Impending ASI take over of Tirumala & other temples under TTD?

Read in news paper that ASI has been directed by the govt to examine all temples under TTD and submit report on the state of monuments in Tirumala & other temples in Tirupathi. acting upon a petition ∓; RTI enquiry filed by a person objecting to a 100 year old mantap  demolished for widening &; security purposes by the TTd several years back .Further that ASI may in all probability take over Tirumala temple and trim down the decision making powers of TTD.

I have been visiting Tirumala temple since my childhood viz 1960's .nearly every year.My family had no difficulty in getting a quick darshan as a single call or a letter from my grand father would ensure it . . When we used to visit the smaller sannidhis  like that of SriVarahar near the Srinivasar temple i remember having to close my nose at the stench arising from filth and human excreta strewn on the sides of Srinivasar temple .Simply put it was incredibily dirty all along the compound wall of this sacred & hoary temple.
Villagers from hamlets beyond Tirupathi would come in large groups ,carrying rations and climb up the hill on the steps as they could not afford the bus fare  They would camp  on the open grounds near the temple bathe in the Pushkarni -the temple pond  in which we all avoided taking a bath as its waters were so dirty& contaminated  that dip would cause cholera .The villagers bathed in this pushkarni .They also cooked food nearby &; also defecated near the temple.Not only villagers who defecated but also  urban pilgrims did  as there was no free toilet facility .Many pilgrims would wait for days together in sarava darshan queue when darshan was blocked for the sake of some VIP or the other attending the pujas or for other reasons  .When rations and time run out these pilgrims would leave after paying thier obseince at the gate itself and go down .

Lord Venkateswara /Srinivasar was always respeledent within ,but outside the temple it was dirty and cramped .It was during NTR's period that a lot of pilgrim friendly changes were brought about .
First the areas sorrounding the temple were cleaned .It was done constantly.Several free toilets & , bathrooms were built .
Second a queue complex  outside the temple was built ensuring darshan to all .In this complex food was available.It also has toilet facilities.In the waiting period which would be any where between four and 12 hours the pilgrims could eat and use the toilet in those days viz minimum 4 hours for 50 rs ticket &;; minimum 8 hours for free darshan.After the demise of my grand father our VIP entrance wasnot available and we had to wait in the queue complex for five hours along with our children from 1980's onwards  to get a glimpse of Srinivasar.and had to endure the mad rush of frenzied crowds near the sanctum like any other person.

The hills were shorn of thier green cover in 60's and the rocky hills would radiate heat all over .It looked dry even in 7o's and would prick the eyes with its brittleness In 80's all the hills became wrapped in green colour owing to afforestation undertaken by TTD .Now the multitude of flower bearing trees and plants are a pleasing treat to the eyes .It reminds me of the time when early aazhwars  in 5 th cent AD would climb the hills marveling at its thick cover of forest , the tribes and the tribes action with wild animals and  wild animals devotion to venkateswara.They have expressed  all this  in poetic devotional hymns.

TTD improves and increase  its facilities.I see this in  each year i visit .First and foremost the entire Tirumala which has nearly 50,000 pilgrims passing it each day is  spick and span.The pushkarni was dredged , cleaned and rebuilt in 90's.,Its waters are now crystal clear and  transparent blue inviting me to o take a dip in it.  Third the frequency of buses to &; fro to Tirumala from Tirupathi increased in 90 '.thus stopping the mad rush for buses by anxious  pilgrims and is increasing each year ever since.This increase in transport was in tune with increasing affordability of all sections of society from 90's onwards.and thier eagerness to worship Srinivasar in his sacred premises amidst seven hills  .  The tickets are nominal.
Free lunch &;; dinner, free medical services , free chilled drinking water , free transport within Tirumala & host of other pilgrim friendly measures like separate queue for senior citizens, handicapped, and parents with infants is also provided .
In 2000 all the stalls , dilapidated houses &;; mutts which were all encroaching upon the circumbulatory passage restricting free movement of processional deity, in vahanas and chariot were removed and the passage was widened and  steps were built all along the side of the  circumbulatory passage so as to provide seats for  thousands of pilgrims who throng the hills  during the annual Bramho utsavam in September.. The belief is that if one witnesses the Garuda vahana seva of processional deity of Lord Srinivasa during Bramho utsavam then one is one step nearer to Moksham .The clearing of  encroachments has also given the much needed space for pilgrims visiting the temple every day in 1000's to sit and relax after the darshan in front of the temple or in its sides..

