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THE GOD OF BIG THINGS  BACK TO HOME 
 
The God Of Big Things
By M. Raghu Ram
http://www.lifepositive.com/spirit/world-religions/hinduism/tirupati.asp
 
The unique idol of Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala, the most popular and 
bounteous pilgrimage center in the country, is believed to be the first image 
of any god or goddess that manifested spontaneously and is the source of Archa 
or idol worship so common in India today
 
The rich imagination of Brahmanical literature describes him as the Lord of 
numerous universes: the root of the phenomena of Creation, Life, Living, 
Events, Change et al as the Preserver of the Hindu Trinity. Sri Venkateswara 
Swami, or Tirupati Balaji, is the presiding deity of the famous and bounteous 
Tirumala temple.
 
Over the millennia, the Tirumala temple, near Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, has 
continued to draw countless devotees who contribute billions of rupees to its 
kitty. Its mind boggling reserves of pure gold, if unloaded, can crush the 
world bullion market. Even the Vatican and Mecca cannot match the temple's 
popularity nor can the new pilgrimage destinations of India, such as 
Sabarimalai, Vaishno Devi and Shirdi. 
 
Pilgrims come for fleeting glimpses of the fascinating life-size idol of 
Balaji, after inching in long queues for hours and days. Many undertake the 
pilgrimage asking for favors to mark various transitions in life or simply to 
offer their hair, tiny silver or gold bits or images of the deity. The shrine 
is an integral part of life and culture especially in the three southern Indian 
states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. 
 
The devotees, however, cut across all barriers of region or religion. For the 
Dutch Peter who recently converted to Vedic Hinduism through the TM 
(transmeditation) route, the deity represents pure consciousness. The miracle 
of survival amidst recurring destitution and godsent jobs to the family of 
Fathima, a Muslim devotee, is a moving story. Dr Loy Camoens, a devout Latin 
Catholic and a physician in New Citi Hopsital, Secunderabad, India, requests 
for the laddu prasad or offerings, from Tirupati and accepts it reverentially. 
A Jain woman in New Delhi, India, pines for this deity. They are all moved by a 
spontaneous feeling and urge. 
Some leftists, known staunch atheists, have also been drawn to Balaji. The 
moving force for Sri Sri, an acclaimed Indian poet and Telugu revolutionary, 
was the maddening jealousy of his fellow litterateurs. Communist leader late C. 
Rajeswara Rao's red salute to the deity some years ago had also sparked a 
controversy. 
 
UNUSUAL ICON 
Venkateswara is not a name but a title. Vem-kata means one who cuts or washes 
away one's sins.
The unique idol in Tirumala is a riddle to unravel. 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 and action in theism. 
 
There are millions of gods in Hinduism but there is ultimately only one God. 
All God's attributes are to be found in Vishnu, in yoganidra (yogic sleep) or 
Sri Ranganathaswami (Lord of the creation) who chose to descend on the earth as 
Yoga Murti (idol), Balaji. Thus, Balaji is not an avatar of Vishnu but Vishnu 
himself. 
 
The deity also represents the God of Justice, according to V.G. Pragasam, 
Advocate-on-Record, Supreme Court of India. He is blindfolded by the Namam or 
forehead mark; the scales of justice are his two wives on either side of his 
chest with the sword of justice hanging in between. With his slim and black 
figure, the deity is said to represent Shani (Saturn). He subjects one to the 
trying period of Shanidasa and metes out the package of rewards and punishments 
in the material and spiritual spheres. 
 
Interestingly, the image in the temple is most unlike the portrait in the 
ubiquitous pictures, admits M. Srinivasa Bhattacharyulu, an adviser to the 
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), which manages the affairs of the temple. 
In the portraits, the deity's chubbiness, facial appearance and sword visibly 
dangling below his chest are all misleading. The Dhruva Beram (the standing 
idol of the deity) has a Srivatsa mark in the middle of the chest instead of 
the left breast which encloses a half-inch Lakshmi (Goddess of wealth and 
divine consort of Lord Vishnu) sculpture. 
 
