Ramanisblog

Tag: Tirupati

  • Devotion Out Of Fear Is Fine

    Recently I had been to Palani,Tamil Nadu for performing the hair Tonsuring Ceremony of my Grand daughter.

    Palani Temple,Tamil nadu
    Palani Temple

    My son who is neither a Believer nor a Non Believer, depends on his mood swings, as it is with most of us(only he is honest about it),as usual posed a question as to whether it is really Fear that impels one towards Devotion.

    This question has a bearing to his statement the earlier Day and my reply.

    He said he did not believe in Customs and is following because he is told so, so as not to offend me.

    I replied him that there are things one learns in Life by experiences and  times by paying a heavy price.

    It is better looking foolish than to suffer and regret.

    I also added, that , as far as visiting Temples to complete a Vow or a Family tradition,one must never set a time frame for completion of the Ceremony and for that matter visiting and darshan of God, when he asked me as to when we are expected to return after completion of the Ceremony, wanted a time frame.

    I narrated an earlier incident when I visited Tirupati to have a darshan of Lord Balaji along with my 8year Old Daughter and my nephew.

    My Nephew is quite religious and is a senior Guru for visiting Sabari malai, which he has been visiting yearly for over forty years regularly.

    While we were driving to Tirupati from Chennai he told me that ‘

    ‘Ramani, we need Five  hours to travel both ways, take one hour for darshan in Special Entrance, leave a buffer of  an hour and we should be back by

    One PM( we left Chennai by 6 AM)

    I told him not to set a time frame to the One who sets Time for Every One, that too, to Lord Venkateswara.

    He laughed off saying that I am a Superstitious Fool.

    We reached Tirupati, entered the Special Entrance, queue,into the Single lane fenced by iron barrier, from where one can not come back before the darshan is over.

    We were made to wait for Seventeen Hours to have the darshan .

    Imagine my plight as my daughter refused to get down from my Hips and I had  to attend to her calls of Nature, demand for Food!

    From that day I stopped even discussing the plans.

    As I remarked in one of my Posts, I leave for visiting Tempe,s with no fixed Plan and cover them as I go by and I have been Blessed with immediate and Easy darshan of the Deity, wherever I go.

    It was against this background my son told me that I follow Religious Rites, believe In God,being Spiritual because of Fear.

    I do not know.

    Fear of the Unknown is nothing to be ashamed of and I admit to being guilty of this.

    People do not admit it, I do.

    Thirukkural, a treatise in Tamil on par with The Bhagavad Gita says.

    அஞ்சுவ தஞ்சாமை பேதைமை யஞ்சுவ       அஞ்சுவது அஞ்சாமை பேதைமை அஞ்சுவது
    தஞ்ச லறிவார் தொழில் (08)                              அஞ்சல் அறிவார் தொழில்.
    இதன்பொருள்:
    அஞ்சுவது அஞ்சாமை பேதைமை- அஞ்சப்படுவதனை அஞ்சாமை பேதைமையாம்; அஞ்சுவது அஞ்சல் அறிவார் தொழில்- அவ்வஞ்சப்படுவதனை அஞ்சுதல் அறிவார் தொழிலாம்.
    It is Foolishness not to be afraid of what is to be afraid of.
    The Wise fear what is to be feared.
    The question as to why man believes in God is often explained as “Fear’ (in a derisive manner)
    All our actions are impelled by Emotions or Instincts.
    We eat because we are forced to eat because of Hunger, we have Sex because we expect pleasure.
    Similarly if one were to worship and Believe in God because of Fear, Be it.
    So long as  I am happy and believe that something bad will not happen to me and Good alone will result, it does not matter why I and what I believe in.
    Period.

  • Family Deity Personal Deity

    Vedas do not advocate Temple Worship or Collective/Public Worship.

    It does not mention Temples at all.

    Yet Hinduism has many Gods and Temples.

    For an explanation please read my post God has Name and Form, Yes and No, as entering this topic will take us away from the present post.

    Every family, by custom, has a Family Deity குல தெய்வம்

    Any auspicious function should be preceded by a Pooja first to this Deity.

    It is mandatory to visit the Temple of the Deity, at least once a year.

    Customs vary with regard to the Poojas being performed for the Deity.

    Some times it happens(which should not), the children  are not  informed of the Family Deity by the Elders.

    As a Result. the generation remains ignorant of the Family Deity.

    In such cases, one can ask  Family elders who are still alive.

    If this attempt fails, check the names of your ancestors on your Father’s( for men only) side., for  minimum three generations.

    The family custom is to name the first child of the Family after the Family Deity.

    If the Family Deity is a Female, and the eldest of the Family is a Male, check if a female name is given for  a male , as in Kamakshi (and for Female the reverse).