I remember climbing these hills 25years back .My head was spinning at the steep steps of 1500-2000 or more that had no railing not even a rope for support.It was litrelly like rock climbing .Unnerved by this dizzy climbing I remember dropping a card on my return to TTd asking them to erect railings at least near those steep steps.Few years  later i observed that railings were erected all along the route as well as shade  over the steps to protect pilgrims from heat and rain .Maybe TTd did act on my heart felt suggestion .
Now Tirumala is a scenic cum religious spot.It is so clean and full of shady trees and flowers  and the air pure and crisp and cool that it transports one to Indra loka.
Of late i am seeing  nearly all the utsavams [temple festivals] broad cast in TTD 's tv channel.The processional deities in all the temples are dressed in gorgeous silk and zari and tastefully adorned with gold , diamond and precious gems.Ofcourse Malayappa swami --processional deity of Lord Srinivasa tops the chart.His jewels are numerous and splendid.His weapons--Shanku chakram are either cased in gold or in diamonds .He himself has gold cover for his entire panchaloka moorthy.so do his two consorts.Gold vessels &; laddles & pots ,huge and small are used for his abhishekam His aarti is taken on a gold plate.He  thus shimmers in a golden haze dazzling one with his ethreal beauty.

The flower and fruit arrangments in all these utsavams be it the garland adorning the deities or the pandal is simply breath taking .I am sure designer florists are employed to bring out such aesthetic effect .
All this shows that TTD is not tight fisted in either providing amenities to pilgrims or in decorating the moorthy's-- idols.They are spending handsomely from the earnings which is from --Hundi collection which are the offerings in cash & kind from  devotees.
TTD may not be quick in executing schemes such as these .But they do seem to be sensitive to the needs of pilgrims and are  constantly improving and are doing a fine job.

I donot hold a brief for TTD .Nor do i have any connections with it.so why am i singing its peans?Simple. I donot want the ASI to take over the administration of Tirumala temple.

I have visited temples taken over by ASI .Neat and green lawns will be laid at front of the temple with a blue board stuck in the middle saying that the temple is under ASI and therefore no one should touch any part of it without its permission .if any one does he will be punished .A warning which litrelly  says -Keep off this temple.So i  would enter such temples with trepidition  There would hardly be any worship of the deity in those temples which are declared to be under ASI .It would be like tomb .A forgotten and forlorn place visited  by more of bats than humans.For example Vaikunthanathar temple at Kanchipuram,rock temples of,Mahabalipuram and, Thirumaiyum temple .But these temples have beautiful and unique sculptures which may required to be preserved for posterity.All sculptures in such temples glow with some special chemical treatment.There wont be even a small dot of haldi or kumkum on these figures .This glazed look makes them fit to be viewed as artefacts in a  museum and not as part and parcel of a vibrant temple .Such temples are very camera friendly .

The  Tirumala temple is a small temple and hardly has any sculptures that are unique or noteworthy.They are just like those found in any other Vishnu temple.There is nothing extraordinary about them .The only noteworthy feature of Tirumala temple is Srinivasar himself .He is  seven to eight feet tall ,standing straight and brightly black, decked in innumerable ornaments and flower garlands and  radiating his spiritual powers all around with the palm of his hands and with his  majestic presence.He seems to be well taken care of.

Pilgrims and devotees donot visit Tirumala to view old monuments and sculptures.They are all drawn to Tirumala by their immense belief in the power of Lord Venkateswara/Srinivasar to grant them boons or  to  remove their misery or to  solve their problems or to make them wealthy.He is the only ancient monument in those hills .He is the monumental attraction.

ASI usually spruces  up the place sorrounding the temple and lays down lush lawns.This is already done efficiently by TTD .So what role can ASI play here except that of a spoil sport,I hope that this department of the govt keeps its hands off Tirumala temple as well as all those temples managed by TTD expertly.

