The Keeper of the Forgotten Treasure Swamy NathaMuni
ลwamy Nฤthamuni and the immortal Songs
“When the world forgets the Lord’s songs… the Lord raises one soul who refuses to forget.”
Yesterday…
I discovered that no soul walks to Vaikuแนแนญha alone. The Guru Paramparฤ was not merely a succession of saints.
It was the Lord’s own River of Compassion… flowing from one loving heart to another.
As ลrฤซ ฤแธทavandฤr stepped aside… one radiant sage slowly approached.
Held close to His heart… was a treasure more precious than all the jewels of this world.
Today…I finally meet… the foremost Acharyar our Swamy Nฤthamuni.
He came without majesty. Without royal splendor. Without any sign that the world would call greatness.
He walked like one listening. Not to the sounds around Him… but to a melody only His heart could hear.
Before I could fall at His feet… He gently embraced me.
“My child…””You have already come to see Me.”
At once… my pilgrimage returned. The sacred Thiruvarasu. The lamps. The tears. The long search through the night.
The forgotten holy place that the Lord allowed us to find.
ลrฤซ Nฤthamuni smiled. “You thought you found My resting place.” “No…” “I found you.”
He slowly opened His hands. There were no scriptures. No palm-leaf manuscripts.
Only light. brilliant Within that light… I heard voices. Nectarine . Melodious.
Overflowing with longing. The voices of the ฤแธปvฤrs. The entire atmosphere became fragrant with the Divine Tamil hymns.
It was as though Vaikuแนแนญha itself was singing. and I stood motionless.
“Swamy…” “Is this…” “The Divya Prabandham?”
He nodded gently.
“My child…” “The world says I recovered these hymns.” “I did not.”
“I simply refused to stop listening.”
Then another vision unfolded before me. Swamy Nฤthamuni… hearing just a few verses beginning with
‘ฤrฤa Amudhey..’ at the majestic temple in Sarangapani where Thirumisai Alwar glorified Perumal at Kumbakonam His heart refused to be satisfied. He did not say, “This is enough.” He longed for all of it.
That longing became tapas. That tapas became grace. That grace brought forth the four thousand sacred hymns once more.
Then He looked at me. “My child…”
“The Lord always reveals more…” “to the one who refuses to be satisfied with little.”
Suddenly…
my own life began unfolding before my eyes. The first time I heard the Divya Prabandham.
the divine first pasuram of Thirumangai Alwar ..which brings tears to whoever recites for deep longing to see the LORD …. the deep love to recite Alwars pasurams …
The countless recitations. The temple gatherings. The joy of encouraging devotees to learn.
The occasions when we completed the entire four thousand hymns during Thiruaadhyaana utsavams
The Akhanda recitations. The tears that often came… without my knowing why.
Then came another blissful memory.
One Saturday… while quietly chanting
“ลrฤซmate Rฤmฤnujฤya Namaแธฅ…”and reciting the sacred thaniyans of the ฤแธปvฤrs…
a thought arose within me with such force that it did not seem to be my own.
“During this Sahasrฤbdhi…of JagadhAcharayar Swamy Ramanujas
the ฤแธปvฤrs and ฤcฤryas must come to our temple and forever bless us “
The thought manifested and our search for the Alwar deities begun …Thenkasi… kumbakonam …kalahasti
Nobody knew. One devotee. Another devotee.
Finally…a humble disciple from Mysuru agreed .Swamy the alwars shall arrive with complete auspicious mangalaashanams from HH Ramanuja yatrhiraja Mutt jeeyar . Was glad he also ensured Swamy Desikars thirumeni exactly like Satyamangalam deity also join them. The beauty was all alwars were in Nindrathirukolam in our temple The ฤแธปvฤrs arrived. from Mysore with HH Ramanuja yatrhiraja Mutt jeeyar good wishes . We performed homam amidst Alwars reciting alwars thanians then Mahฤbhiแนฃekam to all of them from the holy waters of Saaligrama
Simple prayer. Not asking for success. Not asking for recognition. Only this:
“Please allow us to serve You.”
Fortunately for us which was Lords arrangement the Alwar deities were installed by HH Devanฤtha Jeeyar of Chinna Jeeyar Ashram in the temple during the Sahsraabdhee Celebrations
My mind was greatful to Lordships Yes … The Lord is arranging everything.
And the most auspicious event was celebrating all the Alwars thirunakshatram at temple amidst revered ghoshtee members thus reciting the nectarine Divya prabhanda pasurams evry month which is a boon for many of us mentally carrying our selves to Divya desams
Then comes perhaps the most beautiful ending. In a few months , the same Mysore devotee said Swamy The Alwars in yoir temple were 8 inches and now the alwar deities I am sending is 6 inches with pedestals . Acharyar had HH sparsham . I was excited and eager to receive them and since then in our altar we have entire Guru Paramparai and their plan to visit all the 106 divya desams with me as their driver eas a transcendental mission . And what else can I expect . Travelling to all the 106 divya desams with Alwars and Acharyas
And in our temple Since the Alwars arrived , Every year…on Madhurakavi ฤแธปvฤr’s Thirunakแนฃatram…all of us lovingly recite Kanninun Siruthฤmbu twenty-seven times…remembering the twelve thousand recitations of ลrฤซ Nฤthamuni…through which this priceless treasure returned to the world.
As I was recollecting the sojourn I heard a sweet voice
My child ลwamy Nฤthamuni continued
“Every time you recite Kanninun Siruthฤmbu…you are not merely remembering Me.
You are joining My prayer.”
and the second important thing was Carrying our beloved ฤแธปvฤrs .. during our Divya Deลam pilgrimages.
Yes I recollected , Temple after temple… we stood before the Lord…
reciting the very hymns they had sung there centuries earlier.
At that time… I believed… I was taking the ฤแธปvฤrs to the Divya Deลams.
ลrฤซ Nฤthamuni smiled.
“No…”
“They were bringing you.” My heart trembled. Then I remembered something else.
How many friends… how many devotees… had slowly developed love for the Divya Prabandham because the hymns themselves touched their hearts.
ลrฤซ Nฤthamuni said,
“That is how this treasure lives.”
“It is never possessed.””It is lovingly passed from one heart…”
“to another.”
He then gently asked,
“My child…” “What did you feel while reciting the Prabandham?”
I answered without thinking.
“Sometimes…”
“I forgot where I was.”
“Sometimes I felt the Lord standing before me.”
“Sometimes tears came.”
“Sometimes only silence remained.”
ลrฤซ Nฤthamuni smiled. “That…” “is why these hymns were given.”
“Not merely to be memorised.”
“But to awaken remembrance.”
Then something extraordinary happened. The entire atmosphere around us began vibrating.
One after another… the voices of the twelve ฤแธปvฤrs filled the heavens.
Not separately. As one harmonious offering. The Vedas… were smiling.
The Drฤviแธa Veda… had returned Home.
ลwamy Nฤthamuni teaches that divine longing is never ignored by the Lord.
The recovery of the Nฤlฤyira Divya Prabandham was not merely an act of scholarship.
It was the fruit of unwavering longing, patient perseverance and boundless divine grace.
Through him, the songs of the ฤแธปvฤrs once again became the living heartbeat of the ลrฤซ Vaiแนฃแนava tradition.
Standing before ลrฤซ Nฤthamuni’s sacred Thiruvarasu…
Today…
I thought I was paying homage to the saint who recovered the Divya Prabandham
.
I realise…
he had quietly preserved those hymns…
so that one day…
they could prepare my own heart…
for this Eternal Journey. “The Lord never loses a single hymn sung in love.”
“Divine longing is the key that unlocks forgotten treasures.”
“The Divya Prabandham is not merely sung on Earth. It is eternally alive in Vaikuแนแนญha.”
Perhaps…every time we recite the hymns of the ฤแธปvฤrs…
we are not simply remembering them.
Perhaps…they are quietly remembering us.
Preparing us…
My child…
You thought you were installing the ฤแธปvฤrs in your temple.
No…
The ฤแธปvฤrs were quietly installing themselves in your heart.
“ลwany Nฤthamuni lovingly closed His eyes.
Another radiant figure slowly emerged from the flowing River of Compassion.
His face reflected profound serenity. His silence itself seemed to teach.
ลrฤซ Nฤthamuni whispered, “Every treasure must be guarded before it can be given away.”
Tomorrow…
ลrฤซ Uyyakkondฤrโthe Silent Guardian of the Tradition.
“The Lord sends no soul Home alone. He sends a river of compassion ahead of it… and that river is called the Guru Paramparฤ.”
Yesterday…
ลrฤซ ฤแธทavandฤr revealed a truth that left my heart overflowing.
Throughout my earthly life…
I believed I had been travelling to meet the ฤcฤryas.
Today…I discovered… they had been quietly waiting for me…
long before I ever began my journey.
As I stood beside ลrฤซ ฤแธทavandฤr… the river of radiant ฤcฤryas stretched beyond sight.
Its source…
was still hidden.
Today…
I take my first step toward it.
ลrฤซ ฤแธทavandฤr gently pointed ahead.
“My child…” “Do you know why we call this a river?”
I remained silent.
He smiled.
“Because no one here keeps grace for himself.”
“Each receives…”
“only to lovingly pass it to another.”
As He spoke…the radiant saints before me no longer appeared as separate personalities.
They became one continuous current of light.
ลrฤซ Nฤthamuni…
ลrฤซ Uyyakkondฤr…
ลrฤซ Maแนakkฤl Nambi…
ลrฤซ ฤแธทavandฤr…
ลrฤซ Periya Nambi…
Jagadฤcฤrya ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja…
and the countless compassionate ฤcฤryas who followed.
No one stood before another.
No one sought greatness.
Each simply carried the Lord’s compassion forward.Like a sacred river flowing from mountain to ocean.
Then ลrฤซ ฤแธทavandฤr softly asked,
“My child…” “Do you remember where this river first touched your own heart?”
Suddenly… another memory opened.
Years ago…
during our sacred ฤcฤrya Yฤtrฤ…
after receiving the immense blessing of worshipping at Kฤttumannฤrkoil, my heart carried only one longing.
“I must pay my humble obeisances at the Thiruvarasu of ลrฤซ Nฤthamuni.”
I had heard that this foremost ฤcฤrya, immersed in the transcendental mood of Lord ลrฤซ Rฤma, had run after the Lord and His divine family, seeing nothing but Rฤma everywhere.
How could I leave without offering my gratitude at the place where that glorious life had come to rest?
Night had already fallen. Darkness covered the countryside.
Yet none of us wished to turn back.
Something deep within urged us onward.
We drove through unfamiliar roads…searching…asking..praying.
Finally…
by the Lord’s immeasurable mercy…
we reached Gangaikonda Cholapuram.
There stood an ancient temple of Lord ลrฤซ Rฤma.
And just opposite its compound…
my eyes beheld a sight I shall never forget.
The sacred Thiruvarasu of ลrฤซ Nฤthamuni… was being lovingly rebuilt.
I could no longer stand.
With tears flowing uncontrollably…
I fell flat upon the sacred earth. At that moment… I was no longer thinking of history.
I was thinking only of one thing.
How intense must the love of an ฤcฤrya be… to see Lord Rฤma everywhere.
The priest lovingly narrated the story.
For many years… the exact location of the Thiruvarasu had remained uncertain.
Then… by the Lord’s mysterious grace…
a mystic revealed the sacred place, explaining that centuries earlier this temple of Lord ลrฤซ Rฤma had stood there…
and that it was here the Lord had revealed Himself to ลrฤซ Nฤthamuni.
Listening to those words…
my heart overflowed.
Before leaving… I humbly requested the priest…
“Please light lamps here every day.”
“And on ลrฤซ Nฤthamuni’s sacred star day…”
“let this entire Thiruvarasu shine with rows of lamps.”
It was my tiny offering of gratitude.
Later…
I wrote a detailed blog so that pilgrims everywhere might discover this forgotten treasure.
A Humble Offering on Guru Pลซrแนimฤ and the Sacred Thirunakแนฃatram of ลrฤซ ฤแธทavandฤr
“A true Guru never keeps a disciple at his own feet. He gently turns the disciple toward the feet of his Guru, until every soul finally reaches the Lotus Feet of ลrฤซman Nฤrฤyaแนa.”
Yesterday…
my beloved Jagadฤcฤrya…
ลwamฤซ Rฤmฤnuja…looked upon me with the same compassion that had carried me through my entire earthly life.
The tiny folded holy paper…
bearing only four sacred wordsโ
“ลrฤซmate Rฤmฤnujฤya Namaแธฅ.”
returned to my memory.
So did the countless tears…
the prayers…the pilgrimages…
the devotees…
and the mysterious way in which the Lord had worked through His ฤcฤrya.
I believed I had reached the source.
Today…I discovered…
I had merely reached another sacred bend in an eternal river.
ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja gently smiled.
“My child…”
“The world below calls it Guru Pลซrแนimฤ.”
“And today…”
“My own revered ฤcฤrya…”
“ลrฤซ ฤแธทavandฤr…”
“is being glorified by countless devotees.”
He slowly extended His hand.
“Come.””I wish to introduce you…”
“to the one whose longing prepared My path.”
Far beyond the radiant splendour of the Thirumฤmaแนi Maแนแธapam…
stood a majestic saint.
He appeared like a calm ocean.
Wisdom rested effortlessly upon His face.
Yet… it was His compassion that overwhelmed me.
Before I could move…
Jagadฤcฤrya ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja folded His own hands.
With profound reverence…
He bowed. “Our ฤcฤryar…”
“ลrฤซ ฤแธทavandฤr.”
My heart trembled.
If the great Emperumฤแนฤr bowed here…
who was I except dust beneath their feet?
I fell in full prostration.
Soft hands gently lifted me.
“My child…”
said ลrฤซ ฤแธทavandฤr.
“There is no fear here.”
“There is only remembrance.”
His smile reminded me of someone…
though I could not explain why.
Perhaps…every compassionate Guru carries the same fragrance.
He looked into my eyes.
“My child…”
“Tell Me.”
“Have we never met before?”
I stood speechless.
“Swamy…”
“I never had Your darลan upon Earth.”
He smiled even more gently.
“Is that so?”
Then…
like lightning illuminating the night…
memories flooded my heart.
Kฤttumannฤrkoil… Srimushanam
ลrฤซraแน gam…
Tirukkoshtiyur…
Kฤรฑchipuram…
Melkoแนญe…
Mudaliyฤแนแธฤn’s sacred place…
Kลซrathฤzhvฤn’s kooram at kanchipuram…
Kidฤmbi ฤcchฤn…
Periya Nambi…
Mฤraแนeri Nambi…
Ananthฤzhvฤn…
Nadฤdลซr Ammฤl…
Piแธทแธทai Lokฤcฤrya…
and so many more sacred places…
One after another…
my ฤcฤrya Yฤtrฤ unfolded before me.
Every village…Every temple…
Every humble shrine…
Every Thiruvarasu at Srirangam
Every place where I had stood with folded hands.I thought I had gone there to honour them.
Today…I realised…
they had been lovingly waiting for me.
Long before I ever arrived.
Swamyย ฤแธทavandฤr softly asked,
“Do you remember…”
“why you travelled to all those sacred places?”I answered honestly.
“To pay my respects.”He gently shook His head. “No.” My child
“The Lord called you there.”
“So that one day…”
“when you reached this Eternal Realm…”
“none of us would appear as strangers.”
My eyes filled with tears.
Every pilgrimage…
had been an introduction.
Every prostration…
had been accepted.
Every prayer…
had already reached them.
ลwamy Rฤmฤnuja now spoke.
“My child…””Do you remember My arrival at ลrฤซraแน gam?”
Immediately…
the sacred scene unfolded before my eyes.
The banks of Mother Kฤverฤซ.
The sorrow of countless disciples.
The divine form of ลwamy ฤแธทavandฤr.
Three fingers remained folded.
The young Rฤmฤnuja stepped forward.
With folded hands…
He made three solemn vows.
To establish the eternal truth of Vedฤnta.
To preserve forever the glory of Sage Parฤลara and Bhagavฤn Vyฤsa.
To spread the path of surrender for the upliftment of all souls.
With each vow…
one finger slowly unfolded.
The gathering wept.
Not because of a miracle.
But because a Guru’s final wish had found its disciple.
“you stand within that same current of grace.” I lowered my head.
“Swamy…”
“I have accomplished nothing.”
“I only visited temples.”
“I only repeated…”
ลrฤซmate Rฤmฤnujฤya Namaแธฅ.
“I only encouraged devotees to recite the Divya Prabandham.”
“I only tried to share whatever little devotion You all had placed in my heart.”
ลrฤซ ฤแธทavandฤr smiled.
“My child…””That…”
“is exactly how the Guru Paramparฤ lives.”
“No one owns this river.”
“No one begins it.”
“No one ends it.”
“Each receives one handful of its sacred waters…”and lovingly passes it forward.”
Suddenly…
the tiny folded paper returned to my memory.The little talisman.
The devotee who had pleaded for help.
His paralysed wife.The miraculous recovery.
Their tears before the Lord.
And my own tears before Jagadฤcฤrya ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja.
Today…
I understood.
There had never been any miracle in that little paper.
The miracle…was the compassion flowing through the Guru Paramparฤ.
I had simply become one more small instrument.
ลrฤซ ฤแธทavandฤr then raised His hand.
Before me appeared…
not individual saints…
but a flowing river of light.
ลrฤซ Nฤthamuni…
ลrฤซ Uyyakkondฤr…
ลrฤซ Maแนakkฤl Nambi…
ลrฤซ ฤแธทavandฤr…
ลrฤซ Periya Nambi…
ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja…
and the endless succession of compassionate ฤcฤryas.
The river flowed…
century after century…
until it reached my own revered ฤcฤrya…
who lovingly initiated me into the sacred mantra…and quietly transformed my life.
Then…I looked behind.
The river had not stopped.
There stood countless devotees.
Some from my Divya Deลam pilgrimages.
Some from Akhaแนแธa Harinฤma.
Some from Divya Prabandham recitations.
Some from temples.
Some from my workplace.
Some whose names I never even knew.
Each held a tiny lamp.
Passing it lovingly…
to another.
The Guru Paramparฤ was still flowing.
Then ลrฤซ ฤแธทavandฤr placed His hand upon my head.
“My child…”
The Guru Paramparฤ is not merely a succession of teachers. It is the Lord’s own current of compassion flowing uninterrupted through generations. Every ฤcฤrya receives divine grace, preserves it with fidelity, and lovingly passes it to the next without claiming it as his own. Thus the disciple discovers that no one ever walks toward the Lord alone.
When I undertook my ฤcฤrya Yฤtrฤ…
I believed I was paying homage to great saints of the past. Today…I realise…every sacred place I visited was quietly preparing me for this Eternal Reunion.
The Lord had been introducing me to His beloved servants…long before He brought me Home.
“A pilgrimage to an ฤcฤrya’s sacred place does not end when we return home. It continues until we meet him again in the Eternal Abode.”
“The Guru Paramparฤ is a river where every generation drinks from the same waters and lovingly offers them to the next.”
“Grace is never possessed. It is received with gratitude and passed on with humility.”
Perhaps…
the greatest blessing of our life…is not merely finding a Guru.
It is discovering…that through our Guru…the Lord quietly connected us to an eternal family…whose only purpose…
is to bring every wandering soul back Home.Srฤซ ฤแธทavandฤr gently stepped aside.
The river of light continued flowing. From its very source…one radiant saint slowly began to approach.
In His hands…He carried a priceless treasure…the forgotten Drฤviแธa Veda restored to the world. ลrฤซ ฤแธทavandฤr smiled.
“Every river has a visible source.”
“Ours begins with one who listened until the ฤแธปvฤrs sang once more.”
Tomorrow…
ลrฤซ Nฤthamuni opens the Treasury of Eternity.
“Throughout my life…I believed I was visiting the ฤcฤryas.Today…I discovered…they had been waiting for me…long before I ever began my journey.”
The Holy name in that little Paper that Carried Hope
“The greatest gift we can offer another soul is not ourselves, but the path that brought us to the Lord.”
Yesterday… I stood before the boundless compassion of Jagadฤcฤrya ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja.
For the first time… I understood that none of my pilgrimages… none of my prayers…
none of my humble attempts at service… had ever been mine alone.
Every step… had been guided by His compassion. As I stood before Him…
His eyes shone with a familiar smile.
Immediately… one forgotten Saturday returned to my heart.
I was seated in my office.
As always… the photographs of Lord ลrฤซ Veแน kaแนญeลwara…
Jagadฤcฤrya ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja… and ลrฤซ ลrฤซ Gour Nitฤi…
looked lovingly upon everyone who entered. Outside…
someone quietly removed his footwear before stepping into my cabin.
He folded his hands. “Swamy… may I come in?” I smiled.
“Please… come.” His face seemed familiar…
yet I could not remember where I had seen him.
He remained standing. His eyes were moist.
After a long silence he softly said, “Swamy… I do not work in this plant.
I belong to another ball-bearing factory few hundred meters away.”
I looked at him with surprise. He continued. “For many months… I have been watching you.”
His words puzzled me.
“I found your location through our company website. Today… being Saturday…
I gathered enough courage to come.”
Then he looked at the photographs in my room. His voice trembled.
“Whenever I see the sacred Thirumaแน on your forehead…
I feel as though I have had darshan of Tirumala Balaji Himself.
Even when your officers surround you… and your juniors stand taking notes…
you never ignore anyone. Whenever someone greets you… you always reply,
‘May all good be with you.’ Every time you say those words…
I return happier.” I lowered my head in embarrassment.
Mentally prayed Supreme Lord Venkateshwara for his mercy and seeking pardon
What he saw… I had never seen in myself. Then… his voice broke.
“Swamy… please help me.” He slowly sat down.
“My wife has been bedridden after a paralytic stroke for nearly three years.
Our children… our family… all of us are struggling.
Someone like you… must surely know some powerful mantra…
or some sacred talisman. Please… give me something.
Anything.” For a few moments… I became completely speechless. Inside… I almost smiled sadly.
“What does this gentleman imagine I possess?”
I knew no secret tantra. I possessed no miraculous mantra.
I had never performed wonders. I was simply trying… day after day…
to remain at the Lotus Feet of my ฤcฤrya.I gently replied,
“My brother…I think you have mistaken me.
I know neither tantra… nor miraculous mantras.”
Before I could continue… he folded his hands even more tightly.
“Please, Sir… do not refuse. There is something different about you. There is a peace around you.
Whatever gives you that peace… please share it with me.”His words entered my heart.For a few moments…
I looked toward my everything Lord Veแน kaแนญeลwara photo on my table
Then toward my beloved Emperumฤแนฤr.
Suddenly… everything became clear. No… I possessed nothing.
But my ฤcฤrya had given me everything. I smiled.
“My brother…I have no talisman. But I can give you the greatest treasure my ฤcฤrya ever placed in my life.”
That evening… after returning home… I bathed… performed my daily Thiruvฤrฤdhanam…
and placed a small piece of white paper before my beloved Lord.
With folded hands… I prayed. Not asking for a miracle
Not asking for fame. Only praying, “Swamy… if it pleases You…let this suffering family experience Your compassion.”
Then.. slowly…with deep reverence… I wrote only four sacred words.
ลrฤซmate Rฤmฤnujฤya Namaแธฅ
Nothing more. No mystical symbols. No secret formulae.
Only the Name that had carried me through life’s joys and sorrows for more than twenty years.
I carefully rolled that little paper.
Placed it inside a tiny talisman case. The next morning… I gave it to him.
Holding it reverentially, I said, “My brother… please understand. This case has no power of its own.
Do not place your faith in metal…or the matter in it
Place your faith in the Lord… whose compassion flows through the Guru Paramparฤ.
Let your wife wear this only as a reminder to remember Him.
Repeat this sacred Name. ลrฤซmate Rฤmฤnujฤya Namaแธฅ
Pray together. Leave everything else to His Will.”
He received it as though I had entrusted him with a priceless jewel.
With tears in his eyes… he bowed before the Lord’s photographs… and quietly departed.
