“Every sunrise on Earth is a promise. Every sunrise in Eternity is a fulfillment.”
Walk with me… mentally ..a forty-day Invitation…daily 4 to 5 minutes..
( Part 6 ) in the appended blog posts below 👇
(Part 6) Musings of a Soul Returning to Its Eternal Home
Not merely through sacred places…
But through the sacred memories that the Lord quietly planted across an ordinary life in this body of mine …
Perhaps…
they were never ordinary at all….
Yesterday…
Vāyu 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 eyes…
The brilliance that heals the heart.
Soon I understood.
This was no ordinary light.
Before me stood Āditya, 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 rest—they 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 Śeṣācala 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 Name—
“Govinda… Govinda… Govinda…”
As dawn slowly approached, I would reach the holy abode where countless saints, Āḻvārs and Ācāryas had stood before me with the same yearning.
Before anything else came the sacred dip in Swami Puṣkariṇī.
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 Aṅga Pradakṣiṇam, offering my entire body in surrender at His doorstep.
Soon the first strains of the Suprabhātam filled the morning air.
“Kausalyā supraja Rāma…”
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…
Śrī Mahālakṣmī forever adorning His divine chest…
The brilliant Śaṅkha and Sudarśana…
The cool fragrance of tulasī…
At that moment, the world outside simply ceased to exist.
Like Swamy Nammāḻvār, I longed only for one blessing:
“Aḍikkīzh amarndu pugundēn…”
“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 Ānanda Nīlaya 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 Ekānta 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 darśana 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 Āditya’s radiance embraced me, another memory gently unfolded.
Not of Tirumala.
But of a wooden travelling shrine.
Inside rested my beloved companions…
the twelve Āḻvārs…along with JagathAcharyar Bhagavad Rāmānuja…
Swami Vedānta Deśikar .
Swami Maṇavāḷa Māmunigaḷ…
and my dear Śrī Śrī Gaura-Nitāi.
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 Perumāḷ’s darśana And wherever they travelled…
the Lord quietly travelled ahead of us.
A vacant seat.
An unexpected welcome.
Prasādam 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.
“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?
Perhaps……..
it is not because you remember them.
Perhaps… 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.
Āditya 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.”
Śrīmate Rāmānujāya Namaḥ
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan 🙏
Pictures Courtesy Google images
