Fw: [t'venkatam] (unknown)

[Guest guest]

SrI:

 

Dear Members :

 

You will be most interested in this informative input from

the Chief priest at Thirumala serving the Lord with intense

devotion .

 

This interview fills in the blanks about VaikAnasa Aagama

in contrast to PaancharAthra Aagama , where we have a lot of

Information .

 

Our Thanks are to Sri Ramakrishnan of the Thiruvekatam Sister Group .

V.Sadagopan

 

-

G K Ramakrishnan

tiruvenkatam

Monday, December 04, 2006 11:36 AM

[t'venkatam] (unknown)

 

 

 

 

Dear Friends,

 

I wish to break my long silence to shaare the below interview of

Sri.Dr.A.V.Ramana Dikshitulu,Head Priest of Sri.Balaji Temple,Tirupathi.

 

Best Regards-G.K.Ramakrishnan/Kuwait/4.12.06

 

=========================

 

Om Sri Venkatesaya Namah !

 

Dr. A.V. Ramana Dikshitulu is the head Priest at the Balaji temple in Tirupati

.. He is deeply respected by his peers for honoring his family Vedic tradition .

Sri Ramana holds a doctorate in molecular biology and is an inimitable authority

on the " Agamas " , the crucially important Vedic scriptures. Hinduism Today's

Rajiv Malik had the rare opportunity to interview this distinguished Vedic

Priest . Sri Ramana talks about the " Agamas " , the heritage of his forefathers

and why he and his sons chose to honor their family tradition .

 

Can you please describe the " Vaikhanasa Agama " and explain why it is important ?

 

The Agamas in general are revered along with the Vedas as primary Hindu

scripture . All of the Agamas elucidate the science of ritual, but the

" Vaikhanasa Agama " is unique in that it gives more detail concerning the

performance of ritual, both in the temple and in the home . The " Vaikhanasa

Agama " , written by Sage Vikhanasa, is one of four main " Vaishnava Agamas " . It

was spread around the world by his four famous disciples : Marichi, Bhrigu,

Kashyapa and Atri . It includes procedures for the consecration of a temple and

its Deity of worship, as well as explanations for how this consecration absorbs

the primal power from the universe to bring it into the main sanctum of the

temple . The message of the Agamas is that the essence of ritual is

power--spiritual power. Through ritual, the great, universal essence of life

itself is brought into a temple Deity, where it then must be maintained without

dilution or pollution.

 

Can you give us more detail on the contents of the Vaikhanasa Agama ?

 

The " Vaikhasana Agama " exists in two parts . The first part deals with rituals

that are done in the temple and to the Deity . The second part deals with

purification ceremonies that a priest must undergo in order to qualify to serve

in the temple .

 

The temple rituals are designed to keep the laymen's physical senses satisfied .

This is done by making the process personal . All of this is laid out in the

" Vaikhasana Agama " . It describes how the Deity is treated as we would like to

be treated ourselves . He is put to sleep at night and awakened in the morning .

He is given a bath and dressed in fine silks, jewelled ornaments and fragrant

flowers . He is fed a variety of fine foods . Finally, he is carried in grand

procession around the temple . As we all know, the dearest thing to man is man .

We know God will be happy if we do for Him what we would do for ourselves .

 

Can anyone study the " Vaikhanasa Agama " ?

 

Although the " Vaikhanasa Agama " is available to be read by anyone who knows

Sanskrit, it is not easily understood, even by Sanskrit scholars, because of its

coded language . The verses have double meanings . The valuable inner meanings

can only be perceived by those who meditate deeply upon the verses . Even then,

only those at a certain level of spiritual evolution can grasp the deepest

meaning . We conduct workshops to stimulate this understanding in our Priests .

 

Does the Vaikhanasa Agama delineate the training of Priests ?

 

Yes, it does . It deals with how a priest should be brought up and how a Priest

should be purified by rituals even while he is in the womb of his mother . For

the unborn Priest , the training and purification process begins from the

mother's eighth month of pregnancy . At this time, a ceremony called the "

shanka chakra ankita " is performed . The purpose of this ceremony is to

sanctify the unborn child to become a Priest after birth . We do this ritual in

the home of the mother . It is not a public event .

 

Are the principles of the " Vaikhanasa Agama " to be implemented only by Priests

?

 

This Agama is for people who have no other purpose on Earth but to worship Lord

Vishnu . Yes, it is for Priests-- Priests who will take up no other vocation .

Take me, for example . I am a doctor in molecular biology . Yet , I am a Priest

.. My elder son is an expert in computers and has a college degree in finance and

marketing . My second son is an electrical engineer, and my third son is a

bio-chemist . Yet they are also Priests . Like me, they serve here in the Balaji

temple in Tirumala . Our education is simply a matter of interest--like a hobby

.. We are Priests by profession, and will be so until we die .

 

Is this Priesthood in Tirumala hereditary only ?

 

Yes, our tradition must be maintained hereditarily . Conversions are not allowed

.. Vaikanasas are from South India, but they can migrate to other places . In

Rishikesh we have our own TTD (Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams) temple . There

are nearly 2,000 temples around the world where our Priests can do work . All of

these temples were set up later than this temple here in Tirumala .

 

Can you please tell us more about the training of your Priests ?