Life moved on. Weeks passed.
The incident almost disappeared from my memory.
Then… one Saturday…while walking toward the temple…
someone called loudly from behind. “Swamy..please wait!” I turned.
It was the same gentleman. Before I could greet him… he was already in tears.
He pointed toward the entrance. “There…” he whispered. “My wife…” I looked.
A wheelchair stood beneath the temple mandapam.
A gentle-faced lady sat there. Her eyes were fixed upon the Lord.
The morning breeze touched her face. Perhaps for the first time in years…
she had come out to see the world again.
He could hardly speak. “Swamy… after nearly three years…
today she has come outside. She wanted only one thing…to breathe fresh air…and have darลan of the Lord.
Please… bless her.” Before I could stop him… he bent to touch my feet.
I immediately lifted him. “No… my brother. Please.” Pointing toward the sanctum…
I softly said, “If gratitude must be offered… offer it there.”
Then I pointed toward the smiling form of Jagadฤcฤrya ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja.
“And never forget… everything belongs to Him.
Everything.” Together… we stood silently before the Lord. After the darลan…
I quietly entered the ฤแธปvฤr and ฤcฤrya Maแนแธapam.
There… before the smiling form of Emperumฤแนฤr… I could no longer restrain myself.
A torrent of tears burst forth.
“Swamy… what have I ever done…to deserve even a drop of Your compassion?
I was nothing. I remain nothing. Everything… absolutely everything…
belongs to You.” His smiling face seemed almost alive. In that sacred silence…
my heart understood something words could never explain.
The miracle was never a little folded paper.
The miracle… was the compassion that inspired hope in a despairing heart.
Jagathacharya Swamy Ramanuja
As I came out of the temple…a few devotees who had witnessed the incident surrounded me.
“Swamy…” they asked innocently, “Could you please give us one of those talismans too?”
I smiled. I requested a little time. On my way home… I stopped at a small shop.
Purchased several empty talisman cases. Not because the metal possessed hidden power.
But because each one could lovingly carry a reminder of the greatest treasure my ฤcฤrya had ever given me.
Inside every tiny case… I placed only one folded paper. Upon each paper… I wrote only one prayer.
ลrฤซmate Rฤmฤnujฤya Namaแธฅ
Deep within my heart…I smiled. “If this little paper ever explodes anything..
.let it explode pride…anger…greed… hatred… jealousy… despair… and selfishness.
May it awaken compassion…humility… love… service… and remembrance of the Lord.”
For that alone… is the true miracle of my Jagadฤcฤrya. As I stood before ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja in the Eternal City…
He gently looked into my eyes.
“My child… you believed you gave him a talisman.” He smiled.
“I had merely allowed you… to pass on hope.” At that moment… I finally understood.
The greatest inheritance an ฤcฤrya leaves behind… is not an object. It is a transformed heart…
capable of helping another soul take one small step toward the Lord.
Our Pลซrvฤcฤryas repeatedly teach that the Guru never directs attention toward himself. Every blessing, every instruction, and every act of compassion ultimately leads the disciple to Bhagavฤn. The true miracle is not the possession of extraordinary powers, but the transformation of the heart through surrender, remembrance, and service.
Looking back… I now realise that the little folded paper carried nothing mysterious.
It carried the remembrance that had carried me. Whenever someone asked me for strength… my heart knew only one answerโ to share the priceless gift my ฤcฤrya had first shared with me.
“Hope is the first healing the Lord grants to a wounded heart.”
“The greatest talisman is not worn around the neck. It is carried within a heart that remembers the Lord.”
“An ฤcฤrya’s compassion does not create followers. It creates servants filled with love.”
Perhaps… the Lord never intended us to become extraordinary.
Perhaps… He simply wished us to become instruments…
through whom another soul might rediscover hope.
Could that be… the quiet miracle of grace?ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja gently turns.
Beyond Him… I see another radiant assembly approaching. Their faces are familiar…
though I have never seen them with these mortal eyes. Their hymns… have guided pilgrims for centuries
“The holy name in the smallest paper…The simplest prayer…
The humblest heart…In the hands of Divine Compassion…
can become a doorway through which another soul rediscovers hope.”
To be continued…
Tomorrow…
The River of Compassion
My beloved Jagadฤcฤrya takes my hand once more.
“Come, my child,” He whispers.
“You have thanked Me long enough.
Everything I gave you…
I first received from those waiting ahead.”
Far beyond the jeweled hall… radiant figures begin to appear.
Their faces shine with humility. Their eyes overflow with compassion.
The river of ฤcฤryas is about to reveal itself… and I am about to discover that no soul ever walks to Vaikuแนแนญha alone.
Karuแนai โ The Compassion That Found the Unworthy
(PART 1)
“The Lord’s grace reached me through the infinite compassion of Jagadฤcฤrya ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja. Long before I knew the road to Vaikuแนแนญha… he had already begun walking beside me.”
Yesterday…
my beloved companion Amฤnavan placed my trembling hand into the loving hands of ลrฤซ Viลvaksena, the eternal Senฤpati of ลrฤซman Nฤrฤyaแนa.
Standing beneath the resplendent Thirumฤmaแนi Maแนแธapam…
I watched him gently step aside.
Far ahead…
another radiant assembly slowly approached.
ลrฤซ Viลvaksena smiled.
“My child…before you behold the One who is the Goal of every soul…you shall first meet the one who taught you how to walk towards Him.”
My heart began to race.
Who could this be…
before whom even the eternal servants stood with folded hands?
Then…
something happened that no words can truly describe.
The entire atmosphere of Vaikuแนแนญha seemed to change.
The jeweled halls… the celestial breeze… the fragrance of Tulasฤซ…
the hymns of the Vedas… everything gently became still. Not silent.
Only expectant.
Then… from every direction… one sacred mantra arose. Softly at first.
Then like countless streams joining one mighty river. Thousands… perhaps millions…
of liberated souls joyfully chanted only one name.
“ลrฤซmate Rฤmฤnujฤya Namaแธฅ…”
Again…
“ลrฤซmate Rฤmฤnujฤya Namaแธฅ…”
Again… and again… the Eternal City echoed with that sacred remembrance.
I stopped walking.My entire being trembled.
That sound… How could I ever forget it?
For more than two decades upon Earth…
almost every dawn of my life had begun with these very words. Sometimes…
my eyes overflowed with gratitude. Sometimes… with repentance. Sometimes… with helpless pleading.
Sometimes… with silent surrender. Sometimes…
I had no words at all.
Only this mantra.
The sacred Rฤmฤnuja Gฤyatrฤซ, lovingly entrusted to me by my revered ฤcฤrya…
had become the very rhythm of my life.
How many lakhs of times had these lips uttered,
“ลrฤซmate Rฤmฤnujฤya Namaแธฅ…” Never counting.
Never expecting. Only hoping… that one day…
the owner of this Holy Name might glance upon this most unworthy soul.
Today…
that very mantra was filling eternity itself.
My lips moved without effort.
Almost as though they remembered their true home.
“ลrฤซmate Rฤmฤnujฤya Namaแธฅ…”
Suddenly… the chanting ceased. Not because it ended.
Because…
He had arrived.
The radiant assembly slowly opened like a lotus in bloom.
There…
stood Jagadฤcฤrya ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja.
I searched for words.
None came. How does one describe compassion itself?
His face shone with indescribable serenity.
His eyes held the tenderness of countless mothers.
His smile dissolved every lingering fear within my heart.
He was not majestic because of power.
He was majestic because every soul around Him felt completely loved.
I stood motionless.
Then… without even realising it… I collapsed at His Lotus Feet.
Not with dignity. Not with composure.
Like a little child who had finally found his father after wandering for lifetimes.
Tears flowed uncontrollably. Words refused to come.
Only one cry escaped my lips.
My “Emperumฤแนฤr…”
Before my forehead could remain upon His Feet…
two gentle hands lifted me.
“My child…”
He said.
His voice carried every kindness I had ever known.
“Why do you still weep?” I struggled to speak.
“Swamy…
because I know who I am.” “I know my countless flaws.
I know how often I failed. How often I became proud.
How often I forgot.
Yet… You never abandoned me.”
His smile became even gentler.
“My child… did you truly believe…
I was not listening?” Those words pierced my heart.
He continued… “Every morning… when you whispered,
‘ลrฤซmate Rฤmฤnujฤya Namaแธฅ’
whether with joy… with regret…
with tears… or with silence…
did you imagine they disappeared into empty space?”
He slowly placed His hand upon my head.
“Not one remembrance was lost.
Not one tear went unnoticed.
Not one sincere plea failed to reach Me.”
I closed my eyes.
The countless dawns of my earthly life flashed before me.
The quiet corner before my altar.
The sacred images of Perumal.
The fragrance of incense.
The soft recitation of my ฤcฤrya’s teachings.
The Rฤmฤnuja Gฤyatrฤซ.
Every morning…
the same prayer.
The same longing.
The same hope.
Today…
I realised…
I had never been praying alone.
He looked deeply into my eyes.
“My child…
do you remember your journey through the Pancha Nฤrฤyaแนa Kแนฃetras?”
My breath stopped.
“Swamy… You knew?” He smiled.
“I knew every dusty road. Every delayed bus.
Every lonely village. Every temple bell that filled your heart.
Every Divya Prabandham you sang while travelling.
Every folded hand. Every tear.”
I remained speechless.
He continued softly.
“You believed…
you were travelling to ancient temples.”
Then His eyes shone with infinite compassion.
“I was teaching your feet…
how to walk towards Vaikuแนแนญha.”
Those words entered the deepest part of my soul.
Suddenly…
every pilgrimage acquired a new meaning.
Tirumala… ลrฤซraแน gam… Badarikฤลrama… Melkoแนญe… the Pancha Nฤrฤyaแนa Kแนฃetras… the 106 Divya Deลams…
none had merely been destinations. Every journey had quietly become a lesson.
The ฤcฤrya had been preparing my feet…for this very path.
My tears refused to stop.
“Swamy… I brought nothing with me.”
“I was unworthy.” “I was empty.”
He gently smiled. His voice became sweeter than nectar.
‘Kฤrฤy Karuแนai Rฤmฤnujฤ…’
“The raincloud does not ask whether the earth deserves its water.
It simply pours. Likewise…
compassion never waits for worthiness.” I wept even more.
How often had I recited those sacred verses of ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja Nลซแนแนandฤdi…
seeing myself in Amudhanฤr’s confession?
Like him… I too had often wondered,
“What merit did I possess? Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.”
Yet..here I stood.Lifted…
not by my efforts. But by Karuแนai.
Infinite… undeserved… boundless compassion.
Our revered ฤcฤryas teach that Bhagavฤn’s grace reaches the soul through the compassionate lineage of the Guru Paramparฤ. For ลrฤซ Vaiแนฃแนavas, Jagadฤcฤrya ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja stands as the ocean of mercy who opened the path of prapatti to countless souls, not by measuring their worthiness, but by revealing the immeasurable compassion of the Lord.
Looking back upon my earthly life…
I now understand that every sacred pilgrimage…
every recitation of Divya Prabandham…
every Tiruppฤvai…
every Viแนฃแนu Sahasranฤma…
every morning that began with
“ลrฤซmate Rฤmฤnujฤya Namaแธฅ”
was quietly reshaping my heart.
The greatest miracle was not that I travelled to so many holy places.
The greatest miracle…
was that Jagadฤcฤrya slowly transformed an ordinary heart into one that longed only for the Lord.
“Grace never asks whether we deserve it. It asks only whether we are willing to receive it.”
“The greatest pilgrimage is not measured by the number of temples visited, but by the amount of pride left behind.”
“Every sincere repetition of ‘ลrฤซmate Rฤmฤnujฤya Namaแธฅ’ is another step taken under the shelter of boundless compassion.”
Perhaps…
the greatest miracle of an ฤcฤrya…
is not that he performs wonders.
It is that he quietly teaches broken hearts to hope again.
Long before we learn to love God…
he teaches us that God has never stopped loving us.
Jagadฤcฤrya ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja has taken my hand. His smile tells me…another forgotten memory is about to unfold.
A small piece of paper… four sacred words…
an unexpected visitor… and a lesson that would remain with me forever.
Tomorrow…
The Little Paper That Carried Hope.
“I thought I had been repeating His Name for twenty years…
Today I discovered…
His compassion had been repeating my name for far longer.”
The very name sent waves through my heart. How many times had
I heard our revered ฤcฤryas speak of this divine assembly?
How often had the ฤแธปvฤrs sung of the eternal realm?
Today… those sacred words had become reality.
As we continued… the splendour only increased. This was no palace.
No kingdom built to display power. Every jewel glorified humility.
Every pillar reflected service. Every fragrance carried surrender.
The architecture itself seemed to proclaim only one truthโ
“Everything here belongs to Him.”
Suddenly… the air became filled with music. Yet…
I could see no musicians. The melody did not appear to come from instruments.
It flowed from existence itself.
The Vedas…
the Divya Prabandham…
the eternal chanting of Ashtakshanri
“Om Namo Nฤrฤyaแนฤya”…merged into one endless current of bliss.
The music did not enter my ears. It entered my soul.
For a brief moment…
I closed my eyes. And unexpectedly…
my earthly life began unfolding before me. I saw myself once again
climbing the sacred hills of Tirumala.
Reciting Divya Prabandham during countless pilgrimages.
Whispering Tiruppฤvai into little ฤแนแธฤแธท’s ears
while holding her close like a father speaking to his beloved daughter.
Searching joyfully for little Kแนแนฃแนa…
not knowing where He had hidden Himself.
The fragrance of Tulasฤซ. The sound of temple bells.
The tears before Perumal. The countless miles walked across Bhฤrata.
Everything returned. Not as memories. As offerings.
I softly asked,
“Swamy… were all those moments truly accepted by Him?”
Amฤnavan did not answer immediately. Instead…
he simply smiled. “A little longer… and you shall hear the answer…
from those who witnessed every one of them.”
My heart began to race. Who could possibly have seen every pilgrimage…
every prayer… every hidden tear? We walked only a little further.
Then… for the very first time since our journey began…
Amฤnavan slowed his steps.
Finally… he stopped.
He turned toward me.
His face carried neither sadness… nor joy…
only the peaceful fulfillment of one who had
lovingly completed the task entrusted to him.
“My beloved child…” he said gently,
“our journey together… has reached its final steps.”
For a moment… I could not understand his words.
Final steps?
Surely… he would continue with me. Had he not become family?
Had he not walked beside me through every luminous
stage of the Archirฤdi Mฤrga?
The thought of parting from him suddenly became unbearable.
Without realizing it… my eyes filled with tears.
He looked upon me with immeasurable affection. Then…
very softly… he raised his hand toward the radiant Maแนแธapam.
“My child…
from here… another pair of loving hands awaits you.”
The Upaniแนฃads and our revered Pลซrvฤcฤryas explain that the liberated soul is lovingly escorted through the Archirฤdi Mฤrga by the Amฤnava Puruแนฃa, the Lord’s own divine messenger. His sacred duty is not merely to guide the soul safely, but to reassure it at every stage that it belongs to Bhagavฤn alone.
When that journey reaches its culmination, another eternal servant of the Lord receives the soul into the divine assembly.
Looking back upon my earthly life…
I realise that the Lord has always sent companions before revealing Himself.
Parents… teachers… friends… ฤcฤryas… devotees…
every one of them quietly held my hand until another arrived. Perhaps…
the Lord has always preferred to love us… through His servants.
“Grace rarely announces itself. It simply walks beside us until we no longer fear the road.”
“The greatest servants of the Lord never seek to be recognised. They rejoice only when the soul reaches Him safely.”
“Every farewell arranged by the Lord is only another doorway into a greater welcome.”
How many people have quietly changed the direction of our lives…
without ever asking to be remembered?
Perhaps… one day… we shall discover that they too were sent by the Lord…
to walk beside us for a little while.
My companion has stopped.
His mission…
almost complete.
Beyond the radiant Thirumฤmaแนi Maแนแธapam… someone is approaching.
Amฤnavan has folded his hands with profound reverence.
Never before have I seen him bow like this. Who is this glorious personality…
before whom even my divine companion stands with such humility?
Tomorrow…
or perhaps… in the next part of this very journey…
the Eternal Senฤpati will reveal why every soul reaches the Lord…
through the loving hands of His servants.
“Some journeys cannot be told in a single day…
Some meetings cannot be contained in a single chapter…
Millions of devotees all over the world gather at Pandharpur on the eleventh day of the waxing moon in June -July ( Aashaada Suddha Ekadasi) and in October -November ( Karthik Suddha Ekadasi ) . The lovely devotees mostly are Varkaris . Kari means one who undertakes .. Vari means periodical piligrimage .. Varkaris are โฆ Continue reading โAashada Ekadasi โ darshan to Santh Kurmadasar
“The Lord never sends a soul Home alone. Every step is accompanied by grace.”
Yesterday…
I crossed the sacred Virajฤ. Not by my strength. Not because I had become worthy.
But because His infinite compassion carried me beyond everything that belonged to the world.
The River did not merely separate two realms.
It separated ‘mine’ from ‘Yours.’
Beyond its radiant waters…
everything had become astonishingly peaceful.
As I continued walking… the atmosphere itself seemed transformed.
The light no longer resembled sunlight. It did not fall upon the trees. It seemed to arise from within them.
Every flower radiated consciousness. Every breeze carried compassion.
Every fragrance awakened remembrance. I instinctively looked at my own hands.
For a long moment… I simply stood still. The hands that had folded before the Lord in hundreds of temples…
the hands that had lovingly carried little ฤแนแธฤแธท… searched for little Kแนแนฃแนa… offered flowers…
performed homams…and recited the Divya Prabandham… had quietly disappeared.
In their place… was a body untouched by time. No fatigue. No illness No age.
No shadow. It was not another material body. It was as though my own soul had become visible.
My radiant companion looked at me and smiled.
“My child…
this is the Aprฤkแนta Divya ลarฤซra.
Not fashioned from earth…
water…
fire…
air…
and space…
but by the Lord’s eternal compassion.
This body shall never know separation from Him.”I bowed my head. Not because I had received something extraordinary.
But because I finally understood something ordinary. The earthly body had never been a burden.
It had been a sacred instrument.
It had climbed Tirumala.
Walked the 106 Divya Deลams.
Carried flowers.
Pulled the Lord’s Ratha.
Folded before my ฤcฤrya.
Whispered, the most powerful and merciful joyful ASHTAKSHRI
“Om Namo Nฤrฤyaแนฤya.”
How could I fail to thank it? I silently offered my gratitude.
As we walked further…
a thought that had quietly remained within me for many stages of this journey finally found its voice.
I looked lovingly at the radiant being beside me. His serenity… his wisdom…
his gentle authority… had reminded me again and again of one glorious personality.
With folded hands I asked,
“Swamy…
may I ask something?” He smiled.
“You may ask anything, my child.” “From the very beginning of this journey…
I have often wondered… are you ลrฤซ Viลvaksena?” The moment I uttered those words…
he smiled with such affection that I immediately felt like a child asking an innocent question.
Then he gently placed his hand upon my shoulder.
“No… my beloved child.
I am not ลrฤซ Viลvaksena.”
For a moment… I remained speechless. He continued.
“I am the Amฤnava Puruแนฃa… the one whom our compassionate Lord appoints to accompany every surrendered soul upon the Archirฤdi Mฤrga.
My joy… has been to walk beside you. To reassure you. To help you remember.
To bring you safely Home.”
Tears quietly flowed.
How many times had I unknowingly thanked him as Viลvaksena?
How patiently he had accepted my ignorance…
without ever correcting me.
I softly asked, “Then… where is our glorious Senฤpati?”
Amฤnavan lifted his hand.
Far beyond the luminous horizon… I saw an indescribable radiance.
In its midst… stood the magnificent Thirumฤmaแนi Maแนแธapam.
Its brilliance was beyond words. Its pillars seemed carved from compassion itself.
Music flowed without instruments. Fragrance floated without flowers.
Everything there seemed to rejoice. Amฤnavan folded his own hands.
“There… awaits ลrฤซ Viลvaksena. The eternal commander of the Lord’s divine realm.
He does not accompany souls upon this journey. He receives them…
after they have arrived. Soon… my duty will lovingly come to an end.
His… will begin.”
I looked at him with overflowing gratitude. How beautifully the Lord arranges every stage.
One companion walks with us. Another welcomes us. The Lord never leaves even a single step unattended.
Our revered Pลซrvฤcฤryas explain that the Amฤnava Puruแนฃa is the divine guide appointed by Bhagavฤn to escort the liberated soul through the Archirฤdi Mฤrga. Upon reaching the eternal realm, the soul is received by ลrฤซ Viลvaksena, the Lord’s eternal Senฤpati and foremost among the Nitya Sลซris, who leads it into the divine assembly.
Looking back…
I realise how often I mistook the Lord’s hidden servants.
Many whom I thought were ordinary people… had quietly become His instruments.
Perhaps… the Lord delights in remaining unseen… while His compassion walks beside us in familiar forms.
“Grace often walks beside us without revealing its name.”
“The Lord sends companions before He grants His own embrace.”
“No surrendered soul ever walks the Path of Light alone.”
Perhaps… many of the people who quietly strengthen our faith…encourage our hearts…
or gently redirect our lives..are also walking with an unseen commission from the Lord.
We may never know their names.
Yet…their kindness prepares us for eternity.
The distant radiance grows brighter.
The Thirumฤmaแนi Maแนแธapam now shines before me.
Amฤnavan’s steps have become slower.
His sacred task is nearly complete.
Someone…
the eternal guardian of the Lord’s kingdom… is waiting ahead.
Virajฤ โ The River That Had Been Calling Me All Along
“The soul does not leave the world at Virajฤ. It leaves behind the illusion that it ever belonged to the world.”
Yesterday…
I stood upon the luminous shores of Thiruppฤrkadal.
The Ocean that no mortal eye has ever seen.
The Ocean that the ฤแธปvฤrs beheld through the eyes of divine love.
There…
ลrฤซ Viลvaksena revealed that the Lord had never counted the number of temples I had visited.
He had quietly measured how much of my heart had become His.
As those sacred words settled within me…
Viลvaksena turned toward another radiance.
Far beyond the Ocean…
a river shone with a light unlike anything I had ever known.
Not flowing.
Not still.
It seemed to breathe eternity itself.
“My child…”
he softly said,
“This is Virajฤ.”
For a long moment…
I simply stood in silence.
The sacred River was before me.
Then…
quite unexpectedly…
another memory awakened.
Not from a pilgrimage.
Not from a temple.
But from the quiet sanctity of my own home.
Every morning…
during my humble Thiruvฤrฤdhanai…
I would lovingly prepare the sacred water for my beloved Perumals.
With folded hands I would chant,
“Gaแน gฤ… Yamunฤ… Godฤvarฤซ… Sarasvatฤซ…
Narmadฤ… Sindhu… Kฤverฤซ…”
Then…
after a brief pause…
my heart would whisper something that few even noticed.
“Virajฤ Nadฤซ… ฤgaccha…”
“O sacred Virajฤ… please come.”
How many thousands of mornings had I uttered those words?
How many times had I lovingly invited that unseen River into the water offered to the Lord?
At that time…
it was simply devotion.
Today…
standing before Virajฤ herself…
tears began to flow.
I smiled through them.
How little I had understood.
It was never I who had invited Virajฤ into my worship.
Virajฤ had quietly been inviting me… every single day.
Every Thiruvฤrฤdhanai…
Every offering…
Every mantra…
had been the Lord’s gentle rehearsal…
for this very meeting.
I looked toward Viลvaksena.
“Swamy…
must I cross this River?”
He smiled with immeasurable compassion.
“My child…
no soul crosses Virajฤ by its own effort.
The Lord carries across those who have surrendered everything to Him.”
At once…
all fear disappeared.
As I gazed into the crystal-like waters…
they became a mirror.
Not of my face…
but of my entire life.
I saw my childhood.
The first dream of Lord Veแน kaแนญeลwara touching my forehead.
The countless treks up the Seven Hills.
