Miraculous Beyond Measure

Said to be greater than the pilgrimage places of Mecca, Rome and Jerusalem - the Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala averages 150,000 pilgrims every day of the year - surpassing even the numbers that attend the aforementioned holy sites. People regarded me with curious and suspicious eyes when I arrived at the nearby city of Tirupati, for non-Hindus and/or foreigners are rare (in fact I never saw another) and as you may know, I derive great pleasure from journeying along paths seldom trod by travellers. Normally someone would eventually approach me to say "hello" or query my country of origin (by saying "your country") - but here - silence. Some pointed to me and whispered furtively to their friend - but nothing more than this. I much rather the constant enquiries than their silent stares without questions as it is slightly disconcerting. I finally located and checked into my hotel and entered my details into the register, where I listed my 'Purpose of Visit' as "Tourism" whereas ever other entry said "Religious"

The following morning, I purchased the return bus ticket (termed the "Up and Down" ticket) for the long, winding journey to the hill city of Tirumala. Being an extremely important religious place, many items are banned from the mountain that would defile its sanctity - so upon arriving at a checkpoint - a security officer boarded and searched certain male occupants for forbidden items. Reaching me, he eyed me prior to saying "Smoking" (i.e. cigarettes) to which I replied in the negative - "Alcohol" he then asked - to which I again reassured him "No alcohol, no smoking, no coffee - only mineral water". He was obviously satisfied with this answer as he left without saying another word. We commenced the serpentine journey and the scenery of the rocky escarpment and wooded hills was beautiful - the area certainly lived up to its oft-mentioned creed of "Clean and Green" and to ensure this, many signs were placed to remind people, such as "Don't Consume Liquor", "Not to Spit at Tirumala", "No Smoking", "Not to Write on Rocks" and the more intriguing "Open Urination Prohibited".

Arriving at Tirumala - I was amazed at the vastness of the place and the volume of people. The crowds were not that obvious, as due to the layout of the streets it was not possible to command any total view of the city. However, there were always people, and lots of them, wherever you walked and wherever you looked. After locking away all my possessions, I proceeded barefoot to participate in 'Darshan' - that is to visit the Lord Venkateswara for prayer. There were several darshans to choose from - the VIP version (for 100 rupees), the Special version (for 50 rupees) and the free version - so I headed to the latter - particularly since the queues in the VIP one were bedlam, and the special darshan counter was empty.

I was ushered into a huge cage like enclosure - about 40 metres square with a concrete floor of large steps. It was for the most part quiet, clean, and filled with many pilgrims - from which I received the same curious but silent treatment. I was informed by the officer at the gate that I would need to wait 2 hours - and being 9:30am - thought I would be out of the temple by midday. But a sense of disquiet came over me as I saw the clock pass 10:30am and the people in the four other cages I could discern did not move. I found someone who spoke English and said "How long will we be here?" "Mmm," he thoughtfully considered "about seven o'clock - or maybe eight." That was nine hours away!

Seeing that free darshan was now a extremely bad option, I had to harangue the guard to unlock the cage to let me out (which provided some very anxious moments when I thought he would not do so) and returned to the VIP darshan to purchase the ticket that promised a quicker entry, but it had closed. The chances of entering the temple were looking decidedly slim. In order to extract some sympathy, I started playing the 'stupid tourist' - walking around vaguely, looking lost, scratching my head and similar histrionics, in order to secure entrance into the temple without waiting for nine hours. Perhaps the lack of interaction with foreigners doomed this ploy to failure since no-one assisted me.

All seemed lost so I gave one last desperate plea at the VIP counter "How do I get in?!" (complete with exasperated gestures) - when an 'angel' visited my side. His name was Mr Joha Rao Srikakulam and it was as if some great force, or chance of fate, had him standing next to me at the counter. He heard my question and queried if I wanted to enter the temple, and after replying in the affirmative, he said that I could accompany him into the temple as he had an extra VIP ticket. With Mr Srikakulam continuously guiding me, we immediately joined a line of pilgrims, many of them shaved - men, women and children - as was the requirement of the more devout. It was to be 90 minutes before I left the temple again and it would be a time that would provide me with the pinnacle of my experiences in India.

