हरिरेव कर्ता

(story copied from FB.) 

The wooden core of the flagstaff (Dhwajasthambham) at Lord Venkateswara’s temple on the Tirumala hill had completely decayed!

Along with polishing the Ananda Nilayam Vimanam atop the Lord’s temple, we had taken up several repair works.

One day, suddenly, an engineer came running in panic and said: “The flagstaff has decayed.”

When we slowly removed the golden covering, we found that the wooden core inside had rotted all the way through. Then how was it standing? Only because of the support of the golden plates on it.

Service to the Lord with a decayed flagstaff? … It was sacrilege. I was filled with anxiety, restlessness, agitation, fear.

When we checked the records, there was no evidence of when the old wooden core had been installed. In the available records of the past 180–190 years, there was not even a mention of this flagstaff. So how old was it? What should we do now?

We needed to procure and install a teak tree 50–75 feet tall. The tree must:

Have no hollows

Have no branches

Have no cracks

Have no bends — it must be perfectly straight

Hopelessness set in. Was this even possible?

Still, hope did not die. Immediately, I contacted our State Forest Department officials. They said clearly: “It is impossible to find such a teak tree with these characteristics in our state.” They added that it might be found in the Western Ghats forests of Karnataka or Kerala.

Hearing this drained my strength. Meanwhile, media friends began spreading rumors that there was hidden treasure beneath the flagstaff!

A sense of helplessness enveloped me. In that state of utter confusion, I surrendered myself to Lord Srinivasa alone…

That night, around 10:30 PM, just as I was about to leave the temple, a devotee named H. S. R. Iyengar from Bengaluru called me.

Though tired, I answered. He spoke rapidly: “Sir, I heard on the radio that you are planning to replace the flagstaff. For such a flagstaff, you need a teak tree at least 280–300 years old. Such a tree may be found only in the Dandeli forests of Karnataka. The Chief Conservator of Forests there is a close friend of mine. If you permit, I will search the forests with his help and select a suitable tree. Please write a formal letter to him. Leave the rest of the coordination to me.”

Immediately, even while sitting in the temple, I spoke over the phone with the Karnataka Chief Secretary and the Chief Conservator and obtained their assurance. By then, it was past 11 PM.

With Iyengar’s initiative, the Chief Conservator and his staff searched the forests and, after examining nearly 100 trees, identified 16 teak trees in the Dandeli hills as potentially suitable.

Coincidentally, that very week, Karnataka Chief Minister Sri Gundu Rao visited Tirumala with his family. When I explained the issue to him, he immediately declared: “Let Karnataka donate the new flagstaff timber to TTD.”

That weekend, along with our engineers, Iyengar, and the Chief Conservator, we inspected those 16 trees. Only six trees met the required standards. Of those, two were taller than our needs. Keeping TTD’s future requirements in mind, I requested all six trees.

Wonderful! When we met the Chief Minister and Chief Secretary in Bengaluru, they declared that all six trees would be donated.

Tree-felling began — and then another complex problem arose. The forest terrain was so uneven that the main road was several kilometers away. How could such massive logs be transported?

Strangely enough, timber cutters working for Somani Paper Mill in that forest learned about our situation. The mill management and staff came forward and said: “Sir, leave this work to us. Consider this our service to Lord Srinivasa.”

Within a week, the trees were felled and brought to the road using ropes, pulleys, and chains. Iyengar again took initiative and arranged a 16-wheeler long truck.

Within two days, the truck carrying all six logs reached Bengaluru. Near Vidhana Soudha, after a small prayer, the Chief Minister formally handed them over to TTD. As I touched those logs amidst thousands of people, my body thrilled with indescribable joy. (Why was that so?)

The very next day by 4 PM, the truck reached Tirupati. Near the dairy farm outside town, thousands of men and women gathered. They welcomed the logs with lamps, chanting “Govinda, Govinda.”

Within another hour, the truck reached Alipiri, the start of the ghat road.

Until then, it was all joy. The driver got down, looked at the hill road — 18–19 km long, with 7–8 dangerous hairpin bends — and came to me.

“Sir, this is the greatest challenge of my life. I must drive continuously uphill without stopping. Some parapet walls may break. Rocks may fall. It may take any number of hours — but I must do this.”

I assured him: “Even if rocks fall or walls collapse, you are not responsible. We will handle everything.”

Traffic going uphill was diverted to the old ghat road.

As dusk fell, bathed in crimson twilight, the teak logs — destined to become the Lord’s flagstaffs — began their ascent.

Just as feared:

At some bends, the logs hit the mountainside and rocks fell

At others, parapet walls collapsed

At some turns, trailer wheels slipped over the edge

Watching from behind, we trembled with fear. At a couple of bends, half the trailer seemed ready to plunge into the valley.

