மார்கழித் திங்கள் மதிநிறைந்த நன்னாளால்;
நீராடப் போதுவீர்! போதுமினோ, நேரிழையீர்!
சீர்மல்கும் ஆய்ப்பாடிச் செல்வச் சிறுமீர்காள்!
கூர்வேல் கொடுந்தொழிலன் நந்தகோபன் குமரன்,
ஏரார்ந்த கண்ணி யசோதை இளஞ்சிங்கம்,
கார்மேனிச் செங்கண் கதிர்மதியம் ல்முகத்தான்
நாராயணனே, நமக்கே பறைதருவான்,
பாரோர் புகழப் படிந்தேலோ ரெம்பாவாய்.
நீராடப் போதுவீர்! போதுமினோ, நேரிழையீர்!
சீர்மல்கும் ஆய்ப்பாடிச் செல்வச் சிறுமீர்காள்!
கூர்வேல் கொடுந்தொழிலன் நந்தகோபன் குமரன்,
ஏரார்ந்த கண்ணி யசோதை இளஞ்சிங்கம்,
கார்மேனிச் செங்கண் கதிர்மதியம் ல்முகத்தான்
நாராயணனே, நமக்கே பறைதருவான்,
பாரோர் புகழப் படிந்தேலோ ரெம்பாவாய்.
HISTORY OF TIRUPATI VENKATESWARA SWAMY
Tirumala Venkateswara Temple is a
famous Vedic temple in the hill town of Tirumala, near
Tirupati in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh.
Tirumala Venkateswara Temple is a
famous Vedic temple in the hill town of Tirumala, near
Tirupati in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh.
Tirupati Tirumalai
Eastern Ghats namely
Seshadri, Neeladri, Garudadri, Anjanadri, Vrushabadri, Narayanadri and
Venkatadri. The temple of Sri Venkateswara
What is meaning of Venkateswara?
History Behind
How Tirupathi
Temple
Venkateshwara means the Lord, who frees us from all of our sins. Ven
means sin, Kat means one who delivers. We remain in this world, suffering,
birth after birth, because of our sinful reactions, now in this age of kali, it
is an age of sin. It is an ocean of faults.
Who is Supreme Person?
One time, Shri Narada Muni (Narada Muni) travelled to Brahma-loka,
Satya-loka where Brahma was surrounded by many of the chief demigods. And
Brahma said to Narada that he was feeling a very deep concern in his heart. Krishna says in the Gita that aham bija pradah pita -
that He is the seed-giving Father of all living beings. Within this universe,
the secondary father is Lord Brahma. So, he has love and concern for everyone
in this universe, that he has created. “People in this age of Kali are so much
covered by material desires. There will be such pollution and sin everywhere.
What is their hope? We must call the Lord down, we must call him down to
preside somewhere on this earth planet.” “So Narada Muni, I am giving you an
assignment. Somehow or the other, by your creative genius, devise a means of
bringing Vishnu to earth.” What is guru-parampara? It's about following the
order of the previous acharyas. So, Narada Muni came to the bank of the river
Sarasvati, where there was an assembly of great sages who were performing a
sacrifice for the welfare of humanity. There were various sages of various
sects. They were all united together for this purpose. So, Narada Muni, he
challanged them, “If this sacrifice really going to be powerful, to satisfy the
Lord we must all be fixed in one goal together”. So Narada Muni challenged “You
are all worshipping in the sacrifice, the Lord. But which Lord are you
worshipping? We must all be unified 'Who is supreme?'” So, some of those sages
said, “Brahma is supreme.” Another said, “Shankar Bhagavan is supreme.” Another
said, “No, Vishnu is supreme.” There was some disagreement. So Narada Muni
said, “Let us resolve the disagreement by testing the Tri-murtis, to see who is
perfectly situated in pure goodness, and whoever is, to the ultimate extent,
then we will agree to worship only him.” So all the sages agreed. So then they
had to decide who is going the person who tests the greatest, most powerful of
all the gods. Vasistha Muni, Atri Muni and others said, “We are not going to
perform this service. To test these powerful Lords, is like testing a red-hot
coal by touching it. We'll be burnt. But we know who has the power to do so. It
is the son of Lord Brahma himself. - Bhrigu Muni (Bhrigu Muni)”. Bhrigu Muni
did not like this idea (devotees laugh). But everyone would appealing to him,
“Please! This is so important for the welfare of all the world.” So Bhrigu Muni
accepted.
Bhrigu Muni Testing Lord Brahma
Bhrigu Muni first went to Brahma's abode, Satyaloka. When Shri Brahmaji
saw him coming, oh! he was so happy. His own son has come to him... before I
forget, ther is two other very, very special guests that we must welcome -
Rameshchandra Gosvami and his son Susheel, who are chief pujaris in the temple
of Nandagram, Krishna and Balaram's eternal home in Shri Vraja Bhoomi. Let us welcome
[Haribol! Haribol! Haribol!]. That happens to be Lord Shiva's head(?),
Brahma(?) happens to be Brahma's forehead, Barsana. So, now we'll go back to
Brahma-loka. (laughter) Bhrigu Muni came came in and Brahma seeing his own son,
oh! he was so happy. He got up to receive Bhrigu Muni. Bm ignored his father.
he didn't offer obeisances, he didn't offer words of respect... this is a great
offense. To not honor a senior person is low-class, it is uncultured. Of
course, in Kali-yuga it is quite common. But, what is etiquette about?
Etiquette is about offering respect to evry living entity., according to our
particular relationship with them, and to seniors, especially one's father like
Brahma. He's not only a father, he's guru. To offer prayers, to offer obeisances,
to offer services is mandatory. And the father wants to see the son growing up
properly, behaving right. So when Brahma saw that Bhrigu Muni did not
acknowledge him at all, ignored him, Brahma became angry. He became very angry,
but somehow or the other because Bhrigu Muni was his son, he controlled his
anger and didn't say anything. It is explained anger is like fire. Now, in the
process of creation, first is fire, and from fire water is created. The
elements are created from the subtle to the gross. First there is ego, then
intelligence, then mind, then ether, then air, then fire, then comes water.
Water is created from fire. But to extinguish fire we use water. So, Lord
Brahma, somehow or the other with his good intelligence, he controlled his anger.
But, Bhrigu Muni saw that he was deeply affected. So, he left that place.(10:40)
Bhrigu Muni Testing Lord Shiva
Next he went to Mount
kailasa
Bhrigu Muni Testing Lord Vishnu
Then he went to Shveta-dvipa, the abode of Lord Vishnu(Lord Vishnu),
where Vishnu is lying on a flower bed, Lakshmi devi was massaging His lotus
feet. As soon as Bhrigu came into the room, he just ran right into the room,
and phh- kicked Vishnu right in the chest with his foot. Lord Vishnu got up. He
put Bhrigu Muni on His bed, and spoke, “Oh today We are so fortunate, that a
great sage, a brahmana has come to Our home to sanctify Us. It is not a small
fortune when a great, great personality comes out of their causeless mercy to
Our home. Not only have you sanctified Shveta-dvipa by your lotus feet, but by
putting your feet on My chest, you have made My body a place of pilgrimage.
