Making of God of small of things

 

Jaganmohan Reddy had kicked up a controversy, just before he landed in jail in May this year in an asset case, by gate-crashing into Tirupathi temple. The controversy was that Jagan, being a Christian, had entered the shrine without signing a register mandated for a non-Hindu declaring he believes in the deity.

The dust settled even before it could trouble the AP demagogue, but the controversy forced the temple authorities to go back to strict enforcement of the ludicrous norm what was confined to the rule book so far.

The norm is ludicrous because it does not only odd fit into the scheme of things in the temple known for its liberal outlook but defies logic; how can you distinguish people based on their religion in the crowd when they look alike as part of one culture that is Indian?, and what is the point in asking anyone whether he believed in the deity when he has come all the way to pay obeisance?  Apart from showing up our pettiness, are we not beating the God down to our level?

The wide ethnic diversity that Indian society enjoys as its strength is paradoxically also its weakness for it has infected the basic texture of its cultural fabric with a malice called caste system. The main casualty of the menace inevitably is the temples as they are the cultural nerve centers effective in propagating beliefs. Because they are also the generators of money and ruling power, a particular section of the society which tend to rule over others by virtue of knowledge of religion clutched the temples so firmly that the religious centers became the privilege of the upper castes and the lower castes deprived of the coveted knowledge were relegated to darkness and a system was strategically evolved and preserved to see them remain there for centuries.

In this backdrop, legends centered on churl devout such as a Kanaka Dasa, a lower caste saint poet who won over the God through his miraculous devotion, were spawned. Kanaka Dasa, a shepherd by caste, was not allowed to see the deity in Udupi temple. He went to the backyard of the temple and sang to pour his heart and pleaded the deity- Bala Krishna, lord Krishna in child form- to show up. His appeal was so piercing that the temple wall opened up and the deity turned backwards to show his face to Kanaka. Even today, a devotee has to peep through the chink of the back wall to pay obeisance to the deity in the Udupi shrine. Moral of the story is that caste system is silly and the blessing of the God is reserved for the true devout.

Kanaka Dasa was a true devout for sure and he could turn even the God on his head. But, what was the fate of ordinary mortals like Indira Gandhi, who could see electoral advantage even in visiting a temple? What if she was the prime minister, Mrs. Gandhi was denied entry to the Jaganath Temple in Puri for she had married to a non-Hindu. And she was not that great soul to do a kanaka, there was no option but to budge and go back. Following this, in 1983, the temple authorities put up a sign board at the ‘lion gate’ and the board says: ‘Only orthodox Hindus are allowed’.

 

 But, given a chance he would sing for the lord at Guruvayur temple, says acclaimed singer K J Yesudas, if not a miracle of Kanaka standard he could promise. Guruvayur temple is another famous shrine of Bala Krishna, which is in Kerala, and a non-Hindu is not allowed. But, Yesudas, a Christian by faith, is an ardent devotee of Guruvayurappan and his soulful rendition of devotional songs is so powerful that his fans- the legion includes ‘orthodox Hindus’- believe, if he is given an opportunity, the virtuoso would make the doors of the sanctum open by his mere mellifluous voice appeal. But, law is an ass. The law of the Guuruvayur temple is not an exception; the recordings of his songs are a must in the temple to exude devotion in the ambiance, but the singer Yesudas is not allowed.

The absurdity must have been a result of some vested interests on work in the past, but in the new age it is making mockery of modernity the society boasts of. Ridiculousness is that the norm in the temples is seemingly applicable for only celebrities whose religious antecedents are known, while common people would freely saunter into the temples oblivious to the so called strict norm, regardless of their faiths and beliefs.

India is indeed incredible. This is the land where we see a Hindu temple would not complete its rituals without a Muslim Bismilla Khan’s ‘shehnai seva’ (performance of Utad Bismilla Khan, who was bestowed with Bharatha Ratna, was regular in Viswanath temple at Varanasi, the ultimate holy destination of a Hindu, till his death in 2006) and the hordes of temples ridiculously discriminative of faiths. Unity in diversity is the hallmark of Indian culture so as absurdity in diversity the beacon of its fundamentalist

Why Tirupathi is enticing?

Wonder why Tirupathi is a champion crowd puller. What makes Thimmappa, as he fondly known to Kannadigas, the God-superstar? 

The second richest temple in the country at Rs.50, 000crore, Tirupathi draws one lakh pilgrims a day, on an average, and the number would shoot up to five lakh on special occasions like Bramhotsava. For instance, people didn’t mind waiting in queue for 20 hours on a day in the month of shravan in August this year just to have an ephemeral glimpse of the deity.

