Page 3 - History of Tirupathi Balaji and comparison of Sri Vaishnava

Balaji is a name of the Lord of the Universe which means He is all-powerful.
Bala in Sanskrit refers to spiritual strength and also material prowess. When the
Lord is addressed as Balaji, it means that He is the source of spiritual strength
for His devotees.
The famous Deity of Balaji is situated on top of the Tirumala mountain which
is about 3000 feet elevation. The prefi x Tiru means sacred and Mala means a hill
or peak. Tirumala is a sacred mountain.

Similarly, Tirupati means the sacred husband ( Tiru – sacred, pati – husband)
of the Goddess of Fortune Lakshmi devi. Thus Tirupati Balaji is Lord Visnu
who is the husband of the Goddess of Fortunes Lakshmi devi.
On His Tirumala mountain, Tirupati Balaji bestows His blessings on sincere
devotees so that they can attain their spiritual desires to please Him. One should
not confuse spiritual desires with material desires. They are not the same.
Spiritual desires are meant to please God only. Material desires are for pleasing
ourselves for our own selfi sh motives.
The highly surcharged spiritual atmosphere of the Tirupati Balaji temple
on top of the Tirumala mountain awakens feelings of devotion (bhakti) for the
Lord. All the millions of visiting devotees enthusiastically repeat the holy name
Govinda as they approach the deity of the Lord. Govinda, another name of
Balaji, means the Lord is the object of pleasure for the senses of humans and
cows. One experiences ultimate joy and satisfaction by seeing and serving the
beautiful form of the Lord. Govinda does not mean that the Lord is our order
supplier for material needs and pleasures. Rather, He is the ultimate source of
pleasure or the fountainhead of spiritual ecstasy for His devotees. Govinda also
means that the Lord is the well-wisher and protector of cows, Brahmin priests
and all living entities.
Lord Balaji is famous as the one who can extricate His devotees from
misfortune. In the following descriptions we will learn how the Lord descended
in this world to live on top of the Tirumala mountain and relieve the sufferings
of humanity in the present age.
Yet another name of Tirupati Balaji is Venkateshwara which means He can
free us from all our sins. “Ven” means sin and “Kat” means one who delivers.
We remain in this world suffering birth after birth because of our sinful
activities and the reactions we incur for them. The present age, characterized by
hypocrisy and quarrel, is a period of time when people become easily addicted
to sinful activities such as intoxication, gambling and philosophical speculation,
illicit sex and meat-eating. When Tirupati Balaji is referred to as Venkateshwara
it indicates that he delivers the suffering masses from sinful activities. Once
purifi ed of sinful activities, people become free to focus their attention to serving
God, fi nish their miserable sojourn in the material world and return to the
spiritual world.
Why Tirupati Balaji appeared in this age of hypocrisy and quarrel
Five thousand years ago in a forest called Naimisharanya in North India, a
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