But, I fear something... that your feet are so soft like a rose, and My chest
is so hard like a thunderbolt. I think that I must have cused pain to your
lotus foot, so let Me lovingly massage your lotus feet”. And Vishnu massaged
the lotus feet of Bhrigu Muni, extolling the good fortune that He had received.
Three types of Offences
When Bhrigu Muni saw the tolerance and pure goodness of Vishnu's Love,
he was overwhelmed. He could not say a word. His voice was choked up, tears
were streaming from his eyes. He began to dance in ecstasy, extolling the
glories of Lord Vishnu as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There are 3
(three) types of offenses. Offense of the mind, offense of the word, and a
corporal offense, offense of the body. Each one is progressively more severe by
nature. The least type of offense is the offense of the mind. He committed an
offense of the mind to Lord Brahma, and Brahma was angry, and the next most
severe offense is the offense of the words, speaking harsh, impolite words to
another. He did that to Lord Shiva, and Lord Shiva became very angry. But to
Lord Vishnu he performed the greatest of all offenses- the offenses to the
body, by hardly kicking Him in the chest (kicked Him hard), but Lord Vishnu
lovingly forgave him, displaying His Supreme Greatness.
Mother Lakshmi Leaves Vaikunta
So Bhrigu Muni went back to the banks of the She is Sarasvati and he
told the whole story to all theetrnally sages, and they all unanimously agreed,
that Vishnu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thus they performed
their sacrifice chanting his holy name [Hare Krishna hare Krishna, Krishna
Krishna Hare Hare. Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama rama Hare Hare]. Everyone was very
happy, except Lakshmidevi(Lakshmidevi). She could not tolerate this insult to
Her eternal Lord and Master, Narayana. It was unbearable that she witnessed
such a horrible sin of a mortal man coming and kicking with his foot, in the chest
of the Lord of Her life. And the Lord is Shri-nivasa. That means He is the
abode of Lakshmi.residing upon His chest. She knows the sanctity. She worships
the Lord there eternally. Lakshmi considered that She had become so sinful by
seeing this sin, it was so unbearable for Her. She explained Her mind to Lord
Narayana, but the Lord took it all very light. Any offense to one's self- one
should be forgiving. But offense to the Lord or another devotee- we can become
like fire. Yes. When Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was insulted in so many ways, he
just forgave. When Nityananda was beaten on the head by Jagai and Madhai, he
forgave, but Lord Chaitanya became like fire. We should tolerate any injustice
to one's self, but we should not tolerate the injustices to the other devotees
or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So, yes, Lakshmidevi was in this mood,
'My Lord, You may be forgiving and tolerant to the offense against You, but My
heart is burning with anguish, for what I had seen.' And then She proclaimed, “I
will leave Vaikuntha, and I will go down to the Bhu-loka, where I will perform
tapasya, to atone for the sin of seeing this offense.” Thus lakshmi departed
from Her abode, and wandered throughout this world, ultimately coming to the
holy place Kolhapura (Maharashtra state). She
made that Her residence. It was in the holy abode of Kolhapura, that
Mahalakshmi(Mahalakshmi) sat to perform Tapasya, in the ecstacy of Her love for
The Supreme Lord
Lord Vishnu Feeling Separation From
Mother Lakshmi
As time went on, the Lord Narayana was feeling immense separation from
Lakshmidevi. Even the Land
of Shvetadvipa
Why 7 Hills Called SHESHACHALA OR
SHESHDRI HILLS
Lord Srinivasa walked throughout the world, through various forests,
jungles and villages and ultimately came here, where we are sitting today, to
the Sheshachala. Why is it called such? It is told that at one time, the great
and powerful devata, Vayudeva came to visit the Lord in Vaikuntha and
Adi-shesha was at that time guarding, and told Vayu that, “You have to wait and
bow down your head before the Lord.” But Vayu was not happy with this. He was
eager. So a little argument took place. So the Lord came and to alleviate the
argument, He said, “Why don't you have a contest to see who is stronger between
the two of you?” Everything the Lord does has a very, very eternal purpose. So,
it was arranged that Adi-shesha put his coils around one of the peaks of Mount Meru
So, Vayu was sending the most massive winds, unbelievable winds. In
this world we have seen hurricanes and cyclones and tornadoes. These are just
little, tiny ttth tth tth... tth tth... tth th tth, but when Vayu, with all the
force of all his power, blowing, he could not even slightly even a molecular
particle of Adi-shesha or the mountain where they were holding. So he was
blowing and blowing and blowing and sending wind after wind after wind, and
Adi-shesha was there just holding, holding, holding and days and days went by,
and meanwhile, all the air and all the wind, at the disposal of Vayu - he was
using just for this purpose, and the rest of the univers was suffocating
(laughter). Indra was calling out, “Please! You know this... Adi-shesha... you
may be winning the fight, but what about the rest of us?” So Narada Muni
appeared and started playing his veena and singing the sweet glories of the
Lord. Meanwhile Vayu was exhausted, so he stopped his winds, and at that time
Narada Muni was singing and playing, and Adi-shesha was so charmed by the
Glories of the Lord, that he lifted one of the hoods to listen carefully. As
soon as he did that, Vayu blew right under that hood, with all of his force,
and Adi-Shesha and the whole mountain peak of Ananda Parvata went flying,
flying, flying and landed right here on earth.. Haribol! [Haribol!] Then
Vayudeva came down and begged apologies, “Oh, I am sorry! What have I done?
Please come back. Come back to Vaikuntha.” And Adi-Shesha said, “It is the
Lord's lila. It is His plan that I remain here.” So, this is known as Shesha
Parvata bcoz these seven mountains- they consist the abode of Lord
Venkateshvara. he is non-different than the body of Ananta-Shesha and it is
considered to be non-different than Vaikuntha. [Haribol!]
Lord Shrinivasa Tapasya
Shrinivasa (Shrinivasa) was travelling in this area, and He made His
residence in the hole in the center of a large iant-hill that was situated
under a large tamarind tree. There, he performed tapasya. No eating, no
sleeping. Just meditation on Lakshmidevi to bring Her back. Lord Brahma(Lord
Brahma) saw the situation of the Lord The nature of the Lord's love- that He
has left the etrnal abode of Vaikuntha where there is all opulence, and He is
living as an ascetic under an ant-hill? Fasting! So Brahma approached Shiva,
and together they went to Lakshmidevi in Kolhapura, so that the Lord could be
fed. Lord Brahma became a cow, Shiva became a calf and Lakshmidevi a cowherd
girl. She, with a little stick led the cow and the calf, to a place called
Narayanapura, which was the capital of the kings of the Chola dynasty. She
proclaimed that, “I would like to see the king and queen, bcoz I have a very
excellent cow and acalf, that I want to sell them.” The king and the queen came
and saw that cow and calf. They were so special. They were willing to pay
anything, and Lakshmidevi, she charged a large price.
