I believe that many of you may not be familiar with or have visited the shrine/mutt/temple of His Highness Sri Raghavendra Swami in Mantralaya, Andhra Pradesh, South India.

For those readers, let me introduce Sri Raghavendra Swami and his shrine. I first learned about Sri Swami in 1987 through an elderly devotee from Chennai. He assured me that I need not worry or rush to visit the shrine, as Swami himself invites and paves the way for new devotees based on their true ambition and faith in him. This turned out to be true in my case as well.

In 1989, while in Mumbai for my business matters, I sought a return journey ticket to Bangalore, where I was residing at the time. The ticket booking counter staff at Chatrapathi Shivaji terminus informed me that there were no tickets available for at least one week from my desired dates of return. I asked him to check for any possibility of a seat, even in RAC, but the result was negative. Surprisingly, he then mentioned that someone had canceled a Mantralaya road ticket and if I wished, I could avail of it and take the opportunity to visit the shrine.

Since Mantralaya road station was on my proposed journey route, I was thrilled by his suggestion and agreed to book that seat. It reminded me of the words of the elderly devotee of Sri Raghavendra Swami who had said, "Swami would pave the way for me to reach there when the proper time comes."

I reached Mantralaya road station at night after a 16-hour journey and hired an auto-rickshaw to Mantralaya town. There were plenty of medium and moderate lodges and hotels available. I checked in at a lodge near the temple. The next morning, after bathing, I visited the temple to perform poojas and worship at the Brindavan, where Swami attained Samadhi. The temple is located by the side of the Tungabhadra River. After finishing my prayers and leaving the temple, I obtained a free token for the mid-noon lunch, which was the Prasadam of the deity. The lunch was sumptuous with vegetarian curries and sweet payasam (pudding), among other things. I also learned that Thursdays were considered the most important and prime day for the shrine. Every night around 8 PM, there was a special ritual where the deity idol was taken out on a domestic elephant provided by the temple authorities, and three rounds were conducted around the temple, accompanied by various musical instruments as per temple norms.

Participating in these rituals brought me inner peace and extreme happiness. To my surprise, I realized that there was no exploitation of devotees/pilgrims in any way by the poojaris/agents. There was an official display board showing the names of different varieties of poojas and offerings, along with their appropriate fees. One could easily purchase the tickets for these Poojas from the temple counter. Everything was systematic and legitimate.

Now, you may wonder why there is so much to mention about this shrine. In short, I must tell you that Sri Raghavendra Swami is/was like a living God, blessing his devotees abundantly. During his lifetime, he performed numerous miracles at various places and occasions. One notable incident related to Swami occurred during the British period when Indian Railways were involved. In those days, Mantralaya Road station was not well-known, and all trains passing by were allowed only 3-minute halts. A British railway officer decided to cancel the halting at the station completely and ordered loco pilots to stop trains there no longer. To their surprise, when the loco pilot didn't apply the brakes at Mantralaya road station, the train automatically stopped there as if the brakes were applied. The loco pilot was astonished, and the British officer was also intrigued. The loco pilot tried to convince the officer about the unusual powers of Sri Raghavendra Swami, but the officer was skeptical. To verify the fact, the officer himself traveled with the loco pilot, and he was shocked to see the train halt automatically without applying the brakes. The astonished officer was fully convinced of the powers of Swami and declared that the train should stop there for 9 minutes instead of 3.

Depending on the readers' interest, I would be glad to share more miraculous incidents connected to Sri Raghavendra Swami. For now, I can assure all believers that by chanting the "Sloka (prayer)" of Sri Raghavendra Swami 41 times daily for 41 days, you will attain good mental peace, tranquility, and progress in your life.

The prayer is:

“POOJYAYA RAGHAVENDRAYA

SATHYA DHARMA RATHAYACHA

BHAJATHAM KALPAVRUKSHAYA

NAMATHAM KAAMADHENAVE”

“SHREE RAMA JAYAM”

Tags: #RaghavendraSwami, #Mantralaya, #Temples, #SouthIndianTemple, #Travel,