Mandasa history

just 4 hours away from JagannathaPuri, just next to the orissa/andhrapradesh border a very special and ancient temple is hidden in the dense forest. Just few years back this area has been strongly occupied by naxal/mao guerilla and the temple has been looted of all his wealth and ancient treasure. Pujas had been stopped and the utsava vigrahas were moved to other more like city temples. Until HH Chinna jeeyar Swami had come and made a sankalpa to renovate and restorate this ancient spot to his old glory. The history goes back to the 14th century and the building was done in the oriya style like jagannathapuri temple. I came for the annual Brahmotsava and the pranpratistha ceremony for a old rebuilt shrine for Hanuman.
It took us more then 3 hours by car from Vizag on this crazy highway which leads to calcutta, and which has one of the highest death toll in accidents. We saw few very devastating accidents on the way, with burning of cars etc. was looking like war ! Anyhow we made it safe to Mandasa and arrived in midnight. I came in the car of Ahobilam Jeeyar, so he was recieved with Purna Kumbha and sannyas sukta... and we had a wonderful darshan of the temple with the Moon as our lightgiver.

Vizag Asta Mukha Ganda Berunda Narasimha temple

I have recieved some informations that 4 temples existing of this special Form of Lord Narasimha, and one is in Vizag (Visakhapatnam). I got the infos from a Narasimha upasaka from Guntur, Mr. Prasad who helped me to get to this place. It is faroff from the main city, near the new iskcon temple and the vedic school of HH Chinna jeeyar swamy, opposite the University just next to the seashore. It took us a bit to find the road (as usual in india) but we managed to get there. It is a ancient siddhaplace with a Mahashivalingam at the center of the spot. But just before you enter the temple complex you will find a small temple shrine with 8 windows. Each window you can see the different face. Unfortunate the Upasaka who built the temple has left the world allready, and only once in a year the perform special puja in this shrine. What i saw is that some differences in the faces and numbers of arms is here, and the pujas are all done not according to pancaratra but pancopasana. Anyhow the Yagyashala just opposite this special Narasimha shrine is huge and very impressive.
The only sad story is that only once a year they perform puja for the murthy and it looks very idle and desert.

Yoga, Puja and teaching to mankind

Shamshabad Temple, or Divya Sanketam is a special place, not just for the sake of spiritual importance for the coming future, but also in his effort to teach and educate all levels of human interest and needs. I have visited the quarters of the young students in agamas/priesthood and have seen the school for the blind, both equipped with handsome computers and well educated teachers. Beside of Agamas for the young priests they learn astrology/astronomy and Yoga classes in the early morning and evening. They are very good in some of the most difficult asanas like sisumara or gandabherunda!!! So best is always start young!!!

Divya Sanketam Hyderhabad (shamshabad)

a wonderful temple has been built 3 years ago under the supervision of HH Chinna Jeeyar Swamy near the Hyderhabad Airport, along with other projects (school for blind and disabled youth, school for girls, Agama school for vedic pandits, etc.). The temple structure is made in a 3 floor building on each floor a specific Vigraha and temple formation. First floor is dedicated to Lord Rama, as he walked on earth, a huge Mula Vigraha (around 2 meters in size) with a full set of Utsava and paridevatas and alwars. On the walls you will find the whole ramayana done in orissa painting witha short explanation in telegu and english. Early morning you have first pujas at 5 am and everyday a Nitya Homa and Kalyanam for the Lord.
Second Floor you will find Lord Ranganatha with his special Vimana formed same as in Srirangam with a detailed picture on 108 Mudralakshanas for nitya aradhana.
Third floor have Sri Vaikunthanatha, as He would reside in Vaikuntha, in BHujangaAsana with Sri, Bhu and Niladevi. Also the whole YogapeethAsana is given and one can see Krta-, treta-,dwarapa and Kaliyuga, satya, dharma, vairagya and aiswarya all in personal forms serving the Lord. very unique and nicely done. On the walls you will find tousands of servants attending the Lord in awe and reverance. Outside the sealings you can see how a surrended Soul reachs the supreme abode after leaving the material body (i guess it is taken from the vaikuntha gadya of Sri ramanuja). Anyhow enjoy the photos.

