road in between and which is relatively easy. The last stretch of steps which takes us to the “Galligopuram” is again a knee breaker. The footpath was the only means to reach Tirumala long before the ghats roads were constructed. This remains the stairway to heaven where great saints like Ramanajucharya and Annamaya once traversed and wearing footwear would be sacrilegious on this holy route.

Faith – What is “faith”? What faith does one have to follow an arduous path to the Lord and not take the easy road to him ?Observing the faith in those who take this path to the Lord is fascinating. There is but utmost devotion in them. There are some who apply turmeric , sandalwood and vermillion paste on every step along the way. There are some who light camphor on every step, there are some who carry children and walk, while there are some who walk on their knees. I just walk and I enjoy watching everything around me. I enjoy watching the aged walk so effortlessly. Where does this ninety year old man get the strength from? His younger family members cling to him for support. Breathlessly this man walks in utmost veneration.

I saturate my senses with the sight of the crimson skies and the emerald flora, I listen to the rustling leaves, I bask in the wisps of the evening cold fog setting in, I watch the most lovable pair of eyes that peer at me through the fences of the deer park, I hear the munching of carrots that the velvet patched deers feast on, I listen to vendors selling hot chilli “bajjis”, I listen to trickling water through the facade of a cliff by the path, I hear the shouting of ” Govinda Govinda” by the pilgrims, I notice the stone statues of the “Alvars” who dedicated their lives to the service of the Lord,I hear the chanting of the Vishnu Sahasranama being uttered by the angelic MS Subbalakshmi  ( being played in the loud speakers all along the twelve kilometer stretch), I think of MS and I remain fascinated with MS’s love for her Lord, widely extolled and which reverberates through the seven hills, I visit Lord Hanuman’s many temples along the way, One of the hills named after his beloved Mother Anjana Devi, I utter the chalisa, I know I am close to heaven.

On reaching Tirumala what more would an ardent devotee want other than seeing the Lord in the sanctum sanctorum of the Ananda Nilayam.  A fleeting glimpse of him is all that it takes to will the weakest to conquer the greatest of heights.Amongst the chanting of millions of voices I know he listens to my voice too. He always has. In times of my greatest trials and tribulations, he has been there. For no words would do justice to express my love for the Lord of the seven hills. Splendid and bedazzling in his diamonds, rubies and emeralds, he watches and he listens. No offering is too big or too small, he accepts them all and from all. From Krishna Deva Raya to Vijay Mallya to Mukesh Ambani to the poor unknown cobbler to the countless nameless and the faceless, each offering a token of devotion. Tirumala remains the richest temple in the world. The love for the Lord vibrates through the temple complex, the Lord’s love electrifies Tirumala and beyond. For no one can explain the miracles of the Lord and it would be inappropriate even for me to share some of my own personal experiences on a public space.

I share an article on the Lord, a personal favorite of mine by M Raghu Ram

The unique idol of Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala, the most popular and bounteous pilgrimage center in the country, is believed to be the first image of any god or goddess that manifested spontaneously and is the source of Archa or idol worship so common in India today

>The rich imagination of Brahmanical literature describes him as the Lord of numerous universes: the root of the phenomena of Creation, Life, Living, Events, Change et al as the Preserver of the Hindu Trinity. Sri Venkateswara Swami, or Tirupati Balaji, is the presiding deity of the famous and bounteousTirumala temple.

Over the millennia, the Tirumala temple, near Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, has continued to draw countless devotees who contribute billions of rupees to its kitty. Its mind boggling reserves of pure gold, if unloaded, can crush the world bullion market. Even the Vatican and Mecca cannot match the temple’s popularity nor can the new pilgrimage destinations of India, such as Sabarimalai, Vaishno Devi and Shirdi.