While Padmanabha temple in Kerala could become the richest thanks to the treasure-trove left behind in seven vaults by a patron royal family, the richness of Tirupathi temple is merely due to the contributions made by devotees. A day’s collection of the hundi is not less than a few crore rupees. Although, the comparison is meaningless, just for a statistical assessment in terms of attracting crowds, we can say Tirupathi is ahead of the top two pilgrim centers of the world- Vatican City and Kaba in Mecca; an average annual turn out at the Christian holy city is over 50 lakh, while, in a year including the peak season of Ramadan, the Muslim shrine sees some 30 lakh thronging at the focal point of Islam worship. 

So, Why Tirupathi is so compelling? Is it because the lord of Tirupathi is so humane in nature that people- rich and poor alike- can identify themselves with the God even when they adore sublime divinity in him?

In a country like India where the religion is not a religion but a way of life what being evolved from the point of no beginning, – Indian religion (not using the word ‘Hindu’ is intentional) is called sanathana dharma, the religion with no origin- beliefs and worship of god depends on lot of myths and legends those are derived from skillfully woven mythology.  While oeuvre of Indian mythology reflects on creative genius of the folklore, the stories are testified to have been created out of fear of evil and want of security that the divine force only is believed to be able to provide. Hence, the ancient temples of India have legends as the backgrounder to support their existence in which we find the God descends to protect humanity from the evil and stays on the earth in the form of the idol of the temple.

The mythological legend behind the Tirupathi temple is something unique.   Materialisation of the lord on the worldly earth in human form was not to slay any demon unlike the other avatars of Vishnu. The purpose was not even to establish right over wrong after cleansing the sin, as Krishna, a beguiling incarnation, proclaimed in the Gita that he would come recurrently on the mission. Instead, the god of sustenance -Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva form a trinity of gods with a distinct assignment on hand for each: creation, sustenance and destruction of life respectively-   came down just to be smitten with a fairy-tale princess Padmavathi. And the fling culminated in a marriage of unequal- Padmavathi was the daughter of the king and Srinivasa was an adopted son of a penniless hermit mother.  

Srinivasa, the human form of Vishnu, comes down to earth heartbroken after his wife Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, leaves him in a domestic quarrel. With no money on hand, when his wedding with Padmavathi was fixed, he borrows from Kubera, treasurer of heaven kingdom, and ends up paying interest on the debt eternally.   And the devotees believe they are helping him out in clearing the debt by putting money into the hundi, while, ironically, he is the husband of Lakshmi, the money giver. An obvious quid-pro-quo understanding with the lord is they would get hefty returns on their contribution.  And that should be the reason why we see millionaires rubbing shoulders with the poor jostling in the queue to reach the hundi.

The legend turns into a fascinating potboiler when Lakashmi returns even before Sriniavasa settled for the second marriage and she is so overt in showing up her jealous that the husband like anyone, who is sandwiched by two possessive wives, gets exasperated and becomes a stone idol- and that is the idol worshiped in the sanctum of the Tirupathi shrine.

While the devotees can feel so comfortable with the God whose predicaments are no different than those of themselves, the abode of the lord housed on top of the seventh hill of the mountain series at Tirupathi makes for a perfect setting to give a feel of the God’s place. An arid land of Tirupathi city at the foot of the hills is so hot and humid that you feel the life is tougher on the earth and as you climb up one hill after the other to reach the shrine on top of the seventh hill at an altitude of some 6000 ft the cool breeze carrying a scent of rain from the surrounding lush green forest makes you feel like you have reached heaven from the earth of misery.

And the temple reverberating with the divine hymn ‘OM’ exudes such a unique aroma that fills devotion in the air and you would come under the trance to add your voice to resounding chant ‘Govinda Govinda.’ And the greatest appeal of the temple for the devotees is that there are no stringent rules to be followed unlike other famous temples- in most of the temples you have to take off your shirt, and in Temples like Shabari Malai you are allowed only after undergoing an ascetic practice for 40 days. In the absence of strict regulations, and with the availability of famously delectable ‘Tirupathi Luddu’,  a devotee feels so free with the God that he can’t stop smiling when he relaxes  in the temple premises after the  much sought after ‘darshan’, with one hand on his freshly shaven head.

Considering the enticing aspects of the lord of Tirupathi- the richest being the husband of Lakshmi, most handsome being the father of Manmatha, the god of beauty,  ultimate king being a beloved to the mother earth, and yet as worldly as a common man-, the saint poet Purandara Dasa wrote: ‘ Ee pariya sobhagu aava devaralu naa kaane…. ‘(I haven’t seen more glamour in any other God), and may be this glamour that is pulling hordes devotees for centuries now.