According to Sri vaishnavaites one of the most important quality of Sriman narayana is his easy accessibility.It is for this reason that he takes avatars and allows himself to be enshrined or he himself rises  in archa--moorthy form so that his devotees can be near him and enjoy his beautiful form and benifit from his various auspicious qualities.Hence all devotees should feel that they have a free access to their beloved deity at Tirumala without any fetters in form of governmental warnings.

Srinivasar of Tirumala is inclusive by all means .This example for this  inclusivity was set  by SRI Ramanujar in 12 th cent AD owing to his magnamity.At that time he was weilding tremendous influence over all and his word was law even to rulers yet he was generous enough to allow those who had persecuted him [saivaites] in previous years to have a say in the rituals of this sacred temple. All the other inclusivity viz giving a say to all sub sects &  and castes in the temple rituals evolved over the centuries after the warring parties resolved it on their own with rulers who have made tremendous contributions to the upkeep of this temple playing only a mediatory role.The harmony was not forced from top .Had it been so this understanding and the , give and take policy  would have fizzled out once that force was removed .Hence it does not warrant his temple being declared as' National importance'.It would be artificial imposition of state's will for speedy results which may not stand the test of time.

I donot doubt the intention behind the move to declare the temple as of National importance .It could be well meaning but if it is executed there will be some amount of fear in devotees that any involuntary act of theirs in the temple premises owing to thier exuberant bhakthi would invite punishment from the ASI and government.This will dampen their spirit and the vibrancy of this temple could be lost.
                                                                                            Srinivasar needs no recognition from state nor the  conferment of  the tittle on him that he is "Nationally important".    He needs no such suffix ,His extraordinary power is  already stamped in the mind and hearts of millions who visit him and have visited him since ages .He is not a bank to be nationalised . His coffers are filled to brim because devotees who are offering cash and so on are doing so as  a token of thier gratitude as well as keeping up the promises  made to him  for wishes that were  fullfilled by him .The relationship  between devotee and lord Srinivasar is direct.Won't this wonderful realtionship  be tampered with if one has to seek permission from goverment to enter his temple and come near his form and enter the sacred percinicts with fear of offending the government thus dampening and inhibiting the devotees uninhibited faith and religious fervour?

The move to declare this temple as of" National importance" would be followed sooner or later by another move to declare this temple as" World heritage site" owing to' univeraslity 'of Srinivasar.Then should we devotees seek permission from UN to visit our dear Bhagwan?

There are objections from some politicians regarding plating the entire temple [it is a small temple] in gold on the ground that the sculptures would lose their originality.These dampners and serial PIL advocates cum politicians may have even filed a case and obtained a stay. I hope that TTD's spirit is not crippled by this and that they try their best to vacate these stays .The objections raised by such politicians  is not worth being heeded  to . There are no sculptures in the temple that are unique or extraordinary that they should preserved in stone.I hope and wish  that the TTD goes ahead with its plan of plating the temple with gold as soon as possible.

The temple will dazzle brilliantly if plated in gold and would add  more lustre and richness to this temple that is famed for its wealth..It will add to the aura of this temple and exhilirate devotees who will be contented with the feeling that they have had a glimpse of Vaikuntum in here in this world itself whether they  actually make it to that beautiful abode of  Sriman Narayana.or not.


 





  
 

Photos of Lord Vekateswara in vasanta utsavam[abhishekam] at Tirumala temple

Smartha's and Sri Vaishnavaites

Malayappa swamy's[processional deity of Srinivasar at Tirumala]Vasantho utsavam photo

In any temple of any sect in Tamilnadu one can see Iyers viz Saivaite Brahmin priests performing archana,abhishekam aarti of the deity as well as preisde over homams in  temple festivals. They are also in great demand for performing marriages , homams at home and at shradha ceremonies.Whilst  Srivaishnavaite [ayengars ]brahmin priests presence is negligible  iyer priests presence is simply all prevasive.One can find them presiding over nearly all deities be it Siva, murughan shakthi , vinayagar and even ayyanar--village deity except in Vishnu temples , in Sri vaishnavaite households,ceremonies  and marriages.One can never find aSriVaishnavaite priest performing pujas or officiating in temples dedicated solely to Siva or Murughan or Vinayakar or Shakthi .
Being a Sri vaishnavaite i was puzzled by iyers flexibility. Siva, parvathi[shakthi,] Murugha and Vinayakar belong to one family so nothing out of the ordinary in officiating over these deities but to officiate over Vishnu and his avatars is altogether a different matter.It is another sect !  Don't they adhere to only one deity and one sect like us or are they being purely professional and are making a livelihood?.

