Page 40 - History of Tirupathi Balaji and comparison of Sri Vaishnava
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the Bhagavad-gita from Krishna he realized that the battle was the plan of the
Lord. Krishna advised Arjuna that he should fi ght in accordance with His desire.
Then Arjuna would be happy because he would fulfi ll the purpose of human life.
Krishna said to Arjuna, You can become but an instrument in the fi ght.” If one becomes
Krishna consciousness and devotes his life to the Lord’s service, the Lord delivers such a
person from the cycle of birth and death. Krishna tells Arjuna, “But those who worship Me,
giving up all their activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in
devotional service and always meditating upon Me, having fi xed their minds upon Me, O son
of Pritha – for them I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death. (Bg 12.6-7)
In the present age of Kali yuga, the Lord has made a special concession for all
sincere souls seeking to engage in His service. They can simply engage in honest
work for material maintenance and chant Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna
Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. The
transcendental chant of the Lord’s holy names will liberate one from material
attachments and direct one’s mind to serving the Lord with love and devotion.
Then one can again return back to the eternal abode of the Lord in the spiritual
world where we belong.
History of how the Tirupati Tirumala temple appeared
Lord Srinivasa lived with Bakula devi, Lahshmi and Padmavati for many
years on the Tirumala Mountain. King Aksharaj left this world while meditating
on Srinivasa. His son Vasudan considered that he was the rightful king. But
there was a problem because Aksharaj shared the kingdom with his brother,
Thondaman who addressed Vasudan, “Originally Sudharma, our father, wanted
to divide the kingdom in half for both of us, your father and myself. But, due to
our brotherly love for one another, we wanted to rule together. We have been
doing this peacefully. In your father’s absence, we should rule together”
But Vasudan said, “Is it in writing? Show me. How can you prove your
statement?” There was no written agreement as the brothers trusted each other.
Vasudan declared that his uncle was lying. Vasudan declared himself the sole
king. The disagreement escalated. The people of the kingdom chose to believe
one side or the other and soon there was preparation for war.
On the battlefi eld the two armies were about to start the war. This is the
age of Kali – hypocrisy and quarrel. With or without a written contract, people
in this age make up their own interpretations of the facts. This often leads to
disagreements and even violence and war. The uncle and nephew were about
to fi ght for property and position. They both wanted Srinivasa on their side.
Srinivasa asked Padmavati who’s side he should support?” She said, “Vasudan
is my brother. He is very dear to me. You cannot go against him.”
Srinivasa decided to give His conch shell and His Sudarsan chakra to
Thondaman. And he said he would be on the side of Vasudan.
The fi ght began, but there was a problem. Thondaman perceived that
his soldiers were not fi ghting enthusiastically because they had great respect
and love for Srinivasa. How could they fi ght against the ultimate person they
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