Just like as its said if we give away our books out for free, then
people may take Them very cheaply. They have to pay price, then they'll have
some understanding that 'this is valuable'. In 1966, in New York City
Story About how Lord gets Injured
There was a cowherd man who everyday took those cows out to the
pastures, to graze on the grasses, and in the evening the cows would come back
and would be milked. Many days went by, and there was no milk coming from this
special cow. She just had a calf. There is no reason for this! The queen went
to the go-shaala. “Where?! So many days! Where is the milk from this prized
cow? We spent so much! Where is the milk from this prized cow?” She went to the
cowherd man. “Are you drinking it? Are you stealing it?” He said, “No, no! I am
not! Honest, I am not!” “If tomorrow, there is no milk, then I know you are!
Then you will be punished with your life.” Now what happened is this. At a
certain time everyday, during the grazing of the cows, this cowherd man would
take a nap. He would go to sleep under a tree. And right when he went to sleep,
that Brahma cow would run to the ant-hill and stand right over the ant-hill
with her udder and then pour profusely nectarean, delicious, nutritious milk
down, and Shrinivasa accepting the loving offering of His devotee, would just
look up, open His mouth and the milk would come right into His mouth to feed
Him for the day. This was going on everyday. This cow was a very, very faithful
devotee.
So, on this particular day, the cowherd man pretended to go to sleep.
But slightly kept one eye open to watch the cow. And he saw that cow running,
running... He saw that cow standing over an anthill, milk pouring down into the
ground. Oh! He was furious. This was unbelievable. He was about to be killed
bcoz of this restless cow. He lost all intelligence. Krishna
tells in the Gita: When there is anger, one loses one's intelligence and one
falls down into abominable activities. So, this cowherd man in arage of fury,
picked up an axe, and attacked. He hurled the axe to cut off the head of the
cow. But as the axe was coming down, Shrinivasa leaped up and blocked the
razor-sharp edge of the axe with His own forehead. When the cowherd man saw the
most beautiful personality standing before him, bleeding profusely, he fell
down unconscious. And news came to the king of what had happened, and he came
running to the place. When he first saw his servant, the cowherd man laying
unconscious, he thought he was killed. He saw blood all around. He was about to
attack and chastise whoever that person was. But, when he looked closely at
Him, He was the embodiment of all opulence and beauty. he understood that He
was a special personality, and the king asked, “What has happened?” And
Shrinivasa explained exactly. The king begged forgiveness. namo brahmanya
devaya go-brahmana hitaya cha jagad-hitaya krishnaya govindaya namo 'namah. We
cahnt this prayer. But do we really acknowledge the significance of it? Krishna is very fond of giving protection to the cows and
the brahmanas. In the story of Bhrigu Muni, we see He tolerated the injustice
of being kicked in the chest and forgave a brahmana, and here He is showing His
love for the cow. To save a cow, He is willing to endure the pain of an axe,
penetrating His own head. So He walked into the forest and He was bleeding and
feeling much pain. This is the Lila of the Lord. And then Brihaspati, the
priest of the demigods, He approached. He asked Brihaspati, “Can you tell me a
herbal remedy to alleviate the pain and injury of my head?” Brihaspati
explained exactly the herbs that were required (42:30). So He was searching for
those herbs and at that time He came to Varaha Kshetra, where He met Lord
Varahadeva(VD).
Significance of Varaha Kshetra
Previously in the Satya-yuga, Hiranyaksha with his demoniac power, to
please his elder brother Hiranyakashipu, created such chaos in this world, that
the earth planet, Bhu-loka was cast to the bottom of the Garbhodaka ocean. At
that time the sages and demigods, they were helpless. They did not know what to
do. They approached Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma prayed to the Supreme Lord Vishnu,
and in the course of his prayer, a very small, little boar creature came out of
his nose- the size of his thumb, Instantly It grew larger and larer and larger
until It was like a huge mountain. He had most exquisite lotus-like eyes,
although He was a boar, which is a wild pig, which is considered a very ugly
animal. Sometimes we praise people by comparing them to animals. 'Fearless like
a lion,' 'fast like a tiger,' yes?
'Graceful like a swan,' 'sings like a cuckoo.' But have you ever heard
in your life or read in any books, anybody being glorified by being compared to
a pig? No. 'You are sloppy like a pig!', 'You are ugly like a pig.' If someone
calls you a swan, you feel very nice. But if someone calls you a hog... “You
are a pig!” It's an insult. Very great insult. But when Lord Varaha, took the
form of a boar- a wild pig, He was the personification of all opulences. He
possessed all the 6(six) opulences. He was beautiful! He was hypnotizing
people! Everyone, all the great devotees were falling in love with Him. That is
the greatness of the Lord's power. How wonderful is our Lord! Achintya shakti-
He can do anything. And how He does everything. Anyone who does not have faith
in these stories is the most unfortunate dull-headed person in all the
creation. The Lord is so amazing, that He can take the form of the most
abominable of all animals, and be all-attractive! So that people are falling
unconscious by the beauty of this Boar. People are offering prayers with tears
pouring out of their eyes, out of their love for this Boar. Shri Varaha
Bhagavan ki... [jaya!]. Why not? If Krishna wants to show His opulence, why not
take the most despicable, abominable, obnoxious of all animals and show His
glories and opulences and beauty, and enchant everyone's heart in that form.
That is the Lord's greatness.
And, He lifted the earth with the tusks, Jayadeva Gosvami sings in
Dasha-avatara stotra. After He saved the earth and delivered Hiranyaksha,
Bhu-devi, the presiding deity of this planet, she prayed to Lord Varaha that
please make me home on earth, where I can be your consort, and live with you.
Please make a home here. So, of all places, Lord Varaha-deva shows what He
considered the most beautiful place on earth. The Tirumalai Hills. On the top
of these hills, Tirumalai, it is called Varaha Kshetra. Bhu-devi gave this land
to Lord Varaha-deva, where they lived together very happily. So Shrinivasa
came, and He asked for a place to reside here. Please listen carefully. Lord
Varaha gave him a tract of land. Shrinivasa said, “If I'm taking this land from
you, I want to pay rent. But I don't have anything. But the rent that I will
pay is this: ”I will induce all My devotees, for all the rest of the time in
Kali-yuga, anyone who comes to see Me, in My temple, must first come and offer
their worship and honour to You, Lord Varaha-deva.” So to follow this
tradition, which very few people do, it would be very nice tomorrow if, before
going to see Lord Balaji, we offer our honour, worship and take blessings from
Shri Bhu-Varahadeva, who are residing on the banks of the Svami Pushkarini, a
beautiful, sacred lake non-different than the river Ganges (Ganga), which
absolves one's sins.