An elderly man  whose forehead is always  smeared completely with vibhuthi  -sacred ash with a spot of kumkum  and who lives in  my neighbourhood and spends his days attending classes on Hindu philosophy , Bramha sutras ,gita and so on invited me to attend the classes and also to his house  to see the images of various gods like siva,vishnu , shakthi and so on, when i met him on the road .I asked him having noted the prominent vibhuthi on his forehead smeared with all three fingers .Aern't you a saivaite ? So you must be worshipping only Siva .

He replied " I am a Smartha brahmin and we worship all deities."Then he left for his class

Curious to know more about Smarthas i looked up Wikki in the net.It was just like as he said.
Smartha brahmins worship all six deities whom  Adi Shankara had divided as the prominent sects of hindusThese deities are Vishnu, Siva, Shakthi, Surya, Vinayakar and Murugha.They perform pujas of all deities every day  but have one favorite deity.
On reading this i was quite taken aback As Sri vaishnavas have no such flexibility.They strictly worship only Vishnu and his avatars and none other.Being a Srivaishnavaite i did find the flexibility of Smarthas unique.We too have images of gods of other sects in our house and in puja room We also chant the names of Siva, shakthi or Murugha or Vinayakar   when they occur in the slokas dedicated to Vishnu and Lakshmi.But a Sri Vaishnavite [specially after performing pancha samaskara ] should not recite slokas wholly dedicated to any other deity  or perform pujas , archanas .abhishekams of other deities regularily.

However on reading aazhwars pasurams i came across Tirumangai aazhwars description of sri Varadharaja perumal at Kanchipuram where he says Sri Varadhar[vishnu] is bearing Siva on his left side along with parvathi in siva's left side .In Raghuvira gadyam Desikan  the Srivaishnavaite acharya concludes his slokas on Rama by saying that Rama and Sita are Mahavishnu and Lakshmi and thier son is Bramha whose son is Siva whose son is Murugha and says therefore Srimannaryana 's family is big and all of us  are one big family.Both aazhwar and acharaya were strict Sri  Vaishnavaites so i can only interpret it to mean that if one worships Vishnu/Srimannaryana  one is also offering salutations to his son. grandson and great grand son and therefore it is suffice to worship Vishnu alone.

So iyers or smartha brahmin priests are not officiating over all deities for sake of making extra money .My conclusion was erroneous.They have no bar or curbs or restraints to worship gods of any sect hence they are officiating over all deities.But their Moola viz main mantra used in japa would be only on Siva or Shakthi and not on Vishnu/Narayana.
One can find a Smartha priest in a Vishnu temple like at Srinivasar temple at Tirumala where they recite vedas regularily.They may even perform archanas abishekam and so on in Vishnu temples if allowed by Sri vaishnavaites.Sri vaishnavaites will never allow them .The onlyexception being   Badrinath  temple.
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 Whist one can find a smartha priest/veda pandits  in a Vishnu temple one   can normally  never   find a Srivaishnavaite priest  in a Siva temple or in  temples of  the other sects.

Fruitless bans

In this New India i can't wear a wrist watch to see time.
I can't take mobile phone along with me or even keep near me  .
I can't wear specs , so cannot read without fatigue.
But i have money to buy watches , mobiles and specs .I am not a illiterate that some one else should read for me.
I can't hear music specially religious songs and slokas in my CD , transcend or from you tube ,though i can afford all the above and have the interest to hear , lest my brain gets fried

I darenot keep a mobile a must these days  , near me lest i am bombarded with suggestions, or enhancement of sounds and voices and put me under undue influences and commands
Have to be careful whilst using the remote of the TV lest it cause me pain and scratches in my abdomen , heart and limbs .
What is this world around me? The progressive state?New India?Laughable.
With my affordability, interests and flexibility i am forced to live like a woman in a primitive village though i am living in  the heart of a huge metropolitan city .

