Bhattars Gurukals continue Temple Service

In November last year, this section had featured a story on the next generation priests turning their backs on the traditional services at temples, instead opting for lucrative careers in the corporate world (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/11/bhattars-gurukals-move-away-from-temples.html)

This story takes a look at a few who bucked that trend and have taken a big call to dedicate their lives in service to the Lord despite not having a secure salary from the HR & CE. For all of these next generation priests, the mind is clear away from the clutter. Each of them wants to serve the Lord at the hereditary temple, where their forefathers had served for several decades.

In the 1980s, even one padi rice was not available at the Amaruviappan Divya Desam in Therazhundur for presentation to the Lord. It was left to the then young Vasan Bhattar to go from house to house collecting rice to present a Thaligai for the Lord each day. 

There was not even a single Veshti to wrap around the Lord bringing tears to Vasan Bhattar. Just over a decade ago, it was Brahmotsavam time. Much to the shock of Vasan Bhattar, who had served the temple for almost 25 years at that time, the power connection was cut off for non-payment of bills. Such was the state of this ancient Divya Desam in the not so distant past and the struggles the then priests had to go through in running the daily activities and in the conduct of the utsavams.

Vasan Bhattar has been performing aradhana at the Therazhundur Divya Desam since 1984. He received the HR & CE appointment only three years ago after over 30 years of service and that at a monthly salary of Rs. 280. When Vasan Bhattar was young, his father, who performed aradhana for over 8 decades, directed him to learn the agamas, prabhandham and vedas from each of the experts who resided in the town at that time. His father had wanted him to perfect the art of performing the daily rituals and only then was he allowed to enter the temple precincts such was the value placed on learning the right way.  That early learning has helped him gain recognition as one of the best bhattars in the State.

When he entered the sanctum for the first time, he was given a life time message by the then Sthalathar Varadachariar “Every time you enter the Sanctum, remember that you have been chosen among crores of people in India to perform aradhana and feed the Lord at this Divya Desam.” To this day, 35 years later, Vasan Bhattar remembers that message every time he touches the Moolavar Lord.

In his first decade at the temple, Vasan Bhattar received Rs. 1 in the Thattu every month. Despite all the challenges at the temple, he has found great satisfaction in serving the Lord each day of the year.

When his son Hari Sundar entered the teenaged phase, Vasan Bhattar called him and told him that the family has been blessed with the opportunity to perform lifelong service to the Divya Desam Lord so highly praised by Thirumangai Azhwar “No amount of financial glory can be a substitute for performing service to the Lord. And I wanted my son to consider this advice.”

Hari Sundar was a transformed boy, immediately. He quit academics and over the past decade has focused purely on temple service related education and now for the last three years on performing service to the Lord at this Divya Desam.

26 year old Hari Sundar had seen, from a very young age, the struggles of his father (Vasan Bhattar) and grandfather (Kannan Bhattar), who had served for over eight decades, in managing the temple without any support from the HR & CE. As a school boy, his mind was on taking up a bank job. All his peers in the Chozha region went through a similar phase of financial struggle. The entire mood and sentiment was to move away from a life at the temple towards a corporate career in the city.

However, when he touched 15, Hari Sundar, driven by his parents (See Box story) decided to showcase to the world that continuing the hereditary service and performing aradhana to the Lord at a Divya Desam was the way to happiness and not going after money and the luxuries of life. He quit academics and left for Srirangam to join the Velukudi Krishnan run Patshala. For a decade, he learnt the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham, Pancharatra Agama and also acquired a degree in Sanskrit.

But it was a very challenging phase for him. Constantly, he was pushed by his peers to move into corporate life and away from the traditional Vaishnavite attire. His friends gave him the shock treatment that in his current form, it would be difficult to find a bride, especially if he decided to take up service at the remote Divya Desam staying in an agraharam.

Undeterred, Hari Sundar completed his patshala education and moved to Therazhundur to join his father in temple service. There was no appointment order and no salary (there still isn’t!!) for it was the view of the HR & CE that without sufficient income from the temple, it would be difficult for them to pay the salary of the Bhattars.

It has now been three years since he has been performing full-fledged service at the temple as a Bhattar depending solely on ‘Thattu’ Kaasu. While many of his peers have moved into city life, Hari Sundar Bhattar is determined to spend his lifetime at Therazhundur performing service for the Lord unmindful of the lack of a secure monthly salary from the HR & CE. And that is a highly commendable decision taken by this young priest. And he has also found a bride who despite spending her first 20 years in Bombay has happily accepted to live the rest of her life at the remote temple town of Therazhundur.

Balaji Bhattar was just 20 years old when he returned to Mangai Madam to take up service at the Veera Narasimha temple, one of the Pancha Narasimha temples around Thiru Nangur and a location where Thiru Mangai Azhwar performed the Thathiyeeraadhanai for 1008 Vaishnavites as per the condition laid by his beloved Kumuduvalli Nachiyar of Annan Perumal Koil. 

