LORD SHRI VENKATESWARA

I went to Tirupathi (my native place) on 27th December 2011 with my wife, my sister-in-law and co-brother. The four of us had “Break Darshan” at around 8 p.m. that night. There was a huge crowd in Tirumala and the Rs.300 queue was more than a kilometer away from the temple. They had closed the issue of tickets due to the heavy rush. We were able to go into the temple and have the darshan in less than one hour due to the influence and recommendation of some high level officials. It was an excellent darshan and a very satisfying experience.

Visit to the Balaji Temple is always possible only if the Lord wishes. It cannot be planned and executed by us unless we have the blessings of the lord. I strongly believe in this and seen it happen in my life several times. The huge turnout of crowd at the temple also means having the right connections and influence to see the Lord quickly. I was fortunate to travel with my co-brother who was able to get some influence through his contacts.

I saw the first pillar that was erected during the construction of this world renowned temple. I have passed through that side after darshan of Yoganarasimhar but never knew that this pillar is the first one to be erected. I was glad that I came to know about this through by co-brother.

The contact and influence worked for the second time the next day morning as we were fortunate to have a good Darshan of my family deity Lord Venkateshwara again. This time we were able to stay in front of the lord for a few seconds extra and after the darshan we were taken to the Rangaranga Mandapam. They gave special blessings to us and put an angavastram around my shoulders. Whenever I go to Tirupathi I have been telling my wife that we are not getting the Vada which is so special and tastes so good. It has been a long cherished wish to get vada but has remained an unfulfilled wish for the last couple of decades. This time after the special blessings the priest gave me a very big laddu and vada. This is the first time that I have stepped into the Rangaranga Mandapam and it is also the first time that I have received the special blessings with the big laddu and big vada. I felt overwhelmed and very blessed to have received this special blessings and also the excellent darshan, that too twice in a space of 12 hours.

The volunteers inside the Lord Balaji Sannadhi normally push people so that the crowd can get the Darshan without too much of waiting. On both the occasions we had a very good Darshan and were not pushed and pulled. We were given enough time to stand in front of the Lord and offer prayers. We were also allowed to go around the dwajasthambam and it is for the first time in my life I had this rare opportunity.

We then went to Thiruchanur to have the Darshan of Alamelumangai Thaayar. We were made to sit in the sannadhi in front of the goddess and the priest did the archana and gave the special prasadham. This is the first time that I had the opportunity to sit in front of the Goddess and have a Darshan for a long time without being pushed or pulled by the volunteers.

The Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam is doing a fantastic job in maintaining the place so well. The queue system and facilities around the temple are a standing example of proper organising and maintaining of a facility. They also have free shuttle service in Tirumala for people to move around. There are hundreds of cottage buildings for the pilgrims to stay and there are also guest houses built by large Corporates and various mutts. The entire hill is very neat and nicely maintained with least destruction to the nature.

This was a very unique and very special trip to Tirupathi and Tiruchanur as I had such a good Darshan with my wife and received special blessings of the God and Goddess. This trip shall remain very special in my memory for ever and I will remain grateful to my co-brother and sister-in-law for arranging this wonderful trip.

T.P.Anand
Chennai, India
29th December 2011