These are the  bans on me --
1.No TV.
2.No specs.
3.No mobile.
4.No religious trips to temple.
5.There should be no gold on me.nor any diamonds .
6.No wrist watch
7.No zari edged sarees.
8.No internet.Browsing strictly discouraged.
9.No emotional contacts with my family.
10 No meditation .Sricktly prohibited
11No walks.
12.No entertainment like going to film theatre or kutcheris or dance concerts
13.No hand bags with steel zips or clasps
14 Standing near
 windows and balcony discouraged,
15.Walking  on terrace or on ground in the compound discouraged
16.Ban on exposing  my body even in the privacy of my own house  Exposures of parts  body  like waist etc which are very normal ones for any hindu woman wearing a saree
17 Ban on using mirror
                                                                                                                                I can do all the above but it will be followed by unpleasant pains, scratches , aches , frying of my brain, uncomfortable swelling of my torso so i will be and am forced to stick to the bans .

From 2012 to 2014 all the above barring the ban on wearing of specs and ban on metal on me ,was hinted at and was duly informed through a steady stream of messages  right into my ears in 2014 September .

To the above bans few more were added  viz--
1.Donot purchase from shops owned by minorities.
2.Keep away from ragpickers, scavengers and dark people.
3. No venturing out at night.Change of dress should be done by dusk
4.Ban on exposing my body became even more stricter.
5. The ban on claiming the company of my husband  and son  was strictly enforced
 after 2014.with orders that others would be substituting thier place This is the most repugnant ban of all the bans listed above which came with a with a revolting  excuse that my husband was too weak to control me and several of my flat neighbors have substituted his place in my life.Are these fellows Indians or foreigners that they are not aware or bothered about Hindu culture and social norms?.

Reason behind these bans on me must be due to politics. 

All the gadgets that were  once a source  of comfort , rather necessity of daily life became a source of discomfort and even life threatening .

All the bans barring the ban on claiming rights over husband and son are exeprienced naturally and as a every day affair of a woman living in remote villages 

Their mind is free without any unnecessary  information and fruitless thoughts .Their main thoughts would be as to what is to be done next Sweep, cook, wash , work in the fields or collect twigs etc .No agitations from civilisation like news paper, TV .books debates , discourses etc.
Ban on me is fine provided i actually live like them after being habituated to living  thus down the ages.

To feel mother earth on my entire body when i sleep or sit on the mud floor and feel one with this earths solidity and permeance.
I have never done this in my entire life .It is either a cot or a chair that i rest .

To see the sun the eternal  luminary rise early in the morning and see the sun set in the evening without any concrete jungle blocking of this  heavenly treat and get aa feel of the natural indicators of time .I have always relied upon clocks for noting down the time and this reliance has taken away the naturalness in passage of time and has infact even created panic at times .at the paucity of time .

To breathe in pure air at all times is  great! I have breathed only polluted air of cities all my life

Though living in small huts the space these women get to view and enjoy is vast.Acres of flat  fields till the horizon!The only feeling of vastness of   space in  my life is a patch of sky denying me my sense of feeling of my insignificance in the grandeur of creation .

In my days of routine reading till 2014  i wanted to cull as much wisdom as possible from  the thoughts and experiences expressed in writings by philosophers , thinkers , classic story writers and essayists of  not only from my country but also of this world down the ages .I used to pity illiterate villagers wondering how they can live and die without expanding and strenghening  thier minds from wisdom found in such books.

Now i am more or les like them .All the wisdom i gleaned from various noble  authors have been  shrunk into nothingness and lost in constant activity with sole aim of filling my stomach .My identification with those principles , feelings and experiences of people of world which were same as mine or educative   has gone but the village woman 's contact with the basic elements of that makes this world is still intact.

In this reversal  of fortunes a illiterate village woman is scoring more than me.It is she who should be pitying me for neither being earthy[ like her] or  other wordly. .

Inclusivity of Sri Venkateswara temple at Tirumala

Of late i am seeing Madri or replica of Srinivasar's sevas at Tirumala on TV It is broadcasted by TTd in its svbc channel every day

This telecast watched in leisure of the actual rituals carried  on in the temple has given me deep insight into the underlying principle guiding  it.

