On visiting God to have his image

I went to Chilkur village once, which is on the outskirts of Hyderabad. There I visited a temple of Lord Balaji (Sri Venkateshwara) that is especially renowned for worshippers wishes fulfilled. The temple is popular among those aspiring NRIs (Non resident Indians) seeking visas to the USA (not excluding the Middle and Far East). Their main wish is to secure a visa; precisely speaking-- a wish not to be rejected for one. On first visit the wishers do certain number of circumnavigations around the temple (generally less in number); and once their wishe fulfilled they return to the temple to say their thanks to the Deity and perform similar Pradakshinas, this time in increased number as customary among such devotees. [Pradashina to my limited knowledge must be a term in Sanskrit that suggests a kind of Dakshina (offering to the Lord)]. I also happened to observe a different concept of Darshan at Chikur. The Temple authorities make some announcements through loud- speakers suggesting to the devotees not to close their eyes while in front of the deity. (Normally in Hindu temples most devotees close their eyes, only to make their mental obeisance. The changed rule in Chilkur is of course interesting to note, for it is just to enable the devotees to have the maximum of viewing time of the image of the Lord in the given time at the rush hour. OK. That is fine by me.

Next, I happened to visit Tirumala Hills sometime ago; a world famous temple for Hindus. It is the richest God in the world, maybe next to the Vatican City. Here at Tiurmala the Main Deity of Balaji (Sri Venkateshwara) is worshipped by millions of people from across the world. The Darshan of the lord commences right from the small hours of the day and lasts till well past midnight. During my above visit I could have just a few seconds of viewing time of the Lord at close quarters; I would say it was my ‘lightening moment’ of a Darshan. It is established that the temple administration is very efficient beyond doubt that easily serves as one of the best examples to take up for case study on religious Tourism administration particularly catering to very large crowds (I meant a case study for any Business school a la Indian Railways under the ministry of Lalu). Now it was different matter I had hardly enough time even to open my eyes (or my ‘mano netras that is the inner eyes), to see a detailed image of god even briefly.

After the above visit of Lord I came out of the temple and I stopped by a shop nearby that sells the Lord’s pictures. I picked up one such photo frame having His picture and stared at it for a very long time closely enough in order to re-run His image I just saw in the Temple. I was fortunate that I got the experience of eternal bliss looking at his image in the picture. Alighting from the Lord’s abode on the Seven Hills I reached my hotel down hills at a place called TirupatiTown. In my hotel room I sank deep into the bed and switched on the TV. There appeared on the screen a ‘pantheon of deities’. They were none else than our Indian actors, actresses, sports personalities and politicians on different channels.

Well. Before boring the readers any further I shall come straight to my point. We the humans, stare at the visual images, be they in TV, on our computer screens, in the theatres. While watching them on the screen we use lesser number of blinking of eyelids per minute that is bad for our eyes. Also we tend to keep our eyes open for longer periods in times of some crises we happen to witness like road accidents. Any image travels to our brain to get itself registered for a reaction to ensue for due interpretation. Such process takes mere milliseconds. If our interpretation goes wrong, our reaction results into a bad effect. Chronic alcoholics and drug addicts see objects differently and describe them strangely. Some others no doubt see things clearly but when describing them to others such images, the same will not sink well to the said others. I wonder at people getting images in broken streams i.e. in fits and starts. at times we find people turning their bathroom taps open and fail to close them in time even as the bucket is full. When asked why, their stock answer would be that they did see only a while ago the water was only 3 inches deep and never knew how it was full so fast. These people get only some cut images like we see such images on YouTube when the stream is not downloading fast enough in low speed internet connections. (I guess YOU TUBE is spelt right here, mistake me not if I am wrong).Here I guess our perceptions of time and images are in series of consciousness like water flowing in a river. I happen to find people tell catastrophic accidents happened to them. When asked to describe they say they saw things in slow motion and also recount the story again in slow motion. I don’t know how it could be so. This you can observe in the news shows on TV.

Finally I pray to all the Gods of every religion that nothing bad or untoward may ever happen to any of us to make us recall such moments of shock and agony in vivid detail that too in slow motion. I pray also to Lord Venkateshwara that He shall see that our eyes and mind are filled only with the happy images of His glory and his Heavenly bliss after to His Darshan seeing Him with our own eyes either the same are wide open when our inner mind is open and physical eyes though closed shut. Let us thank Him for He gave us the opportunity at least to be in his vicinity and ‘see’ His image. Let Almighty shower his blessings in pure and simple form, oozing with His kindness and sympathy on all of His devotees.

