It is a miracle!

I am not a religious fanatic but what happened yesterday at Tirupathi (a temple town in Andhra Pradesh, South India) is worth a mention. My husband and I reached Tirupathi in the morning where we had to attend the wedding ceremony of a close relative. After the wedding, we drove uphill to the abode of Lord Venkatachalapathi. If you are an Indian, you might be aware how pricey it is to see the Lord. Unless you have some high level ‘contacts’, you may have to wait forever for a ‘darshan’ (darshan means vision of God). We usually have a letter of recommendation from our relative who has connections in Tirupathi so we can enter in the V.I.P section which is like a fast-track ‘darshan’ line. Unfortunately, yesterday we found out that they had stopped this V.I.P section. Hence we were left with two choices: (a) to return without a ‘darshan’ or, (b) to wait for three to four hours in the queue.

I flatly refused to do the latter as I was really tired from the journey and also I personally do not endorse standing in line to see an idol of God (I do not advocate idol worship in the first place, though I am not totally averse to the idea). So we had decided to leave ‘empty handed’ as it were. Then we heard that people above 60 years of age could join a shorter line, free of cost, for the darshan. We also had in our group, apart from me and my husband, an elder lady who is a family friend. She said she will go ask the authorities if she can stand in that shorter queue for darshan (note that one has to produce an identification proof to establish their age to join this queue and our family friend did not have this in her possession at the required moment). Fortunately for her, they said she could go without an identity proof.

And, here is the best part; she could apparently also take along with her a younger person to accompany her in case she has some health problems on the way in. As my husband was already eligible for a darshan after his ‘anga pradakshanam’ (circling the temple by rolling on the ground – a special tribute to God), I was the only one left without an opportunity to see the Lord. So I went with our family friend in the shorter queue and got the darshan in half an hour! To add, we also had a splendid and relaxed view of the Lord’s idol. This was the amazing incident which has proved yet again that there is a Supreme power which does act for our good. I always believe that God gives me the best and He seconded that with His subtle indication in Tirupathi yesterday.