The joy of completing the pilgrimage to the 106 Divya Deลams.
The sacred footsteps of ลrฤซ Rฤma.
The forests of Vแนndฤvana.
The smiling little ฤแนแธฤแธท who entered our home like a daughter.
The eager search for her beloved Kแนแนฃแนa.
The miraculous arrival of little Kแนแนฃแนa by flight.
The butter cup at Vraja.
The Vishnu Sahasranฤma recitations.
The Ratha Yฤtrฤs. The unexpected miracles.
The tears.
The laughter.
The silent prayers.
Nothing…
absolutely nothing…
had been forgotten.
The Lord had treasured every moment.
Not to judge me.
But to show me…how lovingly He had walked beside me all along.
Then another realization quietly blossomed.
Virajฤ was not washing away my memories.
She was washing away my ownership of them.
No longer… my pilgrimage. my devotion. my achievements. my surrender.
Everything… had always been His grace.
Even my first longing to seek Him…
had begun with Him.The sacred River then whispered another truth into my heart.
This body…
formed from the paรฑca-bhลซtas earth.. water… fire… air… and space…
had faithfully carried me through this sacred pilgrimage.
Through these eyes…
I had beheld His temples.
Through these feet…I had climbed His hills.
Through these hands…
I had offered flowers.
Through this tongue…
I had recited the Divya Prabandham and Vishnu Sahasranฤma.
Through this heart…
I had loved Him.One day…
this body would lovingly return to the very elements from which it had arisen.
But I…dwelt within it.
The body hthe traveller…
had never been the body.
I had merelyad been my hermitage.
My instrument.
My companion.
The soul…belonged only to Him.
As I stood in that sacred silence…
the deepest realization of my earthly life unfolded.
Perhaps…
the true Archirฤdi Mฤrga had never begun after death.
Perhaps it had begun…
the very first time I chose humility over pride.
Forgiveness over anger.
Compassion over judgment.
Contentment over greed.
Service over recognition.
Love over hatred.
Every victory over my lower nature…
had already been another step toward Virajฤ.
The Lord had never waited until this day to transform me.
He had been transforming me…
every single day Slowly lovingly. patiently…
Viลvaksena gently placed his hand upon my shoulder.
“My child…
look once more.”
I looked into the River again.
This time…
there was no reflection No past. No future. Only Light. Only Peace. Only Him.
Then…
the waters gently parted.
Not because I had become worthy.
But because His grace had become complete.
Every step across Virajฤ felt effortless.
Not because I was walking.
Because Love itself was carrying me.
As I reached the opposite shore…
I instinctively turned back.
There was nothing left to reclaim.
Nothing left to regret.
Nothing left to fear.
Only gratitude.
Infinite gratitude.
Our revered Pลซrvฤcฤryas teach that Virajฤ is the sacred boundary between Prakแนti and the eternal realm.
The liberated soul does not cross by its own strength.Bhagavฤn Himself, out of boundless compassion, carries the surrendered soul beyond every trace of karma, sorrow and material limitation, preparing it for eternal kainkaryam.
For years…
during my daily Thiruvฤrฤdhanai…
I lovingly prayed,
“Virajฤ Nadฤซ… ฤgaccha…”
Today…I realise.. the Lord had accepted that little prayer long ago.
He simply waited… until the appointed moment… to answer it.
“Virajฤ did not remove my memories. She removed my ego from them.”
“The body belongs to the five elements. The soul belongs to the Lord.”
“Every sincere act of surrender is already a step into the waters of Virajฤ.”
Perhaps…
we need not wait for the final journey to approach Virajฤ.
Every day we forgive…
every day we surrender…
every day we choose the Lord over our ego…
we quietly place another foot into those sacred waters.
Perhaps…
Vaikuแนแนญha begins…
the moment the heart finally says,
“Nothing is mine… everything is Yours.”
As I stepped beyond Virajฤ…
the atmosphere itself changed.
The radiance became softer… deeper… more intimate.
Viลvaksena smiled. My child… no soul enters the Eternal City wearing the garments of the old world.”
“What mortal eyes could never behold, the ฤแธปvฤrs revealed through the eyes of love.”
Yesterday…
my journey reached a place where every earthly pilgrimage quietly ends.
The radiant Path of Light had led me to the shore of an Ocean unlike anything the human mind could imagine.
Even ลrฤซ Viลvaksena…
whose serene smile had accompanied me throughout the Archirฤdi Mฤrga…
stood in profound silence.
He whispered only one sentence.
Beyond these waters… the songs of the ฤแธปvฤrs become living reality.”
Today…
I finally understand what those words meant.
The Ocean before me was not made of water.
Nor of light.
Nor of anything found in the material universe.
It seemed to be woven from compassion itself.
Every gentle ripple carried peace.
Every wave reflected eternity.
There was no roar.
No storm.
No restless movement.
Its silence spoke more deeply than a thousand scriptures.
Without knowing why…
my heart began chanting the dwayam mantra and Ashtakshari
The sacred Aแนฃแนญฤkแนฃara seemed already alive within that boundless Ocean.
It was no longer my chanting.
It felt as though the Ocean itself was softly reciting the Lord’s Holy Name.
I looked toward Viลvaksena.
He smiled.
“My child…
this is Thiruppฤrkadal.
The 107th Divya Deลam.
No human body has ever walked here.
No earthly eyes have ever seen this Ocean.
Yet…
the Lord never kept it hidden.
He revealed it through those whose hearts had become His own.”
Suddenly…
the sacred hymns of our beloved ฤแธปvฤrs echoed within me.
Periyฤแธปvฤr.
ฤแนแธฤแธท.
Thirumazhisai ฤแธปvฤr.
Thirumaแน gai ฤแธปvฤr.
Poigai ฤแธปvฤr.
Bhลซtat ฤแธปvฤr.
Pey ฤแธปvฤr.
Above all…
Nammฤแธปvฤr.
Though they walked upon this very earth…
their vision had crossed beyond the worlds.
Their bodies remained here.
Their hearts had already entered eternity.
Nearly fifty sacred pฤsurams lovingly describe this Divine Ocean.
How extraordinary…
The Lord allowed generations yet unborn to behold this unseen Divya Deลam…
through the songs of His devotees.
Their pฤsurams became our eyes.
Their longing became our longing.
Their vision became our invitation.
As I gazed across the limitless radiance…
I saw Him.
Far beyond the Ocean…
yet nearer than my own breath.
ลrฤซman Nฤrฤyaแนa.
Reclining upon the thousand-hooded ฤdiลeแนฃa.
Not asleep.
Watching.
Compassionately.
Patiently.
Lovingly.
His glance embraced every universe.
Every jฤซva.
Every prayer.
Every tear.
It was from here…
the elders had told me…
that the Lord lovingly responds to the cries of the Devas.
From here…
His divine descents into the world are willed.
From here…
His compassion silently embraces every soul wandering through saแนsฤra.
I understood.
He had never been distant.
He had always been watching.
Viลvaksena gently spoke again.
“You wondered why the Lord led you through one hundred and six Divya Deลams.”
I nodded.
He continued.
“The Lord never wished you merely to count temples.
He wished your heart to recognise Him.
One temple taught humility.
Another gratitude.
Another surrender.
Another compassion.
Another forgiveness.
Every pilgrimage quietly removed another veil.
Without those journeys…
this Ocean would appear only as radiance.
Now…
your heart recognises it as Home.”
Then…
my own life unfolded before me.
The childhood dream of Lord Veแน kaแนญeลwara.
The countless treks up the sacred hills.
The tears shed before ลrฤซ Raแน ganฤtha.
The blessings of my revered ฤcฤrya.
The Vishnu Sahasranฤma that united devotees.
The paper-mรขchรฉ ฤแนแธฤแธท who came home like a daughter.
The little Kแนแนฃแนa who arrived by flight to join her.
The butter cup in Vแนndฤvana.
The Ratha Yฤtrฤ.
The unexpected miracles.
The devotees whom the Lord Himself sent.
Nothing…absolutely nothing…had been accidental.
Every memory had become a gentle current…bringing me here.
Then another truth arose.
How often we search for God somewhere far away.
Yet…
the Lord who reclines upon this Infinite Ocean…
also resides quietly within every heart.
The real Archirฤdi Mฤrga had begun long before this journey.
It began the day ignorance slowly gave way to wisdom.
When pride became humility.
When anger became forgiveness.
When greed became contentment.
When hatred became unconditional love.
When “mine” slowly became…
“Everything is Yours.”
Perhaps…
that is why the Lord waited so patiently.
He was never merely preparing me to reach Thiruppฤrkadal.
He was preparing Thiruppฤrkadal…
to awaken within me.
Our Pลซrvฤcฤryas explain that Thiruppฤrkadal is the 107th Divya Deลam, beyond the reach of mortal vision and accessible only to the liberated soul.
The ฤแธปvฤrs, through divya-dแนแนฃแนญi, experienced this transcendental realm and revealed its glory through their pฤsurams. There, the Lord reclines upon ฤdiลeแนฃa, ever compassionate, ever attentive, and ever ready to respond to those who seek refuge in Him.
When I completed the pilgrimage to the 106 Divya Deลams…
I wondered why the Lord had left two unfinished.
Today…
standing before Thiruppฤrkadal…
I finally understand.
The last two were never meant to be completed by my feet.
They were reserved for His grace.
“The ฤแธปvฤrs saw with love what the eyes could never see.”
“Every earthly pilgrimage was the Lord’s gentle rehearsal for eternity.”
“Thiruppฤrkadal is not merely beyond the world. It begins where complete surrender begins.”
Perhaps…
we spend our lives searching for distant heavens.
Yet the Lord patiently waits…
until our own hearts become quiet enough…
to recognise His eternal presence.
The Ocean has revealed its mystery.
But another wonder now awaits.
Viลvaksena has turned toward a radiant river flowing beyond the Ocean.
Its waters do not cleanse the body.
They transform the soul.
He looked at me…
and smiled.
“Beyond this River…
nothing of the old world remains.”
Tomorrow…
The Crossing of Virajฤ.
“The Ocean did not separate me from the Lord…
It separated me from everything that kept me from Him.”
“The Lord allowed my feet to reach one hundred and six Divya Deลams… only so that my soul would long for the final two.”
Yesterday…
I stood in silent gratitude as the Lord gently unfolded the purpose behind every pilgrimage He had blessed me to undertake.
The sacred rivers…the towering gopurams…the mountain paths…the countless darลanas…
were never isolated journeys.
They were chapters of a single story His story. My story.
Our journey Home. Yet…
one memory still remained unfinished.
When I completed the pilgrimage to the 106 Divya Deลams…
many dear devotees embraced me with joy.
“Swamy…
you have completed all the Divya Deลams.”
I smiled.
But somewhere deep within…
my heart quietly whispered,
“No… not yet.”
There were still two.
Not because I had forgotten them.
But because no mortal pilgrim could ever stand before them.
For years…
that question accompanied me.
Whenever I met revered elders…
learned scholars…
or sat before my beloved ฤcฤryas…
I would ask with childlike eagerness,
“Swamy…
where are the remaining two Divya Deลams?”
Almost every elder smiled.
Not because the answer was difficult.
But because they knew…
the answer would change the way I looked at every temple I had ever visited.
One venerable scholar finally said,
“My child…The first one hundred and six were meant for your body.The remaining two await only the liberated soul.”
His words settled into my heart like sacred seeds.
He explained that the 107th Divya Deลam is Thiruppฤrkadal…
the Ocean of Divine Milk…
where ลrฤซman Nฤrฤyaแนa reclines upon ฤdiลeแนฃa.
The 108th Divya Deลam is ลrฤซ Vaikuแนแนญham…
the Eternal Home.
Neither belongs to this earthly realm.
No traveller can purchase a ticket.
No mountain trail leads there.
No aircraft flies there.
No human eye can behold them.
Only the soul…
led by the Lord’s own grace…
may enter.
As I listened…
my heart filled with wonder.
Then came an even greater surprise.
The ฤแธปvฤrs…
our beloved seers of Divine Love…
had already seen them.
Not with physical sight…
but with hearts illumined by divine grace.
Periyฤแธปvฤr sang.
ฤแนแธฤแธท longed.
Thirumazhisai ฤแธปvฤr marvelled.
Thirumaแน gai ฤแธปvฤr glorified.
Nammฤแธปvฤr…
whose soul seemed to breathe the air of eternity…
poured forth pฤsurams overflowing with longing for those Divine Abodes
How extraordinary…
The places hidden from the world’s eyes…
had been lovingly revealed through the songs of those who loved Him beyond measure.
Their pฤsurams became our eyes.
Their longing became our invitation.
As these memories unfolded…
I instinctively looked beside me.
There He was.
ลrฤซ Viลvaksena Radiant. Compassionate. and Silent.
He had never left my side.Until this moment…
I had been so absorbed in my own memories that I had scarcely noticed His constant presence.
He looked at me with the affection of a guardian entrusted with a precious child.
Without my asking…
He smiled.
“My child…
do you now understand why the Lord allowed you to walk through one hundred and six Divya Deลams?”
I remained silent.
He continued. Every temple removed one veil.
Every pilgrimage softened the heart.
Every tear washed away another attachment.
The Lord was never counting the temples you visited.
He was preparing you to recognise your Eternal Home.”
His words entered my heart more deeply than any discourse I had ever heard.
Then another realization quietly dawned.
Perhaps…
the Archirฤdi Mฤrga had never begun after leaving the body.
Perhaps it had begun long ago…
the very first time I sincerely folded my hands before Him.
Every act of humility…
every moment of forgiveness…
every victory over pride…
every surrender of anger…
every offering made without expectation…
had already been steps upon this Path of Light.
My daily meditation suddenly came alive.
Every morning…
I had lovingly recited,
“Koormฤdฤซn Divya Lokam…”
For years…
they were sacred words.
Today…
they were no longer words.
They had become a doorway.
The radiant path beneath my feet gradually changed.
The brilliance of the Archirฤdi Mฤrga became softer…
deeper…
more serene.
Even the celestial beings accompanying us slowed their pace.
No one spoke.
Not because there was nothing to say…
but because silence itself had become worship.
Viลvaksena gently raised His hand toward the distant horizon.
Far ahead…
I saw something that no earthly ocean could resemble.
It stretched beyond sight.
Yet it did not move.
It shimmered with living light.
No waves crashed.
No winds blew.
Its stillness was more powerful than the mightiest storm.
My heart began to tremble.Without thinking…
I folded my hands.
Even Viลvaksena bowed His head.
For the first time since our journey together had begun…
He did not immediately speak.
After a long and sacred silence…
He softly whispered,
“Beyond these shores…
the songs of the ฤแธปvฤrs become living reality.”
I looked again.
The luminous expanse seemed almost alive.
Not calling.
Not pulling.
Simply…
waiting.
Waiting as though it had known my name long before I had ever uttered His.
I stood motionless.
Had I finally reached the very Ocean that no mortal eye had ever seen?
Viลvaksena gently smiled. “My child…
tomorrow…
you shall understand why the ฤแธปvฤrs wept when they sang of it.”
Our Pลซrvฤcฤryas teach that the first 106 Divya Deลams are divine gifts granted during earthly life.
The final twoโThiruppฤrkadal and ลrฤซ Vaikuแนแนญhamโbelong to the eternal realm. They are attained not through physical effort, but solely through the Lord’s grace bestowed upon the surrendered soul.
The ฤแธปvฤrs, through divya-dแนแนฃแนญi, lovingly revealed these eternal abodes in their sacred pฤsurams, inviting every seeker to long for the Home beyond all worlds.
When I completed my pilgrimage to the 106 Divya Deลams…
I thought I had reached the end.
Today…
I realize…
I had merely arrived at the shoreline.
“The feet completed one hundred and six pilgrimages. Grace alone completes the final two.”
“The ฤแธปvฤrs did not merely describe eternityโthey invited us to remember it.”
“The Lord never measured the number of temples I visited. He lovingly measured how much of my heart had become His.”
Perhaps…
the greatest pilgrimage is not from one sacred place to another.
Perhaps…
it is from the restless mind..to the peaceful heart…
where the Lord has been waiting all along.
Tomorrow
The Ocean waits.
The ฤแธปvฤrs sang of it.
The ฤcฤryas bowed before its mystery.
Even Viลvaksena now stands in reverent silence.
What lies beyond those luminous waters…
that even the eternal servants pause before entering?
Tomorrow…
The Ocean That Reflects Eternity.
“One hundred and six temples taught my feet to walk…
With me goes my entire flock โฆ.the flocks have more merit than the shepherd .. Shatruguna had more merit in following Bharata and Bharata had more merit in following Lord Rama , and our Madhurakavi Azhwar had more merit in following Nammazhwar .. \and Andaal had more merit following Peria Azhwar
There lived a devotee named โ Lakshmi Narayana โ in this holy place . Narayana spent his entire life doing services to Lord Aramudhan. He was the one who built the Rajagopuram which is app 44-m tall, 11-tiered tower by collecting small small donations from devotees and strived hard to finish the task . ย
When the Elder Brother Visits the Younger Brother.
Yesterday…
I discovered that every blessing in my life had been quietly arranged by the Lord long before I became aware of it Every temple… every pilgrimage… every Acharya… every devotee… every unexpected act of grace…
had been another loving step by which He prepared this wandering soul for its Eternal Journey.
As I continued walking today…another memory rose before me.
It was filled with the sound of conches… the fragrance of flowers…
and thousands of joyful voices calling His Holy Name.
Every year, as the sacred month of ฤแนฃฤแธha approaches, my heart begins to beat with a familiar excitement.
For nearly fourteen years now, our locality has witnessed a spectacle that is far more than a festival. It is a divine reunion. It is a pilgrimage on wheels. It is the day when Lord Jagannatha lovingly comes out of His abode to visit His younger brother, Lord Venkateswara.
Standing majestically before us is a magnificent 26-foot wooden Rath, decorated with colourful fabrics, fragrant flower garlands and fluttering flags. Yet this is not merely a wooden chariot. Every plank, every wheel and every carving speaks of the devotion of one extraordinary disciple who dedicated his entire life to fulfilling the order of his spiritual master.
That disciple is His Grace Rasananda Prabhu.
Born as Dr. Hyman in Montreal, Canada, in 1943, he graduated in Medicine from McGill University. His life changed forever in 1969 after hearing a lecture by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada explaining the profound wisdom of the Srimad Bhagavatam. Captivated by the philosophy and deeply moved by the ecstatic chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, he surrendered at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada and received initiation in 1970.
Following his Guru’s instructions, he travelled tirelessly across Canada, America, Africa and India, distributing transcendental literature and establishing Krishna consciousness wherever he went. Then came a life-changing instruction from Srila Prabhupada in 1978.
Build Rathas for Lord Jagannatha.”
For most people, it would have remained an instruction.
For H.G. Rasananda Prabhu, it became a lifelong mission.
He went on to design magnificent Rathas for ISKCON centres across India, Africa and Malaysia. His innovative designs combined traditional craftsmanship with modern engineering, incorporating specially designed chassis, leaf-spring suspension, steering systems and hydraulic mechanisms for lowering the towering canopy.
His work culminated in the publication of The Rath Construction Book in 1994, preserving this sacred tradition for generations to come.
In 2013, Sri Gopalakrishnana Anand along with few devotees from ECIL, Sainikpuri and Neredmet approached him with a heartfelt prayer.
“Prabhuji, please help us build a Rath so Lord Jagannatha may bless our locality every year.”
With immense enthusiasm, devotees joined together, contributing with love and sacrifice. Soon, a majestic wooden Rath aroseโa chariot worthy of carrying Sri Sri Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra Devi, whose beautiful Deities are worshipped in H.G. Rasananda Prabhu’s Ashram.
A few days before the first Rath Yatra, my phone rang.
It was H.G. Rasananda Prabhu.
With characteristic humility, he requested a favour for us swamy …he said
“Can you please help obtain permission from the authorities of Sri Padmavathi Venkateswara Temple? We would like Lord Jagannatha’s Rath Yatra to conclude there, and we wish to serve Mahaprasadam to all the devotees.”
I was deeply moved.This was not merely an administrative responsibility.
It was an opportunity to serve.
Without hesitation, I proceeded straight to the temple.
Before meeting
any official, I entered the sanctum sanctorum.
There stood Lord Sri Venkateswara, radiating compassion.
As I gazed upon His smiling face, all anxiety disappeared.
Folding my hands, I surrendered completely.
“Swami,” I prayed silently, “this is Your work, not mine. Today Your elder brother, Lord Jagannatha, desires to come every year to visit You. If it pleases You, kindly arrange everything. I have no ability of my own.”
Leaving everything at His lotus feet, I stepped out of the sanctum.
At that very moment, the Chairman of the temple happened to arrive.
Seeing me, he smiled warmly.
“Swamy! How are you?”
I explained the purpose of my visit and requested permission for the Rath Yatra to conclude within the temple premises.
Before I could complete my sentence, he smiled and uttered words that remain engraved upon my heart forever.
“Swamy, you are standing in His chambers. You have already received His permission. I am only a rubber stamp. If it is His wish, what more is there for me to approve?”
For a few moments, I simply stood in silence.
Only minutes earlier I had surrendered the entire matter before Lord Venkateswara.
Now, through the Chairman’s words, it felt as though the Lord Himself had gently reassured me that He had accepted my prayer.
With tears of gratitude, I immediately telephoned H.G. Rasananda Prabhu and shared the wonderful news.
He was delighted.
Then he surprised me once again.
“Since you are a Srivaishnava, please come early on the day of the Rath Yatra. I would like you to perform the purification ceremonies for the Rath before the Lordships begin Their journey.”
My joy knew no bounds.
What greater blessing could there be?
On the auspicious morning, I hurried to the beautifully decorated Rath.
Standing before it with folded hands, I reverentially recited the Pancha Suktams, praying that every part of the chariot become sanctified for the Lord’s divine journey.
Soon afterwards, we lovingly dressed Sri Sri Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra in fresh garments and adorned Them with fragrant flowers and ornaments.
As the auspicious hour arrived, the air vibrated with the sounds of conch shells, mridangas and kartals.
Then began the immortal chanting.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
The holy names spread like waves through the streets.
Unable to contain my joy, I danced.
Hundreds joined.
Soon thousands of feet moved to the rhythm of the Mahamantra.
The atmosphere was no longer ordinary.
It had become transcendental.
One thought alone filled my heart throughout the procession.
“Today the elder brother is going to meet His younger brother.”
As part of our annual offering, we presented new garments to the Deities of Sri Padmavathi Venkateswara Temple. We also ensured that abundant Mahaprasadam was lovingly prepared so that every devotee would receive the Lord’s mercy.
What had begun years ago with barely a hundred participants has today blossomed into one of the most eagerly awaited spiritual celebrations in our locality. Every year, several hundreds of devotees participate, while countless others line the roads waiting patiently for the Lord’s darshan.
For nearly three hours I had the indescribable fortune of pulling the sacred ropes of the Rath.
Every chant seemed sweeter than the previous one.
People who had merely come to watch slowly joined the procession.
Some began clapping.
Some danced. Others softly repeated the Mahamantra.
The Lord was silently drawing everyone towards Himself.
Finally, the majestic Rath reached Sri Padmavathi Venkateswara Temple.
The temple priests welcomed the Lordships with Poorna Kumbham, Vedic chanting and auspicious honours.
After the grand Maha Arati, we reverentially lifted the sacred Deities from the Rath and carried Them into the temple amidst continuous Hari Nama Sankirtana.
That moment is impossible to describe.
Standing with folded hands, I watched as Lord Jagannatha was ceremonially welcomed into the abode of Lord Venkateswara.
In the depths of my heart, I joyfully contemplated the loving meeting of these two glorious manifestations of the Supreme Lord. It was a deeply personal devotional experience that words can scarcely capture.
The temple echoed with kirtan.
The fragrance of incense filled the air.
Devotees stood with tears streaming down their cheeks.
More than a thousand devotees later honoured the sacred Mahaprasadam together, without distinction.
As I stood silently watching the divine celebration unfold, one profound realization dawned upon me.
