Tirupati Grand Opening Day 1

[Guest guest]

We arrived early on 29th Feb. for the ecstatic inauguration ceremony of the

beautiful ISKCON Temple in Tirupati. After almost four hours of driving from

Madras as we entered the city, we were greeted by a colorful billboard with

Srila Prabhupada smiling and welcoming all the devotees. This is one thing I

noticed on my first visit to Tirupati, the wonderful Prabhupada Consciousness

of the devotees here. All throughout the city, the temple campus, everywhere

was Srila Prabhupada's picture. All the signs, billboards, invitations, only

had Srila Prabhupada's picture and the picture of the Deities. We finally

reached what can easily be described as the most beautiful temple in ISKCON.

Resting on an enourmous pink lotus flower was the very ornate powder blue South

Indian temple with all decorations highlighted in gold.

 

We quickly checked into our spacious new guesthouse room with reddish brown

marble floors and maintenance-free beige tiled walls. After getting settled, we

rushed up to the third floor veranda to watch the installation of the kalashes

on the Vimanam, or roof over the altar. What a sight with the Tirumala Hills,

an incarnation of Ananta Sesa, coiled in the background. Green forests rose

steeply on the sides, reddish sheer rock cliffs bursting out above them and

billowing clouds rising up to the bright blue heavens. Against this backdrop

the priests and devotees were performing the rituals above the gold painted

Vimanam that is considered to be as worshipable as the Deities resting beneath.

 

Then we went down to see the temple room. We entered from the east by a wide

black and white granite staircase through a huge ornately carved wood entrance.

Then two winding staircases of reddish marble led up to the main entrance,

which seemed a little narrow considering the enormous size of the temple and

the fact that it had to accommodate both entering and exiting crowds.

 

But once inside, it is beyond words to describe the wonderful symphony of

colors all laced with golden criss cross designs. Large ornate South Indian

pillars, well placed off to the sides so as not to be obstacles, had square

middle portions with beautifully carved pastimes on each four sides of the

Dasavatars, and then other themes, such as Lord Caitanya, Balaji, etc. The

ceiling was bright red with almost Rajasthani type gold lace designs. Large

three piece windows with the fixed middle piece with colored etched designs

including Lord Chaitanya, Nityananda, the Lotus Feet of Radha and Krishna with

all their auspicious markings. Before the windows began and where they ended

were four wonderful basreliefs of different pastimes, obviously made by Bengali

artists, with carved wood frames that were not straight rectangles and very

beautifully designed. All leading up to the large raised altar where Radha

Govinda and the Astha Sakhis will soon be presiding under a large South Indian

style ornately carved wood singhasa highlighted in gold. Unique in that its

entire almost 50 foot span was completely open without a single column in the

front.

 

Then again descending the staircase, we noticed the beautiful Raja Gopuram at

the main entrance. Then we also noticed a small kund in the northeast corner

that is very auspicious. To our left was a large thatched roof yajna shala

where all the homans for the inauguration were being expertly begun by South

Indian brahamanas from the Tirumala Temple. However we were still wiped out

from Kumbha Mela, so coughing and coughing, the Kumbha Mela mahamantra, we

opted to go back to our room and get some much needed rest.

 

Later an elaborate ekadasi feast was graciously served by the devotees in a

long prasad hall on the first floor of the guest house. Facilities were there

for both sitting on the floor or at tables, for those whose legs have begun to

creak.

 

At 4PM there was a Harer Nama procession. I almost missed it, but as they left

the front entrance, the enthusiastic kirtan broke my slumber. I hurried down,

but they were moving so fast I had to practically run to catch up. I wasn't the

only one, I saw hundreds of devotees trying to catch up. As I reached to the

Padayatra Rath with Nitai Gaurasundara and Srila Prabhupada, I tried to tell my

old friend Rupa Goswami who was driving to slow down. He just motioned to an

elaborate motorised gondola with Srila Prabhupada siting in a lotus asana that

was at the front of the procession. Devotees were all around with large

colorful flags, with Hare Krishna printed on them. Before I could do anything

more, someone grabbed me and pulled me back to lead the kirtan.

 

I started leading kirtan, popping my cough lozenges every few minutes. Everyone

was dancing and chanting enthusiastically. But it was hard to keep up with the

sound system which was mounted on a small 3 wheeled truck directly behind the

Padayatra cart. All three speakers were pointed forward and the hundreds of

devotees behind could hardly hear the kirtan. I finally got one foreign

brahmacari to understand my hand motions to turn one speaker around, but they

were mounted in such a way that it was impossible. All the residents of

Tirupati were coming to their roofs, smiling and waving, probably never saw

such an ecstatic kirtan before.

 

Then I gave the kirtan over to someone else. I got the same young brahmacari to

understand that we should move in front of the sound system as I was too

exhausted to do anything. He ran ahead and stopped the sound system and

motioned for everyone to go ahead. I finally caught up and stood there so that

no one would object to what was going on. Once we had hundreds of devotees in

front of the sound system and could hear, the kirtan really took off. And now

we could control the pace and let the cart and gondola wait for us once they

got to far ahead. We were able to stop and dance in circles as we passed

beneath the cliffs of Tirumala Hill.

 

When we finally arrived back at the pandal, I saw all along the road, about a

dozen billboards with beautiful pictures of Srila Prabhupada. The theme was The

Gifts of Srila Prabhupada, each proclaiming the wonderful gifts that Srila

Prabhupada has given to the world.

 

There were dramas and other programs in the pandal, but I was exhausted and

went to bed. It was a wonderful start for the Grand Opening Festival and I

dreamt all night about this wonderful temple.

 

In service of Srimati Vrinda Devi,

Deena Bandhu dasa