This ancient sacred temple is very inclusive .It is a temple whose presiding deity is Vishnu yet Saivaites  viz Smarthas have been given a important role in the course of  several rituals conducted every day in this temple.
Smartha vedic pandits smearing their forehead with Vibhuthi or sacred ash are present in the very first seva of the day --the Suprabhatah sevas the early morning ritual of awakening Sri Venkateshwara after opening the doors of the inner sanctum sanctorium.They are standing on two lines facing each other and recite the sanskrit slokas with great devotion eqalling that of Sri vaishnavaite vedic pandits who also recite along with them in unison!
I also see the Smartha vedic pandits in other sevas like Dolo utsvam at noon where procesional deities of Srinivasar and his two consorts are rocked gently on a swing in a mirrored hall.They are also present in the evening seva of Sahasara deepa alankara reciting vedas for 10-15 minutes when Srinivasar and his consort[processional deities]are rocked gently in hall lit with 1000 oil lamps.The latter two sevas are not replicas but actual live telecast..They were also present in recent Teppostuvam where processional deities of Srinivasar and his consorts where towed around in a richly decorated raft in the pushkarni .They were seated inside the raft and were chanting vedas .
I have visited Tirumala scores of times even attended ,Suprabhatahseva Dolotutsvam  and shasardeepaalnakara seva several times but never observed thier presence or its significance. as there is too much hustle and bustle with crowds and crowds  of devotees that all this slipped my notice It was on TV without that i took notice of this.unique participation and it being allowed .Maybe when a dispute rose in Ramanujar's times when this temple was overrun by Saivites Ramanujar who settled the issue between two sects by citing a lot of shastric evidences that the presiding deity wasnot Siva or Muruga   but Vishnu , he gave Saivites a  important role in this temple rituals as means to secure harmony between the two warring sects of his times.
Tirumala is a shining example for  harmonising sectarianism .In no other Vishnu temple , be it Srirangam of Sri Vardharajar or Ahobilam  where the crowds are no where near at what it is in Tiruamala  or even smaller and lesser known Vishnu temples in Tamilnadu or karnataka, Saivites have this honour .

In  Vishnu temples in tamilnadu  it is  either under one subsect of Srivaishnavaites or under the other.In temples under a subsect it is purely under thier control They normally will not allow the other subsect priest s to perform pujas in the sanctum .It is Thengalai sub sect that has maximum number of Vishnu temples under thier control at Tamil nadu .
As far as Srinvasar temple at Tirumala is concerned pujas , archana and abhisekhams are performed by archakas of Vadagalai sect of Sri vaishnavaites Long ago  a dispute rose between the two subsects over drawing of thiruman over Lords forhead .It was then settled that it would neither be of both subsects but a different one as is present now which is acceptable to both .
I was under the impression that this temple was solely a vadagalai temple and other sub sect was kept away.But the abhishekam of Srinivasar in sanctum done on Fridays showed the seer of Thenagalai sect inside the sanctum handing water, milk sandal paste , turmeric and so on to the Vadagalai archaka who then performs the abhishekam Astonishing how differences have been settled and  the amicability and respect that prevails between sects of Hinduism and sub sects of Sri Vaishnavism  in Tirumala .Madhavas another sect of Vaishnavism also have a role  in the rituals .
It is not only  a temple that harmonises various sects of Brahmins but also gives important roles to non brahmins
Early in the morning it a non brahmin  who opens a box and hands over the keys to the doors of the sanctum to the  priest to the accompaniment of Nadaswaram . thavil which is played by non brahmins near the sanctum A person who is not the priest enters the sanctum first According to Sapthagiri magazine of TTD it is  a person of yadava caste who has  the right to enter the sanctum first in the morning..It is non brahmins and Schedules caste persons  who carry the palanquin of the processional deity every day
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The abhishekam of Srinivasar on Fridays is a wonderful  and a very touching ritual to watch .Srinivasar bereft of his silk clothes and innumerable gold and diamond ornaments  barring his sanku and chakram is not only awe inspiring with his towering height but also at the same time looks vulnerable. The tall form is neat and trim A smiling face with a distinctively long and shapely sharp nose ,with eyes gazing straight into eternity and a magnetic smile hovering around his lips .Broad shoulders, narrow waist, belly sunk in , long limbs, slender   hands  with long  artistic fingers capped with  big nails with lines on the right hand palm  and long feet are all clearly visible . In this perfect  form  of manhood there is a tiny carving of Mahalakhmi   which adorns Srinivasars/Purushothaman's broad chest like a permanent tatoo.