Lord Shrinivasa Meets his Mother
Bakula Devi
Lord Varahadeva told Shrinivasa that, “YourLord eternal mother is
living with Me. She has been acting as a very faithful maidservant, waiting for
Your incarnation. Her name is Bakula mallika, or Bakula-devi. And she will take
care of You and she will put the herbs on Your forehead, and love You like her
own son. So Varahadeva called for Bakula-devi, and when she saw Shrinivasa,
immediately her motherly love erupted within her heart, and Shrinivasa's love
for her awakened. Bakula-devi embraced Him, and she gathered the various herbs
and placed it with camphor, and saffron and musk and very sacred ingredients,
and she made a paste, and put it on Balaji's forehead. And, to honour the love
of Bakula-devi, and to remember the Lord's willingness to sacrifice for the
welfare of His devotee, to this day,Venkateshvara is weraing that sacred
mixture of paste upon His forehead. So, bakula-devi, she showed such motherly
affection.
Who is Bakula Devi? It is explained that previously Bakula-devi was
Yashoda mayi. Krishna lived in Vrindavana for
approximately twelve and a half(12+1/2) years, and it is the aspiration of
every mother, to arrange for her childrens' marriage. But Krishna
left Vrindavana and it was in Dvaraka when He was under the care of Vasudeva
and Devaki, that He married eight(8) queens and sixteen thousand(16000) others.
So, Yashodamayi was deprived of the opportunity to participate in these
marriage ceremonies. But Krishna , knowing her
heart, gave her the benediction, that “In a future incarnation, you will be My
mother, and you will make arrangements for My marriage.”
Lord Srinivasa Meets Padmavati
Time passed. They lived in the forest together.In that He was often in
His anthill doing tapasya.It garden It came to his notice that, in the forest,
on the topthere of the hill, there were some wild animals,was a many tigers,
lions, elephants. They were harrassing innocent people, sometimes even
devouring them. So Shrinivasa told Bakula that, “I want to go on a hunting
excursion to protect the innocent from these dangerous animals.” But as a
mother she said, “No, no! You cannot go out there. It is very dangerous, it is
a very strange place. You should not go.” But He was insisting, so finally she
accepted. So He put on the robes of a hunter, with a bow and an arrow, and a
horse, and He went out, and there He saw a gigantic wild elephant. The elephant
was running, and Shrinivasa was galloping on His horse after the elephant. The
elephant came into a garden.beautiful princess of the name
Padmavati(Padmavati), along with her maid-servants. The elephant lifted his
trunk and offered praise to Padmavati devi, and then he disappeared into the
forest. Shrinivasa came right behind him, and when He saw Padmavati, who was
standing, stunned by the fear of the elephant, it just approached her.
Shrinivasa was Himself stunned with her beauty. He got off His horse. He said,
“Who are you? Have you descended from the heavenly worlds? In this earth
planet, there is no one so beautiful. Ther's no one so enchanting and so pure
as yourself. Please tell me who you are?” She said, “My name is Padmavati, and
I am the daughter of the king Aksharaja from the dynasty of the moon, and I am
here in the garden with all of my friends. Can You tell me good sir, who are
You?” He said, “I am also from a royal dynasty coming from the moon god. My
father is vasudeva and My name is Krishna .
And, now My mother has taken the form of Bakula-devi, and she is seraching to
find a suitable wife for My marriage.”
And just then the maid-servants of the princess came. And she (they)
saw this Hunter talking with the princess. They were very offended by this.
“Who is this... Who are You? Who are You? What are You doing here?” And they
started warning Padmavati, “You are a girl of great royalty. You cannot be just
speaking to a hunter, a strange person alone in the forest. What is this?”
Shrinivasa smiled and said, “O young maid-servants, do not be alarmed. I am in
love with her, and she is in love with Me. And I am going to propose to marry
her.”“ Haa?” (response of maid-servants). Padmavati was beginning to blush. She
looked down and said, “First You have to ask My parents their permission.” And
the maid-servants, they were very angry. “You are seducing the princess. Get
out from here! Get out from here!” They picked up stones, and hurled the stones
at Shrinivasa. Again and again, they were throwing stones and they were chasing
after Him, and He jumped on His horse and rode away. And they were chasing
after Him throwing stones. He was feeling great pain. He returned to the home
of Bakula-devi. She saw that He looked unhappy. “Why are You unhappy?” He said,
“Bcoz I am in love. but the girl that i love, i cannot go near. All her friends
throw stones at me!”(sobbing voice) [Laughter of devotees], and Bakula-mallika
said, “You are the Lord of the Universe. How could You be enchanted by a mere
mortal woman of this world? But still whatever You desire is my life. If you
desire I will go to that place to negotiate marriage with her parents.”
Who is Mother Padmavti?
Shrinivasa said, “You do not understand who this girl is.” And he
explained the story. There was a great sage who lived in the Treta-yuga. His
name was Kushadhvaja. He was performing a yajna. With great devotion he was
cahnting vedic mantras. From his mantra-chanting, the Goddess of Fortune took
birth. She took birth from the yajna of the chanting of the Vedic mantras. And,
therefore Her father gave Her the name Vedavati. When She grew up to
marriagable age, She was so beautiful, an ocean of good qualities. All great
princes, kings wanted to marry Her, promising wealth, riches, luxuries and
immense pleasures. But She had no attraction to any of them. Her heart was
fixed exclusively on Lord Vishnu. From his divine vision Kushadhvaja understood
She is a Goddess of fortune. Only Lord Vishnu is suitable to be Her husband.
But it is not easy to attain Lord Vishnu. Kushadhvaj sent his daughter into the
Himalayan jungles, to live all alone to perform severe austerities, meditating
on the Lotus feet of Vishnu, to attract His mercy to accept Her as His wife.
She remained in Himalayas for thousands of
years, fasting, subjected to cold, snowy winters, to the hot, blazing summers,
to the dangers of the snakes and animals and insects, tolerating all
difficulty. Such a great example. This is vyavasayatmika buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana.
Kings and princes and devatas were approaching to marry Her, offering Her royal
palaces, offering Her luxuries- jewels, fine garments, food, and not only that,
but they were most handsome, chivalrous and opulent in all respects. She
rejected them. For what? To live in the jungle, wearing a deerskin, doing
tapasya for thousands and thousands of years. This is devotional service.
We want Vishnu. We want devotional service to Krishna .
He is our goal and ideal in life. So many things may come to us. Yes, the cheap
things of this world- we may get money, we may get comforts, we may get fame,
we may get so many things, we may get all kinds of pleasures, but a devotee is
willing to give it all up to perform austerity and thus (?) all we have is
austerity. A sadhana bhakta is a person who gives up so many of the pleasures
of this world... for what? We don't even have Krishna .
We're not tasting the love of Krishna . It is
just tapasya. But that is the price! If we really want Krishna ,
we have to be willing with an empty heart of nothing, except tapasya, carry on
even if it takes thousands and thousands and millions and millions of births.
