Sri Venkateswara Saranagati Diksha

[Guest guest]

Jai Srimannarayana!

 

As a conclusion of Acharya Seva Yatra

HH Shri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji gave us a unique di:ksha

to surrender ourselves at the lotus feet of Lord Venkateswara.

 

Why do we have to take this Di:ksha ?

 

"Ve:nkate:sa samo: de:vo: na:sti na:sti mahi:tale:"

(On this earth, there is no God equivalent to Lord Venkateswara)

--- declared in Varaha Puranam.

 

Lord Sri:manna:ra:yana, who is invisible even to the

Gods and Yo:gis, took incarnation as an 'archa mu:rti'

on the Seven Hills of Tirumala, out of his pure compassion.

 

He, Go:vinda, removes all the difficulties and fears

of all those who take refuge at His lotus feet,

blessing them with peace and prosperity.

 

To save us from the agonizing experiences of the

cycle of life, sorrows, despair and destruction,

His Holiness Shri Tridandi Srimannarayana Ramanuja

Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji gave this Sri Venkateswara

Saranagati Diksha.

 

What is Saranagati and What do we do in this Di:ksha ?

 

In this di:ksha, we express our total surrender

in all three forms - by thought, word and deed --

to Lord Sri Venkateswara and accept Him as our 'Pati'

(husband), protector and nourisher. Once we perform

Sarana:gati (surrender) He will take care of us forever.

 

He is 'Achyuta' -- will never leave us high and dry.

He will carry us through this 'samsa:ra' like a comfortable ship.

 

The process of surrender is very simple,

fill our mind with His divine thoughts.

To help foster the thoughts and to cultivate the habit

of thinking about Him, His Holiness gave us a small

procedure for this di:ksha. To suit the needs of

devotees in US, HH also allowed minor modifications.

 

What is the procedure and when do we observe it ?

 

(1) In California - Bay Area, we will be performing

this di:ksha from 11th Feb, 2006 for seven weeks

concluding on 1st April, 2006. Those who can not make

it during this time, have another chance to perform it from

8th April 2006 to 27th May, 2006.

 

(2) To reflect the holiness, it is good to wear yellow

clothes or clean white clothes during the seven weeks.

However, HH allowed us to wear yellow scarfs instead

of complete white/yellow clothes.

 

(3) Wearing Tulasi ma:la and Sri Hanuma:n's locket

during this period signify 'sa:tvic qualities',

dearer to Lord and unblemished service.

 

(4) Fremont Temple Priest Pandit Govind Srinivasanji

kindly consented to give us the Diksha on 11th Feb, 2006

in Bay Area. We will connect to the telebridge during

the time, so anyone from other parts of US also can join.

 

(5) We have to get a 'kalasam' (earthen or otherwise)

and decorate it with Lord's insignia -- Sankham, Chakram and

Tirunamam. Also we have to procure Lord Venkateswara's

picture and place it alongwith kalasam in our pu:ja room.

 

(6) Everyday we can write the divine name of Lord

Venkateswara - 'Om Namo Venkatesaya'. Or if writing

is not possible, we can offer rice grains in the Kalasam,

chanting the above eight letter mantram.

 

(8) We can join tele bridge every day from 5.30 AM to

6.15 AM PST for daily archana, ashto:ttara sata na:ma

pu:ja, sarana:gati and bhajans.

(US version of Nagara Sankirtana :-)

 

(9) We have to perform a:ra:dhana (pu:ja) to Lord

Venkateswara at least once in a week on Saturday,

together with other devotees.

 

(10) During the Saturday collective pu:ja, everyone

can bring their Kalasams, Lord's pictures and place

them together. Prasadam can be made using the rice

grains collected in the Kalasams.

 

(11) Praying Sri Hanuman is also an integral part of

the di:ksha, to guide us in the Vratam and for

removing any obstacles.

 

(12) There is no fasting requirements during the di:ksha.

All the sa:tvic food can be taken, after offering it to Lord.

 

(13) It is good to abstain from any bad habits like

'Gutka', 'Pan Parag' etc during this Diksha period,

as they tend to increase 'Ra:jasik' and 'Ta:masik' qualities.

 

(14) There are seven different Sarana:gati texts

which we can recite, one every week, and also read/listen

about stories of Lord Venkateswara. Kum Saradaji kindly

agreed to give Pravachan on Lord's mahatmyam

on Saturdays after Sri Vishnu Sahasra Nama Parayanam.

 

This is a simple di:ksha which everyone can follow.

If for some unavoidable reason one can not perform

pu:ja etc for a few days (say 3/4), they can continue

on the next available day that is the 5th day.

 

It is very important to note that the feeling of surrender

to Lord in our mind and constant thinking about Him

is the main essence in this Di:ksha. All other actions

only help to support that feeling.

 

Full details of the Di:ksha and the Saranagati Text,

are attached to this email (in Telugu). In case you can not see

the attachment, please send an email to ca

or sarada.sripada and a copy will be sent to you

by email.

 

Jai Srimannarayana!

Murali Krishna RD.