It has been adiyen’s long pending desire to visit Thiruvenkatamudaiyan. Adiyen’s earlier trip was in 1999. But that trip was not planned well. We went by afternoon train from chennai and booked for suprabhata seva in the early morning and returned by morning train back to chennai. Since it was Friday, the Jeeyar Sarrumurai seva was not at 7 AM and we could not stay back since we were to catch the train at Thiruppathi.

In 2001, when my wife fell seriously ill with Hepatitis A, adiyen prayed to HIM for her speedy recovery and starting observing vratam on every sravanam till such time we go to HIM at Thirumala. Also adiyen  took a vow to recite the entire Daya shatakam of Swami Desika sitting in the temple.

This time we had planned to spend a day or two in Thirumala to have peaceful darshan of Sri Srinivasa. It got extended by one more day as one of our friend was doing upanayanam for his son at Sri Ahobila mutt in Thirumala. Further adiyen wanted to spend some time with Sri Chinna Jeeyar swami in Thirumala as adiyen read about his untiring efforts to preserve the traditional Sarrumurai seva for Srivaishnavas who present themselves in Srivaishnava LakshaNam. Also there was an article in Sri Nrusimha priya about the Ramanujar sannidhi enroute the hilltop and Sri chinna Jeeyar swami had taken efforts to renovate this sannidhi and he had invited every one to have darshan of Sri Ramanuja. There was a fourth reason to meet him as one of his poorvasrama relative who is our satsangh member (Sri Vijaykumar) wanted to offer saffron and Cardamom etc for thiirtha parimalam. So we had planned to spend some time with him apart from our darshan of Srinivasa.

Now the entire world thrives on Internet. We can even book our seva tickets online from TTD’s web site. Though the process is very cumbersome, (If you are five in a group, you have to book one by one only) adiyen managed to do this two months ahead of time from Bahrain itself. The another drawback is that you have to carry your original passport to claim the entry ticket on reaching Thirumala. Carrying the original passport in that crowded town is very risky but there is no option. Later adiyen managed to have ticket for one more seva as my father had an unexpected opportunity to visit Thirumala to accompany our neighbor in chennai. So we had Archanantra seva booked thru net and Arjitha brahmostavam booked by giving a demand draft drawn at the Vijaya bank counter,Thirumala. Both sevas were on 8th July.

We left chennai on 7th early morning as adiyen wanted to go to Thirumala by foot, although there was no prarthana like that. Before starting our trip, we had contacted Jeeyar swami thru telephone and he himself took the phone and informed us that he will be camping at Lower thirupathi as some utsavam was going on at Sri Varadaraja swamy temple. When we have expressed our desire to attend Sarrumurai seva, he told that although he will be at Lower thirupathi only till 9th of July, somehow he will try to arrange for the seva, he promised.

We have landed at Thirupathi around 10 AM and the Sri chinna Jeeyar madam was very close to Sri Govindaraja swamy temple, just opposite to Sri Ahobila mutt. When we went there, no one was in the chinna jeeyar madam and we were disappointed. What to do now? Where to meet him? Then we thought that of going to Sri Ahobila mutt and refresh ourselves and wear traditional clothing to visit the temples. May be it was Sri Malolan’s wish that we should first take HIS blessings first. Sri Ramaswamy bhattar was there and he was kind enough to give us a room temporarily and then took the blessings of Malolan. The moorthy here is very beautiful and this process took half an hour. Then we thought of first going to Sri Govindaraja swamy temple.

When we came out of Sri Ahobila mutt, we have noticed that the door of the Chinna Jeeyar mutt was open although it was dark inside. Adiyen ventured and located one bhagavatha called Ranganathan. He told that Chinna jeeyar swamy is at Sri Varadarajaswamy temple and Utsavam is going on there. He invited us to have darshan there and we immediately went to this temple and we had never been to this temple. It is just 10 minutes drive from Sri Govindarajaswamy temple.