That was Mukunda Datta's example. He was willing to suffer in separation
faithfully for ten million (10000000) births, if he knew in the end, he would
get even one glimpse of Lord Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. That is devotion.
Enthusiasm and patience. That is the example of Vedavati.
She gave up all the promises and hopes and opportunities of this world
to do severe austerity. And what did She get out of it? Just living in the
forest. Thousands of years passed. One day, the king of the Rakshasas, Raavana,
was flying by in the airways and he saw Vedavati. He was immediately enchanted
by Her beauty. He came down and looked closer. Oh, the exquisite elegance of
Her form, covered only with a crude deerskin, hair becoming matted. But yet She
was effulgent with elegant charm. Raavana could not control his senses. He
approached, assuming the form with one head and two arms, very... and we'll
hear from the Sundara Kaanda, that when raavana assumed this form, he was
youthful and he was so magnificiently handsome, and strong. He was a scholar as
well. He was speaking lovely poetry to win the heart of this girl. He was
glorifying each limb of Her body, and the fragrance of Her form. “I am Raavana.
I am the King. I have defeated Indra and all the devatas. I wish for You to be
my wife. You come with me.” She said, “I have given My heart to Vishnu.” How
amazing! All this tapasya, thousands of years! And Vishnu never even showed
Himself to Her even for a second.
Vedavati - The Emblem of Chastity and
Patience
Aslisya va pada-ratam pinastu mam adarsanan marma-hatam karotu va yatha
tatha va vidadhatu lampato mat-prana-nathas tu sa eva naparah. All this tapasya but Vishnu was not showing Himself and here is a
chance to live with the wealthiest man on earth, Hare Krishna, the most
powerful conqueror of the earth, the king of kings. She said, “Get out from
here, I have given my heart to Lord Vishnu and I can accept no one else.” Oh,
when Ravana heard the name Vishnu, that really excited his anger, then he said,
“What is this Vishnu, what is He doing for you? You are worshipping Him for all
this time and He is just leaving you alone with no companion in this jungle
with nothing to eat. What is He doing for you? Come with me, I will give you
the robes and the jewels of a queen. I will give you pleasures that even the
most elevated damsels of the heaven cannot dream of, you come with me!” She
chastised him that “I have given my heart to Vishnu, get out from here”. So
Ravana went to take her by force, he grabbed her by the hair, and Vedavati, by
her mystic power, she took her hand and pht and just cut that hair right off
and Ravana fell back. Then Vedavati invoked the presence of Agni Deva in the
form of fire and then she spoke her final words to Ravana, “Because you have
touched my body, my body is forever impure and therefore I must end it today.
But I will take birth again and in my next birth I will be the cause of your
destruction and the extermination of your entire dynasty.” And then her body
was engulfed with flames.
Some time later, Suparnaka, the sister of Ravana, informed her brother
about the beauty of Sita, and just by hearing the description of Sita's
qualities, Ravana's heart was burning with desire. He induced Marica to take
the form of a magnificent deer and allure Ram and Luxman away. At that time,
Ravana came to kidnap the consort of Sri Ram. But it is not possible for a
demon like Ravana to touch Sita Devi. Agni Dev appeared and he replaced the
original Sita with Vedavati. Vedavati looked identical to Sita. The Kurma
Purana calls her the Maya Sita, the false Sita. She is actually an expansion of
the Goddess of fortune but not the original Sita. So it was Ravana, he thought
he stole Sita, but in truth he stole Vedavati. And it was this Vedavati, after
thousands of years of tapasya, she still never even saw Ram. She came to the
world and was immediately kidnapped by Ravana and she was screaming in the air,
and she threw some jewels down to the monkeys, Sugriva and Hanuman, when she
was flying over Kindakshetra and ultimately she was a prisoner of Sri Lanka,
captive in the Ashoka groves of Ravana, where everyday she was tormented, she
was emotionally tortured, she was threatened in so many ways. Ravana was coming
with the finest perfumes, the most elegant gowns, with by his mystic powers
making himself the most handsome among men, well-groomed hair with scented
oils, promising her jewels, and gifts and pleasures and everything, just become
my consort and she refused. He would threaten her and scream at her and roar at
her. And other raksasas were tormenting her, and raksasis, ugly raksasis,
horrible, demoniac beings were surrounding her practically day and night,
trying to emotionally break her down to submission. And this went on for about
10 months. Vedavati performed all this tapasya and this is all she was getting.
She did it all as a service to Sita Devi. Ravana would curse her; Ravana would
threaten her, “If you do not submit to me I will chop your body in fine pieces
and I will drink your blood and eat your flesh as my morning meal. These are
your two alternatives; either live as the primary queen of all the universe as
my queen or die a miserable death and be eaten by me”. Those were the two
choices he gave. But Vedavati, so chaste, so absolutely pure, not even for one
second ever deviated her mind from the loving remembrance of Sri Ramachandra.
Lord Ram and Laxman crossed over the bridge to Sri Lanka
Vedavati still was alone with her mind fixed on the promise of the Lord
that was in Treta yuga, the whole Dvarpa yuga passed, Krishna 's
lila was manifested on this world and then it went to another universe.
Vedavati was waiting a long time, through Treta yuga, through Dvarpa yuga and
in Kali yuga, she appeared, and it's a wonderful story how she appeared. In the
dynasty of the moon there was a great king of the Chola family of the name
Sudarma. Sudarma had two sons, Aksharaj and Thondaman. He raised them and they
were loving brothers. When they were of age to take the responsibility of the
kingdom, Sudarma accepted Vanaprastha, he wanted to divide his kingdom in half
before he left and give each of his two sons who were both worthy of being
kings half of his kingdom, but the two brothers they had such deep love for
each other, neither of them wanted half of the kingdom. “We will both rule the
same kingdom together; we don't want to be separated”. So that was the
arrangement. Sudarma went to the forest, never to return, Aksharaj and
Thondaman together ruled the kingdom as two kings, one kingdom, amazing example
of brotherhood, they weren't suing each other in courts, they were working
together with total love and respect.
Aksharaj was the elder of the two. All of his desires were fulfilled in
the way he was ruling his citizens except one, he had no child, he longed for a
child, he approached the Brahmans, and they told him, “You should perform a
yajna for the purpose of having a child”. So as a part of the process of yajna
the king had to plough several times around the yajnashala, so as he was
ploughing around and around and around, his plough got caught in something in
the ground and he pulled it, and out from the ground came an effulgent, golden
box, on its own the box opened, revealing an exquisite golden lotus flower, in
the whorl of the lotus flower was an effulgent little baby girl, smiling and
glancing mercifully upon everyone. Aksharaj picked up the little child and
showed her to the Brahmans and the Brahmans were amazed, they said, “Just as
Janak Maharaja was ploughing the fields around the yajna and from the earth came
Mahaluxmi, the Goddess of fortune, Sita, in the same way the Goddess of fortune
has come again, and because she has been found on a lotus flower, her name will
be Padmavati”. This Padmavati was Vedavati, who had taken birth again in this
world.