Tirumala darshan

this is how we as pilgrims can see Lord Balaji as a natural appearance on rock formations. How wonderful is that?

Nitya Tirumala Unjal seva Utsava

every night at around 5 pm Lord Balaji comes out, takes his seat in the Deepaalankara mandapa, which is still intact (!! who know how long??), and get a swing there. Then after he goes around the temple complex. I think He wonders what happen with all the buidlings from antiquity which have been removed recently...

Tirumala pujas 1999

in the year 1999 when i stayed in Tirumala we did go to the silathoranam, the most ancient stone formation on earth. There we did find the Chakra tirtha, a pond with a old Lakshmi Narasimha Carving on the wall. In that time no pilgrims went there so we came early morning and did our slagrama sila puja in that pond.
Nowadays everything is with metal fences and plastered concrete roads, and lot of pilgrims... anyhow the memories are beautiful...

Night darshan of Varaha Pushkarini ... were we did take some bath. Clean water, so TTD makes good impression in that!

Tirupathi tirumala walk up

On the way some big changes and some places were as i remember 12 years ago. Lord Yoga Narasimha got a new temple on the hill, and some other new temples had come up. Fortunate NO christian church so far... Thanks GOD for that!
See Lord Yoga Narasimha in mystical glance. My walk was giving good assosiation with my friend Varaprasad and his vedic school of Sitanagaram, we did chant the last 1 hour some mantras, prayers, suktas and that was cool, man! We did start to do that on the spot were Sri Ramanuja had walked on knees up the hill. There the steps are smaller in size and many pilgrims did follow his example, even today.

Tirumala demolition

here you see the left overs of the 1000 pillar mandapa still lying around. the whole space in front of the temple has been cleaned*** and some freaky metal door has been installed. Either it is beautiful nor brings it some benefit in preventing terrorist attacks... I think if they wont change the vastu of that temple back to its original (what they never will do!), very soon we will see some very drastic and severe problems popping up!

Tirupathi Bhishma Ekadasi 2012

Big disputes had been bubbling up from the muddy ground of TTD corruption as they still had not come up with the rebuilding of the 1000 pillar mandapa which they demolished 2002, for socalled safety reason. Then finally all the other issues on rituals and management had disturbed the pilgrims and devotees of Lord Venkateshwara for years now. In the year 1999 i had darshan short after midnight with the bright fullmoon over the ananda Nilaya Vimanam. and i wondered when the Lord will rest. And i think the Lord on the 7 hills did not rest from that time onwards.
HH Chinna Jeeyar Swamy had critizied the administration for over 10 years about all that problems facing with those demolishing of ancient monuments, not follow the rules set up by acaryas and temples time table. But there was no response from their side.
Finally on Bhishma Ekadasi 2012 He celebrated a big pandal Programm with the chanting of Sri Vishnu Sahasranama with more then 15000 people, and i was the happy person to be allowed to participate in that program. It took around 5 hours (ohh my yoga asana trained legs still ache!) to complete the whole session and at the end all of us did offer a small oil lamp towards the Tirumala Hill temple. What a beautiful sight to see all 15000 people do the same with devotion and inner spirit to make a change up there. Finally we all went up to the stairs to claim for another 4 hour walk to Tirumala! As one day before i just arrived in India i was very excausted when i came up to Tirumala temple at around 9 pm night. But to see tirumala gave me a cool breeze on my soul! But what a different view on the temple, as the whole area is just removed and all the agarharam and tousand pillar mandapa is gone. Instead they have built a very uncool looking stage for music and dance with a flair of rubble and dust. Not very attractive. Still one can see the olden mandapas pillars lying around everywhere. How cruel one has to be to have no attraction for culture, art and history!