None of this had happened because of my influence.
None of it had happened because of my planning.
Everything had happened because one Guru faithfully obeyed his Guru.
Because one disciple surrendered to the Lord’s will.
Because countless devotees offered selfless service.
And above all, because the Lord Himself desired to shower His mercy upon His children.
Every year since then, the Rath Yatra begins from Bhavan’s School, Sainikpuri, and travels nearly six kilometres to Sri Padmavathi Venkateswara Temple, Kushaiguda amidst continuous Hari Nama Sankirtana.
Thousands gather to witness the Lord travelling through their streets.
Children run behind the Rath.
Families stand outside their homes with folded hands.
Flowers shower upon the Lord.
The entire locality transforms into a moving temple.
Even today, whenever I hear the distant sound of mridangas or the chanting of the Mahamantra during Rath Yatra, my heart returns to that unforgettable day.
I remember the smiling face of Lord Venkateswara.
I remember the Chairman’s unforgettable words:
“You have already received His permission. I am only a rubber stamp.”
I remember the tireless devotion of the eighty-year-old H.G. Rasananda Prabhu walking the entire procession, singing the holy names with the enthusiasm of a young devotee.
As the festivities drew to a close, another incident remained etched in my heart.
A respected Srivaishnava devotee hurried towards me with genuine concern.
“Swamy,” he asked, “we are all Srivaishnavas. Why are you so deeply involved with this ISKCON group?”
Before I could answer him, a few senior ISKCON devotees smilingly posed the very same question from the other side.
“Prabhu, you are a Srivaishnava. What brought you to an ISKCON gathering?”
For a moment I smiled.
How wonderful are the Lord’s divine pastimes! Standing between two groups of devotees, each lovingly asking why I belonged with the other.
I folded my hands and replied gently.
“My dear brothers, both of us breathe the same air created by the Lord. We awaken under the same sun. We rejoice beneath the same moon. We walk upon the same earth. We live under the same sky. Above all, we long for the grace of the same Supreme Lord. Why then should we create walls where the Lord has given us one universe?”
Silence filled the air.
Turning affectionately towards my Srivaishnava friends, I said,
“Did not our revered Alwars teach us that devotion must melt the heart? Did they not long for Bhagavan with such intensity that tears flowed uncontrollably? They did not merely ask us to worship; they taught us to cry for Him.”
The words of Nammalvar echoed within me:
‘O Lord! My eyes pour unceasing streams of tears in longing for You.’ (A reflection of the longing expressed throughout the Tiruvฤymoแธปi.)
Again and again, the Alwars speak of the soul’s unbearable separation from the Lord, where remembrance itself becomes worship and tears become the language of bhakti.
Then I turned lovingly towards my ISKCON friends.
“And did not Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu demonstrate that the Holy Name is the greatest gift for this age? Did he not embrace everyoneโscholars and simple villagers, saints and those considered fallenโand inspire them all to chant the names of Krishna?”
His immortal words from the ลikแนฃฤแนฃแนญakam immediately came to my mind:
ceto-darpaแนa-mฤrjanaแน bhava-mahฤ-dฤvฤgni-nirvฤpaแนaแน ‘The chanting of the Holy Name cleanses the mirror of the heart and extinguishes the blazing fire of material existence.’
And later, in the very same divine composition, Mahaprabhu reveals the highest state of devotion:
yugฤyitaแน nimeแนฃeแนa cakแนฃuแนฃฤ prฤvแนแนฃฤyitam ลลซnyฤyitaแน jagat sarvaแน govinda-viraheแนa me
“Every moment appears like an age; my eyes pour torrents of tears, and the entire world seems empty in separation from Govinda.”
I smiled once again.
“Tell me honestly,” I asked them, “is this not the very mood our Alwars lived? Is this not the same longing that pours from the Tiruvฤymoแธปi? Different melodies, perhapsโbut the same yearning for the Lord.”
One tradition teaches us to surrender completely at the Lord’s lotus feet.
Another inspires us to loudly sing His Holy Names so that the whole world may remember Him.
One treasures the nectar of the Divya Prabandham.
The other constantly proclaims the Mahamantra.
But both invite the soul to love the Lord more deeply.
As Nammalvar declares:
“เฎเฎดเฎฟเฎตเฎฟเฎฒเฏ เฎเฎพเฎฒเฎฎเฏเฎฒเฏเฎฒเฎพเฎฎเฏ เฎเฎเฎฉเฎพเฎฏเฏ เฎฎเฎฉเฏเฎฉเฎฟ เฎตเฎดเฏเฎตเฎฟเฎฒเฎพ เฎ เฎเฎฟเฎฎเฏ เฎเฏเฎฏเฏเฎฏ เฎตเฏเฎฃเฏเฎเฏเฎฎเฏ เฎจเฎพเฎฎเฏ.” “At all times, without interruption, may we remain with Him and render flawless, eternal service.” (Tiruvฤymoแธปi 3.3.1)
And Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu teaches:
kฤซrtanฤซyaแธฅ sadฤ hariแธฅ “The Holy Name of Hari is to be chanted always.” (ลikแนฃฤแนฃแนญakam 3)
As I reflected on both teachings, I found no contradiction.
To serve Him always. ..To remember Him always. .. To chant His Holy Name always……………..
….to weep in separation from Him. To rejoice in His presence.
These are not competing paths of devotion but harmonious expressions of a heart wholly offered to the Supreme Lord.
That evening, while watching Lord Jagannatha return after blessing thousands of devotees, one truth settled permanently in my heart.
The Lord never asks which banner we stand beneath.
He looks only to see whether our hearts melt when His Holy Name is sung.
Above all, I remember one eternal truth.
In Kali-yuga, the Lord comes searching for His devotees. He rides upon a simple wooden chariot, accompanied by the sound of the Mahamantra, inviting every soulโwithout distinctionโto return to Him.
And by His infinite compassion, He allowed me to hold the ropes of that chariot.
For me, it was not merely participation in a festival.
It was the fulfilment of a lifelong dream.
It was one of the greatest blessings of my life.
True Acharyas never build walls around the Lord; they build bridges towards Him. Through the life and service of H.G. Rasananda Prabhu, I witnessed the living spirit of Guru-niแนฃแนญhฤโa disciple dedicating an entire lifetime to fulfilling one instruction from his Guru, Srila Prabhupada: “Build Rathas for Lord Jagannatha.”
Equally moving was Lord Venkateswara’s silent assurance that His work is accomplished through surrender, not influence. The Alwars teach us to melt in separation from the Lord, while Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu teaches us to flood the world with His Holy Names. Both awaken the same longingโto belong entirely to Him.
Guru’s command becomes a disciple’s lifetime.
The Lord’s work advances through surrender more than through influence.A wooden Rath becomes divine when moved by love.
The Holy Name unites hearts before it unites voices.
Devotional traditions may express themselves differently, yet each can inspire deeper remembrance of the Lord.
The Lord looks beyond external identity and delights in a heart softened by devotion.
Standing between two devotional communities, I realized that the Lord had not asked me to choose between love and love. He had only asked me to love Him more deeply.
The Alwars taught me to cry for Him.
Mahaprabhu taught me to sing for Him.
My Acharyas taught me to surrender to Him.
That day, while holding the ropes of Lord Jagannatha’s Rath,
I understood that when the Holy Name fills the air, all sincere hearts are invited to draw nearer to the same Supreme Lord.
Tomorrow
The Rath Yatra has concluded, but the pilgrimage of the heart has only begun.
Tomorrow, the pilgrim encounters another unexpected lessonโ
one that reveals how the Lord quietly prepares
His servants for the final journey, not merely through extraordinary miracles,
but through the hidden sanctification of everyday acts of service.
The chariot has stopped… but the soul continues its journey.
“Every step I believed I took toward the Lord was already a footprint He had lovingly placed before me.”
Yesterday…
my heart stood once again before my revered ฤcฤrya.I remembered the day when I longed to offer a small dakแนฃiแนฤ at His holy feet…
and discovered that I had nothing to give. Yet before that longing could become disappointment…
the Lord quietly arranged everything.
Through a stranger.
Through an unexpected meeting. Through a heart that simply obeyed His unseen command.
As I walked further upon this luminous path today…
another realization slowly unfolded.
Perhaps…
that had never been an isolated miracle.
Perhaps… my entire life had been woven exactly like that.
The radiant road stretched endlessly before me. Every step shimmered with memories.
Not memories of accomplishments… but memories of unexpected mercies.
How many times had I believed, “I made this pilgrimage.”
“I organized this service.”
“I completed this vow.”
“I travelled to this Divya Deลam.”
Today… standing upon the Archirฤdi Mฤrga… I could no longer say those words.
Instead… another truth quietly replaced them.
“He brought me.”
Suddenly…
my childhood appeared before my eyes.
The first temple bell I had ever heard.
The first handful of tulasฤซ.
The first darลana that left me speechless.
The first time someone taught me to fold my hands before the Lord.
None of them had happened by chance.
Every one of them…
had been His first invitation.
Then came the sacred years that followed.
Pilgrimages.
Divya Deลams.
The holy hills of Tirumala. How many times Lord gave me HIS darshan bhagyam .Every year growing beard with a vow to trek , tonsure relish my soul with his darshan ,Submission then regret leaving him …Memorable ..almost four decades with only HIM ,my savior , my margabandhu and my only source of life , my breath GOVINDAAAAA….
The sacred streets of ลrฤซraแน gam.
The quiet joy of reciting Divya Prabandham.
The fragrance of Tulasฤซ.
The sweetness of Vishแนu Sahasranฤma.
ฤแนแธฤแธท smiling like a little daughter.
Kแนแนฃแนa arriving as though He Himself had accepted her invitation.
My Acharyas.
My fellow devotees.
Every experience…
now appeared like pearls on a single thread.
The thread…had always been His compassion.
Then another thought overwhelmed me.
How often had I thanked Him only after receiving His blessings.
Today…
I wished to thank Him even for the blessings I never recognized.
For the disappointments that protected me. For the delays that guided me.
For the unanswered prayers that quietly prepared me for greater gifts.
For the moments when I felt alone… while He silently walked beside me.
Tears flowed freely.
There was no sorrow in them.
Only gratitude.
I folded my hands.
“Lord…”
“You never grew tired of this stubborn child.” “I wandered countless times.”
“You never abandoned me.”
“I forgot You often.”
“You never forgot me.”
“I offered You little.”
“You gave me everything.”
Then another prayer arose from somewhere deeper than words.
Not only for me, my Lord…” “For every soul still wandering through this beautiful yet weary world…”
“Please do for them what You did for me.” “Be patient with them.”
“Forgive their ignorance.” “Awaken their longing.”
“Lead them gently.”
“One day… bring every one of them Home.”
For a few moments…the entire path seemed to glow more brightly.
It was almost as though the Lord Himself had accepted that prayer.
Our revered ฤcฤryas teach that Bhagavฤn’s grace begins working long before we become aware of Him.
The Lord as Antaryฤmin quietly guides, protects, corrects, and prepares the soul through countless unseen acts of compassion. What we later call “coincidences” are often His silent arrangements, leading us one step closer to Himself.
Looking back upon my own life… I can no longer separate miracles from ordinary days.
Every temple visit… every unexpected meeting…
every pilgrimage… every devotee…
every act of kainkaryam… was another gentle touch of His hand.
Nothing was accidental. Everything belonged to Him.
“Grace rarely announces its arrival. It quietly changes the direction of our life.”
“The greatest miracles are often recognized only while looking back.”
“The Lord’s guidance is so gentle that we sometimes mistake it for coincidence.”
OUR ALTAR AT HOME THIRUVENGADAM
Perhaps… our life has never been a collection of unrelated events.
Perhaps…the Lord has been writing one continuous storyโusing temples…
people… joy… tears… service… and silence..until our hearts become ready to recognize Him.
Tomorrow’s Footprint
As I continued walking… the luminous road slowly widened.
Far away…
I heard joyful voices.
Conches echoed.
Temple bells rang.
The fragrance of freshly woven flower garlands filled the air.
Another memory… one that had returned year after year… was waiting to embrace me.
Tomorrow…
I shall remember the day when I thought I was pulling the Lord’s chariot…
only to discover…that all along,
He had been pulling me toward Himself.
“The soul never reaches the Lord by its own strength. Every step Home is already carried by His boundless compassion.”
The Dakแนฃiแนฤ I could not Offer…and the Lord Offered for me
“When the Lord accepts an offering, He first places it in the devotee’s hands.
Yesterday…I watched little Kแนแนฃแนa arrive after an extraordinary journey.
Across cities… through the kindness of strangers…
and upon the wings of an airplane… He came simply because one little ฤแนแธฤแธท had refused to celebrate without Him.
As I watched Them seated together… I quietly wondered…
How many unseen miracles had the Lord woven throughout my life…
without my ever noticing them? Then another memory rose gently from my heart.
It did not begin in a great temple. Nor during a festival. It began…
with an empty wallet.
We had completed our pilgrimage to the sacred Divya Deลams around Kฤรฑcipuram.
On our return journey… we stopped at our revered ฤcฤrya’s ฤลram near Siแน gaperumฤแธท Koil to receive his blessings before travelling home.
Our beloved ฤcฤrya had unexpectedly returned from ลrฤซraแน gam only that very day. How could I miss the opportunity?
Asmath Acharyar
When we arrived… the sacred homam was in progress.
The entire ฤลram was immersed in Vedic chanting. The fragrance of samidhs…
the gentle smoke rising toward the heavens… nd the silence of devoted disciples filled the air.
As I stood waiting… my hand instinctively reached for my wallet.
I wished to offer a small dakแนฃiแนฤ at my ฤcฤrya’s lotus feet. I opened it.
Nothing. Not a single rupee remained.
My wife gently reminded me… “We offered everything during the pilgrimage… We thought we will check ATM on return and sadly the ATM were under breakdown . We decided we will check at station and were returning straight home.”
She was right. Yet my heart felt strangely empty.
Not because I had no money… but because I had nothing to place before the one who had given me everything.
An ATM was far away. ….. Time was running short.
Our train from Chennai Egmore would leave that evening.
Quietly… without telling anyone…
I prayed. Not for money. Only for the opportunity to express my gratitude.
Nearby stood the ancient temple of Lord Lakแนฃmฤซ Narasiแนha at Siแน gaperumฤแธท Koil.
How many times had I stood before His majestic form!
How many times had I watched the priest reveal His mysterious third eye during the ฤrati!
This sacred temple carried another treasure close to my heart.
Centuries ago… our revered Pลซrvฤcฤrya ลrฤซ Anavilappฤn received the Lord’s command in a dream to recover Him from beneath the sand dunes and restore His worship.
The very ฤcฤrya-paramparฤ that now guided my own life had lovingly served this Lord for generations.
Standing silently… I surrendered my little disappointment at His feet.
“If it is Your wish… et me offer something.
If not… let even this longing belong to You.”
At that very moment… someone hurried toward me.
A young devotee. He folded his hands. His face glowed with joy.
“Swamy… are you Kazhiyur Varadan?” I smiled in surprise.
“Yes…”
“I have been reading your pilgrimage writings for years!” We spoke briefly.
He had come from Ahobilam, travelling to the sacred Narasiแนha temples.
I happily shared the history of Siแน gaperumฤแธท Koil and our ฤcฤrya’s lineage.
Then he said something that left me speechless.
“Swamy…
I wish to offer dakแนฃiแนฤ to your ฤcฤrya.
Would you kindly do it on my behalf?”
I immediately declined. “No…
you must offer it yourself.” But he smiled.
“Then please accept this.”
He gently placed โน5,000 in my hands. “And another โน5,000…
please offer this on your behalf ” For a moment…
I could neither speak… nor breathe.
That…
was almost exactly the amount my heart had wished to offer.
Tears filled my eyes. The Lord had answered… not by giving me money…
but by allowing me to become an instrument for another devotee’s offering.
I requested him to accompany me inside. He smiled.
“I’ll just bring my bag.” He walked away.
I waited. Five minutes… ten minutes… longer still.
He never returned.
To this day…
I have never seen him again.
Sometimes… I still wonder… Was he merely a pilgrim?
Or another quiet messenger sent by the Lord? Only He knows.
Soon… our ฤcฤrya emerged after the homam. No explanations were necessary.
Our eyes met. He looked at me with that familiar smile that only a true Guru can offer.
It seemed as though he already knew every prayer that had arisen in my heart.
Without a word… he told me to keep the dakแนฃiแนฤ. at Lords lotus feet
Placed prasฤda into our hands.
And blessed us. “My child… you have Lord Narasiแนha’s grace.
May every auspicious blessing always remain with you.”
My wife looked anxiously at the clock.
“The train…”
I smiled through my tears.
“If the Lord wished us to remain here… that too would be His grace.”
We finally reached Chennai Egmore.
The train… was delayed by nearly three hours as some electrification work was going at Arakonam
I smiled once again.
The Lord had arranged even time itself.
Today… as millions pull Lord Jagannฤtha’s chariot during Rath Yฤtrฤ…
another realization fills my heart. We imagine we are pulling the Lord.
Perhaps… it is the Lord who has always been pulling us… patiently… lovingly… through every joy…
every disappointment… every unanswered prayer… toward Himself.
Our Pลซrvฤcฤryas teach that ลaraแนฤgati is not the offering of our strength, but the surrender of our helplessness.
Bhagavฤn delights not in the size of a gift, but in the longing of the heart that wishes to offer it.
Often, before accepting our offering, He quietly arranges the means by which it reaches Him.
Looking back… I realize that I never truly offered that dakแนฃiแนฤ.
The Lord who inspired the desire… provided the means. Sent the devotee.
Delayed the train. Guided the meeting. And allowed me the joy of believing that I had offered something.
In truth… He was the Giver. I was only the grateful witness.
“The Lord never measures the value of an offering. He measures the longing behind it.”
“When the hands are empty but the heart is full, grace quietly fills the hands.”
“The greatest miracle is not that God answers prayer, but that He hears the prayer we never speak aloud.”
How many times have we lamented… “I have nothing worthy to offer God.”
Perhaps… He has been smiling all along. For the One who owns the universe has never waited for our wealth.
He has always waited… for our willingness.
Tomorrow’s Footprint
Today, the Lord rode among millions in His chariot.
Tomorrow… another memory awakens.
One that taught me a lesson no scripture alone could have revealed…hat sometimes…
the Lord hides Himself behind an ordinary devotee… only to reveal that every act of kindness is His own hand reaching toward us.
“The soul never walks toward God carrying gifts. It walks empty-handed… Only to discover that every gift it ever offered had first been placed there by Him.”
“The Lord never asks, ‘How will you bring Me?’ He simply waits for the heart that longs to receive Him.”
A Father’s Search Begins
Long before she asked for Kแนแนฃแนa…she herself had arrived as ฤแนแธฤแธท.
It began as a simple thought.”What if our little daughter walked with us during Mฤrgaแธปi as Kลdai Nฤchiyฤr?”
The thought slowly became a prayer.The prayer became reality.Every dawn during Mฤrgaแธปi… our little girl would awaken before sunrise.She would be lovingly dressed as ลrฤซ ฤแนแธฤแธท.
Tiny flowers adorned her hair.The sacred ลrฤซvaiแนฃแนava tirumaแน marked her forehead.
Around her neck rested fragrant garlands.Looking at her, many devotees forgot they were seeing a child.
Their hearts simply saw ฤแนแธฤแธท. Year after year… our temple streets blossomed with Tiruppฤvai.
The circumambulation slowly grew.Families joined.Children joined.Elders joined.
Many Telugu-speaking devotees could not recite every Tamil pฤลuram.Yet no one felt excluded.
With folded hands they walked behind ฤแนแธฤแธท, joyfully chanting, “Govinda… Govinda…”
And somehow… that was enough.
Before dawn, the atmosphere itself became sฤttvika.
Temple bells echoed gently through the cool morning air.
The fragrance of jasmine, tulasฤซ and camphor mingled together.
Temple cows quietly stood watching the procession, waiting to receive their morning feed.
Many mornings my eyes overflowed. Not because we had organized a festival…
but because I felt that ฤแนแธฤแธท herself had gathered all of us around her beloved Lord.
Each day’s celebration ended with naivedyam. Even before returning home, my mind would already begin planning the next day’s offering.
Every dawn during Mฤrgaแธปi I would gently lift her close to my heart.
Fresh jasmine adorned her tiny crown.
The fragrance of tulasฤซ filled the room.
Slowly…
I would bend near her delicate ears and recite one Tiruppฤvai pฤsuram after another.
Not as a formal recitation.
Not as a ritual.
But as a father whispering ancient songs to his little daughter.
When I finished…
I would softly ask,
“ฤแนแธฤแธท… did you hear Kแนแนฃแนa’s story today?”
a soft voice arose. Almost like a whisper. “Appฤ…” I looked into her eyes.
She smiled innocently. Then came the question that pierced my heart forever.
“Appฤ… where is my Kแนแนฃแนa?” For a moment… I could not answer.
She continued softly… “You come with me every day during Mฤrgaแธปi.
When Mฤrgaแธปi ends…you will go back home.
How can I stay here alone?Please bring my Kแนแนฃแนa.”
I stood speechless. The Paรฑcaloha utsava mลซrtis were there for the festival.
But my little ฤแนแธฤแธท was not asking for festival decorations.She wanted her own Kแนแนฃแนa.
At that moment… I understood.
This was no longer my daughter’s wish. It had become a father’s sacred responsibility.
It was the 18th of pasuram I silently prayed to Jagath Acharyar to please help… And once Satrumarai began. I silently prayed
“My Lord…
Only You know where You are hiding.
Please allow me to find You for Your little ฤแนแธฤแธท.”
That very day…
my search for Kแนแนฃแนa began.
Folding my hands before her, I promised,
“I will bring Him home.”
Today…
I remember how the Lord fulfilled that promise.
The search began with great enthusiasm.
I visited every temple shop I knew.
Every craftsman.
Every devotee who collected divine dolls.
Wherever someone said,
“You may find a beautiful little Kแนแนฃแนa there…”
I went.
Days moved fast and Margazhee was about to end in a week ..
Still…
my heart remained unconvinced.
Some dolls were beautiful. Some majestic.
Some artistic.
But none looked like the mischievous Cowherd who would steal butter…
and hearts… with the very same smile.
Finally…
the search moved online. Night after night…
I scrolled through countless photographs.
Hundreds of little Kแนแนฃแนas appeared.
Yet none whispered,
“Take Me home.”
Then… quite unexpectedly…
one image stopped me.
I could not explain why.
His tiny round cheeks…
His innocent smile…
His playful eyes………
He looked exactly like the little Kแนแนฃแนa my heart had been searching for.
Without wasting a moment…
I contacted the seller. Her name was Mary.
She lived in Tirunelveli.
I explained our story. About my dear daughter little ฤแนแธฤแธท.
About Mฤrgaแธปi. About the daily temple visits.
About my promise.
For a few moments…
there was silence.
Then came the reply.
“I’m sorry… Swamy
that doll has already been reserved.”
My heart quietly sank…..
Perhaps…
the Lord had another plan. Before ending our conversation…
I sent her one photograph praying our most compassionate Swamy Nammalvar living very near to Tirunelveli..
Only one. Just that little princess who is priceless and a divine child
It was little my. ฤแนแธฤแธท…
smiling innocently…
covered with jasmine…
waiting.
A little later… my phone rang.
It was Mary.
Her voice had changed completely.
She spoke softly.
Swamy “I don’t know why… but after seeing your little ฤแนแธฤแธท… I simply cannot refuse. She looks as though she is truly waiting for Kแนแนฃแนa.”
She paused.
Then added,
“Leave everything to me. I will somehow send Him.”
I was speechless. At that moment…
I no longer felt I was speaking to Mary.
I felt the Lord had quietly entered another heart…
to fulfil the longing He Himself had planted in mine.
The next few days became another pilgrimage.
Not on foot. Not through sacred temples.
But through a parcel tracking screen.
Morning…
I checked the logistics App
Afternoon…
I checked again.
Night…
once more.
