A Collection Of Folk Legends About Venkateshwara, The Sacred Tirumala Hills, His Miracles And The Rituals And Festivals Associated With Him-A Manifestation Of Vishnu. Contains Rare Photographs.

Lord Balaji and His Holy Abode of Tirupathi LOCATED ON THE VERDANT FOOTHILLS of the Eastern Ghats, Tirupathi is both a cultural hub and a major pilgrimage site. Nestled in its Tirumala Hills is the famous temple of Sri Venkateswara Swami, fondly called Balaji by his worshippers. Devotees believe that Sri Venkateswara, a form of Lord Vishnu, answers the prayers of all those who seek his help and performs the greatest miracles in granting their wishes. As a result, the temple draws millions of pilgrims to its doors and is the busiest pilgrimage centre in the world. Sri Venkateswara: Lord Balaji and His Holy Abode of Tirupathi is a compilation of numerous folk legends on the benevolent Balaji. The book also offers an insight into the 1000yearold customs and traditions of the sacred Tirumala Hills. Written as a mark of gratitude to the Lord, the book details all the rituals, sevas and festivals associated with him. Here also are captured glimpses of the many teerthas, lakes and waterfalls of Tirumala. Along with this is a wealth of information for visitors and devotees alike on the various educational, medical and developmental activities of Tirupathi.

The book provides personal account and experiences of the author who visited devasthanam. They should worke interest and devision among the reades and reverance of the deity. The book deals with eternal questions like Is there God? If there is, how does He look? Have you seen Him? Or the seekers of truth who ask, How much of faith one should repose in God to earn His Support for Human endeavors? This book, perhaps has answers for such question.

For the first time ever, Tirupati: A Guide to Life analyses and connects the philosophy surrounding the god of Tirupati to the tests and tragedies of our everyday life. From what is considered a sin to what is dharma to anecdotes on sorrow, neglect, betrayal, and ways of finding wealth, success, and faith, the book bridges the generational gaps in relevance and application of ancient wisdom to modern life. It traces the divine and historical origins of the temple at Venkatachala, and provides a glimpse into the interior of the holy shrine—one of the world’s most important religious places. The book includes: • the list of festivals of Tirupati • vehicles of gods used for each festival • slokas read in the temple to wake up the Lord • dos and don’ts of the temple With a foreword by the head priest, this is the story and glory of Lord Sri Venkateswara, the god who loves His devotees, fulfils their desires, and redeems them. Tirupati: A Guide to Life is for all those who believe that destiny can be changed, and want to know how.

The temple for the Lord of Vengadam in Tirumala (Andhra Pradesh, India) is one of the richest places of worship in the entire world with ever-increasing popularity, the footfall of devotees on the Seven Hills touching a whopping figure of seventy thousand on weekdays and one hundred thousand during the weekends. The Temple's annual budget hovers around 25 billion rupees. This world record to fame and riches is not without its flip side. The temple has become the focal point for a variety of controversies-some created by the political class, some by historians with an axe to grind, and some more by Hindus with a sectarian outlook. The never-ending dispute is over the identity of the idol as a result of the age-old conflict between the worshippers of Siva and Vishnu, the two most important deities of the Hindu pantheon. Taking their cue from this, Neo-Buddhists joined the fray with the claim that the temple was a Buddhist shrine and that it was converted into Vishnu temple by "wily Brahmins." The book aims to unravel the mystery over the history of the temple, providing a historical perspective to the issue and thus establishing the real identity of the Lord, which is indisputably that of the Vishnu.

The society of traditional India is frequently characterized as static and dominated by caste. This study challenges older interpretations, arguing that medieval India was actually a time of dynamic change and fluid social identities. Using records of religious endowments from Andhra Pradesh, author Cynthia Talbot reconstructs a regional society of the precolonial past as it existed in practice.

Every human being will think of spirituality, having been vexed with day to day materialistic experiences at one point of time in the life cycle. Such great fonding if once enters the mind, will remain forever. The soul yearns for acquiring knowledge in this domain. If the pleasures of divine grace pouring on are experienced once, it would call for learning more. We would like to churn out the entire scriptures to understand the concepts and many times it would be difficult to gather so much information at one place. This book, which is a compilation of various articles by me and my family members on spiritualism and published in different magazines in India.

The History of Hindu Religious Endowments in Andhra Pradesh (1800-1953 ad)-presents an account of situations in Hindu Temples of Telugu speaking areas of Madras Presidency till the creation of separate HR & CE Department for Andhra Pradesh in 1951. The association of the British and their legislation towards religious endowments with reference to Tirupati Temple over the State interference in matters of religion has been analysed.