Once we have reached there both Pedda Jeeyar and Chinna Jeeyar swami were there. We had good darshan of Utsavar in the Mandapam and then introduced ourselves to Jeeyar swami. He was very kind and open in talking to us. After our darshan, he ordered the devotees there to give us prasadam. He advised that we shall go to Govindaraja swamy temple and then meet him at the chinna jeeyar mutt, as he will be reaching there in an hour’s time.

We had prasadam and came to Govindaraja swamy temple. The temple was very crowded on that day. It took long time to cover all the sannidhis. One good thing adiyen has noticed here. All the archakas bless us stating that “ punar darshana prAptirastu” meaning we should be blessed to have darshan of Perumal again and again. Since we were in traditional dress, in all sannidhis the archakas spent a minute with us and ensured that we had good darshan. The deities are so beautiful here and we require around 2 hours to cover all the sannidhis.

When we came to Jeeyar mutt, no one was around and the doors were open. We went inside and saw the swami was taking rest. He must be very tired after his long routine of the morning then attending the utsavam etc. So we did not want to disturb him. We sat there for couple of hours and once swami woke up we went and prostrated to Him. He immediately felt that we must have been waiting for long time and he felt very bad about that. He mentioned that he was too tired but we could have awakened him without waiting.

The next two hours spent with him was really memorable. He mentioned about his close association with Srimad Azhagiya singar and the Jeeyar seva kaimkaryam that he is doing for the benefit of all srivaishnavas. He mentioned that whenever Srimad Andavan or Srimad Azhagiya singar or Sri Parakala mutt jeeyar visits Tirumala we personally take them to close quarters of Thiruvenkatamudaiyan and give all the mariyadha with parivattam etc. He also mentioned about the recently renovated Sri Ramanujar sannidhi and how that kaimkaryam went on without any hassles. He quoted many divya prabandham verses and explained it in simple layman’s language. In all we were blessed to have his audience in private for good time.

Adiyen has presented him some dry fruits, which we have carried from Bahrain for offering to Yativaras and Perumal and Saffron and Cardamam etc given by Sri Vijaykumar. Also adiyen gave one CD of Divya prabandham recited by our Sri Ananth and Sri Narayanan. He was very pleased with this kaimkaryam and mentioned that many times lowkeekas are doing great service in spreading such sampradayic matters than the scholars. He enquired about the background and how it should be played etc and blessed us to continue our kaimkaryams.

The another reason he was pleased was that the association of both sects here in Bahrain. He was indeed surprised to note adiyen can recite the Vazhi Thirunamam of Sri Manavala mamuni and adiyen told that entire goshti know both Vazhi Thirunamams by heart and it is recited at the end of every goshti. He jokingly mentioned that the 2 sects (of Srivaishnavam) are like the Sri and Bhu devi thayar of Sriman Narayana and like none of them will be jealous when perumal is blessing the another, we should not have hatred to the other sect. He spoke very high of Swami Desika and mentioned that without Sri Desika, there is no Srivaishnavam today and to that extent, we should have great bhakti to HIM. He mentioned that this is his firm personal opinion and he is living to it as he preaches.

Although he had a commitment at Sri Varadaraja swamy temple at Lower thirupathi next day, he promised us to be with us for Jeeyar seva on 8th. He told us that he will take us close to perumal and arrange for good darshan. But when he enquired about the next day’s program at the varadaraja swamy temple, he learnt that by 9 AM he has to be there for mudhal thiirtham. He was disappointed as he can’t make a trip to Thirumala with in that time. Further 8th being the Thirunakshatram of Sri Periazhvar, he has to be in the temple for utsavam. Sri Jeeyar swami apologised for his inability to be with us and we were shocked at his humility. He is the Jeeyar swami and we are just ordinary devotees and are we really qualified to have his blessings and concern to this extent? Jeeyar swami’s gesture and humbleness has moved us.

