A temple without hundis—and a miracle without demands
Nestled on the outskirts of the sprawling city of Hyderabad lies a captivating pilgrimage site: the Visa Venkateshwara Temple or Chilkur Balaji Temple. Dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara, this temple has garnered immense popularity for a unique reason – its association with granting wishes for visas to devotees wanting to go abroad, especially the USA!
I had read a newspaper article about this unique temple and how techies in the software industry flock to this temple to get a hassle-free visa to go to the USA. Wanting to go to the USA is a cherished dream, especially for youngsters. Since my college days, it was also my ardent desire to go to the USA, but it never materialized. Got admission in a university, but could not raise the resources.
After entering government service, I figured out that top bureaucrats were frequently globetrotting, attending seminars, workshops, or enrolling in higher education programs. But to get nominated for these programs, one needed immense political clout at the highest level. Ordinary bureaucrats could only express their resentment or anger about the iniquity of the whole system.
Years passed by, grumbling about the unfairness and rampant favouritism happening on an everyday basis. It was while working as a Commissioner in Goa that I read about the magic of Visa Venkateshwara, in a newspaper, and the firm belief of techies that Chilkur Balaji had a secret Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the US Consular offices in India! Intrigued and curious, I contacted a colleague in Hyderabad, who confirmed the interesting fact that those keen on obtaining a US visa throng to this temple to obtain a visa without any hurdles. I also decided to seek divine intervention of Chilkur Balaji to fulfil my desire.
On a weekend, I flew to Hyderabad, and my colleague was kind enough to arrange a guest house, a vehicle, and a uniformed officer to escort me. Reaching Chilkur Balaji Temple, I observed that it was relatively small, but there was a large number of young pilgrims, all devotedly circumambulating the temple with deep devotion and concentration. My escort officer explained to me that the Temple had a unique ritual of “Giripradakshina.” This practice involves devotees performing 11 Pradakshinas (circumambulations) around the inner sanctum, seeking divine blessings to obtain a US visa! A vow is also taken that upon receiving the Visa, the devotee will return and perform 108 circumambulations.
Another star attraction in this temple is Chilkur Temple Archaka Shri. C.S. Rangarajan, a divine soul. Erudite in 05 languages: English, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, and Kannada, he was constantly on the mike exhorting devotees to maintain diligent devotion. He was repeatedly emphasising:
- Do not make God a partner in your crimes.
- Do not promise a percentage of profits; God is not your partner.
- Do not propose deals; God does not need your money.
He drew the attention of the devotees, repeatedly, to the fact that there was not a single Hundi in the whole temple, unlike the government-administered temples, that was jam packed with Hundis of all sizes and shapes. It was for the first time that I had seen a temple having no Hundi at all. Not only that, in spite of the large crowd of devotees, there was no VIP queue, no special Darshan, only an orderly queue for everybody, no jostling or pushing.
Government-administered temples have become an epitome of corruption and malpractices of all kinds. Anguished devotees seeking liberation of temples from unethical and immoral government control need to visit this temple to get a first-hand experience of unalloyed devotion and zero fees for ‘Darshan’.
I stood in the queue and awaited my turn for a glimpse of the Lord. The plea was for a US visa. 11 rounds of Pradakshinas were duly completed; 108 Pradakshinas would be performed upon obtaining the visa.
Back in Goa, I did not even have the faintest idea of applying for a US visa. I had forgotten about Chilkur Balaji totally. One day, my Orderly came and handed over to me a registered post cover addressed by name to me. The sender was an Under Secretary in the Ministry of Finance. Opening the envelope, I was shocked and overjoyed to read that I had been nominated to attend a training program at Syracuse University, Maxwell School of Leadership in the USA. My mind raced instantly to Chilkur Balaji, oh god, this was simply unbelievable!
The next few weeks were busy with filling forms, applying for a diplomatic passport, and other formalities. Soon, I received the US visa-affixed passport; there was no need even for an interview!
I rushed to Hyderabad to fulfil my vow; it was 108 Pradakshinas. This temple stands as an outstanding example of how temples should be run, free of all unnecessary government control and administration. While temples across India have become cesspools of corruption, political interference at every level, crowds being engineered to fleece pilgrims for buying special tickets, fake passes, boorish Temple staff, exorbitantly priced Pooja tickets, non-performance of Poojas, sub-standard and adulterated Prasadams, and generally a poorly maintained environment in terms of cleanliness. Politicians and bureaucrats have mismanaged temple affairs to such an extent that pilgrimages for Hindus are a harrowing experience. Politicians refuse to let go of temple administration, while bureaucrats and the judiciary keep twiddling. Despite strident demands for liberating temples being frequently voiced, the tragedy is that it is never on the election manifesto of any political party, but these cowards have a hands-off policy when it comes to places of worship of foreign religions. As long as Hindus don’t learn the lesson of consolidated bulk voting, they are condemned to see their places of worship desecrated and plundered by Hindu atheists owing allegiance to an assortment of family-controlled political parties.
Edmund Burke, Anglo-Irish writer, philosopher, and politician, said wisely, “Nothing is so fatal to religion as indifference”.
“Om Paramaathmane Namaha”
Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
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