Sri Bala Charanam..
'Inga kumbha raasi kaara yaaravudu irukaala' (Is anybody from kumbha rasi here), asked the elderly priest. He raised his hand hesitantly.The priest gave a look and continued, 'time is not so good for people belonging to kumbha rasi now.You could possibly face shocking disappointments in things you attempt to do in your life now.There is however a parikaram(reprieve) you can do'.
He listened intently expecting what conventional parikarams he can probably do to this deity. But little did he expect what the elderly priest had to say next..
A Sunday.
As the SUV was speeding on the Chennai Bangalore highway, thoughts flooded his mind. The previous day results were not expected, not so encouraging and the next steps looked uncertain. A hundred 'what if' possibilities arose in his mind and yet none seemed convincing. In an attempt to divert himself he picked up his phone and turned on the GPS. They had started early in the morning with the plan of reaching Nemili in the forenoon to avoid arrival at an 'untime' .
Here he was, travelling with his immediate family members. At least three of them had been to Nemili once,but not him. He was not in the country that time but listened with amusement when his wife narrated to him her first visit. His wife had arrived late to Nemili then and was hesitantly given permission for the Dharshan. "We would have to get utharavu (command)" they had said and got one too.
The Deity in the Peetam was called Bala - Lord Bala Thirupura Sundari, daughter of Lord Lalithambikai. The Lord resides in this Peetam as a young child, and Her own direction was that she had come to rest and relax in this place and it should not be established as a temple. The Peetam in reality, is a house and the deity worshipped here is a bronze statue, just the size of a finger. The offerings to the Child Goddess are mainly chocolates and biscuits as She, in particular, is very fond of sweets.
And now he was, enroute to Nemili, wondering how possibly this place could look like, where the deity had to grant permission for almost everybody who requests audience with Her, how the members in the Peetam receive her utharavu and how possibly this Goddess is offered chocolates and biscuits instead of coconuts, flowers and fruits that are a usual norm in all other places of worship. He felt a tinge of skepticism indeed too.. He turned his attention back to the GPS and saw that they had to take a detour at the Arakkonam railway crossing into the town of Nemili where it is a good 23kms away, and instructed the driver accordingly.
Nemili looked like a typical south Indian town, with unruly traffic ruling its narrow bumpy roads and with shops and other establishments cluttering both sides of the road. Infact the street housing the Peetam was equally unimpressive, a narrow road down the street leading to the it and clearly no sufficient space around to park vehicles. What struck to him as most significant was how simple and subdued the entire place looked . As they got down out of the car,he saw that the only identification that marked the place was the ""Peetam" painted at its entrance. First look, nothing extraordinary about its appearance.
A narrow alley led inside to a bigger hall where the Deity was housed. The other side of the hall looked spacious allowing worshipers to sit on floor. A 'Deeba arathanai' was already in progress with a devotional song of the Goddess playing in background. The deity could not be immediately located and his wife pointed it to him. Ofcourse, She was just the size of a finger, housed in centre of what looked like decorated wooden steps, just the kind that you see in Golu.
As the first set of visitors left after deebam and prasadham, he and his family were summoned to sit in the front along with the rest of the visitors. The elderly gentleman , who performed the deeba arathanai received us and started to give introduction about this Child goddess.
'Inga kumbha raasi kaara yaaravudu irukaala' (Is anybody from kumbha rasi here), asked the elderly priest. He raised his hand hesitantly.The priest gave a look and continued 'time is not so good for people belonging to kumbha rasi now.You could possibly face shocking disappointments in things you attempt to do in your life now.There is however a parikaram(reprieve) you can do' the priest said.He listened intently expecting what conventional parikarams he can probably do to this deity. But little did he expect what the elderly priest had to say next..
The priest continued "there is only one reprieve for you to avoid the negative effects of the planets in your life at this time. Just surrender to Her feet. That is the only parikaram required. Just surrender to her feet, pray to her , worship her. Put all your faith in her. All your troubles will vanish. She will always be with you. Place your complete trust and worship her. Peace of the mind will beckon."
He was taken aback. Somehow this looked like a big divine coincidence to him, especially after all the pessimism receiving the not so great results yesterday.
The priest continued looking at me, "even if the time is not so good, don't worry. Your raasi is significant. You are such a influence on people around you. It so seems that you always tug along people wherever you go or whatever your pursuits. That's why you have brought along six more people in your visit today ". By this time, his family members had been moved to tears.
The priest went on "you cannot come here without Bala's permission. Infact she is the one who summons you here to visit. Her darshan cannot be granted by a mere individual's decision.She would have to summon you. That's why we have a practice here of asking people to call first before a visit. Because sometimes we are also unavailable here. Even if you plan to visit without calling, some kind of barrier will befall your visit. You should really have a lot of guts to come here without prior permission .
Bala doesn't want her devotees and worshippers to offer or contribute money. She doesn't want people to contribute something to her as a 'venduthal' (wish) for attaining something and making it a business in the process. SHE is strongly against it. She fullfills your wishes unconditionally. All you need to do is place your complete faith and trust in her from now on and she will be with you always, guiding you. ".
The priest concluded his introduction and initiation and proceeded for the Arathi and prasadam distributions, which was, chocolate ofcourse!.
To him, it all seemed like a big divine coincidence. It is true, the Goddess infact had summoned him to come and receive Her grace .He had become an instant believer.
Bala doesn't expect grand offerings that require extraordinary efforts or resources. All She expects is a humble, pure and genuine heart that is ready to surrender to Her with complete faith. No wonder the Goddess had chosen this humble looking abode as her Peetam whose residents were ready to serve her at all times with humility and utmost devotion..