    And that will be your Family Deity.

    The most common name will be your Family Deity.

    Otherwise continue The present Deity( of which you are unsure) and if a Saivaite have Subramanya as an additional Family Deity and if a Vaishnavaite, have Lord Balaji of Tirupati.

    If you are sincere in your quest you will get the name of the Deity from unexpected quarters..

    Personal Deity-இஷ்ட தெய்வம்

    Many have some special attachment to some Deity other than the Family  Deity.

    One can worship that as well.

    Abirami, Thirukkadavur(Thirukkadayur)
    Abirami, Thirukkadavur(Thirukkadayur)

    But the first  Pooja or priority should be for the Family Deity.

    For instance our family Deity is Pazhani Dhandayudhapani.

    My Personal Deity is Thirukkadiyur Abirami.

    I follow both.

    There is a small story about my personal Deity.

    I have studied the Vedas under His Holiness Abhinava Vidyathhertha Swamigal of Sringeri Mutt.

    He taught me the Pancha Suktas,( Purusha Sukta,Narayana Sukta, Vishnu Sukta,Sri Sukta and Durga Sukta) and Sri Rudram and Chamakam, among many other things.

    I was enamored of Sri Rudram, am even now.

    I used  to recite quite often.

    One day I visited my niece’s house( sister’s daughter, she is elder to me)

    Her hsuband who was a close friend of mine was doing Pooja to Goddess Lalitha.

    Despite learning from the Great man , I used to be playful, even now, on many aspects.

    Instead of attending to Pooja, I asked my niece what she has cooked for the day.

    She replied that she had prepared my favourite dishes but I  must wait till the Naivedyam (Nivedan ) is over.

    Her husband performed the Arati and as he came out,  said’

    ‘ I am doing every thing for you and you are calling out my husband’s name”

    I was confused.

    I asked my niece,

    She was also perplexed for she had never seen her husband talking like this.

    No doubt he was a pious man , but not to the extent of being immersed in God.

    He came out and I asked him what he meant.

    He replied that he did not know what he said and asked me to confirm what I said “he said’

    He paused for  a moment  and asked me whether I was doing the Sri Rudram recitation.

    When I said yes he said to me.

    ” Fool(மடையா  (Goddess Lalitha is saying that she is giving every thing to you and you are reciting Rudra, her Husband, You worship her”

    I left it at that , ate a hearty meal and came Home.

    Next morning,  I chanced upon a copy of Abirami Andhadhi of Abhirama Bhattar.

    ( Curious thing is I never had a copy of it at home at all, This copy, I chanced upon in my office, where such books have no place-I was International Sales Manager of the organization)

    As I read it, I felt moved and I took the copy.

    Evening, I received a copy of Lalitha Sahasranamam form my friend as a compliment as he did not have much faith in the Mantras.

    In the subsequent days I have received Soundarya Lahari, Shyama Dandakam, a flood,.all free of cost.

    Then I immediately proceeded to Tirikkadayur to see Goddes Abirami.

    I had never been  to Tirukkadayur( actually it is Thitukkadavur).

    On seeing the Idol of Abirami I felt  happy beyond words and felt I was seeing The Mother of All.

    From that day, She became my personal Deity .

    Then on, when ever I feel like seeing her I will hop in any transport and proceed to Tirukkadavur, no planning

    This happens quite often.

    I go there for the Happiness I get on seeing Her and I never ask Her for anything.

    Many call me Superstitious and a Fool.

    If being Superstitious and a Fool brings me Happiness, I am more than happy to be one.

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  • Faith Is What Faith Does Traveler’s Memoirs

    I had been on a trip to Temples of South India for the past five days and that’s the reason I Have not been able  post as much as I would have liked.

     

    Once in about three or four months I get the itch to travel and I prefer temples of India.

     

    While embarking on visit to temples,I wold not call them  Pilgrimage for Pilgrimage is a conscious decision to visit places and com plete the vows.

     

    I do not ask for or pray for anything, for I am convinced long back God knows what I deserve and what ever I get is for my Good,

     

    I visit the Temples for the sheer joy it gives me.

     

    I have learnt  couple of lessons in visiting temples.

     

    The first is never set  a time frame for Darshan.

    Temple Of India
    Temple Of India

    About 23 years back, i went to Tirupati with my nephew with my seven-year Daughter.

     

    My nephew, who is three years younger to me, declared that we would be back in 10 hours at Chennai,six hours for Car travel, two hours for Darshan of Lord Balaji and two hours Margin!

     

    I told him not to set time frame for God for He sets the Time for us.

     

    We went ahead and had a special pass at Rs 150 which entitled on to have Darshan in a Special queue.