Pilgrims come for fleeting glimpses of the fascinating life-size idol ofBalaji, after inching in long queues for hours and days. Many undertake the pilgrimage asking for favors to mark various transitions in life or simply to offer their hair, tiny silver or gold bits or images of the deity. The shrine is an integral part of life and culture especially in the three southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

The devotees, however, cut across all barriers of region or religion. For the Dutch Peter who recently converted to Vedic Hinduism through the TM (transmeditation) route, the deity represents pure consciousness. The miracle of survival amidst recurring destitution and godsent jobs to the family of Fathima, a Muslim devotee, is a moving story. Dr Loy Camoens, a devout Latin Catholic and a physician in New Citi Hopsital, Secunderabad, India, requests for the laddu prasad or offerings, from Tirupati and accepts it reverentially. A Jain woman in New Delhi, India, pines for this deity. They are all moved by a spontaneous feeling and urge.

Some leftists, known staunch atheists, have also been drawn to Balaji. The moving force for Sri Sri, an acclaimed Indian poet and Telugu revolutionary, was the maddening jealousy of his fellow litterateurs. Communist leader late C. Rajeswara Rao’s red salute to the deity some years ago had also sparked a controversy.

UNUSUAL ICON

Venkateswara is not a name but a title. Vem-kata means one who cuts or washes away one’s sins.

The unique idol in Tirumala is a riddle to unravel. Everything begins and ends or is reduced to sunyam(nothingness) before him, while the infinite world pens to the sincere seeker with an infinitesimal offering. This is because spiritual wealth through devotion is the basis of life and action in theism.

There are millions of gods in Hinduism but there is ultimately only one God. All God’s attributes are to be found in Vishnu, in yoganidra (yogic sleep) or Sri Ranganathaswami (Lord of the creation) who chose to descend on the earth as Yoga Murti (idol), Balaji. Thus, Balaji is not an avatar of Vishnubut Vishnu himself.

The deity also represents the God of Justice, according to V.G. Pragasam, Advocate-on-Record, Supreme Court of India. He is blindfolded by the Namam or forehead mark; the scales of justice are his two wives on either side of his chest with the sword of justice hanging in between. With his slim and black figure, the deity is said to represent Shani (Saturn). He subjects one to the trying period ofShanidasa and metes out the package of rewards and punishments in the material and spiritual spheres.

Interestingly, the image in the temple is most unlike the portrait in the ubiquitous pictures, admits M. Srinivasa Bhattacharyulu, an adviser to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), which manages the affairs of the temple. In the portraits, the deity’s chubbiness, facial appearance and sword visibly dangling below his chest are all misleading. The Dhruva Beram (the standing idol of the deity) has aSrivatsa mark in the middle of the chest instead of the left breast which encloses a half-inch Lakshmi (Goddess of wealth and divine consort of Lord Vishnu) sculpture.

When installed and consecrated in a temple, any form of Vishnu is said to create peace, nourishment and happiness for devotees. Balaji is one of the eight Swayam Vyakta Sthalas(spontaneous image locations) in India and Nepal, Bhattacharyulu elaborates.

You don’t need to go to Tirumala to fathom the Lord’s mystique or greatness. Mere listening to the wondrous compositions of his noblest and humblest devotees, like Annamacharya or Tyagaraja, Alvars Pasurama and Purandara Dasa, suffices. They combine the quintessence of the Vedasand the Upanishads.

There is a controversy about the deity representing Shakti ( divine consort of Lord Shiva as well as Goddess representing female power) and Shiva as some rituals and traditions signify. The first three Alvars describe him as a combination of Vishnu and Shiva. Dr Medasani Mohan, director, Bhagavatha Project, TTD, attests to the idol having jatas (locks of hair) of Shiva and chiselled out bosom of Shakti when observed from close quarters during the prolonged Abhishekam Seva (holy bath) when the idol is undressed.

But Bhattacharyulu contradicts this theory. Normally the lions atop the Vimanam (roof) are taken as proof of its being a Shakti temple. But he says they are mere guards as in Badrinath and other Vaishnavite shrines.

A DAY IN THE DEITY’S LIFE

His day begins with the Melu Kolupu Paata (awakening song) sung by the descendants of Annamacharya, followed by Sri Venkateswara Suprabhatam.