Aksharaj brought little Padmavati to his wife, Darini Devi, and they
raised her with great, great affection. When she came of marriageable age, it
created a big problem in the house. Who possibly is qualified to marry
Padmavati? So many people were coming and offering their proposals but Aksharaj
did not see that anyone was qualified. One day, Narada Muni took the form of a
Brahman and while Padmavati was sitting in the garden, he said, “Let me see
your palms”. She showed her palms, he saw beautiful lotus flowers in both
palms, Narada Muni was ecstatic, tears flowed from his eyes, “I understand who
you are, you don't know but I know, you are the Goddess of fortune, who has
incarnated on this earth and Lord Vishnu will soon be your husband.”
Lord Srinivas Marries Padmavati
Padmavati, she forgot what he said. So many so We Brahmans say so many
things in this world. Srinivas told Bakula Devi that this girl, Padmavati, is
none other than My consort, Vedavati, who has been performing tapasyas for
several yugas to gain Me as her husband. Bakula said, “I will go to negotiate
the marriage”. Bakula Malika went to a place called, Kapileshwar, the temple of Lord Siva
Meanwhile, Srinivas, it was His desire to elaborate this pastime. He
took the form of a gypsy woman and had a mystical gypsy stick to put spells on
people. And little baby, and she was dressed just like a gypsy, very authentic.
And She came into Narayan puram, the capital of king, Aksharaj. And She was
calling out that, “I am a gypsy woman and I have great powers, I could cure the
sick, I could read the future”.
So one of the maidservants of the queen, she ran and told Darini Devi,
Padmavati's mother that, “There is a gypsy woman, can I bring Her? She seems to
know the future.”
She said, “Yes, bring Her immediately”. So Srinivas came in.
She said, “Please tell, what is the problem with my daughter? What is
the future? What will happen to my daughter? Please tell me, oh gypsy woman!”He said, “I will tell. I will access the Goddess of the mountain to
speak through Me but first you must bring me rice, kum kum, turmeric, silk
saris and gold coins.”
And She set it all up very nicely, and started chanting mantras. She
said, “Now you must bring your daughter to Me”. Padmavati was brought in,
Srinivas was very happy. The queen saw this gypsy woman gazing very deeply upon
her daughter. She said, “Show Me your palms.”
She said, “I know what is her illness. She met a very great
personality. She has fallen in love with him. And due to separation, she is
love sick”.
The queen was insulted by this, “What nonsense you're talking, my
daughter love sick?” She said, “Yes, this is what happened, I know. I could see
it. I could see the past, and I could see the future. In fact, this person is
none other than the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord, Who is living in the
mountains of Sheshachala. And He was hunting an elephant and He happened to see
your daughter and all her friends when they saw this elephant coming, they all
ran away and left your daughter alone, but this person was heroic. He came to
rescue her. How do I know all these things? The Goddess of the mountain is
telling Me.” The queen rejected what the gypsy woman said. She said, “The mother of
this great personality is coming very soon to negotiate marriage and you should
accept it.” And the gypsy woman left and Srinivas went back to His ant hill.
At the next moment, Bakula Devi arrived through another door but Bakula
Devi, her stature was awesome, she had such majestic good qualities, although
she just lived as a very simple woman with no possessions in the forest, she
had such dignity that Darini Devi immediately was very deeply impressed and
gave her a respectable greeting. And Bakula Devi offered her a plate made out
of ivory that was covered with the most precious, celestial jewels, and
presented it to the queen. She said, “I have come to ask your daughter's hand
for the marriage of my Son, Who is the Supreme Lord, living in the hills of
Seshachalam” The queen said, “What is this incarnation of God? I have not heard of
any incarnation of Vishnu. And if Vishnu, Who is full of all opulences, were to
incarnate in this world, what would He be doing living like a hermit in the
jungles of the mountains? Let me speak to my king about this.” Darini Devi
repeated the proposal to Aksharaj. Aksharaj consulted his ministers, who were
Brahmins, they said, “We don't know of any incarnation of God on these hills,
but the great sage, Shuka, he is living in those mountains. He is all-knowing,
we should consult him.” They all went to the hermitage of Shuka, and Shuka
said, “Yes, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayan, is living in the hills
of Seshachalam. And king Aksharaj, you can never estimate your supreme good
fortune that He wants to marry your daughter. Why does He want to marry your
daughter? She is a Goddess of fortune, His eternal consort. You should
immediately, as soon as possible, arrange for this marriage.” Aksharaj, Shuka
and the other family members came together and selected the soonest, auspicious
date, which was on the next ekadasi.
And they wrote, Aksharaj wrote a letter to Srinivas proclaiming that he
is offering the hand of his daughter in marriage. So Bakula Devi and the sage,
Shuka, delivered that letter to the ant hill, where Srinivas was residing.
Srinivas was very happy, very happy. But the marriage was very soon, it was
just a matter of days and He wanted to invite all the demigods. So He meditated
in His mind and from His mind, Garuda and Ananta Deva appeared. And He gave
them the order, “Invite all the principal demigods to come at once to My
marriage” And soon they were coming, Brahma, Siva, Indra, Vayu, Agni, Surya Yamaraj,
very auspicious, every one was coming.
Lord Srinivas borrows from Kubera
And when Srinivas saw the large crowds of very, very highly respectable
people, He became unhappy. Brahma asked, “What is the problem? All arrangements
are being made. Why are You un happy?” He said, “How are we going to feed all
these people? I'm living in an anthill, I don't have anything, and we have to
make elegant... This should be a glorious marriage; this should be an elegant
marriage.We need to arrange all the decorations, and not only that we have to
feed everyone feasts of sumptuous Prasad, but I have nothing” So Brahma, he
called for Kuvera. And Kuvera stood before Lord Srinivas with folded palms,
offering his repeated dandavats, and said, “My Lord, whatever I have is Your
property, You are the proprietor of everything that exists.treasury of all the
gods is ultimately Yours, just tell me and we will utilize it all”. Lord
Srinivas said, “No. it is yours. I will not take anything from you but I will
accept a loan.” Kuvera wanted to give everything but the Lord insisted, “No, it
must be a loan, I must set the principle.” I guess it is the principle that for
many marriages you need loan. But also the dignity of this avatar, He did not
want to take His devotee's property. And then the Lord dictated the terms of
the loan, He said “You give Me 14 Lakhs of gold coins with interest, and until
the end of the Kali yuga whoever is really My devotee, when they come to see Me
to take darshan, they will give their valuables and their wealth to pay the
interest of the loan that I owe to you for My marriage”.