Divine Peceptions

One day I went to Chilkur. It was a small village near Hyderabad in South India.There is a temple for Lord Balaji (Sri Venkateswara) at which the deity is worshipped (It is world famous in the sense that NRIs (Non resident Indians, as well as resident Indians seeking VISAs to western countries (including those in Middle East and Far east) pray in great numbers). During the visiting hours the Temple administrators announce in loud speakers that the devotees may not to keep their eyes closed in the sanctum sanctorum when seeing the deity. I understood this is after all to enable the devotees to have the maximum opportunity and view the Deity in full, and also for longer duration in the given time. However as I believe Hindu worshippers close their eyes while saying their prayers or offering pranams (obeisance) to the Lord. That is they close their eyes, mind and heart and as such focus all their full attention on the Paramatma and to submit to him in all their humility. Of course, it is my interpretation to the theory of closing of eyes in prayers. When Chilkur administrators suggest the worshippers should keep their eyes open they are only suggesting an alternative approach to the Darshan and nothing else. That is fine by me, because it is said in good faith for the sake of faith.Sometime ago, I also visited Tirupati where the Main Deity of Balaji (Sri Venkateswara) is worshipped by millions of people everyday right from the small hours of the day till well past midnight. There I had a ‘lightening moment’ of quick Darshan of the Lord. Then I had hardly enough time to open my eyes or even my ‘mano netras’, the inner eye, to see the image of god clearly and offer my prayers or obeisance. Also the temple administrators there had increased the distance from the Lord to the viewing place i.e. the first entrance to the sanctum sanctorum. Usually the devotees are allowed to the inner most entrance near the deity.. On that day it was just permitted to a longer distance, apparently with an idea to cut down on the waiting time for the rest of those in the queues, those million devotees waiting in large numbers behind me waiting for hours together (days on some days) to get access to the Lord's threshold.Once I came out of the temple after Darshan, I stopped by along the pavement shops displaying pictures of the Lord. I wanted to stare at the picture of the Lord in them closely in order to let me go through my mind and check for myself what exactly I had seen of the Lord in the Sanctum Sanctorum a little while ago in the temple. I wanted to relive the experience of eternal bliss and thrill.After alighting from the Lord’s Seven Hills, I reached my hotel room in the down hills, that is the Tirupati Town and checked into my Hotel. When I sat on my hotel bed the real world of 'deities’ started beaming from the TV and of course I could stare at them without any interruption or blinking of eyes. They are those actors, actresses, sports stars,(including cricketers, mentioned separately as they are a breed apart in the eyes of Governments) and Politicians.Unlike seeing the objects, we stare at visuals be they in TVs and Computer monitors, with lesser blinking of eyelids per minute. That is too bad for our eyes and mind. Also we tend to keep our eyes open for longer periods in times of crises.For that matter any image or visual of a thing travels to the brain and get registered there and a reaction from our mind ensue. That also after it is duly interpreted of what we saw. It takes only milliseconds, which are fractions of a second. If the interpretation goes wrong the reaction results into a wrong or opposite effect, when the picture is masked in our mind. Some people see objects and describe them differently, this happens with chronic alcoholics and drug addicts. Yet others, no doubt, see things and when they start show it to others as was happening to them at the time, the image disappears altogether when others try to see them. Some get images in broken streams i.e. in fits and starts. For example you can find them opening the taps in their bathrooms and do not close even after the bucket is full. In case they are asked why it was so, they say, they had just seen the water only 6 inches deep and never knew when it was full. These people get some cut images like we see them on You tube or VCDs on our systems, not getting the full stream continuously in one go. Our perception of time and images in series of consciousness, like a river. It is a continuous flow. We also find people tell some catastrophic accidents happened before their eyes. When asked to describe them they say they saw them in slow motion and they recount the story as if in slow motion. That was when you ask them right after their shock. I don’t know how it could that be they see the pictures like in slow motion movie.So I wish noting bad should happen to us to make us recall such moments of agony. Let our eyes and mind be filled only with the images of glory of the Lord and his Godly bliss, after seeing Him with our own eyes keeping them wide open and inner mind closed to focus on Him to thank.Let Almighty shower his blessing in pure and simple form, oozing kindness and sympathy on all of us.