*Prayer is not just a pious practice. It is asking for spiritual help, inner strength and determination. Prayer changes the person who prays. It supports the efforts the person makes. If prayer can do so much in your life, it should become the central point in your life.

 Suresh was ready to leave for school. It was the first day of his final examination. He once again opened his bag to make sure everything was in order. The pens were there. The scale was there. The pencil and eraser were there. In his shirt pocket was a piece of paper containing all the important points to remember. He used this paper to make sure that he knew everything of the subject. There was just five minutes for the school bus to arrive. He went into the prayer room, folded his hands, closed his eyes and prayed. He prayed for strength to remember all that he studied. Then he came out, out bye to his parents and left for school.

 We also pray. We often go to God with a list our needs. We pray for good memory power. We pray for our win competitions. We pray for our parents. We pray for our friends. We pray for more comforts in our life. The list is endless.

 We also go to God to share our problems. We speak to him about our problems and concerns. We have our fears. A friend has not behaved properly. Father has not paid attention. Mother has not spoken. Brother has torn paper. Sister has dropped ink on books. We have so many things to share with God. We unburden ourselves before him.

 Sometimes we go to God just to enjoy his presence. There is no list of needs. There is no litany of complaints. We just sit and enjoy his presence. We praise him. We thank him for all the good things he has done to us.

 Whether it is placing the list of our needs or just enjoying his presence, we rush to him. We spend some time to pour out our heart to him. We want him to reassure us of his continued love and support. Our trust in him is absolute. We come out more confident, more composed and more powerful.

 Kavita was an ordinary girl. She went to school like anyone else. She was just average in her studies. She was not very talented. So she was not much known around. She knew what kind of person she was and so she kept to herself. Her life was just mechanical. She just lived from day to day. She helped her parents. She was a nice to her younger brother. Nobody had any complaints against her.

 When she was in class VII, a new teacher came to give them moral education. The teacher spoke to them about the importance of values in their lives. She explained to them about the need for leading a righteous life. She taught them to pray. It was a new experience for Kavita. Her parents did not believe in God. They were atheists. So she had no religious upbringing. For the first time someone told her about God and how to talk with him intimately.

 She followed the instructions given by the teacher. She began to experience deep peace and calm, as she began to pray. Her prayer life began too work on her. It gave her a new motivation and inspiration. She found a new meaning in her studies. Her person was affected by the prayer life. It gave her a new direction. It gave her a new purpose. Her behavior and attitude changed. This had its influence on her classmates. She also rose higher in rank in her studies and other activities.

 We pray every day. Perhaps it is mechanical. We just parrot out what we have learned by heart but it does not add anything to our life. It fails to impress us. It fails to influence our attitude and behavior.

 Speak to God in sincerity and humility. Make your prayer life meaningful. Then prayer begins to reflect on all events in your life. It makes you see various important aspects of your life, which normally escape your attention. You slowly change and the change becomes visible in your study and other activities. Your life becomes different.

PASHUPATINATH TEMPLE

Pashupati Nath Temple is situated 5 km North-East of Kathmandu in Nepal. It is situated at the right hand side of the Bagmati River, amidst many other temples. But its importance makes it Special.

Lord Pashupatinath is one amongst the Dwadasha Jyotirlingas and He is considered to be the Protector of Nepal by the local people. It is also considered to be the best among the Dwadasha Jyotirligas. ‘Pashu’ means ‘living animals’ and ‘Pati’ means ‘Matr’. In other words, ‘Pashupatinath’ means ‘Master of all living organisms’. The same mention of him can be found in the Vedas and the Upanishads too.

Many stories are famous regarding the building of the Pashupatinath Temple. S per one story, the Shivalinga here was buried deep down the earth for many years. Green grass had gown above the land. A cow used to come and offer her milk over the Sacred, but invisible, Shivalinga. When its owner noticed that she had stopped giving milk since some days, he decided to know the reason. He followed the cow for some days and saw that she dropped all her milk at a fixed spot daily. So, he drilled down the earth and found the Shivalinga there. Then it started to be worshipped and a temple was built soon. With the passage of time, it became popular and the devotes came to consider it their Protector. The Temple has also been repaired by many rulers of Nepal an this can be noticed through the architecture of the Temple. According to ‘Goplaraj Vanshawali’, the oldest book of History of Nepal, this Temple was built five-storeyed by King Supus Pareva of Licchavi. Before this, it was a small Temple with only a Shivalinga.

