Priests at the service of the rich and famous at Tirumala

TNN

TIRUPATI: March 30, 2012: Rules forbid priests of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) from officiating at any private functions. They have to be at the service of the Lord round the clock and stick to observance of temple rituals and customs in accordance with Agama sastra principles. The rules are binding for pradhana archakas (there are four chief priests) who have to confine themselves to the sanctum sanctorum and perform Nitya Kainkaryams (sevas) and rituals for the Lord. But chief priest A V Ramana Deekshitulu, the only visible face among the pradhana archakas, has always chosen to tread his own path much to the chagrin of Hindu dharma prachara activists.

The chief priest was served a memo by the TTD authorities for conducting special rituals in violation of temple norms for a top industrialist at a guest house atop the hill on April 10, 2010. But this is not the first time that the chief priest, the controversial ’Dollar Seshadri’ (so called because this priest wears a golden dollar) and other priests have courted controversies. "Deekshitulu and Seshadri are often seen rubbing shoulders with industrialists, business magnates, film stars and celebrities. The chief priest flew down to Mumbai to bless the granddaughter of an industrialist at her marriage. As one who stands closest to the Moola Virat inside the garbha griha, he should only be at the service of the Lord," points out seer Kamalananda Bharati Swamy.

In fact, in an interview several years ago, Deekshitulu - a doctorate in molecular biology and an authority on Agamas - himself said that as per the principles of the Vaikhanasa Agama -- which Tirumala temple follows - Tirumala priests should be totally devoted to the worship of the Lord with no other distractions. Rubbishing Deekshitulu’s claims that he does not support private rituals, D R Narendra of the Temple Protection Samithi says: "He performed Sudarshana homam in Tirumala for the late CM YS Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR) and his son Jagan in 2009. He even made trips to Pulivendula and Hyderabad to perform rituals for YSR."