And it is because of this ingenious contract that the Balaji Tirupati
temple is the wealthiest temple in all the worlds. I have seen people put their
wedding rings in the hundi. Hare Krishna. People give so much valuables but it
is the duty of the devotees of Srinivas to keep the Lord's word. And He said,
“Until the end of Kali Yuga, whoever My devotee is when they come for my
darshan they will give substantial wealth to pay the interest, and then at the
end of kali yuga then I will give back the principal as well”. So this
arrangement was made. And all the very, very opulent arrangements of marriage
were taking place, but Srinivas again was looking sad, and He was asked why.
Padmavati could understand and everyone could understand. Padmavati was not
there at the time, I am sorry, the Demigods could understand. It was because
Lakshmi Devi was still all alone in Kolapur performing tapasya. He did not want
to marry Padmavati without the presence of Laxmi Devi. So Srinivas called for
Surya, and told Surya, “Go to Laxmi Devi and tell Her that I am sick, very
sick, and She should come at once and then She will come”. Surya was very
afraid, “But You are not sick. You are not sick, how could I tell Laxmi Devi a
lie? What will happen to me if I tell my Supreme Mother a lie? She will know,
She knows everything.” And Srinivas said, “No, I will cover Her by my Maya
potency so she will believe you” So Surya went to Kolapur, and told Laxmi Devi
that, “Srinivas is living in the Venkatashala, the hills that cure all sins,
and He is very sick, very sick, and He is asking for You to be by His side” So
Laxmi Devi said, “I will go immediately.” When She arrived, Srinivas fell to
the ground pretending He was sick, and Her heart became very soft, but then She
saw so many guests in all directions, She was wondering, “What's happening?”,
“Why all these guests?” and then the Lord opened the curtain of Maya, Yoga
Maya, so that Laxmi could understand everything. She looked at Her beloved
Lord, Narayan, in the form of Srinivas, “I know what's happening. You are
fulfilling Your vow, at last, to marry Vedavati, who has appeared in this world
as Padmavati” The Lord said, “Yes.” Laxmi said, “I am thrilled with joy that You
will do this. It is My great happiness. In fact, I will personally perform the
bathing ceremony to consecrate You for Your marriage” Everyone was joyful.
Laxmi Devi consecrated the Lord with a holy bath and then the Lord descended
the mountain to Narayanpuram, where Aksharaj was waiting with great opulence
and this marriage ceremony lasted for several weeks with great festivities and
joy. In the end, Bakula Devi told Aksharaj “Now, my son must return to His
home” So Padmavati and Srinivas left the royal kingdom of Narayanpuram, and
went back up to the top of mountain Tirumalai, where They decided to reside in
the ashram of Agasya Muni. In this way They lived happily together. Some time
passed, Padmavati noticed that there was a sadness in the heart of her beloved.
She said, “I know why You are sad. You are feeling separation from Laxmi, bring
Her back.”
Lord Srinivasa searching Lakshmi devi
Lord Srinivas said, “But will She come back? She is still performing
tapasya because of Brga Muni's kick on My chest, will She come back?” She said,
“Of course She will come back.” “But what about you?” Padmavati said, “It will
be the greatest honour and joy of my life to share My home with Laxmi. Together
We will serve You for all of eternity.” So Lord Srinivas went to Kolapur to
bring Laxmi back but Maha Laxmi knowing He was coming, She disappeared, went to
Patala loka, where She took shelter in the ashram of Kapila Deva, the avatar of
the Lord. The Lord could not find Her. It was at that time that the Lord was
told that He should perform tapasya to get Laxmi back.
Lord Starts Meditating on Lakshmi devi
On these Tirumalai hills, He was to dig with His own hands a kund. He
dug the kund and then He had Varuna fill it with ambrosial waters of sacred
rivers and then He was to install a magnificent, golden lotus flower. And He
was to sit in the whorl of the lotus flower and meditate on Laxmi Devi. He sat
on the lotus flower, the power of His meditation, the power of His love in
separation created a heat that was filling the entire universe, and ultimately
it reached the heart of Laxmi. And She consulted Kapila Muni, “What should I
do?” Kapila Muni told Her that, “Your Lord, Your beloved keeps feeling deep
separation from You, He is performing tapasya to get You back, You should go to
Him, it is Your heartfelt desire. Why are you taking so seriously this offence
of Brga Muni? After all, it was the Lord's plan. Even if Brga Muni committed an
offence by kicking Him in the chest, what is the result? NOW THE WHOLE WORLD
KNOWS WITHOUT EXCEPTION OF DOUBT THAT LORD NARAYAN IS THE SUPREME PERSONALITY
OF GODHEAD, THE KING OF ALL KINGS, AND THE GREATEST OBJECT OF EVERYONE'S
WORSHIP. Brga Muni, he has established that fact beyond doubt. So even if he
committed some offence, the end justifies the means. He did a great thing. You
should go back, You should forgive Brga Muni and You should give pleasure to
Lord Srinivas.” That was just what Laxmi Devi wanted to hear. With a blissful
heart She travelled through the stem of that lotus flower, and in a most
miraculous, astounding way through the lotus stem She just appeared on the
whorl of the golden lotus at the side of Srinivas, effulgent like millions of
suns. Srinivas and Luxmi Devi gazed upon each other. They were united again.
Sri Venkateshwara Dev Ki Jai !!!
Bhrugu Muni Begs Forgiveness from
Mother Lakshmi
Brga Muni came to that lotus flower as did the Devatas, and the rishis,
and the sages and the devotees. Brga Muni was just offering full obeisances,
again and again and again, with tears of repentance in his eyes and begged
forgiveness from Luxmi Devi for what he had done. Luxmi smiled, She said, “You
are forgiven, you have done nothing wrong, this was all the lila of My Beloved
Lord and you are just an instrument of this lila.”
On the Tirumalai
Mountain
On the battle there was Thondaman's army, and Vasudan, the son of
Aksharaj's army. How sad? This is the age of Kali. If you don't put things in
writing, nobody knows what is truth. And we see this happening even amongst
devotees today, people make agreements, people make policies, and then as years
go by, different people have different versions of what was agreed on. And then
there is fighting with battles, and brothers become enemies and god brothers
become hateful, and everything is finished. In Gaudiya math. when Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur was present, it was the most powerful, united
preaching team, nothing could stop it. It had the capacity of just spreading
Krishna Consciousness, pure love of God, throughout the world. But after Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur departed, and even just before he departed,
there was conflict over who would get different properties? Over who would get
different positions? Over who would get different facilities? And after he
left, there was battles in the courts, and even battles with fists. And
everyone believed they were right. It was just different interpretations and
miscommunication. And the Gaudiya math was splintered into dozens of different
branches, and Srila Prabhupada tried in every possible way to unite, to unite
his god brothers again, and when he saw that it was not possible, he took the
mission of his guru maharaja to spread Krishna consciousness all over the
world, he himself at the age of seventy with nothing and he did it. Srila
Prabhupada Ki Jai!!