History says that this Temple was plundered by Sultan Shamsuddin of Bengal in 14^th Century AD. This damaged it to such an extent that it required repair , which was done ten years later by King Jay Simha Ram Vardhana. The present Temple is situated in the middle of an open Veramdah. It is a rectangular Temple, built over a 23m high platform. All the four doors are gold plated. The Shivalinga lies inside a narrow way and it can be seen from some distance. Various old statues make the Temple a piece of art.

A very attractive, 3 feet high, Shivalinga with four faces also lies inside the Temple. Each face has its own importance. The East face is known as ‘Tatpurush’, the West face ‘Sandhyojit’ an in the same way North and South faces are called ‘Vamdeva’ and ‘Aghora’ respectively. The upper part of the Linga is called ‘Ishan’. The four faces are also considered to signify the four Vedas.

Pashupatinath Temple is considered a very Sacred and important pilgrimage. Thousands from all over the world get Darshan daily. But remember, ou will get Darshan only when Pashupatinath calls you for it. I am also waiting for my chance.

A social organization from a housing colony decided to give the children of the colony a new experience.

 Two buses were hired and a group of 100 children, ranging from 5 to 18 years, were taken for an educational excursion. The children belonged to various religions and various communities. They were asked to bring some typical food items of the region they came from, so that a variety of dishes could be shared. The only restriction was that only vegetarian food items. Were allowed the older children had to take care of the younger ones. Mr. Ramesh and Ms. Meena, members of the organizing committee who accompanied the children, supervised the arrangements. They also participated in the games, designed for the children.

 The buses left from Andheri (East). The first halt was at Dharma Kshetra of Sathys Sai Baba temple. They spent about 20 minutes three. The entrance door of the auditorium attracted everyone because it carried symbols of Hindu, Muslim and Christian religions. The person who took them round the campus explained the symbols. They were shown all the mythological photos and magnificent gardens. The peaceful surroundings added to children’s happiness. As they ere to c0ontinue their journey, they were given breakfast.

 The next halt, a short one, was at ISKCON (International Society for Lord Krishna Consciousness), Juhu. Here, they were shown pictures from Mahabharata, which adorned the wall of the temple. The swami explained to the children the value of concentration and meditation to attain inner peace. After having Prasad, they got into the buses. On the way, they passed a mosque where namaaz was on. The children were thrilled to see a small boy reciting the Quoran with much devotion and confidence. As they drove along, they crossed St. Michael’s Church and the famous Darga at Mahim, the Victoria Church and the Shitaladevi temple.

 Though many children may have passed through and seen these places before, on this occasion they acquire a special significance. The children were so astonished by the innumerable places of worship of different religious groups that some of them remarked, `What a sea of people, Mumbai is! Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Paris, Jains, Buddhists, Jews- are all having their own religion, language and culture. Despite their distinct characteristics they are all really one people! Even a casual look at the people waiting to cross the road at a traffic signal is characteristic of the diversity.’ Ms. Meena added, this signifies the `Unity in Diversity.’

 They had a short halt at Shivaji Park. The children shared the food, they had brought. The preparations were from almost all the regions of the country. While sharing their lunch in groups, they interacted with one another and discussed the various food habits and customs. Everyone was satisfied for having had the opportunity of partaking of delicious food from different regions.

 Then, they were in buses once again. They saw the Siddhivinayak temple. Mahalaxmi temple and HajiAli the children were attracted by the sight of the people walking over the path in the sea, leading to the place of worship. There was noisy and animated discussion about all that they had seen so far.

 They visited Mani Bhavan. They were shown the puppet exhibition depicting the scenes from the freedom Movement, the place where Mahatma Gandhi used to sit, stamps and postcards brought out on special occasions and collection of original letters. The staff of Mani Bhavan gave enlightening talks about Mahatma Gandhi and the freedom movement, Dandi March and Quit India movement. The children asked many questions and the staff of Mani Bhavan were happy to answer. Mr. Ramesh and Ms. Meena showed them the August Kranti Maidan and explained its significance. They also told about Hutatma Chowk though they could not go there, due to lack of time. Instead, they drove to Chowpatty. On the sands of Chowpatty they all assembled and at this meeting Mr. Ramesh and Ms. Meena explained to them how all of them, though coming from different families and belonging to various religions and communities, had become `one croup’ indeed.

 The children explained, `we all are brothers and sisters of one family and one country. We also now realize that we are citizens of the world.’ Mr. Ramesh said, `we are all Indians before we are Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Parsis, Buddhists, Jains or Sikhs.’

Ms. Meena said `God is one. God is within us when we do good deeds and serve humanity. We worship God. All the religions teach love, compassion, piety and goodness. God is one but the ways of worshipping are many’.