When installed and consecrated in a temple, any form of Vishnu is said to 
create peace, nourishment and happiness for devotees. Balaji is one of the 
eight Swayam Vyakta Sthalas (spontaneous image locations) in India and Nepal, 
Bhattacharyulu elaborates. 
You don't need to go to Tirumala to fathom the Lord's mystique or greatness. 
Mere listening to the wondrous compositions of his noblest and humblest 
devotees, like Annamacharya or Tyagaraja, Alvars Pasurama and Purandara Dasa, 
suffices. They combine the quintessence of the Vedas and the Upanishads. 
 
There is a controversy about the deity representing Shakti ( divine consort of 
Lord Shiva as well as Goddess representing female power) and Shiva as some 
rituals and traditions signify. The first three Alvars describe him as a 
combination of Vishnu and Shiva. Dr Medasani Mohan, director, Bhagavatha 
Project, TTD, attests to the idol having jatas (locks of hair) of Shiva and 
chiselled out bosom of Shakti when observed from close quarters during the 
prolonged Abhishekam Seva (holy bath) when the idol is undressed. 
 
But Bhattacharyulu contradicts this theory. Normally the lions atop the Vimanam 
(roof) are taken as proof of its being a Shakti temple. But he says they are 
mere guards as in Badrinath and other Vaishnavite shrines. 
 
A DAY IN THE DEITY'S LIFE 
His day begins with the Melu Kolupu Paata (awakening song) sung by the 
descendants of Annamacharya, followed by Sri Venkateswara Suprabhatam.
A traditional cowherd or Yadava is given the first darsan or holy sight of the 
idol, of the day. The recitation of the deity's 1,008 names is begun in the 
name of Hathiram Bavaji, a 15th century seeker from North India. The Muthyala 
(pearls) Harathi at night and Pavalimpu Seva (putting the deity to sleep) is 
done in the name of Tarikonda Venku Mamba, a rebel, writer and staunch woman 
devotee. 
 
The Lord is said to go down the hills to neighbouring Tiruchanur to see his 
consort, Sri Padmavathy, by using the large shoes made as an offering by a 
Madiga "untouchable" and returns early for the morning sevas or services.
Sri Ramanujacharya, the 12th century reformer and Vaisnavite saint, laid down a 
comprehensive system of organization, management and worship, which survives to 
this day in Tirumala. The daily worship was institutionalized by 1200 AD. It 
represents a notable exception to the casteist and dominant Brahmanism even in 
the early part of the millennium, mainly due to Ramanuja's towering stature.
 
AN ENDURING PHENOMENON 
The geography of the central hill ranges of the Eastern Ghats of India, is 
compared by the puranas or ancient texts, to a huge recumbent cobra or 
Adisesha. The Jyotirlinga of Sri Mallikarjuna Swami in Srisailam temple is 
located on its tail, Sri Narasimha Swami Temple in Ahobilam on its back, Sri 
Venkateswara temple atop its hood like the dancing Krishna (though the temple 
is noted for its location in the low of the last hill rather than the peak) and 
Sri Kalahasti temple of Shiva at the opening of its mouth. 
Surprisingly, despite the hill's topography suiting military operations, which 
were frequent in the region, the Balaji temple remained miraculously untouched, 
even by the infamous iconoclast Aurangzeb's (the last of the Great Mughal 
Emperors) plundering and pillaging army. 
Ancient references to the deity and the purifying hill even before the advent 
of the deity are many. They go back to the Rig-Veda. Some described only the 
purifying hill, others mentioned the Lord who absolves sins and presides over 
the hill, but not any temple. The puranas refer to the Tirumala hill as 
Venkatadri or Venkatachala. 
 
According to the Hindu epic Ramayana, Lord Rama, one of Lord Vishnu's 
incarnations, and his Vanara (monkeys) army marching to Lanka for war with 
Ravana halted here on the request of Anjana Devi, the mother of Hanuman. The 
Mahabharata, the longest epic in the world, describes the transformation of the 
departed spirit of Sri Krishna, after it entered the solar disc, into a 
lifeless four-armed image, which was to descend to Earth. An ethereal voice 
told the assembled devas or gods that it was to be worshipped in Kaliyuga, the 
present era of darkness and ignorance, as an easy means for seeking personal 
salvation. This is believed to be the Tirupati deity. The eighth century Tamil 
classic Silappadikaram quotes a pilgrim's description of the deity. 
 

