“We need to visit this temple and offer prayers…” said my
wife as she was reading through a book titled “Tirupati”. It wasn't Tirupati
she was talking about. In the outskirts
of Hyderabad stood the powerful and almighty Lord Balaji. He’s popularly known
as Visa Balaji. Whenever anyone needed Visa power.. this is where they used to
Go and GET IT! I guess VISA the popular company did not know about this temple, else in every ad of theirs instead of Sachin holding the card and saying the
words “ Visa power, GO GET IT “ in the early years, it would have been happy
Indians holding their Visa in their hands saying –“ Visa power! I GOT IT!
“ The
Lord possesses such power that whoever circumambulates the sanctum 11 times
with their intention in heart and mind, it comes to pass. The only condition
set forth by the temple authorities is that once their wish is fulfilled they
have to return to circumambulate 108 times as a gesture of gratitude and thanks
giving. I don’t think even the Lord demands anything from you, but considering
that your wish is fulfilled isn't it right that one returns to offer thanks? I
think it’s a fair ask! The temple itself is small and beautiful, no Hundi’s to
drop offerings, no collection, no demands! It’s just you and the LORD!
Well.. our plan to visit the temple was not for a Visa but
to offer a prayer. Thanks to Telengana issue I could not risk travelling with
my family! But since I had a couple of days of holidays on weekdays, I decided
to take the risk and make them HOLY DAYS by visiting Chilkur and Tirupati! and
return over the weekend to spend time with my lovely family. Being a great
planner that I am, I started visualizing and planning the trip in my mind. After all every first step is taken first in
the mind!
After planning the trip in my mind I decided to begin my
journey on the 7th August and return to Bangalore on Saturday
morning. Thanks to Swami Suryapada I got a contact in Hyderabad to meet, who could
take me to Chilkur. And so.. my Plan for day 1 was as follows:
7th August – Leave for Bangalore to Hyderabad.
8th August - Reach Hyderabad.
8am – 10 am – Finish Kriya, have breakfast.
10am – 1 am – Meet Neelesh Ji travel with him to Visit Chilkur
Temple and offer prayers
1am - …. – Ya I know, its …. Coz as a food lover I wanted
to have a hearty meal without time limitations :-)
3pm – 7pm – Shopping, Laze around.
7pm-…. :-) Dinner.
9 pm – Leave Hyderabad – proceed
to Tirupati.
Thoroughly satisfied with my plans, I proceeded to pack my
things. Wrote down all the things to be
packed and went about packing them. Finally it was time to leave. My wife drove
me to the bus station while me and my darling son exchanged some Papa and Pappu
conversations.
Soon it was.. tata.. bye bye.. see you Saturday.. Love youuuuuu :-)
I boarded the bus @ 8:40 pm and the journey begun. Little
did I ever imagine, what I was about to experience in the coming days were
going to be great teachings in my life. The lights in the bus went down and
with the earphones plugged in I closed my eyes.
At dawn it would be GOD’s Plan . Vs . My Plans!
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