This week got a chance to have the darshans of the richest deity of world - Lord Tirupati Balaji This temple is located at Tirumala Hill in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.
All thanks to my friend Arpit (my college friend), who was more than enthusiastic to accompany me to the auspicious dham। We
booked a 1-day Tirupati Package. It is hassle-free, comfortable and economical at the same time. Just 750 bucks.So we boarded the bus at 10:00 p.m. the bus was AC and had superb reclining chairs, making the journey all the more comfortable. We reached Tirupati by 02:30 a.m. and got tickets for the darshan. The ticketing system is highly IT-enabled, for it took a digital photo and a fingerprint of every pilgrim. Anyways we got the reporting time of 01:00 p.m the same day itself.
We were then taken to a hotel for getting fresh. We were to report in the lounge by 04:30 am. But as usual we were late. But coming down, we saw the lounge was empty and there was no one in the bus either. Then an old couple came and on enquiry got to know that reporting time was 05:00 a.m.. So I decided to listen to some kirtan on my i-pod, while Arpit went outside to feel the fresh air. Just then he saw our bus pass by. It dawned upon us that the bus standing outside was not ours but of a different group and their reporting time was 5:00 am, not ours. But the problem was resolved as both the buses belonged to the same tour agency.
So then we visited Padmavati temple. The temple is located in the heart of city. No electronic item is allowed inside the temple. To facilitate pilgrims, there is a locker facility where a police man registers the person and keeps their mobiles safely. There's a ticket for darshan that costs 25/- per individual.
Then we came back to the same hotel. Our original bus was standing there. We rushed for the breakfast, as our bus passengers had already done away with theirs. We boarded the governmen run bus which takes us uphill to Tirumala Devasthanam. The journey was scenic and a bit too taxing for my poor companion. He always get sick while travelling in bus. On the way we discussed some philosophy. Now he is a Jain by religion, but he knows somethings about hindu culture too. The fact that he was excited to visit Tirupati, says it all. We talked about Buddhist philosphy, that how Lord Buddha tricked people away from vedic culture which was totally polluted down the ages and how Shankaracharya brought people back to vedic culture. The whole situation can be compared to formatting a pc when it's files get corrupted and then re-installing the OS.
Reached uphill within an hour or so. Then our guide asked us to assemble back at the bus drop point by 9:00 AM, so we had 1 hour to our discretion. Did some shopping for my friend Priyanka.
Later we proceeded for the waiting area, where we sat till 12:30 pm to get to the queue. Mind you this waiting is to join the queue, then it takes more time. Finally we got to the temple compound after long 3 hours. Mind you the queue is not 1 person wide , but a corridor. So there is a lot of pushing, crushing and suffocating. Be prepared for a minor discomfort.
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The temple is so constructed that at every turn you'll feel that now you'll see the divine form of Lord Venkateshvara, but you keep on moving. Different queues keep on joining, like tributaries join a river.
The sanctum sanctorum is all gold। It seems so. And the moment you enter the door and take a turn left, there HE is. The dark one, wearing glittering dresses and a big white tilak. People cry out his name "Govinda" in love and devotion. The moment you see him, all the effort put in seems worth it.
Then we were pushed out after being inside for about 30 seconds or so. Outside on the walls the whole pastime of Lord Tirupati is described. Through the big glass window, you can see the counting going on. Huge sacks filled with notes and coins are emptied and many people are sitting there to count them.
I also met one ISKCON devotee. Lord knew my desire and fulfilled it. He was from Hyderabad and had been to this place many times. He had attended the Mangala Arotik at Radha Govind & Ashtasakhi Temple and then came up here. He filled me in on a tip that its best to stay at ISKCON dormitory and come up with the book distributing party. They people have good contacts with Tirupati Management. We then parted our ways and proceeded towards the exit. Arpit & me also got parted at the entrance as i had a bag which needed to be passed through security systems. We got together after having darshans separately. Then we got two complementary Laddoos. They were big, full of dry-fruits and delectable. (Tirupati Mahaprasadam ki Jai).
We then boarded our bus and journeyed back to the hotel. Had our at approximately 4:30 pm. Then we boarded our comfortable bus back for Bangalore. I slept through most of the journey.
It was a great experience. Thank you krishna for getting me to Bangalore and giving me this chance.
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