Do Prayers Precipitate Rains?
Episode - 3 , Part - 1
Tirumala temple bell Miracle
One day, well past Midnight, the giant bells in Lord Srinivasa's temple began to toll long after the temple doors had been shut. The unprecedented and inconceivable event shook Tirumala residents as well as visiting pilgrims out of their sleep and made them sprint towards the temple. Surprise, suspicion and concern were writ large on their faces as they thronged the temple. They were drowned in a sea of doubts and suspicions at a time Tirumala was thirsting for water.
Tirumala temple bell Miracle
One day, well past Midnight, the giant bells in Lord Srinivasa's temple began to toll long after the temple doors had been shut. The unprecedented and inconceivable event shook Tirumala residents as well as visiting pilgrims out of their sleep and made them sprint towards the temple. Surprise, suspicion and concern were writ large on their faces as they thronged the temple. They were drowned in a sea of doubts and suspicions at a time Tirumala was thirsting for water.
In 1979, a year after I had taken over as TTD Executive officer, Tirumala went through a terrible water crisis. By August the drought was so severe that water sources - the Gogarbham reservoir and the two tanks - the Alwar tank and the other on the way to Srivari feet - had almost dried up. The present Papanasanam dam was still under construction. The three or four wells, which supplemented water supply, too, had dried up. As a result, severe restrictions had been imposed on water supply and usage in Tirumala. The south-east monsoon had failed.
We were expecting inflows into the reservoirs, tanks and wells in September and October, when cyclones triggered rains during the north-west monsoon. The available water was being judiciously and economically used as rains could get delayed upto October. But that year, the rain Gods had not showered compassion even until the beginning of November. TTD engineers concluded that the available water might last a maximum of four weeks and the prospect of rains was grim.
Tirumala, with an enumerated population of 6000, attracted 25000 every day pilgrims on an average and many more on holidays and festive days. Unlisted vendors and hawkers running into thousands were also either permanent or temporary residents of Tirumala. The water needs of everyone had to be met. I started examining the available options. One option was to transport water from Tirupati to Tirumala by tankers and the other was to appeal to pilgrims not to visit water-starved Tirumala. Further restrictions on water supply were out of the question as steep cuts had already been enforced. How could we ask pilgrims not to come?
Tirumala, with an enumerated population of 6000, attracted 25000 every day pilgrims on an average and many more on holidays and festive days. Unlisted vendors and hawkers running into thousands were also either permanent or temporary residents of Tirumala. The water needs of everyone had to be met. I started examining the available options. One option was to transport water from Tirupati to Tirumala by tankers and the other was to appeal to pilgrims not to visit water-starved Tirumala. Further restrictions on water supply were out of the question as steep cuts had already been enforced. How could we ask pilgrims not to come?
Would it be proper for TTD Trustees to ask pilgrims not to visit the Lord as they could not provide water? Whoever were the TTD Trust Board members, it was the Executive Officer who had to look after day-to-day management. After making a number of calculations, I ordered for supply of water by tankers. The tanker water was adequate to meet the temple needs and help maintain basic sanitation levels. I realized that meeting the water needs of the town and pilgrims for the next eight to ten months was impossible, even if funds were not a constraint.
I, therefore, desperately started exploring whether ancient "sastras" offered any solution.I called on the TTD Asthana Vidvan and Advisor - the renowned vedic scholar Sri Uppuluri Ganapathi Sastry(90).
(The Government of India later conferred on him the "Padma Vibhushan" title).
I, therefore, desperately started exploring whether ancient "sastras" offered any solution.I called on the TTD Asthana Vidvan and Advisor - the renowned vedic scholar Sri Uppuluri Ganapathi Sastry(90).
(The Government of India later conferred on him the "Padma Vibhushan" title).
I asked him whether "japas" (prayers) and "yagnas"(offering through sacred fire to Gods) would provide a solution to drought and , if so , to what extent. His reply was unambiguous. He said, " The Vedas offer solutions to all such problems. But any Vedic ritual will be effective only when one undertakes it with perfect faith in God and sincerity in thought, word and deed. Competent Vedic scholars, who can undertake such great tasks, are fading out because people, carried away by their craze for modern civilization, have lost interest in following Vedic traditions. The Vedas are a treasure-house of knowledge and offer a solution to every problem - spiritual as well as temporal " .
His tremendous faith in the Vedas offering solutions to even mundane problems moved me. I was certain that he could come up with a solution to the water problem. This 90-year old erudite scholar had spent 48 years of his life in serious studies, mastering the Vedas and Vedangas. It is not possible to interpret the Vedas correctly unless one is proficient in "vyakarnana, tarka, vedanta, mimasa, nyaya and nirukta". Sri Ganapati Sastry was a stalwart in all the subjects. I was keen on tapping his scholarship and commitment.
My single point programme was provision of water to pilgrims, however complex the means might be.
Therefore , I was ready to follow in thought, word and deed whatever the "sastras" ordained.
My single point programme was provision of water to pilgrims, however complex the means might be.
Therefore , I was ready to follow in thought, word and deed whatever the "sastras" ordained.
OM NAMO SRINIVASAYA
OM NAMO NARAYANAYA
OM NAMO VENKATESAYA
OM NAMO NARAYANAYA
OM NAMO VENKATESAYA
Know more about how come the temple bells rang themselves and what happened next to solve the severe water scarcity in the upcoming episode
4. Do Prayers Precipitate Rains? (Part - 2)
17th December 2016
17th December 2016