So yes, here is a loving uncle and a loving son fighting over property
and position. So they both wanted Srinivas on their side. So Srinivas went to
Padmavati, He said “Who's side should I be on?” She said, she was so sad about
this war, so sad, but she said still, “Vasudan is my brother, he is closest to
me. You cannot go against him”. So Srinivas gave His conch shell and His
Sudarshan chakra to Thondaman. And He said He would be on the side of Vasudan.
So the fight was raging but there was a problem. Thondaman saw that because
Srinivas was on the other side none of his soldiers would fight
enthusiastically, because they all loved Him. How can you fight against the
ultimate object of your love? So his army was being destroyed, he was losing
the battle simply because no-one wanted to fight against Srinivas. So he got so
mad, he got so angry. Some say it was Thondaman, some say it was the son of
Thondaman, that he took the chakra, the Sudarshan chakra that Srinivas gave
them, and threw the chakra, threw Vishnu's chakra at Vishnu. And it hit Him,
and Vishnu fell to the ground. It was His Lila, and He appeared lifeless. And
everyone stopped fighting then, and they all gathered around and they were all
crying and praying, “Please come back, come back, come back Srinivas, come
back”. And at that point Thondaman and Vasudan was thinking, “What nonsense are
we doing fighting? Look what the result of the fight is? That Srinivas is
injured, He may be killed”.
They were all crying and weeping and the news came to Agasya Muni's
ashram, and Padmavati ran to the scene with Agasya rishi. And she was weeping
and crying, and seeing that everyone's hearts were melting and then Srinivas
came back into consciousness. And they both said, everyone said, “Whatever You
say Srinivas, we will do ”. So Srinivas said, “We will divide the kingdom in
two parts, and Vasudan, you be the king here and Thondaman, you be the king
here, and forever you'll live in harmony with each other.” And that took place.
After some days, Srinivas approached Thondaman, who was a very, very great and
dear devotee. And said, “In the place that Lord Varahadeva gave me, on the top
of the mountain
of Tirumalai temple
of Tirumalai
Acharyas Tells Greatness About Tirupati Temple
The greatest of the acharyas climbed this mountain with their own feet,
as we are going to do tomorrow, eager for the darshan of Sri Venkateshwara.
Shankaracharya came here to worship, and later on the great Vaisnava Acharaya,
Ramanujam. Ramanujam declared according to the sastras that these seven hills
are Vaikuntha on earth. Ramanujacarya was living in Sri Rangam but singing the
songs and the hymns of the Alvars, always put him in a trance of ecstatic love.
And one time while reading the glories of Tirumalai and the Lord, Sri
Venkateshwara, he told his devotees “We will go there”. He came to the foot of
the hill, and performed his bhajan, giving lectures on the Absolute Truth. One
of his disciple, Anantacharya, he was living up there on the Lord's order,
taking care of a garden, knowing that his guru was down at the bottom of the
mountain, he came down and asked him “Please come up, please come up”. But
Ramanujacarya said, “How can I put my feet on that mountain, it is
non-different than Ananta Sesha, it is Ananta Sesha's body. It is Vaikuntha,
the spiritual world. I cannot go”. But he said, “Ramanujam, my gurudeva, if you
do not go then nobody will go. Even the pujaris, if you, the most holy and saintly
and pure of all beings, are not willing to put your feet on the mountain then
what is our position? The pujaris will come down; no pilgrims will go up there.
Balaji will be up there all alone. You must come, please.” So on the persuasion
of the devotees, Sri Ramanujacarya climbed. As he was climbing, one of his
spiritual masters, Sri Shaila Purna, came with garlands and Prasad, to greet
Ramanujam, when he was just close to the top of the mountain. Ramanujacarya
said to his senior, elder guru, he said “Why did you come with all this load of
Prasad and garland yourself? Why didn't you just send a junior devotee to do
this? You are very old and it's very difficult for you.” Sri Shaila Purna
responded that, “Yes, it is the proper etiquette for me to send a junior
devotee, but I looked in all directions, and I could not find a single soul
junior to myself. I am the junior most; I am the most neophyte of everyone so I
had to do the chore myself”.
This is what a guru of Ramanujacarya was speaking. Sri Ramanujacarya's
heart melted with the humility of a true Vaisnava. He stayed on the top of the
hill for three days, having the darshan of Sri Balaji in great ecstasy. It is
explained that over a period of time Balaji has four hands, over a period of
time, the Vaisnavas worship Him as Vishnu, but the Shivaites worship Him as
Lord Shiva. The followers of Shankaracharya consider that Balaji is Shiva. And
the followers of Ramanujam and others consider Him Vishnu. So should we put the
drum of Shiva and the trident in his arms, in His hands? Or should we put the
conch shell and the disc? There was a dispute and you know how religious people
can be when there is a dispute over theological issues. It was a heated debate.
Ramanujacarya proposed a solution, he said that, “All followers of Shankar, you
put Shiva's drum and Shiva's trident before the deity and I will put the conch
shell and Sudarshan chakra before the deity, and then we will all leave the
deity room and lock the doors so no one has any possibility of coming in. And
in the morning we will open the door and see which symbols the Lord is
holding”. Can you imagine the intensity of that night? I didn't read this but I
don't think anyone slept that night, because this was in South
India , this was like the ultimate deity. Is it Shiva or Vishnu? In
the morning, the doors were opened and Sri Venkateshwara was holding the
symbols offered by Sri Ramanujacarya of the conch shell and Sudarshan chakra.
Venkateshwara Bhagavan Ki Jai!!!
Sri Ramanujacarya descended from the hill, he was about to depart for
Sri Rangam, Sri Shaila Purna offered to teach Ramanujacarya Valmiki Muni's
Ramayana for one full year in Tirupati. Ramanujacarya remained here in Tirupati
for that year studying Sri Ramayana. Sripad Madhavacharya came here to Venkateshwara's
mandir, resided for some time and worshipped Sri Balaji with great love and
devotion with his disciples. Sripad Vallabhacharya came here and worshipped Sri
Balaji with his disciples. In Sri Chaitanya Bhagavat we find Nityananada
Prabhu's pilgrimage, He came to Tirumalai to worship Sri Venkateshwara with
great love and devotion. And in Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita, Lord Sri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu, He walked up the same path we will be going tomorrow and in the
presence of Sri Venkateshwara, in ecstatic love, He offered His prayers, He
danced with His arms raised inducing every one around to chant the Holy Name.
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE
HARE HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE
So many of our beloved acharyas worship this place, Bhaktisiddhanta
Saraswati Thakur, if we are fortunate we will see the lotus footprints of Lord
Chaitanya that He installed here. And Srila Prabhupada, himself, came here. It
is written about it in his biographies to take the darshan of Sri Balaji and he
was very, very deeply impressed, in fact he told devotees that we should learn
how to manage a temple very nicely and worship the deities so beautifully from
Venkateshwara temple.
Today, after lunch Prasad, which will be served if I ever end this long
lecture, we will be visiting the temple
of Padmavati Tirumalai Mountains
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