God of Visas anyone !

The God of sure visas
The Chilkur Balaji temple near Hyderabad and its deity have been known to secure Visas to those in need of it, writes Aruna Chandaraju

The middle-aged lady was breathlessly, rapidly making her circumambulations around the small temple housing Lord Venkateshwara and his consorts. She had a bag slung on her shoulder and a small dotted scrap of paper clutched in her hand. Every time she reached the front of the temple, she would pause for just a fraction of a second, make a stab with a pencil on one of those dots and resume her pradakshinas.

After about 10 minutes, she came to a halt with an audible sigh of relief and a prostration before the deity. She had completed the mandatory 108 rounds. And thanked the Lord for granting her son’s difficult to get visa in a mere four weeks after making her vow.

The 500-year-old Balaji temple at Chilkur, about 40 km from Hyderabad attracts plenty of visitors, the devout praying for a hundred different things, as at most temples. But none as many as those who want visas. So, much so, the (swayambhu) god here has begun to be referred to as 'Visa Venkateswara Swami'. It is a growingly popular belief, around here, that this god grants the most difficult-to-obtain visas to go abroad for jobs, post-marriage emigrations, or higher studies, in a miraculously short time after making a vow.


And the vows themselves are extraordinary. You cannot offer cash or jewellery offerings in the hundi here, nor ornaments/clothes for the diety, as thanksgiving. In fact, there is no hundi here! Unbelievable, but true. When you first come with your prayer/request, you are supposed to make eleven rounds around the temple besides the darshan of course. Then, when your vow is fulfiled, you come back and make 108 circumambulations. To help you remember the numbers as you walk around, the temple gives you little pieces of paper with 108 marks on them so you can keep count by crossing out one number each time you complete a round. ( LOL )

Of course, there are those who trust the age-old strategy of using pebbles, chickpeas, peanuts carried in pouches on your person or asking someone else to sit and keep count.

And there are lots of vows besides visa requests: those for marriage, for good jobs, for college-seats, good health, progeny... In fact, P Sridevi is exulting over the fulfilment of her vow: her two younger sisters have got dream husbands after she prayed her for their marriage. Another youth who's just got his appointment letter, for a dream job, is gratefully joining the darshan queue.

In these ways, of course, the temple, which attracts, about 5,000 visitors on weekdays, and 25,000 on weekends and public holidays, is like any other temple.

Nevertheless, with its no-hundi and no-separate-queue for VIPs (with rare exceptions), and no paid-sevas policy, it counts as unusual.

You are told not to deposit money anywhere. It's extraordinary in other ways too: there is no prasadam sold here: the priest just hands you small fistfuls of it. And the priests themselves are highly educated. M V Soundararajan, head priest, was a commerce professor and is retired-registrar, Osmania University. M V Rangarajan, the younger priest, quit his job as biomedical engineer with an MNC, to work here, am told.

Meanwhile, the lady, who had rested for about an hour now, began a second round of pradakshinas.

But only eleven this time. “Well, this is the first part for the next and new vow.” She wants to combine in one trip, a payment for the past wish-fulfilment with an advance booking for the next one, said her companion audibly, evoking amused smiles from those around her.

Meanwhile, the Lord continued to spread more happiness and hope. More visa-hopefuls and other suppplicants, besides the “wish-fulfiled” ones were doing their rounds, murmuring prayers, as we quietly filed out of the temple and back to our waiting car.

 

Nothing wrong.

 

It does seem only natural that if someone believes in the Divine, they will ask the Divine for the things they need in life.
For one moment there though I thought we were talking visa cards! Certainly no need to ask God for one of those!

 

I'm asking for mine right now - it is missing.

 

Hope it shows up.

 

Ditto.

Also, I agree with no use in asking for credit cards .... I get applications for them everyday! Ahhh! hehehe

 

Hmm I am gonna go there the next time I visit, Ive heard so much about it until now.

anyway, it is always good to depend on God more than anyone else for anything , and if it is for a visa, it is better to ask God and trust that you will get it, atleast you will get some peace of mind before you get/not get it.

 

Yeah, I hope it shows up too. A total pain when you lose them. My wife and I get five to ten credit card or equity-loan apps a month...a waste of good trees.

 

It's even more of a pain if you have your details stolen. It happened to me some time back, and although I eventually got everything sorted out satisfactorily, it was quite a worry.
I too am snowed under with credit card and loan offers appearing several times a week sometimes in my mail, along with piles of other useless junk mail. Fortunately, the local council here have a good re-cycling system (one of the UK's best) so it all gets reused, but it's the wasted energy too in producing it and distributing it, only to have be re-collected by the council and pulped.
I won't even speak of spam emails!

 

*sigh*

 

not true, God always makes his devotees poor so they'll give up their material desires which is why its good to worship the demigods for material things

 

I don't think you need to be poor to be a devotee of God.
Also, if you ask God for things you need, it helps stay focused on Him.

 

Poverty not required, a thorough understanding of the temporary quality of life and money, possessions, etc., is. Best to follow one's own self-manifest dharma well than try to adopt another standard falsely or prematurely. It's all about Being Here Now.

 

It's all about not being attached in my view, niether to poverty nor wealth. But I also think that actually, extreme poverty can be a hinderance. If one has to be constantly focused on where the family's next meal is coming from etc. it could be difficult to find much time for spirituality.
As regards renunciation of wealth - I think it's ok in the case of monks, nuns etc, but not really viable for one living in the ordinary world, esp. if one has dependents.

 

Depends. Wealth is the same way. Perhaps the Buddha knew something.

 

In what sense do you mean Bhaskar?

 

Too much of wealth is just as much a distraction as abject povery.

 

It could easily become so. But I think a balance is needed. People have the right to have enough - to have their requirements for life.
Many though are completely entranced in the search for wealth.

 

Nope, the idea is to give up ego and completely surrender and be dependent on God for everything, whether he gives you things or not, but just because you ask does not mean he is going to make you poor. I know there are "quotes" that you can get and post here that have been said by swamis etc.. that he makes you poor, but really whatever anyone says, it is better to put things in their proper context and understand it under that context. Again, you may ask what is proper in this case, whenever some one says God will take away things so that you will depend only on him and not on material things, they mean - if you grow more dependent on the material things and start to destroy your spirituality, the removal of your material dependence is a possibility, so don't do that and realize that you are always dependent on God and these material belongings including this body are all impermanent, thank you.

 

you are right, but you need to have your needs met, over consumpton of anything however is a problem to us in all three levels: physically, mentally and spiritually.