Minutes felt like hours. “Govinda… Govinda…”

And then — in just 55 minutes, defying all odds, the truck reached Tirumala.

Hundreds of devotees and TTD employees burst into joyous chants of “Govinda–Govinda.” The Tirumala hills echoed.

I could not believe my eyes. Waves of joy surged within me, touching the sky. Tears of devotion flowed from my eyes, and I stood frozen in bliss.

What a wonder! The truck that started from Alipiri at sunset reached the hilltop before the sun fully set behind the Western Ghats.

Even more astonishing — the truck owner, who followed us by car, folded his hands and said: “This is my fortune — to serve the Lord in such a way. I will not take a single paisa as transport charges.”

Iyengar, the truck owner, and the driver were honored with Vedic blessings, special darshan, and the Lord’s sacred garments.

Now came the next question: How do we install the flagstaff?

After endless discussions till midnight, exhausted, we postponed the decision to the next day. Sleep eluded me.

After enduring such hardships to bring the teak logs, why couldn’t we solve this final step?

Then a thought arose: “The same power that accomplished all this — won’t it complete the rest? If it is destined that this flagstaff be installed through me, it will happen. Otherwise, it won’t.”

Peace returned. I slept soundly.

The next morning, someone suggested: “Why not bring the log through the main gateway, lifting the top end high, keeping the base on the ground like a lever, and raise it directly through the pavilion opening? Let us take help from the Papavinasanam Dam engineers and skilled artisans.”

A brilliant idea! Measurements were taken rapidly. Engineers confirmed it was feasible without obstructing pilgrim queues.

Without delay, at an auspicious time, the chosen teak log was brought through the temple streets, the Gollamandapam, and the main gateway. Supports were erected carefully. As artisans slowly pushed the log forward, it rose perfectly and entered the pavilion opening. By evening, without any damage, the Dandeli forest teak tree stood erect as Tirumalesa’s flagstaff.

What a miracle! What compassion of Lord Srinivasa!

One final moment: As per scriptures, nine gems and nine grains were placed beneath the flagstaff. Suddenly, I felt an impulse — I removed the gold chain with Lord Srinivasa’s pendant from my neck and placed it inside. Immediately, priests, donors, VIPs, and devotees followed, filling another box with jewelry.

After sealing them and pouring concrete, the flagstaff was installed exactly at 90 degrees, as prescribed. (The old flagstaff was ceremonially laid to rest at the Papavinasanam Dam.)

Within a month, the platform, gold plating, flag, and sacrificial altar were completed.

On June 10, 1982, amid Vedic chants and blessings, the flagstaff and altar were consecrated. Six days later, on June 16, I handed over charge and was transferred.

As I left that morning, I looked at the teak tree that came from Dandakaranya and became the flagstaff. The bells near the flag fluttered gently, as if greeting me.

An elderly scholar nearby smiled and recited:

“I am not the doer — Hari is the doer. All worship and actions are His. If any good is done through me, It is only by His grace.”

(Source: Former IAS officer P. V. R. K. Prasad — “Nāham Kartā, Hariḥ Kartā”)

Om Namo Venkatesaya!

🙏🙏

Swami Sivananda on Navaratri

I am grateful to Atma Darshan Yogashram, BSY, where I am learning Yoga, for sharing this. 

Swami Sivananda was an incredible Mahatma who was the guru of Swami Chinmayananda, Swami Satyananda (BSY) and many other famous spiritual leaders. 

***

*The Nine-Day Purification* 

- From the teachings of _Swami Sivananda Saraswati_ 

The end of summer and beginning of winter, and the end of winter and beginning of summer, are two very important junctions of climatic conditions and solar influence in the year. Our bodies and minds undergo change on account of the changes in the outer nature. In India, the two occasions are considered opportune times to commence sadhana and worship the divine, indicated by the Chaitra Navaratri (in April) and Ashwin Navaratri (in October).

Three stages of attainment

The Navaratri celebrations objectively portray the inner spiritual life of the world. The central purpose of existence is to recognize your eternal identity with the supreme spirit. It is to grow into the image of the divine, into spotless purity, niranjan. The aspirant has to therefore, as the initial step, get rid of the blemishes that have come to cling to him in his embodied state. Then he has to acquire the auspicious qualities. Thus purified and rendered full of sattwa, knowledge flashes upon him like the brilliant rays of the sun upon the crystal clear waters of a still lake.