He than phoned the devotees at Thirmala for arranging a good darshan. Unfortunately, he could not reach anyone at that time. Then he told us to meet couple of bhagvathas at Pedda Jeeyar mutt at Thirumala and tell about his orders. Adiyongal then took leave of him and continued our journey to Thiruchchanur. We have really enjoyed the company of Sri Jeeyar swami and we have taken photograph with him.

When we went to Sri Ahobila mutt, Sri Ramaswamy swamin was reciting Srimad Bhagavatam in his pooja room and his melodious voice was filling the air. The Venugopala swamy, the archa moorthy of his daily aradhana was very beautiful and swamin has nicely made alankaram for him. He mentioned that was the concluding day of recitation and he was pleased to receive us
(we being sri ahobila mutt sishyas) and do little service to us.

Then we went to Thiruchchanur and we have offered vastram to Thayar. For a welcome change this temple was not so crowded at that time and the thayar was decorated with lots of jewels and adiyen was wonder struck at the smile on the face of HER.  The divine feeling can’t be expressed and it has to be felt. We were blessed to remain there for few minutes and Swami desikan’s Sristuthi verses just passed adiyen’s mind and recited the concluding verses of Sri stuthi and returned. In fact we were very tired and thirsty at that time. Not any more after seeing HER.

It was well beyond 5 PM and we have dropped the plan of climbing the Seven Hills by foot, as it will be late to reach the top. We had never ventured such trip and adiyen has to postpone this for next visit. Anyway we had spent the time with Jeeyar swami discussing sat vishyams and we have consoled ourselves.

Our experiences at Thirumala will be the next posting.

Dear bhagavathas,

pranamams.

This posting is about our thirumala experiences.

By the time we reached the Tirumala hills it was around 7PM and it was drizzling. We have booked our accomodation at Ahobila mutt and first we went there and left our luggage. Then went to Padmavadhi Guest house to collect our original seva coupons, as our booking was thru internet.After this we went to Pedda Jeeyar mutt which is just next to the Pedda Anjeneyar koil but we could not meet the bhagavathas referred by Sri Chinna Jeeyar swami. However we met one bhagavatha by name, Ramaswamy and he told us to be near the entrance by 6.30AM and he will come over there for Jeeyar seva. Later
adiyen learnt that the he is an Ekangi and they only conduct the Jeeyar seva these days and Jeeyar swami comes once in a while only. We took darshan of Sri Anjeneya and went to room to retire for that day.

Next day in the early hours we went to the temple to have darshan of the Lord. Our seva was archanantra seva. After waiting for about 2 hours we could go close to the sannidhi. adiyen could complete the recitation of entire nityanusandhanam by that time. Also adiyen was reciting desika stotras and in the early morning along with thousands of devotees who has
come from every corner of the country, it was a thrilling experience waiting to have the darshan of the lord. Earlier adiyen used to think that why should we wait for such long time to this Perumal only. But when adiyen learnt that thirty million devas are standing in a queue to have darshan of Ksherabhi nathan in Thirupparkadal, adiyen thought that our waiting is not
that bad.

Now we have come close the main sannidhi and we could see HIS kreedam and the big thiruman and the HIS divya thirumeni, although we are still near the entrance only. There are many Scout volunteers who are just pulling the devotees to move fast and more than the shouting of Govinda we could hear the shouting of "Jaraku" or "Jarakandi" meaning move fast. Every one was
pulled close to the deity by one Volunteer and in a fraction of second you will be pushed out by another and you have to capture HIM in your heart in that split second. All the months of planning and eagerness to have darshan of Thiruvenkatamudaiyan will be just for that second. Once you are out that's all. You can only see HIM only during your next trip.