Tirunelveli…
Dispatch Centre…
Airport…
In Transit…
Flight Departed…
Flight Landed…
Closer…
Closer…
Closer…
I smiled through tears. Reached DTDC Airport office ..
Long ago…
Garuแธa carried Kแนแนฃแนa wherever devotees longed for Him.
Today…
He had chosen an aeroplane.
The vehicle had changed.
The Compassion had not.
Then…
That blessed morning… We rushed to Airport DTDC office
An ordinary cardboard parcel stood quietly on the Managers table .
But my hands trembled. The Manager smiled and said .Swamy I saw your call and call from Mary .What’s special mYiu are looking like swamy and Mary there other side calling me whether the parcel reached .I said This was no ordinary package.
Very slowly… I opened it. Layer after layer…
until finally… He appeared.
Little Kแนแนฃแนa.
Exactly as I had imagined.
Round cheeks.
A naughty smile.
Eyes sparkling with mischief.
It almost seemed as though He was asking,
“Did you really think I would not come?”
Tears flowed freely.
For several moments… I imagined how Swany Nammalvar must have felt singing Unnum Sorrum . And relished the lotus eyed Lord
I simply held Him close to my heart.
Not because He was made of clay.
But because Love had arrived.
Then came the moment I shall never forget.
I gently carried little Kแนแนฃแนa to where ฤแนแธฤแธท was waiting after my family welcomed him with Haarathi and offering fresh butter
Very slowly…
I placed Him beside her.
The room fell completely silent.
No words were spoken.
No music played.
Yet something within whispered,
“Two hearts that were never truly separated…have met again.”
I folded my hands.
My eyes overflowed.
And I softly said,
“ฤแนแธฤแธท… My darling child I kept my promise.”
Immediately…
another voice arose deep within.
“No…I kept Mine.”
Only then did I understand.
It was never my search.
It was always His journey.
He had walked through temple streets…
through Tirunelveli…
through Mary’s compassionate heart…
through airports…
through the skies…
only to keep the promise He Himself had inspired.
Our ฤcฤryas teach that ลaraแนฤgati is not persuading Bhagavฤn to care for us. It is awakening to the truth that He began caring for us long before we knew how to call His Name.
Every sincere longing placed in a devotee’s heart is already the beginning of His grace.
Today…
walking the Archirฤdi Mฤrga…
I realise that my lifelong journey has been exactly the same.
I thought I was searching for Him.
Birth after birth…
it was He…
patiently searching for me.
“The Lord never measures the distance between places. He measures only the longing between two hearts.”
“When we surrender one small promise to Him, He responds with a thousand unseen arrangements.”
Perhaps…
every unexpected person we meet…
every delay…As I continued along the radiant path…
another memory quietly awakened.
A temple…
the chanting of ลrฤซ Viแนฃแนu Sahasranฤma…
an earnest devotee corrected for imperfect pronunciation… and an unforgettable lesson from Poonthanam and Bhattathiri that forever changed my understanding of devotion.
Tomorrow…
When the Lord Chose Love Over Perfect Pronunciation.
“The Lord hears the heart long before He hears the tongue.”
To be continued…
ลrฤซmate Rฤmฤnujฤya Nama
every closed door…
every helping hand…
is quietly preparing us for a meeting we cannot yet see.
What if…
your own life already carries such hidden footprints?
The great Commander of the Lord’s eternal realm welcomed me with compassion that words cannot describe.
As I continued walking along the Archirฤdi Mฤrga today…
another fragrance gently surrounded me.
Not sandalwood.
Not tulasฤซ.
The delicate fragrance of fresh jasmine
“The Lord often answers one prayer by planting another. What we call fulfillment is sometimes only the beginning of a deeper longing.”
One memory lingered. It carried the fragrance of jasmine… the melody of Tiruppฤvai… and the smile of a little girl who entered my life unexpectedly.
Soon…
I could hear familiar words floating through the luminous breeze.
For many years, one desire quietly rested in my heart. “Mฤrgaแธปi tiแน gaแธท madi niแนainda nannฤแธทฤl…”
During Mฤrgaแธปi, we recited ลrฤซ ฤแนแธฤแธท’s Tiruppฤvai every morning by the dawn at temple and later in devotees houses
It was Tiruppฤvai.
Immediately…
my heart knew.
Another precious memory had awakened.
Like countless devotees, I longed that ฤแนแธฤแธท should not remain only inside the temple.
She should lovingly visit all around the temple prakaram like the Lordships and may be every devotees home. She should bless elderly devotees who could not come to the temple. She should receive flowers from little children.
She should become the Daughter of our community.
When I discussed this with the temple authorities, there was hesitation.
The traditional paรฑcaloha utsava vigraha was beautiful, but heavy. Taking Her every day through the temple and later into the streets… lifting Her repeatedly.is always a bit challenging and bringing Her into homes…would be too difficult.
Some wondered whether it could be done at all.
But my heart refused to let go……
Surely the Divine Mother who walked through ลrฤซvilliputtลซr for the sake of the
Lord would not mind walking among Her children once again.
Then…
the impossible quietly became possible. Someone introduced me to a beautifully crafted papier-mรขchรฉ ฤแนแธฤแธท during my Navaratree shopping
She was light enough to be lovingly carried from house to temple and then toย houses of devotees .too
Yet when I first looked into Her eyesโฆ I forgot the material from which She was made…
I saw only ฤแนแธฤแธท….She came home.Not as an object. Not as an ornament. But as our dearest Daughter…
From that day onward, every morning during Mฤrgaแธปi, she travelled with us. First to Temple reciting Thiruppavai and circumbulating the temple amidst recitation of Vishnu Sahasranamam and Govinda naamavalli and then later to devotees houses as per pasurams devotees choose house after house… street after street… the sweet sound of “Mฤrgaแธปi Tiแน gaแธท…” filled the dawn….
Children waited at their doors with flowers Elders folded their hands with tears.
Many who had been unable to visit the temple in the earloy mornings felt that the temple itself had come to them…
Every day, as I gently carried Her, one feeling grew stronger…
I was no longer carrying ฤแนแธฤแธท. A father was carrying his daughter
Every dawn of Mฤrgaแธปi, after adorning her with fresh flowers, I would gently bring my face close to hers and softly recite each verse of Tiruppฤvai into her tiny ears.
Not loudly……
Not as a ritual…
But as a father whispering timeless secrets to his beloved child.
Sometimes I would pause between the verses, with transcendental tears simply gazing into her gentle eyes.
Her little smile never changed…
Yet my heart always felt as though she was listening.
Whenever I looked at her…
I no longer saw paper and colour.
I saw innocence.
I saw surrender.
I saw the little girl who taught the world that loving Kแนแนฃแนa is life’s greatest purpose.
Then…
I would lovingly ask,
Child” Am I reciting it correctly Are you happy child ,, Please forgive this Appa if he offends you .
Days passed… The Margazhee month was coming to an end in a few days as we were planning Thirukalyanam in a grand manner to utsavar deities ..
Then one morningโฆ after the recitationโฆ I looked at Her innocent face..
A strange feeling arose within me. It was so gentle that I almost ignored it. Yet it would not leave.
one quiet morning… as I gently placed fresh jasmine before her…
a thought pierced my heart. I looked at her smiling face…
and suddenly felt something was missing. Very softly…
almost as though she herself were speaking…
my heart heard the words…
“Appa… where is My Kแนแนฃแนa?”
I stood frozen….
How had I never thought of this before?
It seemed as though those silent eyes were asking only one question….
“Appa… you have brought me home… but where is My Kแนแนฃแนa?”
I smiled. Then I became silent.
How could ฤแนแธฤแธท remain without the Lord for whom she sang all thirty Tiruppฤvai pฤลurams?
The longing that had filled her heart in ลrฤซvilliputtลซr had now quietly entered mine. That eveningโฆ I stood before her again. With folded hands I whispered, “Forgive me, my child ...
A father should have thought of this earlier.
I promise youโฆ. I shall search until I find your Kแนแนฃแนa.” I had no idea thenโฆ… that this promise would become one of the most emotional pilgrimages of my life..
The ฤแธปvฤrs teach us that Bhagavฤn first awakens longing, then fulfills it.
ฤแนแธฤแธท herself never desired ornaments or comfort.
Her only desire was Kแนแนฃแนa. Sometimes the Lord places that same longing into a devotee’s heartโnot through philosophy, but through divine love.
Looking back today, I smile. I thought I had brought ฤแนแธฤแธท into our home. In truthโฆ ….ย . ฤแนแธฤแธท had entered my heart. And once she enteredโฆ she gently began preparing me for another search. Not for a doll. But for the Bridegroom she loved and each of us loved eternally..
“When ฤแนแธฤแธท enters a home, she does not ask for comfort. She asks only for Kแนแนฃแนa.” “The Lord often begins His miracles by placing a holy longing inside an ordinary heart.”
How many desires in our lives truly belong to us?
And how many have quietly been planted by the Lord…so that we may one day discover Him??
My promise had been made……. Now the search began. Every temple street…
every pooja shop… every temple town… carried only one prayer.
“Little ฤแนแธฤแธท…wait a little longer.
Appa will surely bring your Kแนแนฃแนa home.” And for that Krishna only must help as it’s HIS Andaal and her prayer .Am just a small instrument in this divine leela.
Sometimes the greatest pilgrimage is not the one we make to the Lord…… but the one we make on behalf of someone who loves Him even more than we do.”
As I resumed my journey upon the radiant Archirฤdi Mฤrga…
that promise echoed through my heart.
Perhaps…
every promise made in love… is first heard by the Lord Himself.
ลrฤซ ฤแนแธฤแธท teaches us that bhakti is not merely worship. It is longing that refuses to settle for anything less than the Lord Himself. True devotion slowly transforms every object, every song, every flower, and every day into a remembrance of Him.
Looking back now…
I realise that little ฤแนแธฤแธท did not merely come into our home.
She came to teach us how to wait…“The Lord often comes into our homes quietly… so that one day He may gently lead our hearts to His own.”
“The purest devotion begins not with scholarship… but with the innocent longing of a child.”
how to love…and how to long for Kแนแนฃแนa with the simplicity of a child.Perhaps…
every home becomes a little Vแนndฤvana…
when someone within it begins waiting for Kแนแนฃแนa.
The promise has been made.
But where would I find Him?
The search would lead through countless shops…
endless online pages…
an unexpected stranger named Mary…
and a journey through the skies…
before little Kแนแนฃแนa finally came home.
Tomorrow…
A Promise That the Lord Himself Fulfilled.
“When a promise is made for the Lord’s sake… the Lord quietly begins keeping it long before we can.”
Those were the glorious days when the most revered Acharyar Swamy Yamuna Acharyar was living . A great devotee Nambi also lived near srirangam . One day, Swamy Yamunacharya was on the way to a village . To his surprise he saw Nambi who was working in the field was drinking the mud water in [โฆ]
“In the Lord’s Kingdom, nothing offered with love is ever forgotten…
Yesterday… I bowed at the lotus feet of ลrฤซ Viลvaksena, the eternal commander of ลrฤซ Vaikuแนแนญha. His welcome was unlike anything words can describe.
There was no questioning. No judgment.
Only the affectionate smile of one who had watched my earthly journey from beginning to end…
As we began walking together through the radiant pathways of the Eternal Realm, he suddenly slowed his steps. “My childโฆ”
he said gently, “Before you behold the Supreme Lordโฆ look once more at the countless ways His compassion walked beside you.” The luminous path around us became still.
Thenโฆ..
like ripples forming upon a crystal lake… my entire earthly life began to unfold. The first scene carried the fragrance of sandalwood.
I knew it instantly…..
It was Deepavali.
I was a young boy again. There, upon our simple altar, sat my beloved Mahฤlakแนฃmฤซ, beautifully seated upon a silver lotus. For three sacred days our home became a small temple.
Every morning began with ลrฤซ Sลซktam.
Then came ลrฤซ Stuti. Viแนฃแนu Sahasranฤma. Lakแนฃmฤซ Sahasranฤma. The entire house echoed with Her divine names.
Guests gathered. Devotees joined in recitation
Five varieties of sweets were lovingly prepared.
Pushpa Abhiแนฃekam covered Mother in fragrant blossoms.
The glow of hundreds of oil lamps danced upon Her smiling face.
Those were not merely festivals. They were days when our home forgot the world.
Then came a family tradition that filled my young heart with joy.
Every Deepavaliโฆ new currency notes surrounded Mother’s lotus feet.
Freshly minted coinsโฆ silver coinsโฆ gold coinsโฆeven a few foreign currenciesโฆ all were offered to Her. My divine mother. Nothing was ever spent. Nothing belonged to us. Everything belonged to Mother. Year after yearโฆ the offerings quietly increased..
A decade passed. The coins became hundreds. The bundles of notes became larger. Cupboards slowly filled with what had once been simple offerings of love. Yet I never counted them. I only knew…..
they were Hers….
As the vision unfolded before me, I smiled. How innocent I had been. Then came the day that changed everything.
It was Dhantrayodashi.
As I entered a jewellery shop to purchase the customary gold coin, my eyes suddenly rested upon a magnificent golden image of Mahฤlakแนฃmฤซ. She was smiling. Not with metal…but with life. Something within me whispered…
“I am coming home.” My heart began to race…
I returned home immediately. I gathered every offering that had rested at Mother’s feet through all those years.
Bundles of notes. Hundreds of coins of every denomination. Even forgotten foreign currency. Placing everything into a cloth bag, I stood before the altar.
“Motherโฆ if You truly wish to come homeโฆ this has always belonged to You.”
The very moment that prayer endedโฆ a gentle cow, followed by her calf, quietly entered our gate seeking fruits.
I looked at ลrฤซ Viลvaksenar Even now, tears filled my eyes. He simply smiled. “Did you think that was a coincidence?” I lowered my head.
“Noโฆ”
The jewellery shop was crowded. My wife and I felt almost embarrassed carrying bags filled with small coins and old currency.
The cashier noticed our hesitation. He wore a sacred tilakam upon his forehead.
With folded hands I explained everything. How every coin had been offered to Mother.
How none had ever been used. How today…… She seemed to be calling us. His face lit up. He smiled and softly said,…
“When Mother wishes to enter a home, no one can stop Her.”
Two men began counting. One counted the notes. The other counted the mountains of coins. Time itself seemed to stop. Meanwhile……
my mind began its familiar play. “What if it is not enough?” “What if I have misunderstood Her wish?” Immediately another voice arose within. Not my own. The voice of faith.
“Did you begin this… or did She?”
Silently I began chanting… ลrฤซmate Rฤmฤnujฤya Namaแธฅ… Again… and again… and again. “O my revered ฤchฤrya..
today I know no refuge except your compassion.
Please bring Mother home.” Minutes felt like hours..
Someone kindly offered us coffee. I scarcely heard him.
My eyes remained fixed upon the counting.
Finally one gentleman stood. “The coins total…” โน5,016.
A little hope arose. Soon another finished counting the notes. โน10,016.
Together… โน15,032.
My heart sank. The deity cost more. We were short. Very short. For a brief moment I thought, “I shall sell my ring.”
Before I could speakโฆ another employee hurried forward carrying a small envelope. “Sirโฆ these foreign notes were inside the bag. They were kept separately.” Among themโฆ were forgotten US dollars. They were exchanged. The total became exactly sufficient.
Not merely for the golden Mahฤlakแนฃmฤซโฆ but even for the taxes and every remaining expense.
The shop owner folded his hands. A small silver coin was placed before Mother as his own offering. With moist eyes he said,
“Swamy… today Mother has come to your house. Please pray that one day She may visit us too.”
The vision slowly faded. I found myself once again beside ลrฤซ Viลvaksena. Neither of us spoke. At last I whispered, “All these yearsโฆ
I believed I had preserved those offerings for Mother.” ลrฤซ Viลvaksena smiled with indescribable tenderness.
“Noโฆ She preserved themโฆ so that one day you would know she had been preserving you.” At that momentโฆ I understood…
Not a single flower offered with loveโฆ Not one tear shed before the Lordโฆ Not one whispered prayerโฆ Not one forgotten coinโฆ had ever been lost. Everything had quietly become part of His eternal remembrance.
Aheadโฆ the radiance grew brighter.
ลrฤซ Viลvaksenar looked toward that infinite Light…
Is “The One who remembered every offeringโฆ is waiting.”
Our Pลซrvฤcฤryas remind us that Bhagavฤn never measures the size of an offering, but the love with which it is made. What is surrendered at His feet never disappears. By His grace, even the smallest act of devotion becomes a step toward our Eternal Home.
Today I no longer remember the value of those coins. I remember only the smile with which Mother came home.
“The Lord keeps better account of our love than we ever keep of our offerings.”
“Nothing offered to God is ever spent. It is transformed into grace.”
Perhaps the Lord has been collecting our smallest acts of devotion throughout our livesโฆ waiting for the day when He will reveal that none of them were ever forgotten.
As we continued our walk… another memory awakened. It carried the fragrance of jasmine… the music of Tiruppฤvai… and a little Daughter who softly whispered,
“Appa… where is My Kแนแนฃแนa?”
Tomorrow..
A Father’s Search for His Daughter’s Beloved.
“When we think we are offering something to the Divine, the Divine is quietly preparing to offer Himself to us.” To be continued…
they had been sacred names. Hereโฆ they were living realities. Then I understood. The Guru Paramparฤ was never merely a list to be recited….
It was the bridge over which the soul had quietly walked all its life….
Suddenly….
I beheld a majestic radiant being. His golden form shone with quiet authority. There was no pride in Him. Only unwavering service. In that instant… my heart knew…..
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ลrฤซ Viลvaksenar
The eternal Senฤpati of the Lord. The guardian of Vaikuแนแนญha. The one whom every temple invokes before beginning the Lord’s worship
Immediately my mind flew back to Tirumala.
How many times had I stood inside the ancient shrine of ลrฤซ Bhลซ Varฤha Swamyโฆ pausing before the small sanctum where ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja and ลrฤซ Viลvaksena bless devotees together.
Every visitโฆ
I would silently pray,
I would silently pray, “Forgive every mistake in my worship. Please accept my little service.”
Todayโฆ those prayers returned to embrace me. Then another memory blossomed. One sacred Swฤti Nakแนฃatramโฆ
while performing ฤrฤdhana at homeโฆ a devotee unexpectedly arrived carrying a beautiful smiling deity of ลrฤซ Viลvaksenar
He simply said,….
“Swamyโฆ your altar was waiting for Him.” That day I thought I had received a deity. Today I realizeโฆ
He had already accepted me into His care.
As these realizations unfolded… I saw countless liberated souls approaching…..
None spoke of their greatness. None spoke of miracles. Each one spoke only of service.
Then I understood another eternal truth. No one enters Vaikuแนแนญha because they became great.
They enter because they finally became servants.
The entire city itself seemed to breathe one single prayer. Kainkaryam. Loving service. Not duty. Not obligation. But joy itself. Every flower… every breeze… every smile… every step…was an offering.
Our Pลซrvฤcฤryas teach that liberation is not merely freedom from birth and death.
It is entrance into one’s eternal identity as the Lord’s servant.
The Guru Paramparฤ prepares the soul for that destiny.
By receiving their grace, the soul discovers that true greatness lies not in being honored, but in serving Bhagavฤn forever.
Looking back… I now understand why every pilgrimage drew me first to the ฤcฤryas before the Lord.
Whether at Tirumala… ลrฤซraแน gam… ฤแธปvฤr Tirunagari… or Kattumannarkoil… they were quietly teaching me the same lesson.
No one walks to the Lord alone.
Every step is carried by the compassion of those who walked before us.
“The Guru Paramparฤ is not a chain of names. It is the Lord’s own outstretched hand across generations.”..
“The highest honor in Vaikuแนแนญha is not a throneโbut the privilege of serving.”
Perhaps every time we folded our hands before an ฤcฤryaโฆ every time we recited the Guru Paramparฤโฆ
every time we sought forgiveness for our shortcomingsโฆ
we were already rehearsing for this Eternal Welcome.
Ahead… the radiant assembly slowly parts. Someone is approaching. The Nitya Sลซris bow with indescribable joy.
The air itself trembles with love….
A fragrance unlike any earthly flower fills the Eternal City.
My heart whispers only one name… ลrฤซ. Tomorrow…….
The Mother Who Never Let Go.
“Before the Lord embraces the soul, the Mother has already claimed it. Before the soul reaches Vaikuแนแนญha, the ฤcฤryas have already carried it there.”
Santh Narsingh Mehta was very much engrossed always in singing Lord Holy names . The neighborhood did not like his behavior . His own siblings avoided him . Narsingh Mehta was very simple and did not take their criticisms seriously , instead prayed Lord for their upliftment . As a customary ritual to perform [โฆ]
“When ignorance falls away, eternity does not suddenly begin. It quietly reveals that it has always been before us.”
Yesterdayโฆ the Gates opened…
Not because someone unlocked them. But because I finally discovered they had never been closed.
The only gate that ever existedโฆ was the one built by my own ignorance.
Todayโฆ..
I take my first step beyond them. The moment I crossed the thresholdโฆ everything changed.
Not because the landscape changed. Because my vision changed.
Before me stretched an endless expanse unlike anything words could ever contain.
The sky was neither blueโฆ nor goldenโฆ nor white. It carried every colourโฆ yet belonged to none.
It was living light. Gentle. Compassionate. Infinite.
The breeze carried fragrances I had never experienced upon Earth.
Not merely the fragrance of flowers… but the fragrance of peace itself. There was no wind. No movement.
Yet everything danced. Flowers bloomed without fading. Birds sang without pause.
Streams sparkled without rushing. Every particle of that world seemed to whisper only one truth……
“He is here.”
As I continued walking…
I noticed something extraordinary.
There were no signs.
No directions.
No maps.
No one seemed uncertain.
Every path naturally led toward the Lord.
Then I smiled.
Had this not always been true on Earth?
Every Divya Deลam I had visited…
every holy river…
every sacred hill…
every ฤแธปvฤr’s hymn…
every ฤcฤrya’s instruction…
had quietly pointed in only one direction.
The Lord had never scattered holy places across Bhฤrata.
He had planted reminders.
Every pilgrimage had been a lesson in returning Home.
Suddenly…..
the first glimpse of ลrฤซraแน gam returned to my heart.
Standing across Mother Kฤverฤซ…
seeing those majestic gopurams rise above the horizon…
before even entering…
my eyes had overflowed.
At Tirumala too…
the first sight of ฤnanda Nฤซlayam from afar always stilled my breath.
At Badarikฤลrama…
at Melkoแนญe…
at Ahobilam…
at every Divya Deลam…
the first glimpse always carried a mysterious joy.
Today…
I finally understood why.
The soul was never rejoicing merely because it had reached a temple.
It was remembering…
however faintly…
its Eternal Homeland.
Then another realization arose.
How many times had I wondered…
“Why does this place move me so deeply?”
The answer stood before me.
Because every sacred place is a mirror.
It reflects not merely the Lord’s presence…
but the soul’s forgotten identity.
The Archirฤdi Mฤrga……
I now understood…
had never truly begun after leaving the body.
It had begun long ago…
the very first day I bowed my head before Him.
The first day I sincerely uttered,
“I am Yours.”Yours always., forever
Every act of surrender…
had weakened another gate of ignorance.
Every act of service…
had brought this Eternal City into clearer view.
The Lord had not been waiting for me here.
He had been walking beside me…
through every temple corridor…
every pilgrimage…
every joy……..
The greatest pilgrimage is not measured in miles. It is measured by the distance between ‘I’ and ‘Thou.'”
every sorrow…
preparing my eyes to behold what had always existed.
As I lifted my gaze……
I saw radiant figures in the distance.
They were approaching slowly.
Their faces shone with indescribable serenity.
Their smiles carried no excitement…
only recognition.
It was as though they had always known…
this day would come.
Our Pลซrvฤcฤryas teach that the Archirฤdi Mฤrga is not merely a route taken after death. Every stage reveals another veil of ignorance being removed by the Lord’s grace.
The liberated soul does not discover a new realityโit awakens to the eternal reality that always existed…..