'Inga kumbha raasi kaara yaaravudu irukaala' (Is anybody from kumbha rasi here), asked the elderly priest. He raised his hand hesitantly.The priest gave a look and continued, 'time is not so good for people belonging to kumbha rasi now.You could possibly face shocking disappointments in things you attempt to do in your life now.There is however a parikaram(reprieve) you can do'.
He listened intently expecting what conventional parikarams he can probably do to this deity. But little did he expect what the elderly priest had to say next..
A Sunday.
As the SUV was speeding on the Chennai Bangalore highway, thoughts flooded his mind. The previous day results were not expected, not so encouraging and the next steps looked uncertain. A hundred 'what if' possibilities arose in his mind and yet none seemed convincing. In an attempt to divert himself he picked up his phone and turned on the GPS. They had started early in the morning with the plan of reaching Nemili in the forenoon to avoid arrival at an 'untime' .
Here he was, travelling with his immediate family members. At least three of them had been to Nemili once,but not him. He was not in the country that time but listened with amusement when his wife narrated to him her first visit. His wife had arrived late to Nemili then and was hesitantly given permission for the Dharshan. "We would have to get utharavu (command)" they had said and got one too.
The Deity in the Peetam was called Bala - Lord Bala Thirupura Sundari, daughter of Lord Lalithambikai. The Lord resides in this Peetam as a young child, and Her own direction was that she had come to rest and relax in this place and it should not be established as a temple. The Peetam in reality, is a house and the deity worshipped here is a bronze statue, just the size of a finger. The offerings to the Child Goddess are mainly chocolates and biscuits as She, in particular, is very fond of sweets.
And now he was, enroute to Nemili, wondering how possibly this place could look like, where the deity had to grant permission for almost everybody who requests audience with Her, how the members in the Peetam receive her utharavu and how possibly this Goddess is offered chocolates and biscuits instead of coconuts, flowers and fruits that are a usual norm in all other places of worship. He felt a tinge of skepticism indeed too.. He turned his attention back to the GPS and saw that they had to take a detour at the Arakkonam railway crossing into the town of Nemili where it is a good 23kms away, and instructed the driver accordingly.
Nemili looked like a typical south Indian town, with unruly traffic ruling its narrow bumpy roads and with shops and other establishments cluttering both sides of the road. Infact the street housing the Peetam was equally unimpressive, a narrow road down the street leading to the it and clearly no sufficient space around to park vehicles. What struck to him as most significant was how simple and subdued the entire place looked . As they got down out of the car,he saw that the only identification that marked the place was the ""Peetam" painted at its entrance. First look, nothing extraordinary about its appearance.
A narrow alley led inside to a bigger hall where the Deity was housed. The other side of the hall looked spacious allowing worshipers to sit on floor. A 'Deeba arathanai' was already in progress with a devotional song of the Goddess playing in background. The deity could not be immediately located and his wife pointed it to him. Ofcourse, She was just the size of a finger, housed in centre of what looked like decorated wooden steps, just the kind that you see in Golu.
As the first set of visitors left after deebam and prasadham, he and his family were summoned to sit in the front along with the rest of the visitors. The elderly gentleman , who performed the deeba arathanai received us and started to give introduction about this Child goddess.
'Inga kumbha raasi kaara yaaravudu irukaala' (Is anybody from kumbha rasi here), asked the elderly priest. He raised his hand hesitantly.The priest gave a look and continued 'time is not so good for people belonging to kumbha rasi now.You could possibly face shocking disappointments in things you attempt to do in your life now.There is however a parikaram(reprieve) you can do' the priest said.He listened intently expecting what conventional parikarams he can probably do to this deity. But little did he expect what the elderly priest had to say next..
The priest continued "there is only one reprieve for you to avoid the negative effects of the planets in your life at this time. Just surrender to Her feet. That is the only parikaram required. Just surrender to her feet, pray to her , worship her. Put all your faith in her. All your troubles will vanish. She will always be with you. Place your complete trust and worship her. Peace of the mind will beckon."
He was taken aback. Somehow this looked like a big divine coincidence to him, especially after all the pessimism receiving the not so great results yesterday.
The priest continued looking at me, "even if the time is not so good, don't worry. Your raasi is significant. You are such a influence on people around you. It so seems that you always tug along people wherever you go or whatever your pursuits. That's why you have brought along six more people in your visit today ". By this time, his family members had been moved to tears.
The priest went on "you cannot come here without Bala's permission. Infact she is the one who summons you here to visit. Her darshan cannot be granted by a mere individual's decision.She would have to summon you. That's why we have a practice here of asking people to call first before a visit. Because sometimes we are also unavailable here. Even if you plan to visit without calling, some kind of barrier will befall your visit. You should really have a lot of guts to come here without prior permission .
Bala doesn't want her devotees and worshippers to offer or contribute money. She doesn't want people to contribute something to her as a 'venduthal' (wish) for attaining something and making it a business in the process. SHE is strongly against it. She fullfills your wishes unconditionally. All you need to do is place your complete faith and trust in her from now on and she will be with you always, guiding you. ".
The priest concluded his introduction and initiation and proceeded for the Arathi and prasadam distributions, which was, chocolate ofcourse!.
To him, it all seemed like a big divine coincidence. It is true, the Goddess infact had summoned him to come and receive Her grace .He had become an instant believer.
Bala doesn't expect grand offerings that require extraordinary efforts or resources. All She expects is a humble, pure and genuine heart that is ready to surrender to Her with complete faith. No wonder the Goddess had chosen this humble looking abode as her Peetam whose residents were ready to serve her at all times with humility and utmost devotion..