When adiyen came close to the deity, the volunteer whos was pulling the devotees saw me in traditional attaire with 12 thirumans etc, held her hand out and with respect told me politely to have quick darshan and leave. This gave me little more than 10 seconds to see HIM from the foot to head and adiyen was in divine ecstasy. If we have to see this perumal then we have to become a "padi" just outside his sannidhi as Kulesekara azhvar wanted to be. The crowd around us did not matter at that moment and adiyen for a moment felt i am standing in front of HIM alone and HE is telling to me " See, I am standing alone here waiting for you. Keep coming". Probably HE has read my mind about the crowd and assured me of HIS darshan all the times. Tears were rolling down my cheeks and the crowd behind you pushed us out of the sannidhi.

We came out and after having darshan of Sri Bhashyakara and Sri Narasimha we came out of the sannidhi. The srivaishnavas were waiting for Jeeyar seva and adiyen and my father stood in the queue. They were around 100 bhagavathas. After waiting for about half an hour, we went in and had the darshan of Perumal once again and we were blessed to recite Sarrumurai in front of HIM and thiirtham and satari was provided for all of us. Then ther sarrumurai seva was performed at Sri Ramanujar sannidhi. This is the first time adiyen is participating in Jeeyar seva and it was indeed a memorable experience. We had prasadam and came out of the temple.

By 12.30PM, we came again for arjitha brahmotsavam. After brief waiting we were allowed to have darshan of Moolavar again and this is the third darshan in 6 hours. After this, we were asked to wait in the mandapam for our seva. The waiting was for long time as the proceedings were running behind time.

Finally the Utsavar along with his consorts came to mandapam. They were kept at the entrance and only the perumal was taken inside and he was placed on the Garuda, Hamsa and Sesha vahanas for a moment and harathi was performed. adiyen felt bad since the Sri Bhu devi thayars were just left at the entrance and they did not accompany the perumal. No one is bothered to have darshan of the Utsavar and the main attraction is moolavar only. People are pushed and pulled out of main sannidhi and not even allowed a second to be with moolavar, but the crowd runs to HIM only. Whereas the Utsavar is coming to us in the mandapam but no one is even bothered to go close to HIM for darshan and the consorts of HIM are just standing alone near the entrance. adiyen understood that the consorts will accompany the perumal for Unjal seva which will be performed after the arjitha brahmostava seva. The whole seva was over in 10 minutes but it wasn't impressive. adiyen after seeing the perumal in different vahanams with beautiful alankarams, could not enjoy the name sake utsavam like this. It appears that all the utsavams are made to enable the devotees to have darshan of moolavar.

We came to room and took rest for a while. Appa left for Madras and we stayed back to attend the upanayanam next day. Since we were not allowed to sit inside the temple even for 10 minutes adiyen could not recite the daya shatakam sitting in side the temple. But in the evening sat in front of Malolan, Srinivasa and adiyen's acharya Srimad Azhagiya singar and recited
the verses. In every room, a photo with Malolan, Srinivasan and Srimad Azhagiya singar has been kept.

Next day morning, adiyen again went to Jeeyar seva as I could not control myself to miss this seva. Since we were staying close to the temple, in 5 minutes adiyen was in the queue waiting for the Jeeyar seva. That day preparations were going on for sahasra kalasa abhishekam and there was some delay. adiyen could recite dasavatara stotram, Hayagreeva stotram and Vishnu
sahasra namam etc while waiting and adiyen felt that the seeing so many srivaishnavas itself is a divine blessing. Finally adiyen had darshan of Perumal and recited the sarrumurai in the goshti. On the way back to sri ahobila mutt, went to Sri Varaha swami sannidhi and then returned to the mutt. We also went to srimad Andavan ashramam and had darshan of Divya
padukas there.

In short the trip was memorable and adiyen will be cherishing the time spent in Thirumala for the years to come till my next trip. It was possible by HIS blessings and all the azhvars (except Thondar adi podi) cried to him for his blessings and we too pray to HIM following the azhvar's path.

Next will be adiyen's trip to Thirunangur divya desams.