Looking back…
I no longer see my pilgrimages as journeys from one temple to another.
I see them as gentle lessons.
The Lord was teaching my heart to recognize Home long before He brought me here…
Every temple is a doorway.
Every ฤแธปvฤr is a guide.
Every ฤcฤrya quietly removes another veil until only the Lord remains.”
What if…
ลrฤซ Vaikuแนแนญha is not far away?
What if…
it begins to appear the moment ignorance begins to disappear?
Perhaps…
the Gates of Eternity have never been closed.
Only the eyes of the soul needed to awaken.
Tomorrow…
The Welcoming Ones will embrace the traveller Home.
“The Path of Light is not a journey through space.
It is the gradual disappearance of darkness.
When ignorance fades…
the soul discovers that it has always been walking toward Home.”
No one can be able to know about Life of Eknath without receiving an inspiration for a higher and better life that delivers us from this repeated births in samsara as per a scholars words โฆ. Few hundreds years ago , Pandharpur was plagued in gloom when neighboring countrymen carried away the deity of Lord [โฆ]
“The Lord never built gates to keep souls away. He built them so that those who awaken may know they have finally come Home.”
Yesterdayโฆ from the fragrant gardens of eternityโฆ I caught my first glimpse of the Eternal City.
Its radiant towers shimmered beyond countless celestial blossoms. Every step carried me closer. Not merely through spaceโฆ but beyond every remaining trace of separation.
Todayโฆ I stand before the Gates.
No earthly kingdom prepares the heart for this sight.There were no walls raised in fear.No guards protecting a kingdom from strangers….
No locks. No barriers. No command asking, “Who are you?” Insteadโฆ the entrance itself seemed to smile.
The towering gateways shone brighter than countless suns, yet their radiance cooled the heart like moonlight…
The sacred ลaแน kha and Sudarลana adorned the entranceโnot as weapons, but as eternal reminders that the Lord protects every soul that seeks refuge. Luminous beings stood on either side. Their forms were woven from compassion itself.Every smile carried the warmth of an old friend. None asked my name. For the Lord had already spoken it.
As I drew nearerโฆ a profound realization dawned upon me. The Gates of Vaikuแนแนญha never truly close. Only ignorance keeps us standing outside. The Archirฤdi Mฤrga is not a road that begins after death.
It begins the very moment the heart turns toward Him.
Every Divya Deลamโฆ every sacred riverโฆ every ฤcฤryaโฆ every hymn of the ฤแธปvฤrsโฆ every act of surrenderโฆ has quietly been opening these Gates within us. Light is not merely brightness..
As I drew nearerโฆ a profound realization dawned upon me. The Gates of Vaikuแนแนญha never truly close. Only ignorance keeps us standing outside. The Archirฤdi Mฤrga is not a road that begins after death. It begins the very moment the heart turns toward Him. Every Divya Deลamโฆ every sacred riverโฆ every ฤcฤryaโฆ every hymn of the ฤแธปvฤrsโฆ every act of surrenderโฆ has quietly been opening these Gates within us.
Light is not merely brightness.
Light is Knowledge. Knowledge is the gentle disappearance of “I” and “mine.”
When ignorance fadesโฆ the Lord, who had always been beside us, becomes visible.…….
My heart wandered across Bhฤrata once again. I remembered standing before countless Divya Deลams. Sometimes I travelled thousands of kilometres.
Sometimes I crossed mountains. Sometimes I searched hidden shrines with no proper roads.
Yet today I understoodโฆ… the Lord was never asking me to measure distances……
He was patiently weakening my ignorance. Every temple whispered,
“Do not merely look at Me. Listen… I am speaking to you.” Only now… I understood His language…
A memory from Tirumala blossomed within me.
In the sacred garden established by Swamy Ananthalvฤn, the beloved disciple of Jagadฤcฤrya ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja, I once had the rare blessing of plucking fresh Tulasฤซ leaves for the Lord’s daily Archana.
Sitting amidst those fragrant flowersโฆ reciting ลrฤซ Viแนฃแนu Sahasranฤmaโฆ I felt a peace I could never explain. Today I understand why. That garden was not merely growing flowers.
It was quietly cultivating surrender. The Tulasฤซ I carried in my handsโฆ was gently removing the weeds within my own heart.
The Lord had begun preparing me for these Eternal Gardens long before I ever knew they existed.
Then another realization filled my being. How many times have I looked at Garuแธฤแธปvฤr standing before the Lord in silent readiness?
Never askingโฆ Never delayingโฆ Never questioningโฆ Only waiting for the Lord’s command.
Perhaps thisโฆ is the true doorway into Vaikuแนแนญha. Not extraordinary knowledge. Not miraculous experiences. But perfect willingness to belong entirely to Him…..
Then I remembered a truth that had accompanied me throughout life. Time consumes mountains. Time dries oceans. Time erases kingdoms. Yetโฆ Time cannot touch the soul. The body belongs to time. The soul belongs to Eternity. The Lord had not brought me here because I escaped death. He brought me here because ignorance had finally begun to disappear. The radiant beings before the gateway slowly bowed.
Not to honour me………
But to honour the immeasurable compassion of the Lord who never abandoned one wandering soul.
The great doorsโฆ which had never actually been closedโฆ opened without a sound. Beyond themโฆ I sensed a Presence. Not merely Majesty. Not merely Glory.
Someoneโฆ who had been waiting far longer than I had been searching.
Our revered Pลซrvฤcฤryas teach that Vaikuแนแนญha is not attained by personal achievement but by the Lord’s boundless grace bestowed upon the soul that has surrendered.
The Archirฤdi Mฤrga is therefore not a reward earned by effort, but the loving escort arranged by Bhagavฤn Himself for His devotee…..
Looking back… I no longer see hundreds of pilgrimages. I see one continuous conversation. Every Divya Deลam… every ฤแธปvฤr’s hymn… every ฤcฤrya… every sacred memory… was the Lord gently saying,
“I have never been far from you. Keep walking until you discover that you have always belonged to Me
“The Gates of Vaikuแนแนญha do not open with our footsteps. They open when ignorance quietly steps aside.”
“Every Divya Deลam is a classroom where the Lord patiently teaches the soul how to recognise Home.”
“Without any iota of doubt, the Lord is with us… until we finally realise that we are entirely His.”
Every act of devotionโฆ every moment of surrenderโฆ every tear shed before the Lordโฆ allows a little more Light to enter. And wherever Light entersโฆ the Gates of Vaikuแนแนญha are already opening.
The Gates stand open……
A divine assembly awaits beyond. The Eternal King… is preparing to receive a soul who has finally remembered where it has always belonged. Tomorrow… The Royal Court of the Eternal Beloved.
“The Lord never asked us to search for another world. He patiently removed our ignorance until we recognised His world… already shining before us.”….
Archirฤdi is not about leaving the body and search ; it is about awakening. The gates of Vaikuแนแนญha are symbolic of the final disappearance of avidyฤ.
Every Divya Deลam, every ฤcฤrya, every pilgrimage, and every act of kainkaryam becomes a step in that awakening.
Tomorrowโฆ
We shall behold the Royal Court of Eternityโฆwhere every liberated soul exists only to rejoice in the endless service of the Supreme Beloved.
Few hundred years ago the King of Puri, Purusottama Deva, was to marry the princess who was the daughter of a king, Maharaja Salluva Narasingha, from the southern state . That was the period the Annual Ratha-Yatra festival was to take place . The King of Puri invited the father of the princess for the great [โฆ]
“At first, it seemed like light upon the horizon. Then I realized… it was Home.”
Yesterday I wandered through the Gardens That Never Fade. Every blossom carried the fragrance of devotion.
Every breeze whispered the Lord’s Names. Every flower reminded me that no act of loving service is ever forgotten.
Thenโฆ something changed. The gardens slowly opened.
Beyond themโฆ
I saw a horizon unlike anything I had ever imagined.
At first… I thought it was another sunrise. But no. There is no sunrise here. No sunset. No passing of time……..
The radiance before me did not rise. It simply was….
Far beyond the endless celestial gardens… something shone. Not merely a palace. Not merely a city….
It seemed as though countless jewels had become light itself. Its towers did not cast shadows. Its walls were not built to protect. Nothing here needed protection. Everything radiated welcome. The closer I walkedโฆ…
the more I understood why the ฤแธปvฤrs struggled to describe this place. No earthly kingdomโฆ not Ayodhyฤโฆ not Dvฤrakฤโฆ not Indraprasthaโฆ not Amarฤvatฤซโฆ could prepare the soul for this vision…
It was not magnificent because of its size. It was magnificent because every atom remembered the Lord. Its gateways sparkled with jewels unknown to Earth. Its streets appeared woven from living radiance. Every step seemed to sing. Every breeze carried the fragrance of tulasฤซ. Every direction echoed with the Divine Names…..
Then…….
Thenโฆ
I noticed something even more wonderful. No one hurried. No one waited. No one feared losing anything. Because nothing can ever be lost where the Lord Himself dwells….
Suddenlyโฆ memories of my earthly pilgrimages returned. The first glimpse of Tirumala after climbing Alipiri…..
The first sight of ลrฤซraแน gam’s towering gopurams across the Kฤverฤซ.
The golden vimฤna of Melkoแนญe appearing between the hills.
The majestic Badarikฤลrama surrounded by the Himalayas….
Every one of those sacred sights had stirred something deep within my heart.
Todayโฆ…
I finally understood why. Each Divya Deลam had quietly been teaching my eyes how to recognize this Eternal City.
The Lord had scattered reflections of Vaikuแนแนญha across Bhฤrataโฆ so that one dayโฆ when the original appearedโฆ the soul would whisper, “I know this beautyโฆ” “I have seen its shadow before.” Then the radiant beings walking beside me smiled.
One of them gently raised his hand toward the dazzling city…..
Thereโฆ”. he said. “Your Lord has been waiting.” At that momentโฆ I could no longer walk. My knees trembled. Not from weakness. But from gratitude.
Every prayerโฆ Every Divya Deลamโฆ Every ฤแธปvฤr’s hymnโฆ Every ฤcฤrya’s instructionโฆ Every tear shed before the Lordโฆ had brought me here….. Homeโฆ… was no longer a promise. It stood before me…
Our Pลซrvฤcฤryas describe ลrฤซ Vaikuแนแนญha as the Lord’s eternal, self-luminous abode, untouched by time, decay, sorrow, or separation.
It is not merely a celestial kingdom but the everlasting realm where Bhagavฤn, ลrฤซ Mahฤlakแนฃmฤซ, the Nitya Sลซris, and liberated souls rejoice in uninterrupted kainkaryam…
Whenever I caught my first glimpse of a Divya Deลam after a long journey, my heart would become still. I thought it was because I had reached a sacred destination.
Todayโฆ..
I know those emotions were rehearsals. The Lord was gently preparing me for the day my eyes would behold His Eternal City.
“The Divya Deลams are not merely sacred places upon Earth. They are loving reflections of the Home that awaits every surrendered soul.”
“The Lord scattered glimpses of Vaikuแนแนญha across Bhฤrata so that His children would never forget where they truly belong.”
Perhaps every temple tower we admiredโฆ every golden vimฤnaโฆ every flower gardenโฆ every sacred hillโฆ was quietly teaching our hearts to recognize a beauty that does not belong to this world.
The Eternal City now stands before me. Its gates are drawing near. The air itself sings the Lord’s Names.
“Every flower offered in love… Every act of humble service… Every remembrance of the Lord… Has led the soul to the City that never fades.”
To be continued……..
Tomorrow… The Gates of Sri Vaikuแนแนญham will open..
Jai Jai Ramakrishna Hari Pilgrimage to Pandharpur near Sholapur in Maharashtra and having darshan of Lord Vittal is incomplete without mentioning the great devotee Pundalikan. Pundalaikan who hailed from southern part of India undertook a pilgrimage to kasi along with his parents and family . As his old parents couldnโt withstand the long journey they [โฆ]
Originally posted on kazhiyur varadan’s blog: ??????????? Puriโ means fullness. This holiest temple town is in the form of a conch. It is also known as? Jagannath dhaam-the abode of Jaganath, Purushotama? ?kshetra,?? Nilachala? Nilagiri-???? the blue mountain,?? Sri kshetram-the abode of Sri(Lakshmi). ????????? The holy dham vibrates with Mahamantra and other? holy namesโฆ
Every flower lovingly offered to the Lord on earth blossoms forever in His Eternal Garden.”
Yesterday… beneath the shade of the celestial Kalpaka Vแนikแนฃa…
I discovered that the Lord allows every liberated soul to rest before entering His Eternal Abode.
The gentle breeze carried fragrances unknown to the earthly world. The radiant Amฤanavas welcomed me with smiles that spoke only one language… the language of eternal service.
Today… they invited me to walk further.
The pathway slowly opened into gardens unlike anything words can describe. There were no seasons here. Nothing withered. Nothing faded….
Every blossom radiated conscious beauty. The flowers themselves seemed to sing the Divine Names.
The breeze carried hymns. Every fragrance awakened remembrance of the Lord.
The entire garden was alive with loving service. There were celestial creepers embracing wish-fulfilling trees. Crystal streams reflected the bluish radiance of eternity. Birds sang melodies that resembled the Vedas. Even the gentle humming of bees sounded like continuous recitation of
“Om Namo Nฤrฤyaแนฤya.”
As I walked… one realization quietly arose. These gardens did not seem unfamiliar. Somewhere…
my heart had already known them. Then memories began to unfold. I remembered the sacred garden lovingly maintained by Swamy Ananthalvฤn, the great disciple of Jagadฤcฤrya ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja, upon the holy Tirumala Hills. When there was no easy path…
when Tirumala was still covered with deep forests…our revered ฤcฤrya sent his beloved disciple with one instruction aloneโ
“Serve the Lord with flowers.”
Swamy Ananthalvฤn obeyed without hesitation.
He cultivated fragrant vakula, punnaga, pฤแนญala, ลeแนbaga and countless flowering plants.
Every blossom was grown not for admiration… but solely for the pleasure of Lord ลrฤซ Veแน kaแนญeลwara. The humming bees… the singing birds… the fragrance filling the garden… all seemed to echo Nammฤแธปvฤr’s vision of
“Sindhu pลซ magaแธปum Tiruvฤแน kaแนญam.”
By the Lord’s immeasurable mercy… I too was blessed to spend sacred moments in that very garden. With deep reverence…
I had the privilege of plucking holy Tulasฤซ leaves that would be offered during Archana Seva to Lord Veแน kaแนญeลwara.
We also carried a few Tulasฤซ saplings as our small offering to that sacred garden. Sitting beneath those trees…reciting ลrฤซ Viแนฃแนu Sahasranฤma…under the MagizhaTree…
Swamy Ananthalwan joined eternity with Lord Venkateshwara on the sacred Thiru Adi Pooram day ( July- August) . Even today , Lord Venkateswara visits this garden and bestows honours on the Magizha Tree where his thiruvarasu remains . The satari at the main sanctum sanctorum is glorified as Sadagopa in remembrance of Swamy Nammazhwar and the Satari in the Swamy Ramanuja shrine is glorified as Ananthalwan.
Coming to know about the dedicated service being executed by his dear disciple Anathazhwan Swamy Ramanuja undertook his first trip to Tirumala via Kancheepuram . Looking at the holy hills Swamy immediately prostrated to the Hills . Swamy Ramanuja gave a discourse about the sanctity of the Hills and referred several pasurams which our Azhwars have sung on Lord and the Hills . Watching the gigantic hills , glorifying the animate and inanimate beings who are serving the Lord swamy goes in a divine trance .
Coming to know about Swamy Ramanuja s visit , Tirumala Nambi rushes to the village for welcoming Swamy Ramanuja . .Both the Acharyas are overjoyed to be in the holiest place . Tirmala Nambi requests Swamy to join him for the afternoon prayers and leaves quickly up the Hills .
All the disciples request Swamy Ramanuja to lead them to the hills for having Lord’s darshan . Swamy refuses to trek the hills owing to its sanctity . Swamy informs about all the Azhwars who had remained at the foot of the hills glorifying the Lord and trekking the Hills amounts to overstepping their commands and doubts how to tread upon the holy body of Adisesha
All the disciples plead Swamy to reconsider his decision as so many disciples will be sad to return without having the divya darshan of Lord . Swamy Ramanuja considering the disciples plea decides to trek the hills crawling . It was those days when the route was very tough even to trek .
Crawling , he reaches the Knee breaker Hills . He pauses to take rest on the steep \`knee-breaker’ hill (\`mokalla mitta’). Tirumala Nambi and Ananthazhwar, rush to receive him with the Lord’s prasada โ holy tirta and fruits. Swamy is glad to see them . He honours the prasad offering the same to many of his disciples .
He honours one Mango fruit and buries the seeds there. In course of time, a big mango tree grew out of these seeds.
Manavalamamunigal had lovingly referred to this archa form as “Mambazha Emperumanar“.…
During our tek to Tirumala we go inside the temple and seek blessings of JagathAcharyar Swamy Ramanuja and recite Divya prabhandam of Thiruvengadamudiyans pasurams recollecting the divine pastime .
I often wondered whether any service offered with love could ever truly disappear.
Todayโฆ walking through these eternal gardensโฆ I received my answer. Nothing offered to Him is ever lost. Not a single flower. Not a single Tulasฤซ leaf. Not a single tear shed in devotion. Everything blossoms hereโฆforever. Ki
Then the radiant Amฤnavas gently smiled. One among them spoke softly. “Every flower you offered below was accepted here long before you saw this garden.”
My heart overflowed. Now I understood. The gardens of Vaikuแนแนญha are not separate from the gardens of Tirumala…..
One is the reflection. The other is the eternal reality.
Our Pลซrvฤcฤryas repeatedly remind us that Bhagavฤn accepts not merely the offering but the loving intention behind it.
Even the smallest act of kainkaryam performed with humility accompanies the soul on its eternal journey.
Nothing dedicated to Him is ever forgotten.
Among the countless blessings received during pilgrimages…..
few remain as deeply etched in my heart as those quiet moments in Swamy Ananthalvฤn’s Nandavanam.
To touch Tulasฤซ grown for the Lord… to offer it at His lotus feet… and to chant ลrฤซ Viแนฃแนu Sahasranฤma beneath those sacred trees…
was itself a glimpse of Vaikuแนแนญha granted upon Earth….
Todayโฆ I realizeโฆ the Lord was already allowing me to walk through His Eternal Garden…..
“Flowers fade in our hands… but never in the Lord’s remembrance.”
“The fragrance of humble service travels farther than the soul itself.”
“Every Tulasฤซ leaf offered with devotion has already found its place in the gardens of eternity.”..
Perhapsโฆ.. every flower we have gatheredโฆ
every Tulasฤซ leaf we have offeredโฆ
every garland lovingly woven for the Lordโฆ
has never truly left His presence. Perhapsโฆ
they have always been waiting for us here.
Beyond these gardens… a divine radiance is becoming brighter. The atmosphere itself is changing. The welcome is growing deeper. Someone… far greater… is waiting ahead….
Tomorrow…
the Eternal City begins to appear.
“Every flower offered in love… Every act of humble service… Every remembrance of the Lord… Blooms forever in His Eternal Garden.”
The most revered srivaishnava Acharyar Swamy Parasara Bhattars was conducting a class at his Gurukulam . He was explaining the three stages of love to LORD โฆโฆ. Recollection , Trance and Rallying โฆ Recollection is recollection of all the past ravishmentโs of soul ..vouchsafed by LORD Trance or Fainting is consequent on desolation at [โฆ]
When every earthly desire has faded, the Lord still offers the soul a place to restโnot because it needs anything, but because His love never ceases to care.”…
Yesterday…..
I crossed the sacred Virajฤ. The final traces of saแนsฤra disappeared like mist before the morning sun. The weight I had unknowingly carried through countless births… was gone.
On the far bank… the radiant Amฤnavas welcomed me with smiles that carried neither surprise nor judgment.
Only love.
They did not ask where I had come from. They already knew….
Todayโฆ….
they gently led me to a place unlike anything I had ever imagined.
A magnificent tree stood before me. Its branches stretched beyond sight. Its leaves shimmered like emeralds touched by dawn….
Every flower radiated fragrance that could not be compared with anything on earth. Every fruit seemed filled with divine sweetness.
The Amฤnavas smiled gently.
“This is the Kalpaka Vแนkแนฃa.”
The wish-fulfilling tree. For countless lifetimesโฆ I prayed….. I asked…. I had longed……
Sometimes for wisdom. Sometimes for strength…
Sometimes even for the smallest worldly needs.
But standing hereโฆ..something unexpected happened…..
I found that I had nothing left to ask. The tree fulfilled every desire. Yet my heart had only one….
“”May I forever remain in the service of my Lord.”…
Only then did I understand…. The greatest miracle of the Kalpaka Vแนkแนฃa is not that it grants every wish…
It is that the soul standing beneath it has finally become free from every wish except one…….
The Amฤnavas invited me to rest beneath its cooling shade……
No fatigue remained. Yet they served me with such tenderness that I wonderedโฆ..
Does divine love ever stop serving? The answer quietly blossomed around me.
No. In the Lord’s kingdomโฆ love itself is service. As I restedโฆ….
my entire earthly life began passing before me.
Not as scattered memoriesโฆ but as a single stream of grace……
The first darลana that brought tears. The first Divya Deลam that awakened devotion…..
The footsteps on the hills of Tirumala.
The sacred silence of Badarikฤลrama
The sweetness of Vแนndฤvana…
The forests sanctified by ลrฤซ Rฤma.
The countless devotees whom the Lord quietly placed in my path.
Some spoke. Some remained silent…….
Yet each one had carried a fragment of His compassion. How carefullyโฆ how patientlyโฆ He had prepared me… …..
Then another realization dawned. I had often believed I was searching for holy places. Now I saw the truth….
The holy places had been searching for me…
The Lord had called me to each oneโฆ so that one dayโฆ..
when this Eternal Journey beganโฆ.. my heart would recognize His welcome. A gentle breeze stirred the leaves of the Kalpaka Vแนkแนฃa…
Each leaf seemed to sing. Not in wordsโฆ but in gratitude…
Then the Amฤnavas looked toward the radiant horizon.
One of them softly said,….. “The journey now enters the Eternal Realm…..
What lies ahead cannot be understood by memory…. …
Only by experience.” My heart trembled. Not with fear. But with longing fulfilled….
Our revered ฤcฤryas describe the Kalpaka Vแนkแนฃa as one of the divine resting places granted to the liberated soul after crossing the Virajฤ….
This rest is not because the soul is weary. It is the Lord’s own expression of boundless affection….
Even after freeing the soul forever, He continues to shower loving care upon His devotee.
Looking back todayโฆ I understand something that escaped me during all my earthly pilgrimages. Every temple I visitedโฆ…
every saint I met in my pilgrimage every ฤแธปvฤr’s pฤsuram I cherishedโฆ every ฤcฤrya’s instructionโฆ was quietly removing one more worldly desire……
The Lord was not merely taking me from one holy place to another. He was preparing my heartโฆ so that one day I could stand beneath the Kalpaka Vแนkแนฃaโฆ and have nothing left to ask except Himself…
The greatest blessing of the Wish-Fulfilling Tree is not that it grants every desire. It is that the liberated soul no longer desires anything except the Lord.”
“The Lord never leads us to holy places merely to show us sacred geography. He leads us there to transform our hearts into His eternal dwelling.”
What ifโฆ every prayer that seemed unansweredโฆ every delayโฆ… every pilgrimageโฆ every tear before the Lordโฆ was quietly preparing us for the day when we would discoverโฆ…
that He Himself is the only desire worth having?
Tomorrow…….
We shall behold the first glorious gardens of Nitya Vibhลซti, where every flower blooms only for the delight of the Supreme Lord.
Beyond the shade of the Kalpaka Vแนkแนฃa… I glimpse gardens that do not belong to this creation.
Flowers that never fade. Fragrance that never diminishes. Songs that never cease. Tomorrow… The Gardens of Eternity will welcome the pilgrim home. “The Lord fulfilled every prayer… by becoming the only answer my soul would ever need.” To be continued…
“There comes a moment when the soul no longer leaves the world… the world leaves the soul.”