     

    Once we entered the inner queue with iron railings from where you can not come out,, we had to wait for 17 hours to have the Darshan!

     

    During this period I had to feed my daughter who refused to come down from my Hip and organise for natural ablutions!

     

    Well, that was that.

     

    From that day I never fix a tome frame to have a Darshan.

     

    I have been visiting temples since then.

     

    When I visit this way, I never had to wait for Darshan and there would be practically be no crowd at all.

     

    Then I  refined this approach, by not  even listing the temples i want to visit, excepting a couple of Temples.

     

    For the rest I go as my mind tells me.

     

    I got better results.

    Later I decided not to use private transport of any special entrance facilities offered at the temple for a quick darshan.

     

    The experience was still better.

     

    This time I had thought of visiting Tirukkadayur(Thirukkakkdavur is the correct pronunciation) and  a vow I had to complete for the natural delivery for my  Daughter in law(she delivered a baby girl seven months back) at Thayumanavar temple at Tiruchi.

     

    Excepting these two I had absolutely no plans.

     

    I ended up with visiting 20 temples in five days with no Private transport, traveling by only by Public transport.

     

    And the Temples were chosen for me by the others!

     

    At Mayiladuthurai, This job was handled by my friend’s(friend since college days since 1967) wife and at Tiruchirapalli by my friend’s daughter who is Computer Professional aged 25!

     

    Believe me not only the visits were better, smoother and the Darshan, the best in my life.

     

    For these people who had done this without any anticipation, six letters of the word Thanks is not enough.

     

    Thank you Ms. Abhayamba Sekaran and Sindhu.

     

    May Goddess Abhirami Bless you.

     

    This trip also reinforced my belief, which I have expressed often , that the present generation of youngsters, obsessed with worldly things and Gadgets are more informed , more helpful and more Religious without pretenses.

     

    To conclude I can only say that Faith is what Faith does.

     

    Note. I will be posting some articles on the Temples I visited with some unique information and Photos.

     

     

     

     

     

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  • ‘Gods In Swings’ India Dolotsavam

    I mentioned in my earlier posts that Gods are worshipped by attributing all the qualities of Man, including what we label as Bad.

     

    Hinduism is a Religion which dares to call God as the Repository of Sorrow.!

     

    ‘Dukka bukh, Dukka Sadhanah’-The Repository of Sorrow and One who is the Instrument to overcome it.(Sri Vishnu Sahasranama)

     

    At the Transcendental or Higher level there is nothing Good or Bad per se as there is The One Reality.

     

    Being  a part of The One(Reality) , the part(Human Beings ) can not be Sinners .

     

    For more on this, please read my Posts under Indian Philosophy,Hinduism).

     

    Hindus worship Gods and Love him more than Fear Him.

     

    He Is treated as Mother, Father, Teacher, Lover, Son and Friend.

     

    For those who treat Him the way one likes, He comes to them in that Form.

     

    Srimad Bhagavad Gita confirms that ‘I shall bestow you all,  in The Form and Name you call  Me’

     

    Lord Krishna was a Charioteer for  Arjuna, Lord Siva appeared as Mother and help delivering a baby(Thayumanavar,Tiruchi);

     

    Lord Siva a son to a Poor woman and got beaten by a Pandya King(Pittukku Man Chumandadau,Madurai)

     

    Lord Siva was treated as a close friend by Sundarar and the Lord went to the extent of personally going to meet up with Sundarar’s Girl Friend to sort out a tiff between Sundarar and Her.

     

    For Thirugnana Sambandar, Goddess Uma gave her Mother’s Milk and was treated as Mother by him.

     

    Goddess Andal, Srivilliputtur pined for Lord Vishnu and he came all the way from Sri Rangam to marry her.

     

    It is a practice in India for the Elders, to bless the young.

     

    To Bless The Lord?

     

    In other Religions it is Blasphemy.

     

    Vishnu chitta, Father of Andal, being the father in Law of Lord Vishnu, Blessed the Lord, by Blessing Him ‘ Long Live for thousands of Years!’, as a Father in law!

     

    பல்லாண்டு பல்லாண்டு பல்லாயிரத்தாண்டு
    பல கோடி நூறாயிரம்
    மல்லாண்ட திண்டோள் மணிவண்ணா
    உன் சேவடி செவ்வித் திருக்காப்பு’

     

    Such being the emotional bond of the Hindus with God, there is no wonder that The Hindus treat Gods as they would by conducting all the Rituals associated with Human Beings.

     

    Gods Birthdays are celebrated, marriages are performed .

     

    It is a Custom for the Hindus to have the Newly Married Couples seated in a Swing , praise and Bless them.

     

    Children are given the same treatment.

     

    Then why not Gods?

     

    Yes, The Dolotsavam or Oonjal Sevai  is performed for The Gods.