This process of sadhana implies resolute will, determined effort and arduous struggle. In other words, strength, infinite shakti, is the prime necessity. The Divine Mother, the supreme shakti of Brahman, has to operate through the aspirant. Therefore, during navaratri pooja, nine nights of worship, the Creatrix is worshipped in Her aspects of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati, representing the properties of tamas, rajas and sattwa respectively. This is the stuff of which the whole universe consists. Transformation, preservation and manifestation are the cosmic functions of the Mother. She is all that goes to make up the entire cosmos in its gross, subtle and causal realms.

As with the individual, so it is with the cosmos; nothing is possible without the Mother. Your progress, material and spiritual, is bound up inextricably with your mother, human and divine. A person is moulded almost entirely by his human mother, which is why the shrutis (scriptures) enjoin upon us to treat the mother as God. This is even more so in the spiritual field. Without the help of the Divine Mother, no spiritual progress is possible. She is the higher spiritual power that continuously meets the lower urges in battle and overcomes them completely in the end.

Overcoming tamas

During Navaratri, on the first three days the Mother is adored as power: Durga, the terrible one. In the process of sadhana, what is conquered and transformed first is tamas. Thus Durga, the divinity behind the tamas-shakti, is worshipped first. You pray to Durga to help destroy all your impurities, failings and defects. She is to fight with and annihilate your baser qualities. She is also the power that protects your sadhana from its many dangers and pitfalls. Thus the first three days, marking the first stage of destruction of mala (impurity) and determined effort to rout out the many vasanas (cravings) in the mind, are set apart for the worship of the destructive aspect of the Mother.

Acquiring the auspicious

Once you have accomplished the task on the negative side – that of breaking down the cravings and old habits, the next step is to build up a sublime spiritual personality, to acquire positive qualities. The divine qualities, daivi sampat, that Lord Krishna enumerates in the Bhagavad Gita, have to be acquired. The aspirant must cultivate and develop auspicious qualities, pile up an immense spiritual wealth so he can pay the price of the rare gem of divine wisdom.

If development of the opposite qualities is not undertaken in right earnest, the old demonic nature will raise its head again and again. This stage is as important as the previous one. The difference is: the former is a ruthless, determined annihilation of the lower self; the latter is an orderly, steady and calm effort to develop purity. This pleasanter side of sadhana is depicted by the worship of Lakshmi. She bestows the wealth of daivi sampat. Lakshmi is the sampat-dayini (wealth-giving) aspect of Brahman. She is purity itself. She is also the goddess superintending the force of rajas, the guna that must be overcome after tamas. Thus worship of Lakshmi is performed during the next three days.

The dawn of wisdom

Once the aspirant succeeds in getting rid of the negative propensities and developing sattwic, pure qualities, he becomes an ‘adhikari’. He is now ready to receive the light of supreme wisdom. At this stage comes the devout worship of Saraswati, who is divine knowledge personified, the embodiment of brahmajnana. The sound of her celestial veena (lute) awakens the notes of the sublime mahavakyas (great statement or profound aphorism, usually referring to the great proclamations of the Upanishads) and the pranava (mantra Aum; primordial sound vibration). She bestows the knowledge of the supreme nada (psychic or internal sound) and then gives full atmajnana (self-knowledge) as represented by her pure and dazzling white apparel. She is also the Mother in her sattwa guna, and transcending sattwa is the last rung of sadhana. To propitiate Saraswati, therefore, is the third stage.

In celebration of bliss

The tenth day, Vijaya Dashami, marks the triumphant ovation of the jiva (individual) at having attained jivanmukti (liberation from the cycle of birth and rebirth) through the descent of knowledge by the grace of Saraswati. The jiva rests in his own Supreme Self of sat-chit-ananda (existence-knowledge-bliss absolute). It marks complete victory over the threefold force of the universe. The day celebrates the achievement of the goal. The banner of victory flies aloft!

Indispensable process

The arrangement also has a special significance in the aspirant’s spiritual evolution. It marks the stages of evolution that are indispensable for every aspirant, through which everyone should pass. One naturally leads to the other, and to shortcircuit this would inevitably result in a miserable failure. Nowadays many aspirants aim straight at the acquisition of knowledge without the preliminaries of purification and acquisition of daivi sampat, and complain that they are not progressing on the path. How can they? Knowledge will not descend till the impurities are washed out and purity is developed. Nor can the sattwic plant grow on impure soil.

Follow this arrangement and your efforts will be successful. This is the path. Destroy one negative quality, and develop its opposite positive quality. By this process you will soon bring yourself up to that perfection which will culminate in identity with Brahman. All knowledge will be yours. You will see yourself in all. You will be a jivanmukta. No more pain, no more misery, no more birth, no more death. Let the Divine Mother take you step by step to the top of the spiritual ladder and unite you with the Lord.