At the time, it had been in a completely dilapidated state with broken floors and falling roof.  The outer walls had been completely damaged. Nothing seemed right at this legendary location. When the young Balaji Bhattar came back after completing his Vedic and Agama, he began the process of resurrecting the temple from ground up.

After his initial schooling in Nangur, Balaji Bhattar came to Mylapore, Chennai to learn the Vedas but his real initiation into the agamas came from the renowned Lakshmana Dikshithar of Parthan Palli Divya Desam. He then took over full charge of the temple and has since revived a number of the historical Utsavams including the Brahmotsavam. At a young age, he grasped the model of capturing the devotee’s attention inside temple and getting them interested in temple activities.

His mind is all focused on making this temple an integral part of a devotee's Nangur Divya Desam trip.  Already there are devotees making their way to the temple from distant corners of the world. In a matter of a decade, Balaji Bhattar has showcased to the archaka community that with commitment and devotion to the Lord, one can succeed and find happiness even from the remotest part and that the future is not so bleak for the Bhattars if the starting point of their Kainkaryam is devotion to the Lord.

33 year old G Somaskandar Sivaacharya belongs to a family that has been performing poojas at the legendary Thyagaraja temple in Tiruvarur. His grandfather performed service for over four decades while his father dedicated himself to the Lord and Ambal for over 50 years.  Belonging to hereditary service, they have stayed away from the monthly salary and are almost fully dependent on ‘Thattu Kaasu’. 

In decades gone by, they were handed a reasonable quantity of paddy for their service. But financially, things had not been rosy for the priests at the temple in the 2^nd half of the previous century. By the time, Somaskandar was into his teenage years his father sent a clear message that he expected his son to continue the temple service though most of his peers at other Thevaram Sthalams were already heading towards a life in bigger cities. After learning Siva Agama, he spent 5 years at a patshala in Mayiladuthurai learning the Vedas. Right from his school days, Somaskandar has been supporting his father every day, thus gaining hands on experience of the sacred activities at the temple. After he joined full time service at the temple just around a decade ago, there have been tempting lucrative opportunities that have come his way including from overseas temples. The traditionally attired Somaskandar happily says that not once in his life has he contemplated moving away from the Tiruvarur temple and dedicates this thought to Lord Thyagaraja who he says has bound him tightly to the service at this temple .

35 year old R Kamala Malar Kannan Bhattar of Thiruvellarai Divya Desam is unique in this small group of next generation priests. He has an Engineering degree from Sastra University. Given the financial challenges that his ancestors experienced, he was headed the way of a city life as a teenager following in the footsteps of some of his seniors. But as he was completing his degree, his bonding and devotion towards Lord Pundareekakshan increased and he decided against the call to leave this ancient temple town. 

But it still required great devotion for him to reject an offer from a renowned bank and to take up the hereditary temple service without a salary. He has now been at the temple for a decade. While things have improved financially at the temple in terms of Thattu Kaasu, compared to the life decades ago, he feels the real financial pinch every summer when he has to pay the annual fees for his young school going kids. He does not know the financial future and may wonder once in a while as to what might have been had he taken up the Banking offer but this engineer is clear that he will spend the rest of his life at the Thiruvellarai temple in service to Lord Pundareekakshan.

The youngest of the lot is 20 year old Venkata Srinivasan, just out of Patshala education at Madurantakam. Hailing from Thenthiruperai Divya Desam (Nava Tirupathi), he went through a financially challenging childhood.  As a school boy, he would support Ananthu Bhattar, the lead priest at the Makara Nedung Kuzhai Kathan temple by carrying the torch during the street processions at the big utsavams. Pleased with the devotional conduct of the young boy, Ananthu Bhattar encouraged and motivated him into temple service. At the age of 10, he moved to Madurantakam to learn Yajur Veda, Pancharatra Agama, Sri Bashyam and Sanskrit.  During a period of 10 years, he also performed kainkaryam at the madapalli in the Patshala. 

In addition to the above message that has remained entrenched in his mind, he credits Ananthu Bhattar’s constant motivation over the last decade as being a key driver to return to Thenthiruperai “There was a shortage of service personnel at the temple. He secured an employment for me at the temple and asked me to dedicate my life in service to the Lord.”

Venkata Srinivasan joined Thenthiruperai in June last year as an Archaka and Paricharaka at a monthly salary of Rs. 500. He is keen to spread Sanskrit among the villagers over the next decade by educating them during his free time. His parents have been a great source of strength in supporting his decision to lead his life in temple service as against leading a life in the city.

His friends frowned on his decision to move to a remote location at such a young age and at such an unimaginably low salary instead of leveraging financially his Vedic learning. But Venkata Srinivasan has been very clear in his mind that his future lay in service to the Lord of Thenthiruperai Divya Desam. Financial challenges do not concern this youngster nor does the threat of his traditional Kudumi not finding acceptance among prospective brides. In a world that is clearly moving towards materialistic pursuits, Venkata Srinivasan has bucked the trend and taken a bold step of moving back to the ancient temple town despite knowing that this may not be financially remunerative. But Venkata Srinivasan sees richness in a lifetime service to the Lord of a Divya Desam and not the financial growth.