     

    The most famous are for Sri Andal of Srivilliputtur and of course , Tirupati for Lord Balaji.

     

    Sri Andal Temple, Srivilliputtur.
    Sri Andal Temple, Srivilliputtur.

    Tirupati Dolotsavam.

    Unjal Seva-Dolotsavam, Tirupati.
    Unjal Seva-Dolotsavam, Tirupati.

    Dolotsavam is performed in the adhala meda (Mirror Hall) as it is popularly known. The hall is in Aina Mahal (Addala Mantapam) opposite Ranganayaka mantapam where Arjita Brahmotsavam is performed. The Aina Mahal consists of mirrors on four walls and a central stage with a provision for unjal (Swing). Sri Malayappaswami, Sridevi and Bhudevi are seated in the unjal (Swing) and the deities are swung to the accompaniment of Veda parayanam and mangalavadyam.

    The ticket holders are given vastra bahumanam and 5 small laddus for this seva. At the conclusion of the seva, the ticket holders are also sent for the darshan of the main deity in the sanctum sanctorum.’wiki)

     

    Srivari Unjal Seva

     

     

     

  • Tirupati Laddus For Hair TTD, Shameful!

    Tirupati Laddu.
    Tirupati Laddu.

    The TTD had come out with a proposal,to augment its resources(yes, it’s very poor!)) to  offer Five Tirupati Laddus ,for hair measuring 31” long,which approximately weighs 1 Kg!

    Hair Tonsuring, Tirupati.
    Hair Tonsuring, Tirupati.

    It has appealed to the Devotees to have their Hair tonsured.

    Hair tonsuring is a vow undertaken by the Hindus for having had their wishes fulfilled by the Deities.

    In South India, this is done at Tirupati and Palani(Lord Subramanya).

    Hair is tonsured on completion of the first year of the child at the Family Deities’ temples,as practiced in the Family.

    We know that Tirupati is the richest Temple in terms collections through offerings by the devotees.

    To demean a sacred vow?

    At this rate TTD may announce a prgramme for maximum for donations in the Hundi  on and even offer prizes for those who take more vows !

    Crass commercialism is reigning at Tirupati including the opening of the Temple at nights after Artha Jaama (after 10-30pm) on English New Year’s Day, in contravention of the Agama Sastra.

    Story:

    Grow hair, get laddus. In its endeavour to generate more revenue through the sale of human hair, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has decided to reward those women devotees who donate their long hair by getting it tonsured. Accordingly, each woman devotee who donates hair measuring 31 inches will be gifted five laddus.

    “The engineering department is currently making arrangements near Sudarshan Choultry for head tonsuring of women and is also building separate rooms for this purpose,” said K Krishna Reddy, deputy executive officer of Kalanakatta, where the devotees tonsure their head. The scheme will be put in place from April 1.

    http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-03-15/hyderabad/37743647_1_laddus-long-hair-tirumala-tirupati-devasthanams

    Related:

    Tirupati Laddu:

    

    Tirupati Laddu Recipes:
    

    

Ingredients : 
Besan - 1 cup Sugar - 1 1/2 cups Cardamom - 2 Clove - 2 Cashews - 
4 Saffron - a pinch, one tablespoon raisin, one tablespoon - 
diamond kalkandu, Dry Camphor - a pinch (Pachai Karpooram) Coloring agent 
- a pinch Oil - to deep fry
    

    Procedure :
    

    
 Heat up 1/4 cup water in a heavy bottomed vessel and dissolve the sugar completely in it. 
Add the carrdamom, dry camphor, saffron 
and coloring agent to it and remove from the fire / heat. Add 1/4 cup water to 
the besan and mix it to obtain a thick batter (like bajji 
maavu). Heat up oil in a kadai and when it starts to smoke, reduce the heat to medium. 
Hold a plate with holes (or a laddle with holes 
used while frying) over the hot oil and pour the besan batter over the plate.
 Small drops of it will fall in the hot oil and fry as small 
balls. Remove these promptly (without becoming too crisp) and drain off the excess oil. 
Add these in batches to the hot sugar syrup. 
Continue to work on the batter to prepare all the boondi out of it. 
Add the small cashew pieces (fried in ghee) and the cloves and stir 
the boondi in the sugar syrup to mix uniformly. While it is still warm, 
form small balls out of it and firmly hold in the palm to round 
up the balls. Make sure that the laddus are all firm. Try to work as quickly as possible, 
because as the syrup cools down, you may not be able to form firm laddus. 
http://deliciousfood.50webs.com/links/tirupatiladdu.html

    

     
    

    http://ramanisblog.in/2011/10/16/tirumala-hills-side-view-as-lord-balajis-face-pictures/