Yesterday, I stood before the mysterious Virajฤ.
The Divine Companions gently asked me to rest beneath the shade of the celestial Kalpaka Vแนkแนฃa.
Its cool shade did not merely comfort my body.
It quietened memories gathered over countless births. For the first time… there was nothing left to achieve. Nothing left to fear. Nothing left to become.
Only one final step remained…..
Today…….. I stand at the edge of the Eternal River. Words fail me.
Its waters are unlike anything I had ever imagined.
They possess neither the force of earthly rivers nor the stillness of a lake.
They seem to flow with the compassion of the Lord Himself.
Every wave appears to whisper,
“Come home.”
I looked behind me. Far beyond imaginationโฆ
lay the countless universes through which I had travelled.
The world where I laughedโฆ
where I weptโฆ where I searchedโฆ where I forgot Himโฆ and finallyโฆ
where He lovingly found me. How many births had passed?
Only He knows……
How many mothers had carried me? How many fathers had guided me? How many friendsโฆ how many sorrowsโฆ how many victoriesโฆ all now dissolved into a single truth.
Every step had been His arrangement. One of the Divine Companions looked upon me with immeasurable kindness. Without speaking, he seemed to say,…
“Leave everything here.”
Not possessions. Not memories. Not even virtues.
Leave behind every trace of belonging to Prakแนti.
Slowly………….
I entered the sacred waters. There was no sensation of cold.
No current. No weight. Only an indescribable freedom.
The burden I had unknowingly carried through beginning less time simply disappeared…….
It did not fall away violently. It melted….
Like mist before the rising sun. The stains of karmaโฆ…
the fragrance of egoโฆ….. the dust of countless birthsโฆ all vanished without leaving even a shadow.
I did not become someone new.
I became who I had always belonged to be. A servant. His servant. Eternal servant Dependent servant …….Joyfully His.
Always……. forever …. forever
Thenโฆ an astonishing radiance surrounded me. It was not light falling upon me.
It seemed to arise from within. Not the brightness of fire. Not the brilliance of the sun. It was the quiet splendour of a soul no longer covered by ignorance. No words can describe that moment.
I could neither laugh nor weep. I simply stoodโฆ……..
overflowing with gratitude. Beyond the Virajฤโฆ I sensed another world.
No decay. No fear. No separation. Only eternal service.
The Divine Companions smiled.
Their eyes reflected a joy greater than my own.
As though they had witnessed this sacred homecoming countless timesโฆ
yet celebrated each soul as though it were the first.
One of them gently stretched forth his hand. Without hesitationโฆI followed…..
Standing in sacred rivers upon Earthโฆ I often prayed, “May these waters purify me.” Todayโฆ…
I understand………
Every earthly tฤซrtha was only preparing my heart for this final, eternal crossing.
“Virajฤ does not change the soul. It removes everything that never truly belonged to it.”
“Beyond this river, nothing remains except the Lord… and the soul that has always been His.”…..
Realisation opens up ….
How much of our life is spent holding onโฆ to namesโฆ positionsโฆ possessionsโฆ even our own achievements.
Yet before entering the Lord’s eternal abode, none of these can accompany us. Only surrender crosses the Virajฤ.
Tomorrow….
The sacred river now flows behind me. A wondrous transformation has taken place.
Radiant beingsโฆbearing the very beauty of the Lordโฆ are approaching.
Who are these Divine Welcomers whose faces shine with eternal compassion?
Originally posted on kazhiyur varadan’s blog: Braj Bhumi is the most sacred dham spread over 168 miles- 42 miles on each direction with Mathura as the center. The holy place comprises of Mathura, Goverdhan, Gokulam Barsana ,Vrindavan and the surrounding 12 forests. The Supreme Lord manifested Himself as Lord Krishna along with HIS attendantsโฆ
“The soul does not leave the world behind by its own strength. It is gently led by the Lord until even the memory of separation disappears.”
Yesterdayโฆ
I bowed before four-faced Brahmฤ. The Creator himself folded his hands and blessed my onward journey. Then he pointed beyond the farthest limit of his own universe.
Todayโฆ
I stand where creation itself comes to an end.
Ahead flowed a river unlike anything words could describe. It was not made of water.
Nor of light. Nor of crystal. Yet it possessed the purity of all three. Every wave shimmered with an indescribable brilliance. No sun illuminated it. No moon reflected upon it. It shone by its own eternal nature.
This was Virajฤ. The sacred boundary between everything that changes….
and everything that never changes. I stood silently. For the first time since beginning this journeyโฆ I felt no desire to move. The river itself seemed alive. Not flowingโฆ but inviting. Then I remembered…..
Every morning during my humble Thiruvฤrฤdhana, while offering arghya and worshipping the Lord, I had invoked this very river.
How many thousands of times had I softly prayed…
“May the sanctity of Virajฤ purify this worship.”
Then came memories like gentle waves.
The sacred Kแนแนฃแนa River at Mattapalli, flowing before Lord Lakแนฃmฤซ Narasiแนha.
The majestic Kฤverฤซ embracing ลrฤซ Raแน ganฤtha.
The tranquil Sarayลซ and the sacred Gupta Ghฤแนญ at Ayodhyฤ.
The sweet waters of the Yamunฤ in Vแนndฤvana.
The holy Gomatฤซ at Dvฤrakฤ.
The Triveแนฤซ Saแน gam near Veraval, where Hiraแน, Kapilฤ and Sarasvatฤซ meet near the place sanctified by the Lord’s final earthly pastimes.
The countless Pushkariแนฤซs of the Divya Deลams.
Every Chakrasnฤnam during Brahmotsavams.
Every Kalaลa Pลซjฤ during homams, when I invoked all the sacred rivers into a single vessel before the Lord.
I had thought I was remembering rivers.
Today…….
I realised they had been quietly preparing me for this river.
As I gazed into Virajฤ…
I did not see my reflection.
Instead…
I saw every burden I had ever carried. Prideโฆ Egoโฆ The desire to be praised. The pain of criticism. Possessiveness. Anger. Jealousy. Fear. Attachment.
Even the subtle satisfaction of thinking,
“I have practised devotion.” One by oneโฆ they appearedโฆ only to dissolve without struggle into the brilliance of Virajฤ. Then I understood.
The river was not taking something away from me…
It was returning to the universe everything that had never truly belonged to the soul.
The jฤซva carries nothing into eternityโฆ except loving surrender.
Then a profound silence embraced me. No questions remained. No ambitions remained. No comparisons remained.
Only one prayer survived.
“O Lordโฆ Let me never again forget that I belong only to You.” And you only
Suddenlyโฆ the luminous attendants who had accompanied me thus far smiled. Without a wordโฆ
they gently led me across. There was no effort. No swimming. No crossing.
The Lord Himself carried what could never cross by its own strength.
The far shore was unlike anything I had imagined.
The very air radiated bliss. The fragrance could not be compared to any flower of Earth. Timeโฆ had vanished. For the first timeโฆ I no longer felt like a traveller.
I feltโฆ expected……
Welcomed. Known. Then I heard distant voices. Not singingโฆ Not speakingโฆ Yet every sound carried one Name
Narayana Narayana Narayana
Narayana Narayana Narayana
Narayana Narayana Narayana
Narayana Narayana Narayana
Narayana Narayana Narayana
Every particle of that eternal realm seemed to breathe His Name…….
Tomorrow…
We shall behold the sacred Viraja river and explore it’s glories
Originally posted on kazhiyur varadan’s blog: Thirukkannamangai temple is one amongst the srivaishnava divya desam in Kumbakonam. This divine place is located in Tanjore district of Tamil Nadu. Around 8 kms from Tiruvarur amidst a huge tank Darsha Pushkarini this temple is located near Western banks . Azhwar keeps comparing the Lordships hereโฆ
Beyond Heavenโฆ Where Even Brahmฤ Folded His Hands
“The highest knowledge is not to know the Lord… it is to know that without Him, nothing exists.”..
Yesterday, I walked through the resplendent realm of Indra. The king of heaven himself welcomed meโnot with royal authority, but with folded hands.
As I continued my ascent, my radiant guide smiled gently.
“Even this is not your destination.”
Ahead… another splendour arose. Not another heaven… but the very abode of Prajฤpati Brahmฤ, the first created being.
A brilliance unlike anything I had ever witnessed unfolded before me.
Lotus as vast as worlds floated upon lakes of crystal radiance.
The fragrance of divine lotus blossoms filled the air. The Vedas themselves seemed to flow like music.
There was neither sunrise nor sunset. Only eternal effulgence.
Upon a magnificent thousand-petalled lotus sat the four-faced Brahmฤ, surrounded by Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanฤtana, Sanatkumฤra, great แนแนฃis, Devas and liberated sages.
As I approached…
the Creator of this universe slowly rose. To my astonishment…
he folded all four hands.
There was no trace of majesty. No sense of superiority. Only devotion.
Brahmฤ slowly descended from his thousand-petalled lotus. His four faces glowed with immeasurable serenity.
There was no trace of the majesty that the world had praised for countless kalpas. Before me stood onlyโฆa servant of Supreme Lord.
Folding all four hands, he smiled.
My childโฆ my work ends here.” Those words echoed through every realm. The Creatorโฆ whose lifespan spans hundreds of trillions of earthly yearsโฆ
whose single day witnesses the birth and dissolution of countless civilizationsโฆ whose lotus gives rise to worlds beyond imaginationโฆ stood before a tiny jฤซva with folded hands.
Not because the soul had become greater than Brahmฤ… But because the Lord’s promise is greater than every created greatness.
My heart overflowed. I remembered the countless places where Brahmฤ had quietly taught me this lesson long before today.
At Kฤรฑcipuram, where he performed the great Aลvamedha Yajรฑa, longing only for one vision of the Lord.
From those sacred sacrificial flames arose the infinitely compassionate
ลrฤซ Varadarฤja Perumฤแธท, blessing Brahmฤ Himself.then my mind travelled to ลrฤซraแน gam.
How many times had I stood before the enchanting smile of ลrฤซ Raแน ganฤtha, remembering that Brahmฤ himself had worshipped this very Lord before the divine lineage brought Him to Ayodhyฤ and eventually to ลrฤซraแน gam?
Then came another remembrance… Thirukkandiyur.
The Lord who removed Brahmฤ’s affliction. Even the Creator needed grace. No one rises beyond the Lord’s compassion. Thirugoshtiyur where the Trinity assembled for a Lokakalyanam plan ..
Another memory aroseโฆ
The icy Himalayas.
Brahma Kapฤlam at Badarikฤลrama. Standing before those sacred waters,
I had silently wondered…
“How many pilgrims have crossed these mountains seeking liberation?”
Today… I knew the answer…..Every pilgrimage had quietly prepared my heart for this final ascent.
Then another remembrance filled my soul. Pushkar. The lonely temple where Brahmฤ is worshipped. Standing there, I had not asked for wealth.Nor success.Norlongevity. Only this prayer…
“May my life never become trapped in the beauty of creation.
May it always seek the Creator’s Lord.” How merciful He had been.
Then another divine pastime blossomed before me.
Vแนndฤvana.
Brahmฤ’s bewilderment. The Lord who multiplied Himself into countless calves and cowherd boys. The four-faced Creator who came to test… left reciting Brahma Saแนhitฤ.
His pride dissolved.
Only devotion remained.
I realisedโฆ
Brahmฤ was never the villain. He was the first among seekers to discover that knowledge without surrender remains incomplete.
At that momentโฆBrahmฤ pointed beyond the edge of his own universe. I looked. Words abandoned me. The countless galaxiesโฆ the starsโฆ the lokasโฆ the worlds I had imagined to be endlessโฆ appeared no larger than a tiny lamp flickering in an infinite night. Beyond them stretchedโฆan immeasurable radiance.
No darkness. No time. No decay. No karma. Creation itself ended there. Then Brahmฤ spoke once more. “My childโฆ from this pointโฆ even I do not accompany you. Beyond this boundaryโฆ only the Lord’s eternal attendants receive His beloved.” His voice became softer. “My prayers travel with you.” He folded all four hands once again. This timeโฆI instinctively fell flat in prostration before him.
Not to worship the Creatorโฆ
But to honour one who had spent an entire lifetime pointing every soul toward ลrฤซman Nฤrฤyaแนa.
When I roseโฆ the thousand-petalled lotus slowly disappeared into the brilliance behind me. I did not look back. How could I? Homeโฆ lay ahead……
Far aheadโฆ I heard something. Not waterโฆNot windโฆ Not musicโฆ Yet somehowโฆ
all three together. A riverโฆ unlike any river I had ever known.
“Knowledge reaches its perfection only when it becomes surrender.”
“The greatest servant in creation is not the one who creates worlds, but the one who points every soul toward the Lord who is beyond all worlds.”
“The journey ends for pride where the journey begins for grace.”
Tomorrowโฆwe shall behold Virajฤโ the sacred river where every trace of saแนsฤra, karma, pride, fear, and separateness is left forever behind before the soul enters the Lord’s eternal realm.
I move on thinking ………
Every world behind me was His creation. Every step before me is His embrace.”
The month of ( March โ April ) in tamil (Panguni ) is sacred as it is the appearance month of โ Lord Ranganatha on Revathi star and Goddess Sri Ranganayaki Thayar on Uthiram star both occur during the same month. The most important and the oldest festival called as โAdi Brahmotsavamโ is performed during [โฆ]
“The one who has surrendered to Sriman Narayana becomes worthy of honour even from those whom the world worships.”
As I walked beside the compassionate Lord of the Cosmic Waters, Varuแนa, the endless sapphire oceans slowly gave way to a realm unlike anything I had ever imagined.
Before us stretched a celestial city built entirely of brilliance.
Its avenues shimmered like molten gold. Palaces glowed with unimaginable radiance.
The fragrance of divine flowers filled the atmosphere.
The music of Gandharvas floated effortlessly through the skies.
Every breeze seemed to chant, the holy name that soothed the soul in trance
Then I understood… This was Indra Loka….. The abode sought by countless performers of sacrifices.
The destination is praised in the Vedas. The heaven desired by kings and ascetics alike.
Yet today…
its king was waiting…for Lords devotee.As I approached, Lord Indra himself stepped forward from his magnificent throne. His dazzling crown reflected the brilliance of countless suns.
Around him stood the Devas, Maruts, Gandharvas and celestial attendants. But none looked at their own king. Every eye rested upon the tiny soul being escorted through Archiradhi Margam.
To my utter astonishmentโฆ Indra folded both his hands. With deep humility he bowed. There was no pride. No trace of royal authority. Only reverence.
His voice carried extraordinary sweetness. “Blessed indeed are you.”
“We guarded the worlds by
………. His command.………..
“You surrendered completely to Him.”
“Today you go where even we long to behold.”
At that moment my heart trembled. How strange is divine truth. On earthโฆ human beings struggle for positionsโฆ wealthโฆrecognitionโฆtitlesโฆhonourโฆ
Yet hereโฆ the ruler of heaven himself stood with folded hands before a surrendered servant of Supreme Lord Sriman Narayana.
Suddenly I remembered a lesson life had quietly taught me. Many devotees imagine that spiritual progress means becoming greater than others.
But Archiradhi teaches exactly the opposite.
Every realm strips away another layer of the ego.
Fire removed fear.
Day removed darkness
The Bright Fortnight revealed increasing clarity.
Uttarayana lifted aspiration upward.
The Year showed the Lord’s perfect timing.
Vฤyu removed all limitations.
Surya illuminated divine knowledge.
Chandra softened the heart.
Varuแนa washed away subtle impurities.
Now..
Indra revealed the greatest secret of all. The closer one comes to Narayana, the smaller one’s own ego becomes.
Humility is not a weakness.
It is the fragrance of those who have seen the Lord.
As I kept looking at all the universal transcendental beauty from where Indira appeared , another memory from my earthly pilgrimage filled my heart with focus on Indra
The Divya Prabandham verses I recited every morning during Thiruvฤrฤdhana suddenly echoed within me.
“เฎเฎจเฏเฎคเฎฟเฎฐเฎฉเฏเฎเฏ เฎชเฎฟเฎฐเฎฎเฎฉเฏ…” (Indiranลdu Piraman…) sung by Periyฤzhvฤr. “เฎ เฎเฏเฎเฏ เฎเฏเฎตเฎฟ…”
How many thousands of times had I recited these pasurams?
Now I was no longer merely chanting them. I was walking through the very worlds they praised.
My mind travelled to Govardhan. The sacred hill where every stone breathes the name Govinda.
During my pilgrimage I circumambulated Giriraj, chanting the Divine Names continuously.
Sometimes singing kirtans… sometimes silently repeating the Guru Mantra and Dwayam … sometimes offering dandavat pranams to every devotee who walked that sacred path.
Every step became a prayer.
Every grain of Govardhan’s dust felt holier than my own life.
There… a beautiful truth unfolded within my heart.People often think the Govardhan pastime is about Krishna defeating Indra.
There is a beautiful truth unfolded within my heart. People often think the Govardhan pastime is about Krishna defeating Indra. It is about Krishna rescuing Indra from Indra’s own ego. Indra is not the villain.
Indra lives inside every one of us. Whenever we begin believing…
…the same subtle pride begins to grow. Power itself is never the problem. Forgetfulness is……..The moment a gift begins to feel like our possession… gratitude quietly leaves…and ego silently enters. That was Indra’s lesson.
How compassionate is our Lord! When Indra sent devastating rains upon Vraja, Krishna did not answer with greater force.
He simply lifted Govardhan Hill. No anger… No retaliation… No display of superiority…. Only silent protection…. Only compassion…… That day I realised something that has remained with me ever since…
Whenever I feel disturbed because someone failed to recognise my effortsโฆ whenever my mind wants to “flood” a situation with hurt or angerโฆ I remember Sri Govardhan.
The flood outside was only a reflection of the flood within. Krishna teaches us not to create a greater storm….He teaches us to become like Govardhanโฆ steadyโฆ humbleโฆ supportiveโฆuu without announcing our greatness.
True refuge is rarely spectacular. It is found in quiet disciplinesโฆ daily Thiruvฤrฤdhanaโฆ chanting Divya Prabandhamโฆ serving Lordships devoteesโฆ reciting His holy namesโฆ the unnoticed acts that quietly sustain our devotion…..
As these thoughts flowed through my heart, I remembered yet another beautiful connection. How many Divya Desams preserve Indra’s memory! When we visited these Divya desams the question was Indra … always protected by the Supreme Lord for everything .
Thiruvelliyangudi with Indra Theertham. Thiruppiruthi (Joshimath) in the Himalayas with Indra Theertham and Govardhana Vimanam.Thrikkakara Vamanamoorthy Divya Desam, where our Lord restored Indra’s kingdom after blessing Mahabali.
Even during Samudra Manthana, our compassionate Lord first became Kurma, silently bearing the mountain upon His own back. Later He became Mohini, ensuring that Amrita reached the Devas. Again… He was protecting Indra. Not because Indra never failed… but because His mercy is always greater than our failures.
Then came the most moving moment of all during Goverdhan leelai .After the storm ended…Indra descended from heaven upon majestic Airavata.
There was no pride now.Only gratitude. Airavata brought the celestial waters of the Ganga.Surabhi herself arrived. Together they performed the divine Abhishekam.And Indra declared before the worlds: “You are Govinda.” Protector of cows. Protector of the humble. Protector of those who seek refuge. That name…Govinda… entered deep in my mind body soul at earthern plane and now entered my heart more deeply than ever before.
Perhaps that longing reached Him.
Barely a month later, grace arrived in a way I could never have imagined.
A revered devotee friend called me from Vrindavan. “Swamy,” he said joyfully, “for nearly six months I have been performing Dandavat Parikrama around Sri Giriraj. Today, on this sacred Pournami, I remembered you.”Even hearing those words, I mentally prostrated before Giriraj.
Then he continued., After completing my parikrama and offering obeisances at Radha Kund, a saint approached me unexpectedly. He lovingly placed two Govardhan Silas in my hands.” “I asked him, ‘Maharaj, why have you given me two?'”
The saint smiled.’One devotee is waiting for Him. Go. He Himself has chosen His home.’
A few days later…
Our beloved Sri Sri Giriraj arrived at our Thiruvengadamaltar. Today He joyfully rests beside our sacred Saligrama Silas. Every morning, when I behold Him during Thiruvฤrฤdhana, tears still arise. How mysterious is His compassion. We think we are searching for Him. But all along..
Our Thiruvengadam
He was searching for us.
As a mark of love and deep gratitude we carry out dear Sri Sri Giriraj with Godha devi every year to Vrindavan dhaan and perform Goverdhan parikrama reciting Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam and Thiruppavai….
Indra’s greatest victory was not regaining heaven.It was recovering humility. The greatest enemy of a devotee is not another person.It is the unnoticed whisper within
“I accomplished this.” The moment that whisper disappears… the Lord quietly whispers back… “Become merely My instrument.” (Nimitta-mฤtram bhava.)
Sri Giriraj who chose Thiruvengadam
And from that moment onward… every action becomes kainkaryam. Not mine. Always His……..
Tomorrowโฆ
Beyond the splendour of heaven itself… awaits Prajฤpati Loka…the final realm before the soul leaves the material universe forever.
The boundary between Leela Vibhuti and eternity is now very near.
“Every Sacred River Was Preparing Me for This Ocean of Grace” and When Varuแนa Deva Whispered, “Every Sacred Bath Was Preparing You…”
Readers, walk with me…
No Google Maps can ever show this Divine Route.
Today… the journey flows through the realm of the Cosmic Waters.”
The majestic Purusha of Vidyut still held my hand.
His touch was unlike anything I had ever experienced.
There was no weight. No fear. No questions. Only an overwhelming certainty… I was being led Home. As we moved beyond the realm of lightning, an entirely different brilliance appeared before us.
Not blazing… Not dazzling… But soothing.
It was as if countless oceans had become liquid crystal.
The fragrance was unlike earthly rain. The sound resembled millions of sacred rivers softly chanting the Lord’s holy names.
The brilliance of Vidyut Loka slowly softened….
Before me unfolded an endless expanse of celestial blue.
This was no earthly ocean. Every ripple shone with consciousness. Every wave chanted the Lord’s names. From those immeasurable waters emerged the majestic Lord of the Cosmic WatersโVaruแนa.
His complexion resembled the deepest sapphire ocean.
Infinite compassion flowed from His eyes. Instead of expecting my prostration… He folded his own hands before me.
“You are no longer a traveller of this world. You belong to Sriman Narayana.”
The words melted whatever little individuality I still imagined I possessed. No honour was mine.
It was the glory of ลaraแนฤgati.
The Purusha smiled.This is Varuแนa Loka.”
Immediately a divine being arose from those celestial waters.
His complexion resembled the deepest sapphire ocean.
Every movement radiated compassion. He folded his handsโnot to the guide… …but to the insignificant soul standing before him.
My heart trembled. How could the guardian of the cosmic waters bow before me?
Suddenly………… Every sacred bath of my life returned before my eyes.
Swami Pushkariniโฆ Kapila Teerthamโฆ Chakra Teerthamโฆ Papavinasanamโฆ Akasha Gangaโฆ The icy waters of Muktinathโฆ The holy rivers beside countless Divya Desamsโฆ I saw them all. Then Varuแนa smiled.
“You believed you came merely to bathe.” “Noโฆ”
“Every drop was washing away another layer of forgetfulness.”
At that divine moment… countless memories from earthly life rose before me. How many sacred rivers had silently nourished this insignificant soul! I remembered standing on the peaceful banks of the Krishna River at Mattapalli, where Sri Lakshmi Narasimha continues to shower His boundless mercy.
I remembered immersing myself in the holy Kaveri at Srirangam, praying that my heart might become fit to behold Sri Ranganatha
I remembered the serene Sarayu and the sacred Gupta Ghat at Ayodhya, where every breeze still whispers the glories of Sri Rama.