 

In our families, the Priests get training from their parents, who are also

Priests . From their earliest childhood they are going to the temple . According

to the " Vaikhanasa Agama " , all of the rituals conducted in the temples are also

performed in the home . Every Priest's home has a shrine room of its own, with

sacred Murtis (Deities) inherited from ancestors . The father gives both the

theoretical and the practical training to the children .

 

I insist to our younger generation of Priests that they have their full " Agama "

training in addition to whatever other education they choose to receive in

college . With this preparation, they are qualified to become full-fledged

Priests . I also insist that they honor their commitment to their Priesthood so

that they can pass that heritage on to their children . This includes leading a

pure life and following the dress code and food restrictions set down in the

" Agamas " .

 

Is the younger generation willingly following your lead in maintaining this

time-honored tradition ?

 

There are some problems, but not because of a lack of sincerity . If our smart,

young, qualified Priests are not receiving payment and respect matching that

which they might find in other professions for which they could qualify due to

extensive college education, we can expect them to be tempted to forego their

heritage . All of the senior Priests of Tirumala recently sat together to

discuss this very matter, and we came to the conclusion that we must insist to

all of our young people that they work in our temple as Priests, regardless of

what they are paid . Money must be secondary . We have already told them this .

We now have around sixty Priests working in the temple, and every one is happy .

 

From your perspective as a priest, how may devotees receive their greatest

benefit from a pilgrimage to Tirumala ?

 

If we pray to such a powerful Lord as Balaji for minor things like a promotion,

a transfer, a seat in medical college or a marriage proposal, it is possible

that these wishes will be granted . But making such requests is like asking for

a spoonful of water from an ocean . There is something so much greater to be had

here : spiritual evolution . Through the ages, man has evolved both technically

and spiritually . However, further spiritual evolution must now take place, for

man is still spiritually primitive . It is natural during this Kali Yuga (age of

darkness) that we be more attracted to worldly pleasures and ignore spiritual

pursuits . To have even a preliminary understanding of the spiritual path during

these difficult times depends largely upon one's personal " karmas " . These are

" karmas " brought over from previous births .

 

Should everyone hear about the spiritual path, even if some are not yet ready to

follow it ?

 

Yes, and we can do more to spread this message here at Tirupati . We can and we

should do more . Many believe that just coming to the temple, receiving the

Lord's darshan (sight) and getting a few pieces of the prasadam (food

sacraments) is the main target of a pilgrimage . Of course, they take this

approach because they have not been taught anything else . We have to convey the

proper attitudes of worship here at the TTD . First we must teach the spiritual

importance of this sacred place .

 

Can you give an example that illustrates the power of Tirumala ?

 

A woman from Bangalore came to this temple and asked me to bless her sister in

London who was very ill with what had been described by doctors as the final

stages of cancer . She said that the doctors had given her only 90 days to live

.. This woman was crying as she me told me all this . She pleaded with me to do

something . I told her that I couldn't do anything myself, but perhaps Lord

Balaji might be able to . I gave a little " prasadam " from the temple, along

with some " holy water " and a small picture of Balaji . I told her to send that

picture to London immediately . Today that girl in London, who was given only

ninety days to live, has been alive and well for more than two years, and her

condition is steadily improving .

 

Can you tell us a little about your own experience here at the temple ?

 

Every instant is precious to me . For every moment that I have spent here, I

thank the Lord and pray that He keeps me in this place until my dying breath .

To touch the Deity and to worship Him, to give Him His sacred bath, to feed Him,

to dress Him and to decorate Him --for all of this, I am so very grateful . I am

grateful to my ancestors who prayed that their progeny should live in the

service of the Lord , and I am grateful to God .

 

For me, religion is also a science of a higher order . Unfortunately, there are

no scientific instruments yet created that can measure the power of religion .

However, in the " Agamas " --particularly in the " Vaikhanasa Agama " --there are

ways to measure spiritual energy . Everything that happens in the temple can be

explained " Agamically " . The study of the " Agamas " also comprises a great part

of my personal experience in this temple . For the " Agamas " , I am also grateful

..

 

What is your message to the Hindu Community around the world ?

 

The Vedas say, " Let us live together, let us eat together and let us seek the

truth together . " This ancient scripture invites all human beings--regardless of

creed, caste, age or sex--to live harmoniously and seek the truth . It is the

duty of every human being, at least every Hindu, to obey this message, to try

and live in peace with one another .

 

Lord Balaji, with His left hand folded over the left knee and His right hand

pointing down, conveys the unspoken message that if you come and surrender at

His feet and leave everything to Him, He will make the ocean of life only knee

deep for you so that you can easily walk through it to the bank of salvation on

the other side . That is the message of Lord Balaji . Let us surrender at His

holy feet for the sake of salvation .

 

Balaji tells us that there is a power greater than human power . When a devotee

steps into the temple, he can feel this power emanating from Balaji's own

self-manifested image . Through time, so many Sages and Seers have come here to

worship this God . The spiritual vibrations of these great souls remain here .

They are so strong that anyone can feel them . When we personally feel this

permanent spiritual bliss of Balaji, we do not need to be told that the physical

plane is not permanent . We know this truth as a fact that requires no proof .

 

May Lord Balaji bless you all !!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

--

Get free, personalized commercial-free online radio with MSN Radio powered by

Pandora