Om namo bhagavathe Venkateshaya
Sometime during 1781 A D..
When the British army was camping at a
station called Thakkolam, a place close to Vellore in Tamilnadu, a British
soldier by name Le Vellian, belonging to the 33rd regiment of the British Army
was lying down almost dead in his bed ,for many days, after he was brutally
injured by a bullet…
After several days of battle with his
life and with no further hopes left for his recovery, Le Vellian was left to his
fate by the British army doctors...Le Vellian too was literally praying for a
peaceful departure from this world.. And exactly at that time, one day..
A 12 – year old mystic Hindu boy came
to serve Tea in that army camp.. After serving Tea to all the major officials in
the camp, the boy then went straight to Le Vellian’s bunker and greeted him
saying..
Good morning sir.
At that time, Le Vellian was lying in
an extremely sick condition on his bed...He was just alive and nothing more
than that..Without even turning his head towards the tea boy,Le Vellian too
said “Good morning” but with a little disinterest in his voice..
Transferring Tea into a cup, the Tea
boy said. Sir, with your kind permission may I tell you something..? ? ..”
“Whattt..??..”.. asked a fully
irritated Le Vellian, who at that moment was still in great pain. He was in fact
in no mood to talk to any one.. However, taking the soldier by surprise this was
what the 12 year old mystic Hindu Tea boy told Le Vellian.
“Sir, I know you are in pain for
several days.. I also know that you lost all your hopes of any recovery. But
sir. Please listen to me and offer your prayers to Lord Sri Venkateswara of
Tirumala temple. Tirumala is a Temple very near to this place and Lord Sri
Venkateswara is the most powerful God in this world Am sure He will save you
from death..Trust me sir..”
With a little curiosity in his voice
and a little dazzle in his eyes this time,Le Vellian then slowly turned towards
the Tea boy and said “..Thanks my dear, but what do you want me to do for
that..’..
With a smile,the Boy replied”..Thanks
for taking my words sir..All that you have to do is to just offer your prayers
to Lord Sri Venkateswara and request Him to heal you fully.. ”
And now with more hope in his voice,Le
Vellian asked the boy..”Okay my dear..I would certainly do..But how to offer my
prayers to a Hindu God... I have never done that before..You need to help me do
that..”And this time
Without seeking any permission from Le
Vellian,the 12 – year old mystic Hindu Boy walked with all the divine command
in this world to the bedside of Le Vellian; held both his hands first; brought
them close to each other...
And later bringing them together,by
creating a traditional Hindu NAMASTE posture,raised Le Vellian’s hands and
turned them towards the direction wherein the most powerful Tirumala temple is
located and surprising Le Vellian further,very loudly chanted holy Lord Sri
Venkateswara’s most favorite sloka..“.. Vinaa Venkatesam Nanatho Nanathah..
Sadaa Venkatesam Smaraami Smaraami.. Hare Venkatesa Praseeda Praseedah.. Priyam
Venkatesa Prayachcha Prayachchah. .”“.. Aham Doora Tasthe Padaam Bhoja Yugmah..
Pranamechcha Ya Gachcha Sevaam Karomi..Sakrut Sevayaa Nitya Sevaa Phalantvam..
Prayachcha Prayachcha Prabho Venkatesaa..”
Amazing was the boy to the eyes of Le
Vellian that moment..After completing the chanting of the divine sloka,the
Boy,still holding a much surprised Le Vellian’s hands,closed his eyes for a few
moments and silently offered his personal prayers to Lord Sri Venkateswara. .
Furthermore amazed at the command with
which the Hindu boy held both his hands and also at the ease with which he had
chanted the intricate Sanskrit sloka,Le Vellian slowly got up in his bed;
turned both his hands that were still held in a NAMASTE posture towards the
smiling mystic boy and offered him his salutations. .PEACEAfter that divine
drama..
Le Vellian who had lost all his hopes
of any recovery from that near dead situation had quite miraculously regained a
complete normalcy in just about a few days time..
This miraculous recovery of Le Vellian
shocked the British Army Doctors who have by then had literally written him off
as a medical ‘case of complete hopelessness beyond recovery’..
Much later,as he could not personally
visit the Tirumala temple due to his job constraints, Le Vellian requested his
friend,an Indian soldier by name Ramachandra Ganesh,to visit the Tirumala hill
Shrine on his behalf and offer the holy Lord Sri Venkateswara what he promised
to offer...EPILOGUE
“Vinaa Venkatesam” sloka although is
an integral part of Sri Venkateswara Suprabhatham, was however written and
recited first by Sri Markandeya Maharshi,when He visited the Tirumala hills and
offered this sloka to Lord Sri Venkateswara. .PERIOD
In the later period,the story of Le
Vellian’s miraculous recovery reached the governing authorities of the British
Kingdom..In 1801,after having known the sanctity and powers of Lord Sri
Venkateswara and the Tirumala Temple,the British took over the administration
of the Temple from the hands of the Nawabs of Arcot for lack of discipline and
misappropriation of funds in the Temple..
Later in 1821,strictly in accordance
with the norms of the Tirumala Temple,the British introduced what is called the
Bruce Code..This code has 42 provisions formulated in it with well defined
customs and duties meant both for the Tirumala Temple as well as for the Hindu
officials working there..
Quite surprisingly, the ruthless
British,known for their iconoclastic nature,never interfered with the day to
day affairs and rituals of the Tirumala Temple except taking care of it’s
administration. .After that divine incident,renowned British personalities like
Sir Thomas Monroe and Colonel Geo Stratten went on to become great devotees of
Lord Sri Venkateswara. .
During their tenure of office in
India,they have never allowed the British army to camp anywhere close to the
Tirumala Hill Shrine and also never allowed any British national enter the
Tirumala Hills with footwear..
Some of the great European churches,unable
to bear with Lord Sri Venkateswara’s supremacy over the world,proposed to
establish at least one Holy CROSS on the Tirumala Hills those days.but the
strict British administration had ruthlessly rejected all such
proposals..Finally the most important point..
After that incident in the army camp,Le Vellian and the whole of British army had made a frantic search for that 12 – year old mystic Hindu Tea Boy but they couldn’t find Him anywhere..Who was HE..?? ..And where did He come from..??“..Sarva Avayava Soundaryaa Sampada Sarva Chetasam Sada Sammohanayastu Sri Venkatesaya Mangalam..”