          The archaka has to climb on a stool  to perform abhishekam The manner in which the archakar smears the face body and limbs and feet of Srinivasar with  turmeric and  sandal paste  gently with tenderness and affection is truly touching.  This moorthy is made of hard granite stone yet the priest  oiniting the deity with turmeric and sandal wood paste does it with a lot of  gentleness like as if  the deity had a delicate baby skin ! And the water and milk  from huge silver vessels that he pours  with help of a gold shanku to wash of the these bathing condiments  is also done very gently with utmost patience

                       An upanyasakars words come to my mind Sriman Narayana is all power full but when he takes  a archa form it for us his devotees who has to take care of him !

Vedic pandits chant Purush suktum , Narayana suktum and Sri suktum .Sri suktum is also recited because abhishekam of Mahalakshmi is also performed as she  is embossed on right side of his sacred chest and is inseparable from her consort .
The water poured over Srinivasar is collected by the priest from Srinivasars navel ,He sprinkles them on himself first and then on the seers inside the sanctum and  then on the vedic pandits and officials, An official could be from  scheduled caste which means that persons from that caste  receives the sacred water along with vedic pandits.

During the annual Chakra snanam performed in the Pushkarni of the temple people[men and women] from all castes from Brahmin to SC's, from the highest official or leader to the lowest peon , take a dip in the water simultaneously .This is  dip in water  by all, simultaneously is however not unique only to Srinivasar temple but takes place in all temples and at all sacred rivers or lakes and tanks . 

Some Dravidian thinkers & politicians who hog the media  have squashed the history of  hoary hindu culture and traditions of Tamilians.This comes to my mind when i see a weekly seva where a small silver idol who represents the presiding deity is bathed with water collected in 10008 silver pots after it is sanctified by a homam conducted  in front of main deity 's sanctum.He is also put off to sleep every night  by rocking him gently in a silver cradle to the accompaniment of singing of lullabyes by descendants of a bhakthi poet of earlier times.
This silver idol was a gift made by a Pallava queen in 600 AD .Pallavas are Tamil /Dravidian kings of yore who have built exquisite temples in rock and have sculpted wonderful idols of  various gods from Hindu pantheon which are to be found till today at Mahabalipuran and at Kanchipuram .The temple at Tirumala for Srinivasar was built by a Chozha emperor  who was a Tamil ,more than 2000-3000years back.
In recent times i was amazed to watch 100o' s of men and women all over Tamil nadu taking part very enthusiastically  with a lot of devotion  in temple festivals that includes chanting of Vedas and homams in daily telecast by svbc channel.



In another seva introduced three decades earlier , the gift of 108 small gold lotuses  by a Muslim business man from Hyderabad was accepted and his devotion honoured by performing archana  of the main deity's sacred feet  by chanting sanskrit slokas with these lotuses .This a regular weekly seva!

When i saw this i didnt like TTD becoming secular in the political sense That person belongs to a community that frowns upon idol worship and are known for breaking idols .That donor cannot even enter the temple to see how is contribution is put to use whether he wants to enter or not .So why this special honour?
The anchors explanation was this--A sincere gift made to Srinivasar with faith and devotion even by those who belong to faiths antagnostic to ours  like Islam ,will be accepted and duly honoured.It his bhakthi and belief  in Srinivasar that matters .

Britishers have also gifted several ornaments which are used on and off to decorate Srinivasar .for the past 200 years according to Sapthagiri magazine.When i read this i thought why honour these persons who belong to a community that is adept in conversion That anchors explanation came to my mind These gifts made by Christians have been accepted and duly honoured keeping in mind their devotion and belief in Srinivasar which has prompted them to make this gesture..But if they want to enter the temple they must give it in writing to ttd that they believe in Srinivasar.

I have come across many who are staunch believers in Murugan,or Ayyanar  or Amman but will visit Tirumala temple at least once a year  either seeking favours or thanking for  fulfullment of requests sought or  to  pay obseince to Venkateswara's sacred feet !

Srinivasar is a powerful deity. I had thought that he belonged only to  my subsect . My own my very own .But it is not so .Lord Venkateswara doenot belong only to me but also  to many others of various sects , castes of  hindus  and even to other communities.A universal god !