Informative

Visa Balaji of Chilkur

In many states in India, it is mandatory to send at least one family member abroad. Even though countries like the United States, Canada, and England offer brilliant employment and higher education opportunities, getting visas for these countries can be tricky. Many would say the unpredictable affair.

Whenever we face unpredictability, we seek shelter under the protection of the Divine, to have a stable ground to stand on and to have reliable mental and emotional support. There are many temples where devotees come and pray about having a child, getting a job, getting married, or getting healthy. Then why would the Visa process be left behind? Today, in the blog series of mysterious temples of India, we will visit the Lord Balaji temple, located near Hyderabad, also known as Visa Balaji.

Hyderabad is an IT hub, and almost every tech giant has its office in this hi-tech city. Nearly every person working in these multinational corporations dreams of going abroad. Many of such people come to the Balaji temple, located on the shores of Osman Sagar lakes, nearby Hyderabad. Being popular amongst IT professionals and aspiring students pursuing higher education, this temple attracts devotees from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Maharashtra.

About the temple

 Temple has typical Dravidian-style architecture. It has a colourful Gopuram or the entrance tower. The temple enclosure is an ancient wall covered in white paint. From the pillars, Gopuram, entrance, and outer walls of the temple, the temple can quickly be dated back to the fifteenth century.

About four hundred years ago, there used to be an adherent devotee of Lord Balaji (Lord Venkateshwara), who used to visit Tirupati every year. Once, due to some unfortunate ailment, he could not travel to Tirupati, and that negative feeling started to eat him from within. He lost his hunger, sleep, and mental peace, missing his beloved Lord Balaji.

One night, as he was finally asleep, Lord Venkateshwara appeared in his dream and said, “Do not worry, my child, I am a lot closer to you than you think. I am residing in the jungle beside the village.” The devotee went to the jungle the following day and started looking for the signs. When he approached a giant molehill, he could hear strange sounds coming out of the molehill.

Hearing this, he started breaking the molehill with his axe. As he was chopping the hill, the ax struck a stone hidden inside, and blood started oozing from it. The surprised devotee again heard a voice in his head, ordering him to go back to the village and bring lots of milk back to the molehill.

Within no time, the devotee was back to the molehill with milk cans and started flooding the molehill with cow’s milk. An idol of Lord Balaji, accompanied by Shridevi and Bhudevi, appeared out of the hill. Villagers came together, honouring the Divine Will; they built the temple surrounding the molehill.         

During the 1980’s visa conditions were very strict, and not many Indians could have a USA visa. Few students, who faced repetitive rejection from the Chennai US visa consulate, arrived here and prayed for the desired visa. A few months later, all of them were granted visas. Since then, many immigration aspirants are coming here before facing the visa interview.  

Tradition

 Circumambulation means walking in circles around something or someone. The practice of circumambulation is found in many religions like Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and even Sanatana Dharma. In his world-changing speeches, Lord Buddha has explained the true power of circumambulation. He used to say that circumambulation, done around the divine source, purifies the Karma and ensures a favourable rebirth.

This thousand-year-old spiritual tradition is also followed in the Lord Balaji temple. Visa aspirants arrive here and encircle eleven times around the main sanctum sanctorum of the temple. Many of the devotees come carrying their passports while circumambulating clockwise. And when the key gets stamped with the desired visa, they revisit the temple, encircling Lord Balaji 108 times, paying tribute to their Lord.      

Another unique feature of this temple is that the Balaji temple is without a Hundi or donation box. Temple does not accept cash or any compensation. In this day and age, where there are different lines for celebrities and people who can afford expensive tickets to skip the lines outside temples, this temple sets a unique example: devotion does not depend on social status or bank balance.

The opportunity to learn and earn abroad attracts many. But due to political uncertainties, international politics, world economics, and other uncontrollable factors, many feel that divine intervention is the only way out. And hence, this temple attracts thousands of devotees every year.  

We hope you enjoyed reading about the Visa-granting temple of Lord Balaji, located on the outskirts of Hyderabad. Please subscribe to our mailing list to stay connected and receive information about spirituality. In case of any queries, please write to us at info@chamundaswamiji.com. You can check out our YouTube channel Chamunda Swamiji where you can learn Tantra, Mantra, Yantra, and Meditation from His Holiness Shri Chamunda Swamiji.