A traditional cowherd or Yadava is given the first darsan or holy sight of the idol, of the day. The recitation of the deity’s 1,008 names is begun in the name of Hathiram Bavaji, a 15th century seeker from North India. The Muthyala (pearls) Harathi at night and Pavalimpu Seva (putting the deity to sleep) is done in the name of Tarikonda Venku Mamba, a rebel, writer and staunch woman devotee.

The Lord is said to go down the hills to neighbouring Tiruchanur to see his consort, Sri Padmavathy, by using the large shoes made as an offering by a Madiga “untouchable” and returns early for the morning sevas or services.

Sri Ramanujacharya, the 12th century reformer and Vaisnavite saint, laid down a comprehensive system of organization, management and worship, which survives to this day in Tirumala. The daily worship was institutionalized by 1200 AD. It represents a notable exception to the casteist and dominant Brahmanism even in the early part of the millennium, mainly due to Ramanuja’s towering stature.

AN ENDURING PHENOMENON

The geography of the central hill ranges of the Eastern Ghats of India, is compared by the puranas or ancient texts, to a huge recumbent cobra or Adisesha. The Jyotirlinga of Sri Mallikarjuna Swami in Srisailam temple is located on its tail, Sri Narasimha Swami Temple in Ahobilam on its back, Sri Venkateswara temple atop its hood like the dancing Krishna (though the temple is noted for its location in the low of the last hill rather than the peak) and Sri Kalahasti temple of Shiva at the opening of its mouth.

Surprisingly, despite the hill’s topography suiting military operations, which were frequent in the region, the Balaji temple remained miraculously untouched, even by the infamous iconoclast Aurangzeb’s (the last of the Great Mughal Emperors) plundering and pillaging army.

Ancient references to the deity and the purifying hill even before the advent of the deity are many. They go back to the Rig-Veda. Some described only the purifying hill, others mentioned the Lord who absolves sins and presides over the hill, but not any temple. The puranas refer to the Tirumala hill as Venkatadri or Venkatachala.

According to the Hindu epic Ramayana, Lord Rama, one of Lord Vishnu’s incarnations, and hisVanara (monkeys) army marching to Lanka for war with Ravana halted here on the request of Anjana Devi, the mother of Hanuman. The Mahabharata, the longest epic in the world, describes thetransformation of the departed spirit of Sri Krishna, after it entered the solar disc, into a lifeless four-armed image, which was to descend to Earth. An ethereal voice told the assembled devas or gods that it was to be worshipped in Kaliyuga, the present era of darkness and ignorance, as an easy means for seeking personal salvation. This is believed to be the Tirupati deity. The eighth century Tamil classic Silappadikaram quotes a pilgrim’s description of the deity.

WHY IDOL WORSHIP

Idol worship is not animism practised by the so-called primitive peoples and cultures, as colonialist anthropology would have us believe. Faith in it opens up many gates of spirituality. A recent book on the first encounter of medieval Arabian Muslims with idol worship in India reveals their curiosity and respect for this path to God-realization instead of intolerant iconoclasm they became infamous for.

Esoteric Brahmanism which evolved a complex system of Archa or image worship is rooted in Balaji’s idol. The deity is the first image of any god or goddess that manifested spontaneously.

Bhakti (devotion) path has nothing to do with sandhya, vandana, japa and other rituals, which are all means of worship and are all right, but worship of divine images is accorded primacy in bhakti or devotion. Attachment to the deity’s image detaches the devotee fromsamsara, this world, and enables him to realize the supreme being as Narayana.

It is worth noting that Balaji’s right hand is pointing downward towards his feet just above the knee, indicating that worshipping him will liberate one from kneedeep illusions of worldly existence.

Thus, not only is the main idol in Tirumala believed to be of divine origin, it is also connected with divine sanction for Archa worship. The earlier yugas or eras, offered a tough yogic path of penance, mental concentration and meditation. Archa is to enable all in Kaliyuga, the present era of darkness, to achieve God realization through less tedious means of intense love and devotion.

Lord Venkateswara is also known as Pratyaksha Daivam (manifest divinity) who helps his devotees in distress even if they do not or cannot help themselves, thus contradicting a simplistic adage. This is, of course, linked to one’s yogam or spiritual entitlement.