WHY IDOL WORSHIP 
Idol worship is not animism practised by the so-called primitive peoples and 
cultures, as colonialist anthropology would have us believe. Faith in it opens 
up many gates of spirituality. A recent book on the first encounter of medieval 
Arabian Muslims with idol worship in India reveals their curiosity and respect 
for this path to God-realization instead of intolerant iconoclasm they became 
infamous for.
 
Esoteric Brahmanism which evolved a complex system of Archa or image worship is 
rooted in Balaji's idol. The deity is the first image of any god or goddess 
that manifested spontaneously. 
Bhakti (devotion) path has nothing to do with sandhya, vandana, japa and other 
rituals, which are all means of worship and are all right, but worship of 
divine images is accorded primacy in bhakti or devotion. Attachment to the 
deity's image detaches the devotee from samsara, this world, and enables him to 
realize the supreme being as Narayana. 
It is worth noting that Balaji's right hand is pointing downward towards his 
feet just above the knee, indicating that worshipping him will liberate one 
from kneedeep illusions of worldly existence. 
 
Thus, not only is the main idol in Tirumala believed to be of divine origin, it 
is also connected with divine sanction for Archa worship. The earlier yugas or 
eras, offered a tough yogic path of penance, mental concentration and 
meditation. Archa is to enable all in Kaliyuga, the present era of darkness, to 
achieve God realization through less tedious means of intense love and devotion.
Lord Venkateswara is also known as Pratyaksha Daivam (manifest divinity) who 
helps his devotees in distress even if they do not or cannot help themselves, 
thus contradicting a simplistic adage. This is, of course, linked to one's 
yogam or spiritual entitlement.
 
TTD AND DESPIRITUALIZATION 
TTD, the multi-billion rupees endowment, represents the best temple management 
system in any shrine in India. But it has also fallen victim to the general 
trend of increasing commercialization and despiritualization of pilgrim 
centers. 
Black money constitutes only a small fraction of the annual collection at the 
temple, contrary to popular belief. The income from darsan and seva tickets 
itself constitutes half the revenue and donations to the free meal scheme add 
up another 33 crore (330 million) rupees. 
 
The culture of crass commercialism and exploitation that dogs you in Tirumala 
has been institutionalised by TTD itself. It has made minor services needlessly 
free even as it milks people who prefer to pay to jump the queue for darsan or 
sevas. With its eye on revenue and populist policies, TTD has been tinkering 
with the deity's sleeping time, religious duties and timings, rather than work 
around the Lord as every temple should.
An exceptional stampede in the temple many years back was attributed by the 
then Paramacharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham to the improper or non-observance 
of the rituals prescribed by the Agama Sastras. The violation of the 
proscription on men entering the temple wearing upper garments is prompted by 
the TTD. This is in sharp contrast to the custom at major temples in Kerala, 
India.
 
M.V. Soundar Rajan, secretary, Dharma Rakshana Samiti, Hyderabad, is highly 
critical of the violation of the Agama Sastras by the TTD and its treating the 
deity as a mere stone. The famed, delicious laddu prasad, he says, is not even 
offered to the deity but has been turned into an industry despite strictures by 
the Justice Kondiah Committee report 12 years ago.
He further points out that the deity has to suffer the unnecessary and heavy 
diamond crown besides the heat of focused electric lights. All sevas are 
compacted to be completed by dawn to facilitate darsan by pilgrims while 
ignoring the importance of Ushas Kalam (the period starting at 4.30 a.m).
 
TTD is trying to please all, especially the state government of Andhra Pradesh, 
except the presiding deity it thrives on and claims to serve.
"The devotion and pilgrimage by millions increase the power of the deity while 
violation of the Agama Sastras will deplete its power and wealth," Soundar 
Rajan points out. One result of rabid commercialism and brazen doubling of 
displayed rates of eatables and beverages is frequent scuffles between 
indignant devotees and vendors in the massive Vaikuntam Queue Complex.
 
While its administrative and educational institutions could have been managed 
better, the TTD's medical institutions, such as the one for the handicapped, 
are doing yeoman's service. 
Its flaws apart, TTD continues to cater to the needs of millions of devotees 
who throng the temple every year to seek help for their mundane worries and 
problems, propagating further the legend of this God of Kaliyug. 
 






                
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