Page 31 - History of Tirupathi Balaji and comparison of Sri Vaishnava

Lord Krishna teaches Arjuna, “Whatever you do, whatever you eat,
whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform — do
that, O son of Kunti, as an offering to Me.” (Bg 9.27) Commenting on this
verse, Bhaktivedanta Swami writes, Thus, it is the duty of everyone to mold his life
in such a way that he will not forget Krishna in any circumstance. Everyone has to work
for maintenance of his body and soul together, and Krishna recommends herein that one
should work for Him. Everyone has to eat something to live; therefore he should accept the
remnants of foodstuffs offered to Krishna. Any civilized man has to perform some religious
ritualistic ceremonies; therefore Krishna recommends, “Do it for Me,” and this is called
arcana. Everyone has a tendency to give something in charity; Krishna says, “Give it to
Me,” and this means that all surplus money accumulated should be utilized in furthering
the Krishna consciousness movement. Nowadays people are very much inclined to the
meditational process, which is not practical in this age, but if anyone practices meditating
on Krishna twenty-four hours a day by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra round his beads,
he is surely the greatest meditator and the greatest yogi. Lord Krishna confi rms this
statement at the end of the sixth chapter of Bhagavad-gita. He says, “And of all
yogis, the one with great faith who always abides in Me, thinks of Me within himself, and
renders transcendental loving service to Me — he is the most intimately united with Me in
yoga and is the highest of all. That is My opinion.” (Bg 6.47)
Vedavati demonstrated that devotional service with love and faith is
especially meant for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Every living entity
is meant to serve the Supreme Lord according to his capacity. Failing to do so
will be the cause of the living entities’ fall down from spiritual life to materialistic
endeavors for selfi sh aggrandizement.

Ravana sees Vedavati
Vedavati continued her meditation on Lord Vishnu for thousands of years.
One day, the king of the Raksasas (man-eating demons), named Ravana, saw
Vedavati alone in the deep forest. Enchanted by her beauty, he approached her
secretly to appreciate the features of her elegant body, matted hair and natural
effulgence. With his lusty desires out of control, he used his superior mystic
powers to transform himself into a handsome, youthful man. Since he was
trained to be a scholar of Vedic knowledge by his father who was a Brahmin,
Ravana was able to speak choice poetry to attract the mind of Vedavati. He
glorifi ed her with many poetic compliments and he praised himself claiming
that he defeated Indra, the king of heaven, and all the devas (demigods). After
his fl ights of braggadocio, Ravana asked Vedavati to marry him. She said, “I
have given my heart to Lord Vishnu.” She was not tempted by Ravana and his
promises of material happiness.
Vedavati’s chastity endows her with spiritual power to resist Ravana
When Ravana heard the name of Lord Vishnu, he became incensed with
rage and said, Who is this Vishnu? What has He done for you? You have worshipped Him
for thousands of years for nothing. He has left you alone in this forsaken jungle with hardly
a morsel to eat. You come with me and I shall adorn you with royal robes and jewels fi t for
a heavenly queen. You will experience immense pleasures and opulence that even the devas
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