“Adi vo alladi vo Sri Hari vasamu" .. ... some politics surrounding holy Thirumala !

The sacred and most reverred temple of Sri Venkateswara is located on the seventh peak – Venkatachala hill of Tirumala.  The Lord stands tall as bestower of all boons and lakhs of people reach here to have a glimpse – a few seconds darshan of the Lord.  This beautiful temple in its present form owes a lot to the works of the greatest Vaishnava Acharya – Sri Ramanujar. 

“Adi vo alladi vo Sri Hari vasamu…. padi velu Seshula padagala mayamu” …  

              Look and behold, this is abode of Hari- the place where He resides, formed by the hood of Adisesha; place where sages dwell uttering His name all the time; the place replete with riches and prosperity, the Holiest of all places …. Sang   Tallapaka Annamacharya [popularly Annamayya], the 15^th century musician who composed keerthanas on Lord Venkateswara.  

திருமால் தன் அடியார்களை காப்பதற்கு எழுந்து அருளி இருக்கும் திவ்யதேசங்களில் தலையானது "திருமலை" என போற்றப்படும் "திருவேங்கடம் - திருப்பதி"- குளிரருவி வேங்கடம்; விரிதிரை வேங்கடம் என மிகுந்த அருவிகளை உடையதாக புகழப்படுகிறது.

Thirumala has existed for Centuries and Lord Venkateshwara will provide all riches, all wealth and all goodness to all His believers. Thiruvengadam, the abode of Lord Balaji is the  ‘Thilakam’ the shining glory of the whole Earth.  All that we need to do is to pray towards the Greatest Lord of Universe from wherever we are, think of HIM always and do good to humanity in Thy Name. Lakhs of devotees of all ages, from all over the Country and from other parts of the World throng to the hills, by walk, by vehicles of various hues and wait in the queue for hours to have a glimpse of the Lord.  Here is some news about the holy Thirumala .. ..  

Amid allegations that the ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) in Andhra Pradesh is misusing government machinery, the opposition parties have now accused it of using the sacred "laddu prasaadam" of Lord Venkateswara to woo voters.  With panchayat polls around the corner, the distribution of Tirumala-Tirupati laddus has triggered a controversy.

Based on viral videos, it has been alleged that the YSRCP is using the newly-launched PDS door-delivery vehicles in Chandragiri zone's Thondawada panchayat to distribute "Prasadam" among voters. The laddus were allegedly handed over to voters along with voter slips insisting them to vote for the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's party. The alleged use of "Prasadam" for political gains has attracted criticism from the Opposition. TDP general-secretary Nara Lokesh demanded disqualification of the YSRCP candidate who distributed the laddu prasaadam. Lokesh also demanded the registration of a case against the ruling party leader for hurting religious sentiment. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also demanded action.

Sharing a video, BJP leader Vishnuvardhan Reddy said in a tweet, "Is there anything more shameful than this? The TTD should immediately register a case on the matter and we demand the State Election Commission to take immediate action." The laddus were allegedly handed over to voters along with voter slips insisting them to vote for the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's party. The alleged use of "Prasadam" for political gains has attracted criticism from the Opposition. TDP general-secretary Nara Lokesh demanded disqualification of the YSRCP candidate who distributed the laddu prasaadam. Lokesh also demanded the registration of a case against the ruling party leader for hurting religious sentiment. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also demanded action.

 

BJP Member of Parliament Subramanian Swamy filed a defamation case against a prominent Telugu daily in the Tirupati City Civil Court  for publishing ‘slanderous’ material against the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the custodian of the famed Sri Venkateswara shrine at Tirumala.

Known as a champion of safeguarding Hindu shrines and waging legal battles to restore the rights of temples, Dr. Swamy came forward to take up this issue specifically at the behest of the TTD. The issue pertains to the article reportedly carried by Andhra Jyoti in 2019 over the alleged presence of ‘Christian related content’ in the TTD’s official website, which later turned out to be fake. The TTD had filed a defamation case for Rs.100 crore against the daily for hurting the religious sentiments of millions of Hindu devotees across the globe. Dr. Swami, who claimed to have ‘never lost a defamation case’, has now jumped into the fray over the same issue.

Dr. Swami’s presence at the court was necessitated as his signature was required to proceed with the case. He accused the media house of having resorted to mudslinging, owing to its close links with former Chief Minister and Opposition leader N. Chandrababu Naidu. “Venkateswara is our family God and my mother used to be a regular visitor to Tirupati. It is hence I thought such slanderous campaign should be stopped”, Dr. Swami told the media outside the court complex here on Wednesday. The legal battle includes a criminal case under sections 153 and 295 of IPC for creating enmity between communities and a civil case pertaining to publishing objectionable content. When quizzed about singling out a media house when several dailies and social media carried news of ‘Christianising’ the TTD, he said the article in question was a direct assault on the institution, adding that he would not go by the content aired by social media.

Widely quoting the media and the public, he called himself a ‘Hindutva spokesperson’, owing to his support extended to the cause of freeing temples from the clutches of government. He wondered why should state governments hold the reins of temples, when they actually had no control over churches and mosques. Though representing the BJP in the Rajya Sabha, he also referred to his recent legal battle against the party-led Uttarakhand government for taking over 53 temples including the famed Badrinath and Kedarnath shrines.

Interesting !

 
Adiyen Srinivasa dhasan
Mamandur Veeravalli Srinivasan Sampathkumar