 Then they all go into the buses and started their journey back to the colony. The children enjoyed the trip; they were enriched by their experiences. They returned relaxed and contented. They had a lot to discuss with their parents and elders. In the colony, many activities were organized where children of different age groups actively participated and cooperated in the development of the colony.

Tirumala means the place of many hills.
In ancient days Tirumala was called as " Tiru vEnkatAdri ".
Sri Venkateswara (Lord Balaji) is the world famous Hindu God.
Venkatadri is the residence of him.
" VEm" is the symbol of all sins."Kata" means, burn them. Venkatadri means the place which burns all sins of people.

" Tolkapsiyam " is the first Tamil Literature.  In this book, Writer called swamy's land as Vengadam.
Poet " Mamulanar" also said the same. So at that time, TIrumala's name was VEngaDam.
People called Swamy as " Sri Venkatachalapati ", after only 935 A.D. .

There are so many stories about the god of Seven Hills. Most of them have no historical evidence.
According to some historic evidence, experts are telling like this...

Time: 100 B.C. - 100 A.D.
That was the deepest jungle. Some villagers came to that place in the search of their Cows.
They found Swamy Statue There in an Anthill. They surprised a lot .  
Who makes that statue? From when it is there! What God is he! .. nobody knows until now.
They told about this to their king , Tondaman.
He is the son of Nagarani and Karikalachola, the first Emperor of Chola dynasty , who ruled tanjavUr.
He builds Tonda manDal , so .. He was called as Tondaman king.
He went with very much of interest and saw the great Statue of Swamy. Statue is very big and tremendous. He admired a lot. After some days, he builds the first temple for Swamy. It was a temporary temple. It might be a rock construction with a small compound wall and without top or a partial top. We can imagine like this way .. Because Shilappadikaram of 760 A.D., said that swamy's statue is always contacting with the rays of sun and moon. We can imagine in another way also. Tondaman King constructed a small temple with a top, but it was destroyed, so sun and moon could see the god directly.
Finally, we can say that our grand fathers saw the Balaji, first time at the time of Karikala chola (100B.C. -100 A.D. )

Sri Venkateswara Swamy  is " Swayambhuvu". It means he has born himself in Tirumala. Swamy is on the hill top. In the ancient Tamil literature " ShilappadikAra" (756 A.D.) , Swamy was described as the god, who residing on the hill top of Venkatachala hill. So Swamy was called as " ucciyil NinRAn", means God on the hilltop. After some time, people recognized that Swamy's temple is in a lower height than the premises. So people started to call swamy as " Malai kuniya ninRAn".

Narayanadri's height is 3,620 feet. This is the tallest Hill in Seven Hills .

" Pancharatra" and " Vaikhanasa" are the two Agamas which tell the Temple procedures. Tirumala temple follows the Vaikhanasa Agama.

Now ," TiruchanUr" or "AlimElu MangApuram" is a famous town near Tirupati. That is in a distance of ten miles to Tirumala. That is very ancient and has a great history. Its old name is "TirushukhanUr". Before the establishment of Tirupati, TirushukanUr is the key place to Tirumala .
"Tiruvilan koil" was constructed in tirusukhanur in 826 A.D. It was also a  Venkateswara Temple.
Many people visited the tirusukhanUr and saw the god in Tiruvilan koil and returned to their villages. Because reaching Tirumala is a big risky journey in those days. There were no clear routes , no facilities and no safety. Due to this reason, Tiruvilan koil was closed at 960 A.D..
From the times of " pallava' and "chola", there was a village committee in tirushukanUr. That committee had maintained all the things of Tirumala temple. After the establishment of Tirupati, people who were working in Tirumala, shifted to Tirupati from tirusukhanUr. After that Tirupati developed gradually, TirushukanUr lost all.

Before 1200 A.D. , there was a small Village under the Seven Hills. That was called as  ' KottUru ' .  Ramanujacharya built a new town in the place of Village. Now we are calling that town as " Tirupati" . There was a Temple of " ParthasAradhi swamy". That  was small and ancient. At that time, the emperor of Chola dynasty was an opponent of " Vaishnava".  He ordered about Govindaraja swamy of chidambaram," Mahavishnu's residence is Sea. So throw him into the Sea ". Followers of ramanujacharya saved that Statue and brought to Tirupati. Ramanujacarya consecrated that Govindaraja Swamy in the Parthasaradhi Swamy Temple. Now we are calling that temple as " Govindaraja Swamy Temple".

Now Tirumala god is the No .1 earning God in the world. Hindus are describing him as " The God of Kaliyuga".