The playful waters of Yamuna at Vrindavan… The sacred Gomati at Dwaraka… The holy Triveni Sangam near Veraval, where Hiran, Kapila and Saraswati unite near the place sanctified by Lord Krishna’s final earthly pastimes… Each river… Each Pushkarini… Each sacred tank beside the Divya Desams… Every place where I had watched the Lord descend during Chakra Snanam on Brahmotsavam days…
All of them now appeared before me like living personalities. How many times during my humble Thiruvฤrฤdhana had I invoked every sacred river into the Kalasa?
How many Homams had begun by inviting Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Saraswati, Narmada, Sindhu, Kaveri and countless holy waters into that small vessel? At the time… it seemed only a sacred ritual. Now I understood. Nothing performed with devotion is ever forgotten by the Lord.
Every handful of sanctified waterโฆ Every Achamanaโฆ Every Kalasa Poojaโฆ Every sacred bathโฆ Every Pushkariniโฆ was preparing me for this divine meeting
.
Then Varuแนa Deva smiled. “The waters of Bhuloka washed your body. The waters of devotion washed your heart. Soonโฆ Virajฤ shall wash away the very last trace of material existence.” Those words entered my soul…..
I suddenly understood why our Acharyas repeatedly teach that bhakti is not merely performing ritualsโit is allowing the Lord to remove everything that separates us from Him.
The rivers do not merely cleanse dust. They teach surrender.
What truly has to disappear is not the body.. but the invisible impurities hidden within
False ego. Pride. Greed. Lust. Anger. Jealousy. Vanity. Cruelty. Miserliness. The desire to be honoured. The illusion that “I am the doer.”
Only when these are washed away does the heart become a worthy temple for Sriman Narayana.
That is why our Acharyas say that liberation is not merely reaching Vaikuntha.
It begins the day the heart becomes free from its own arrogance. Varuแนa’s waters reflected not my faceโฆ
Varuแนa’s waters reflected not my face… but the soul my Acharyas had patiently tried to awaken throughout my life. I folded my hands with tears flowing endlessly.
Every sacred river I had ever worshipped… had brought me one step closer to this divine ocean.
Varuแนa Deva gently held my hand.
Without a word……
we began walking together across those luminous blue celestial waters toward the next realm ordained in the eternal divine path ….
Tomorrow…
The King of the Devas himself awaitsโnot to receive worship, but to honour a soul claimed forever by Lord Sriman Narayana…
Originally posted on kazhiyur varadan’s blog: ?This ?whole world is moving according to the plan of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. ?There is a specific plan being carried out in this material world. What is this plan? The cosmic manifestation is a chance for the elevated souls to go back to Godhead. .? Asโฆ
The Divine Guide from the Realm of Lightning ” When Heaven Sends Someone to Personally Escort You…”
Until now I had travelled from one divine realm to another.
Archis welcomed me.
Day embraced me.
The bright Fortnight smiled.
Uttarayana honoured me.
Samvatsara blessed me.
Vayu opened the celestial pathway.
Surya revealed unimaginable brilliance.
Chandra cooled my heart with compassion.
Each deity bowedโnot to meโ. but to the Lord whose servant I had become. Yet something was changing.
I could feel it. The atmosphere no longer resembled anything within the material universe. The brilliance ahead became impossible to describe.
Suddenly…
The radiance itself transformed into a divine personality. Not merely lightning. Not merely light.
A majestic Purusha, shining brighter than millions of flashes of lightning, yet soothing to behold, stood before me.
His smile removed every trace of uncertainty. His folded hands conveyed a message beyond words.
“From here onward… I have been sent by Sriman Narayana Himself to personally accompany you.”..
..
I was no longer travelling alone. I was being escorted.
As the radiant Purusha of Vidyut Loka extended His hand towards me, countless memories began flashing like lightning across my consciousness.
One memory shone brighter than all the others.
It carried me back to my childhood. I was only a young schoolboy studying in the seventh standard.
A severe viral fever had confined me to bed. My entire body shivered uncontrollably. .
My parents sat beside me through the night, worried and helpless. Our home stood close to a small Sri Venkateswara temple.
Although I knew little of the Divya Prabandham or the profound teachings of our Acharyas, there was an inexplicable attraction towards the Lord.
Whenever I saw devotees returning from Tirumala with freshly tonsured heads, carrying the sacred laddus with glowing faces, my little heart longed for only one thing.
“I too want to see my Govinda.” That longing had no reason. It was simply there. That nightโฆ
Something extraordinary happened. In my dream, the Lord of the Seven Hills Himself came and sat beside me.
Not as the majestic ruler of the universeโฆ But as an affectionate guardian.
He gently placed His cool, divine hand upon my burning forehead.
Even today I cannot describe that soothing touch.
His fragrant Tulasi garlandโฆ His enchanting smileโฆ His dazzling crownโฆ His compassionate eyesโฆ Everything was vividly real. Tears flowed continuously. I did not wish the dream to end.
Within my heart, one prayer alone echoed again and again…
Namo venkatesaya ๐….
“Vinฤ Venkateลam na nฤtho na nฤthaแธฅ… Sadฤ Venkateลam smarฤmi smarฤmi…”
When dawn arrived…
The fever had completely disappeared.
My parents stood astonished. I knewโฆ
He had come.
From that very day my longing became intense.
I pleaded with my father, “Appaโฆ please take me to Tirumala.”
His office responsibilities made it difficult.
Days passed.
Unable to contain my yearning, I stood before the small temple near our home and prayed with the innocence only a child possesses.
“Govindaโฆ if You truly came to meโฆ then You Yourself must call me to Your home.”
Within a weekโฆ
The answer arrived. My father received official work requiring him to travel to Chittoor over the weekend. He looked at me and smiled..
“Would you like to come?”
My joy knew no bounds.
In those days there was only one train to Tirupati. Tirumala express …
No reserved tickets were available.
We travelled in a crowded general compartment behind a steam engine.
The rhythmic whistleโฆ
The smell of burning coalโฆ
The tiny sparks flying through the windowsโฆ I was gluing out watching the hills from the window…
My father’s lap is becoming my pillowโฆ Every moment remains fresh in my memory even today.
Yet my eyes searched for only One Companion my dearest Govinda
I silently believedโฆ The Lord who had sat beside me in my dream was travelling beside me now.
Upon reaching Tirupati, my father gently said,
“I have taken a vow to climb the sacred hills on foot. If you wish, you may go by bus with my friend.”
For a moment my heart sank.
How could I miss walking to my Govinda? Seeing the disappointment on my face,
Appa smiled.
Come thenโฆ we shall climb together.”
Those words became another blessing.
From Alipiri we began the sacred ascent.
Every stoneโฆ
Every stepโฆ. Every cry of “Govindaโฆ Govindaโฆ”
Filled my heart with an indescribable happiness.
Sometimes I walked far ahead in excitement. Appa would lovingly call out, “Walk steadily, my sonโฆ but never stop chanting Govinda.”
Even today those words echo within me.
At lastโฆ……..
The Seven Hills opened their embrace.
Our relatives, who were engaged in preparing the Lord’s famous laddus, welcomed us with immense affection. Crowds in those days were nothing like today.
My uncle quietly led me through the Mahadwaram.
Looking deeply into my eyes he whispered, “My dearโฆ
This is HIS call. For the past week rain has poured continuously.
Today the skies have cleared only for you. Goโฆ Meet your Govinda.” I entered. Hardly anyone stood before me.
Thenโฆ Overjoyed I rushed inside crossing both the vendi vaakili and bangaru vaakili
My heart was beating fast ….The ever lasting dream coming true .
I saw Him straight …Majestically tall ..my divine father….
The very same smile.
The very same gracious eyes.
The very same Lord who had came to my bedside.
Time disappeared.
I simply stood there. Tears ..rolling .
Every time I moved away, my feet refused to leave.
Againโฆ I returned. Againโฆ I looked. Againโฆ I pleaded.
Tenโฆ
Perhaps fifteen times or more ….
I walked out only to return once more for another glimpse.
Each darshan revealed a new beauty. Garuda seemed to watch my childish innocence.
And my dearest Govindaโฆwas watching. He smiled with the playful affection of a loving divine father …
Knowing our family, the compassionate priest quietly allowed this little boy to keep returning again and again before the Lord. It was as though the Lord Himself wished to prolong our meeting.
When my father finally arrived, he found me standing there, unable to leave.
Lifting me lovingly into his arms, he folded his hands before the Lord with tears of gratitude.
We returned carrying generous portions of laddus, sweet pongal, pulihora, vadai and jilebi.
To meโฆ They were not merely prasadam.
They were Govinda’s return gifts.
As we prepared to leave, one desire remained.
I held my father’s hand and said, “Appaโฆ I want Him to come home with me.”
My father smiled…… Without a word he took me to a small shop near the temple.
Among many imagesโฆ… One dark, smiling half-bust of Sri Venkateswara immediately caught my eyes.
“Thereโฆ. Appa I said … overjoyed same to same ..
That is my Govinda.”
Appa smiled again…..
Then He is yours.”
The shopkeeper carefully wrapped Him and placed Him into my hands. I held Him close throughout the journey home. That very same beloved Govinda… Arrived during the year 1976… Still resides in my home today.
Still resides in my home today. For nearly five decadesโฆ……
He has silently witnessed every joyโฆ Every tearโฆ Every pilgrimageโฆ Every Divya Desamโฆ Every homamโฆ Every Tiruppavaiโฆ Every Rath Yatraโฆ
Every step of my life smiling and boosting my spiritual quotient..
Standing now in Vidyut Loka, as the radiant Purusha extended His hand towards me, I finally understood. My Archirฤdi journey had not begun when I left my mortal body.
It had begun on that childhood night…..
When the Lord of Tirumala quietly sat beside a fever-stricken little boy…
Placed His soothing hand upon my forehead…
And whispered without words,…
“One day… I shall bring you all the way Home.”
The Divine Guide stretched out His radiant hand.
Without hesitation… I followed……….
Tomorrow…….. The cosmic ocean itself will bow aside as the Lord’s representative approaches Varuna Loka.
The greatest miracle is not that God performs wonders.
The greatest miracle is that, long before we recognize Him, He has already begun arranging every step of our journey back Home.
Chandra Mandala: Where the Moon Welcomes the Pilgrim…….
Not every light burns.
Some lights cool the soul that has long journeyed in the heat of saแนsฤra.”
Yesterday, I pierced the blazing orb of ฤditya.
The brilliance of the Sun did not scorch me.
It parted like a golden gateway, for the Lord had already commanded every element of creation to honour one who had sought refuge at His lotus feet.
As I emerged beyond the solar sphere, something extraordinary happened. The radiance softened.
The intense brilliance gave way to a gentle, cooling splendour.
Before me stretched a realm bathed in silvery light.
I had arrived at Chandra Maแนแธala.
The Moon-deity did not stand as a ruler. He stood as a gracious host.
There was no interrogation. No weighing merits. No accounting of past deeds.
Those had already ended the very moment I surrendered to Sriman Nฤrฤyaแนa. Instead, the celestial beings of Chandra Loka welcomed me with folded hands. Their faces reflected neither astonishment nor curiosity.
Rather, they rejoiced, as though another member of the Lord’s eternal family had finally begun the last stretch of the journey Home.
For the first time since leaving the earth, I understood something profound.
The entire universe knows about a surrendered and a seeking soul . The devas do not honour the soul because of its greatness.
They honour the infinite compassion of the Lord who accepted that soul.
As the cool moonlight embraced me, memories arose unbidden.
How many moon nights had I spent in the sacred Divya Deลams?
How many evenings had ended beneath temple gopurams after Ekฤnta Seva?
How many moonlit roads had I walked while carrying my beloved ฤแธปvฤrs and ฤcฤryas in their wooden shrine?
The cool radiance of Chandra Maแนแธala wrapped itself around me like the gentle compassion of a mother soothing a weary child.
Its silvery light felt strangely familiar. Had I not walked beneath this very moon countless times while journeying to the Lord’s sacred abodes?
The moon seemed to whisper, “Do you remember? I watched every step of your pilgrimage.”
Suddenly, one sacred memory after another blossomed before me.
I found myself once again climbing the steep hill of Thirukkadigai (Sholingur), where majestic Yoga Narasimha Perumal sits in profound yogic meditation, the compassionate Lord who, out of immeasurable affection, entrusted His divine ลaแน kha and Chakra to His beloved devotee, Hanuman.
Upon my shoulders rested not merely a wooden shrine.
Within it travelled my life’s greatest treasureโthe Twelve ฤแธปvฤrs, Bhagavad Rฤmฤnuja, Swami Vedฤnta Deลika, Swami Maแนavฤแธทa Mฤmunigaแธท and ลrฤซ ลrฤซ Gaura-Nitฤi. To the world, it was only a beautifully carved chest.
To me, it was a travelling Vaikuแนแนญha. Along with them we carried silk garments to offer to Perumal and Thฤyฤr, and fresh vastrams for the ฤแธปvฤrs and ฤcฤryas, a vow we joyfully observed at every Divya Deลam.
The climb was arduous. Each step demanded strength. Yet my heart knew only one thought “Today, my ฤแธปvฤrs will once again behold their beloved Perumal.”
Then, just as countless times before, the Lord quietly revealed that He was the One carrying the pilgrimage.
The ropeway had remained out of service for several days.
Everyone believed we would have to carry the heavy shrine all the way to the summit.
Yet on that very morning, almost unbelievably, it resumed operation. The temple priests welcomed our travelling shrine with extraordinary affection.
Without hesitation they carried our ฤแธปvฤrs and ฤcฤryas straight into the sanctum of Yoga Narasimha Perumal.
Standing there, I could almost behold Thirumaแน gai ฤแธปvฤr once again singing before the Lord with tears of divine ecstasy.
As these memories flowed through me, Chandra Deva smiled gently.
“Nothing happened by chance,” he seemed to say.
“Every miracle was quietly arranged by the Lord to strengthen your faith for the final journey Home.”
Another memory arose.
Far away amidst the snow-clad Himalayas, at the sacred ลฤlagrฤma Kแนฃetra of Muktinฤth, the chief priest looked lovingly at our travelling shrine and said,
“Swami, leave the ฤแธปvฤrs and ฤcฤryas here with Mukthinฤth Perumal. Let them remain in His divine presence.
You go peacefully and perform your homam.”
His words touched something deep within my heart.
Leaving my beloved companions before the Lord, I spent the entire day amidst the icy Himalayan winds, offering ghee into the sacred fire while continuously reciting the Viแนฃแนu Sahasranฤma on behalf of the ฤแธปvฤrs and our revered ฤcฤryas.
Before we departed, the compassionate priest placed several ลฤlagrฤma ลilฤ into our hands and lovingly encouraged us to carry it to every Divya Deลam, offering it at the lotus feet of each Perumal.
When the offering was finally made, the priest smiled with such majestic compassion that, for one unforgettable moment, I felt as though Lord Narasimha Himself had smiled through those eyes.
That night…
The full moon illuminated the Himalayan peaks with indescribable splendour. Holding the sacred ลฤlagrฤma close to my heart, we sat beneath the moonlight reciting the Divya Prabandham.
When we reached Thirumaแน gai ฤแธปvฤr’s nectar-like words praising the Lord as “Akkฤrakani“โthe Lord sweeter than honey and sugarcaneโmy voice faltered.
The moon became our witness. The mountains listened in silence. The cold wind itself seemed to chant the Lord’s holy names. Standing now in Chandra Maแนแธala, I finally understood.
The moon that watched those earthly nights was the very same moon welcoming me today upon the Archirฤdi Mฤrga.
Every moonlit pilgrimage, every Divya Prabandham recited beneath the night sky, every tear shed before the Lord’s sanctum had never been forgotten. The Lord had preserved every one of them.
The cool brilliance of Chandra was not merely the light of the moon.
It was the gentle reminder that not a single step taken towards Him, not a single hymn sung in longing, and not a single act of kainkaryam is ever lost in His divine memory.
Just as the moon reflects the light of the sun, the liberated soul possesses no independent splendour.
Its beauty is only the reflected grace of Sriman Nฤrฤyaแนa.
Everything glorious about the soul belongs to Him.
This realization dissolved even the faintest trace of individuality.
There was only gratitude.
Then Chandra Deva spoke gently: “Pilgrim, the path before you grows even more wondrous.
The universe has welcomed you. Soon, one who does not belong to this material cosmos will come to receive you.” His words stirred my heart.
Who could that be? None of the devas seemed to answer. They merely smiled.
As I bowed in gratitude, I remembered Swamy Nammฤแธปvฤr’s longing.
He never sought heavenly pleasures. He longed only for uninterrupted service at the Lord’s lotus feet.
Now I understood why the ฤแธปvฤrs sang so passionately.
Every realm of this universe, however glorious, is only a passage. The destination alone is eternal.
Looking back, I realise that every peaceful night spent in a Divya Deลam, every moonlit pradakแนฃiแนฤ around an ancient temple, every quiet recitation of the Divya Prabandham beneath the stars was not merely a memory.
The Lord was gently teaching my restless heart to become still.
Only a still heart can recognise Heaven when it appears.
“The moon does not create light; it reflects it. Likewise, the soul possesses no glory of its ownโit shines only by reflecting the grace of Sriman Nฤrฤyaแนa.”
Tomorrow…
The moon’s hospitality comes to an end.
Suddenly…
A flash unlike any lightning on earth reends the heavens.
From that dazzling brilliance emerges a mysterious Divya Puruแนฃaโnot one of the familiar devas, but a messenger appointed for the final ascent.
Not merely through sacred placesโฆ But through the sacred memories that the Lord quietly planted across an ordinary life in this body of mine …
Perhapsโฆ they were never ordinary at all….
Yesterdayโฆ Vฤyu welcomed me……
His touch was unlike the winds I had known on Earth. It carried no dust. No heat. No cold. Only remembrance. As he gently pointed ahead, the entire horizon transformed into an ocean of living gold. Not the brilliance that hurts the eyesโฆ The brilliance that heals the heart. Soon I understood. This was no ordinary light.
Before me stood ฤditya, radiant beyond imagination.
Yet something surprised me. Although his splendour surpassed countless earthly suns…
my eyes felt only comfort. No blinking. No fear. No shadow. Only joy. He smiled as though welcoming a long-awaited traveller.
Then he said, Every dawn you witnessed on Earth was only preparing you for this light.”
Those words awakened a thousand memories.
For nearly four decades, one holiest mountain repeatedly called me. Tirumala….
The holy Seven Hills name that gives shelter , and the love for this divine place made me name our house Thiruvengadam..
Yes … Everything for me is HIS abundant mercy .. GOVINDA my only breath
There was a time, during my college days, when weekends were not meant for restโthey were meant for Govinda.
As the city of Hyderabad still slept beneath the stars, I would quietly board the Krishna Express, carrying little more than a small bag, a heart filled with longing, and a single prayer ……
“Govinda… allow me to reach You once again.”
Every passing mile only deepened that longing. The train was not merely travelling towards Tirupati; it was carrying my restless heart closer to the One who had already captured it. By the time I reached Tirupati in the evening, the real pilgrimage was only beginning.
Without waiting for daylight, I would begin climbing the sacred ลeแนฃฤcala Hills under the silent canopy of the night. Every step felt like a prayer. Every bead of perspiration became an offering. The darkness never frightened me, for every stone of those hills seemed to whisper only one Nameโ “Govinda… Govinda… Govinda…”
As dawn slowly approached, I would reach the holy abode where countless saints, ฤแธปvฤrs and ฤcฤryas had stood before me with the same yearning.
Before anything else came the sacred dip in Swami Puแนฃkariแนฤซ.
Its waters did not merely cleanse the body; they quietened the mind and softened the heart, preparing it to stand before the Lord of the Seven Hills.
Then came one of the most cherished moments of my life.
Joining the devotees waiting at the temple entrance, I would perform Aแน ga Pradakแนฃiแนam, offering my entire body in surrender at His doorstep.
Soon the first strains of the Suprabhฤtam filled the morning air. “Kausalyฤ supraja Rฤma…” Every syllable awakened not only the Lord but something deep within my own soul. As the sacred verses echoed through the temple corridors, my mind painted the vision that my eyes were yet to behold.
His compassionate eyes… His gentle smile… The dazzling Kaustubha jewel… ลrฤซ Mahฤlakแนฃmฤซ forever adorning His divine chest… The brilliant ลaแน kha and Sudarลana… The cool fragrance of tulasฤซ… At that moment, the world outside simply ceased to exist.
Like Swamy Nammฤแธปvฤr, I longed only for one blessing: “Aแธikkฤซzh amarndu pugundฤn…” “May I remain forever beneath Your divine feet.”
Again and again, this prayer arose from within
“O my Lord Srinivasa… let my heart never wander away from Your lotus feet. If I must ask for one boon, let it be this alonethat I may never forget You, in this life or the next.”
Then, almost unnoticed, the first golden rays of the rising sun would gently touch the sacred ฤnanda Nฤซlaya Vimanam, causing the golden gopuram to shine as though the heavens themselves had descended upon Tirumala.
Standing there in silence, tears often spoke what words never could.
Looking back now, I realise something profound.
I believed I was climbing the Seven Hills in search of Him.
But perhaps…
He was already waiting at every step, patiently drawing me towards Himself.
“The journey to Tirumala never began at Alipiri. It began the day the Lord planted an unquenchable longing for His lotus feet in the heart of a young college student.”
On other blessed occasions, He allowed me to witness the serenity of Ekฤnta Seva, the sacred majesty of Friday Tirumanjanam which takes you so close to Lord for almost 90 minutes one to one , and the incomparable beauty of His divine adornment can be absorbed through your eyes … A very rare boon ..
Looking back… I no longer believe these were privileges I earned. They were lessons He lovingly arranged. Every darลana quietly trained my eyes… not merely to see… but to long. Every climb trained my feet… not merely to walk… but to surrender. Every descent from Tirumala carried a silent promise.
“This is not your final ascent.” Today…
standing before the Divine Sun… I finally understood….
The Lord of Tirumala had been preparing me for another mountain. One that no earthly feet could climb.
As ฤditya’s radiance embraced me, another memory gently unfolded. Not of Tirumala.
But of a wooden travelling shrine. Inside rested my beloved companions… the twelve ฤแธปvฤrs…along with JagathAcharyar Bhagavad Rฤmฤnuja… Swami Vedฤnta Deลikar . Swami Maแนavฤแธทa Mฤmunigaแธท… and my dear ลrฤซ ลrฤซ Gaura-Nitฤi.
How many buses had they travelled?
How many trains?
How many flights?
How many temple streets?
How many silent prayers?
People saw luggage.
I saw pilgrims eager for Perumฤแธท’s darลana And wherever they travelled…
the Lord quietly travelled ahead of us. A vacant seat.
An unexpected welcome.
Prasฤdam appearing when none had been arranged.
Temple doors opening at the perfect moment.
Each miracle whispered the same truth.
“Those who journey with My devotees journey under My care.”
The Divine Sun does not merely illuminate the path.
He reveals the truth hidden within every step.
Nothing in a surrendered life is accidental. Not a meeting.
Not a delay…..Not a pilgrimage. Not even a tear.
Everything becomes part of the Lord’s compassionate preparation.
The wooden travelling shrine
“I thought I had climbed Tirumala countless times.
Today I realise… the Lord was teaching my soul how to climb toward Him.”
Have you ever wondered why certain temples keep calling you back? Perhapsโฆ…..
it is not because you remember them. Perhapsโฆ they remember you.
Perhaps the Lord is quietly preparing your heart for a journey whose destination lies far beyond this world.
As I bowed before the Divine Sun… another fragrance drifted across the radiant path.
It was unlike anything I had ever known. It carried the sweetness of every flower ever offered at every temple…
yet it belonged to none of them.
ฤditya smiled…….
Then he whispered,……
“Ahead lies the realm where even the flowers are eternal.
There… your welcome has already begun.”
the celestial gardens will open.
But someone…
has been waiting there for much longer than I ever imagined.
“Every temple I visited on Earth gave me a glimpse of Heaven.
Tomorrow…
Heaven itself will reveal why those glimpses were given.”