After passing security to ensure that there were no electronic items on me - a stern looking official requested me to fill in the "Non-Hindu Entrance Form" where I placed my name, address, current religion and then a decree that I would honour the Lord Balaji (any Hindu deity could be so entered) and then sign. Once the formalities were complete - we joined the growing queues, and now the official pilgrimage trek began. We initially climbed a small flight of stairs about 100 metres from the temple complex. I glanced behind me and saw the rows of free darshan cages devoid of any movement - and again considered how fortunate I was to have met Mr Srikakulam. The roofed corridor headed towards the temple's wall and on either side we were fenced in by a series of vertical coloured bars atop a concrete wall. We shuffled along as the tightly packed pilgrims chanted their deities' name. Once we turned right at the wall, we now walked on large dark stones instead of concrete - the colour bars now replaced by brass and the verbal devotions and chants became more pronounced. Crammed in like this, it would be easy to envisage how many people could die if a stampede or moment of panic ensued. We turned left along the front of the temple and passed religious inscriptions dating centuries, prior to finally reaching the entrance.

I quickly moved through the entrance and across a section of running water that cleansed the feet. We entered the outer courtyard packed with hundreds of worshippers funnelling their way through the silver doors on the other side. No etiquette or protocol was in place here as Mr Srikakulam and I moved to these doors - constantly buffeted by people on all sides. Upon reaching the door and walking across the silver threshold into the inner courtyard, the gold plated Gopuram (tiered tower) with scenes of golden figures loomed above me - it was magnificent. At this time, with only the door of the inner sanctum to pass, the pilgrims became more expectant and agitated - so Mr Srikakulam and I made our way along the perimeter of the courtyard and was soon at the door - thus passing the whirlpool of devotees to our right who took the more direct but slower route.

As we entered the final chamber, the crush became immense - my arms were immobilised beside me as they were pinned by the pressing weight of humanity. Eager pilgrims behind me continued to surge into the room, but those in front were slowed in order to sight longer images of their Lord. The pressure on my body became greater as children were hoisted into the air by their parents to ensure their safety. The mass lunged forward - the expectation and chanting intensifying with every laboured step. Finally we entered the inner sanctum of the temple and bejewelled in gold, diamonds and precious stones stood the black statue of Venkateswara. Temple officials kept pushing us forward to ensure we did not tarry here too long, but all eyes of the devotees were transfixed by their deity - hands raised in adoration, praying and chanting with extreme emotion, their adoration was intense. After giving a brief devotion, an official grabbed my left arm and shoved me towards the exit, when a female official beckoned me towards her. She spoke two words: "Which Country!", a question which felt quite out of place amongst this reverence - "Australia" I replied with a smile, as I quickly exited the sanctum before being mishandled by another official.

After leaving the temple with Mr Srikakulam, a miraculous reaction occurred as waves of emotion ran across me. I wanted to cry - but not tears of joy or sadness - just tears. No sooner had this subsided that my body succumbed to an energy much like static electricity surging through me - it was most noticeable in the arms, but was apparent on the legs and torso as well. I quizzed Mr Srikakulam "My body in shaking, like electricity". With a wry smile he replied "Powerful temple". This electrified feeling continued for several minutes as I received holy water and a blessing in the form of a silver bowl being placed on my head. The static feeling subsided, only to be replaced by one of total euphoria - which lasted for the remainder of the day. After receiving Prassadam (holy food) and finishing the rituals - Mr Srikakulam and I left the temple and bid each other a heartfelt farewell.

I have been to many holy sites of all faiths, but have never experienced anything like this - the extreme emotion, the electricity through my body, the euphoric feeling. Perhaps it was caused by the energies that the pilgrims invested in the area, the expectant bias within each attendee, or some less explicable origin. Whatever the reason, it certainly is the most potent religious site I have ever visited. A very powerful force lies within the Venkateswara Temple - and its impact upon me has clouded my thoughts, defied my explanations and silenced my words.

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