The Lord of the seven hills is the Lord of the universe. The special significance of Lord Venkateswara temple at Tirumala lies in the fact that it is the oldest religious institutions in the world where unbroken religious worship is being carried on for over 1,500 years by revered Acharyas and millions of pilgrims reach the holy abode more than any other temple in the world .The temple is held in high veneration by many devotees.
The average number of pilgrims who seek Lord’s darshan ranges from 50,000 to 1,00,000 and more daily and on festivals double this .The emotional outpourings of the great Azhwars makes one rush to this sacred hills to have HIS darshan . Mere listening to the emotional compositions of his noblest and humblest devotees, like Annamacharya Tyagaraja and Purandara Dasa suffices. They combine the quintessence of the Vedas and the Upanishads.
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 .
VenkaTAdri samam sthAnam brahmANDe nAsti kinchana
venkateSa samo devo na bhUto na bhaviSyati!
There is no place in the entire universe that equals Venkatadri ,
the place where …
Lord resides ……..
.and there is no Lord,
either in the past nor in the future…….
who shall equal our Lord Venkateswara.
Tirumala is one of the seven Swayam Vyaktha Kshetrams .
Tradition has it, that hands of man did not work for the dhruva bera ( Main deity ) of Lord Venkateswara .
Lord out of His own will, and abundant mercy had appeared at TIRUMALA and continues to stay here for this age Kaliyuga
This ageless temple of Lord Venkateswara is located a top the Tirumala Hill at an elevation of 3,000 feet .
The abode of Lord Venkateshwara stands unique as an embodiment of man’s eternal quest for the divine and seeking His infinite grace.
A pilgrimage to the sacred Hills is a soul-stirring experience cherished by every devotee. Even atheists and rationalists admit a sense of humility and the presence of the Lord here .
As one approaches the inner sanctum , a strong pull towards LORD is experienced.
The soul identifies its existence in this body and regrets its foolishness in remaining in several bodies for several births and ignoring HIS love for us.
Lord Venkateswara is glorified as Pratyaksha Daivam (manifest divinity) who helps all his devotees in distress .
The great saint Swamy Nammazhwar categorically relives his musings in a verse…
pOkinRa kaalangaL pOya kaalangaL* pOku kaalangaL,
* thaay thandhai uyi-raaginRaay*
unnai _naan adaindhEn viduvEnO,?
paaginRa tholpugaz moovulakukkum*
naathanE! paramaa,*
thaNvENGkadam mEkinRaay*
thaNdhuzaay virai_ naaRukaNNiyanE.
At all times past, present and future ……..
Oh Lord!!!
You are my mother, my father my very life itself
…and …
your holiness having reached you,
Oh Lord!!
Will I ever let you go?
Oh lord of the three worlds …
Oh Supreme One!
With your eternal fame,
so far-reaching, with the fragrant cool garland of tulasi leaves …….
You grace the cool Venkata hill.
Few come out with rain of tears and a few feeling relived, and a few want more to just be there looking at HIM.. ….
doing nothing more ……like an infant cuddling in the arms of his mother asking nothing ……………………………
All men irrespective of religion, status, caste, and creed make several trips in their lives to worship the LORD, as they are our divine parents for ever.
At Tirumala apart from having sarva darshanam , devotees participate in daily Arjitha sevas such as Suprabatha seva , Thomala seva, Archana Seva , Kalyanaotsavam, Arjitha brahmotsavam, dolotsavam, Sahasradeepalankarana seva , vasanthothsavam, Ekantha seva conducted at different times in a day .
Apart from the daily seva , weekly sevas that comprises of Vishesha pooja on Monday , Ashtadalapada padmaaradhana on Tuesday , Sahsrakalshabhishekam on Wednesday, Thiruppavada sevai on Thursday and Abhishekam ( Vastralankarana sevai ) on Friday conducted in a grand manner .
Among all the above darshanams ,the Vastralankara seva ( Abhishekam )/(Thirumanjanam) on Friday early hours is most cherished darshan for any devotee , as one has the great fortune to be in the temple inner sanctum for more than two hours having continuous uninteruppted darshan of the Supreme Lord amongst vedic chants and azhwars’s divya prabhanda sevakalam
For this wonderful darshan the devotee is supposed to report one day in advance on Thursday.
We had the great fortune to attend this wonderful darshan few years ago by Lord’s abundant mercy …
Appended below is a brief submission for being selected few in having the darshan………
On Friday early hours around 2 AM, the ubhaydhaare reports at Vaikuntam queue complex for Arjitha seva ticket verification.
Hearing suprabhatam being recited inside the temple and silently chanting the same………
we walk in the queue………….
. ( the origin of the suprabhatam or wishing of an auspicious dawn was penned by His holiness sri P.B.Annan 600 years ago * the divine pastime is shared in the below appended post )
Continue reading “At Tirumala ………………… ” Vastralankara Seva” (Melchert Vastram) darshan experience”
