Yes it’s been close to 2 months since I visited and wrote a new blog on this site. There are many times in life that you consistently have something in your “To do” list and maintain it that way without a reason and writing blog was one such item for me for the last 2 months. I am surprised to find out that there were few anxious enquiries as to why have not I blogged. I categorize them as people who are so troubled by me and can’t live without the pain I inflict on them…
I am just back from my annual haj - a visit to “Tirupathi” which is still lingering in my mind positively. Few notable observations & experiences:
Vacation time and the visitor traffic are expected to be very high and there are no surprises in that. But the crowd which I mostly saw is in their teens that represented the maximum %. The next in the category was the recently married category with a young kid. The predominant belief that younger generation is moving away from religion, rituals and religious places seems to be a myth. Yes they may be there to request or bribe the lord for better marks in exams or for a better future. But the reason does not matter. The trend of younger generation thronging the temples is not just limited to few famous temples like tirupathi but across the spectrum. So, bhakthi is growing and not diminishing.
I was lucky to have a friend who managed to arrange this trip at a short notice and we wanted to walk up the hill. We started our climb at midnight. I was surprised to find that large % of people are also climbing up at that time most of them with a bag (shoulder pack) or with their kids. Kudos to their drive as I can see that by their appearance they are going to take a general queue or a least paid ticket for which the waiting time ranges between 8 hours to 20 hours. There were a few who were applying haldi and saffron to each and every step. So just imagine that people climbing up carrying babies / bags that would weigh anywhere between 5 kgs to 10 kgs, wait in a line for more than 10 hours to have a glimpse for about 30 seconds or less. Amazing levels of energy & drive displayed and you can call it bhakthi, faith, superstition anything… it gives me goose pimples even now if I think about them.
But most important of it all is the fact that I with my single pack abs managed to climb up almost at the same duration as I did in my previous years, which essentially conveys that my stamina levels have not gone down drastically. My delusions of falling stamina levels have been pleasantly broken.
Tirumala is not a place where you plan and visit for a darshan at your will but I strongly believe that Lord has to call you and remind you that your visit is due. This time too it has happened in the same way.
Just as we were reaching the top of the hill at about 2.30AM we could hear “Venkateswara Suprabatham” played in the temple premise for the lord to wake up. Its then I realized that how difficult it is to play god if we stupid humans make it a point to wake him up at about 3 AM in the morning every day. I can be awake till 3 AM in the morning without sleeping the whole night but can’t allow some one to wake me up at 3AM in the morning…. Not for half of this world.
It’s tough to play “god”…
Finally this visit is a fine blend of stamina test with a 3 hour trek, weight reduction program for the heavy heart and a mild sedative for the restless mind. Guess i have reset my sin counter which allows me to commit more...... :)
Yours religiously
Happy reading!
