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BySmt. S. Ratna Bala, M.A.

SRI KAMALAMBIKADIVYA CHARITRA

Smt. S. Ratna Bala garu

SRI KAMALAMBIKADIVYA CHARITRA

Life and teachings ofPujyasri Behara Kamalamma garu

English Version - First Edition

October 2015

Not for sale

For private circulation only

Printed & Published by:Sri Sri Ratna Kamalambika Seva TrustEluru 534001West Godavari DistrictAndhra Pradesh, IndiaPhone No : +91 8812 221313

+91 94411 76161Website : ratna.kamalambika.org

DEDICATION

This work is offered at the Lotus Feet of my Guru

SRI MATA BALA TRIPURA SUNDARI

AN EMBODIMENT OF LOVE AND PLEASANTNESS

LED A LIFE OF DEVOTION & SELFLESSNESS

SUBLIMED AND SUBLIMATED INTO DIVINENESS

LIBERATING EVERYONE THROUGH HER KINDNESS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION I - INTRODUCTION

I. PREFACE .................................................................................... 7

II. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................. 12

III. BENEDICTION ........................................................................... 14

IV. GLORY OF “SRI BALA TRIPURA SUNDARI” PEETHAM ................. 16

V. THE HOARY LINEAGE OF GURUS ............................................... 18

SECTION II - DIVYA CHARITRA1. PROLOGUE ............................................................................... 21

2. THE ORIGINATOR OF GURU PARAMPARA ................................... 24

3. TRANSFORMATION TO KAMALAMMA ......................................... 27

4. AN AUSPICIOUS BEGINNING ...................................................... 29

5. ILLUSORY INCOMPATIBILITY ....................................................... 31

6. GURU UNFURLS MAYA AND REALITY REVEALED ....................... 34

7. WELL LED FAMILY LIFE ........................................................... 37

8. ATTAINMENT OF PERFECTION .................................................... 40

9. CONSECRATION OF PEETHAM ..................................................... 45

10. PROTECTION OF DEVOTEES ....................................................... 51

11. PROFOUND PERSONALITY .......................................................... 63

12. WISDOM OF DETACHMENT ........................................................ 65

13. ULTIMATE LIBERATION AND DELIVERANCE ................................. 72

14. DIVINE EXPERIENCES OF DEVOTEES .......................................... 76

15. THE LEGACY ........................................................................... 89

16. HOME OF SADHANA TOWARDS LIBERATION ................................ 96

EPILOGUE .............................................................................. 106

SECTION III - ANNEXURESA. SRI KAMALAMBIKA ASHTOTHARA SATHANAMAVALI ................... 110

B. SRI KAMALAMBIKA MANGALA HARATHI ................................. 113

C. MATA KAMALAMBIKA DIVYA SOOKTIS .................................... 114

D. POOJA SCHEDULE & RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES ............................. 117

E. SOCIAL ACTIVITIES ................................................................. 120

EMBLEM

BINDU NILAYA OF THE SRICHAKRA!

SEATED ON THE LOTUS OF SAHASRARA!!

THE MANIFEST AND UNMANIFEST CHETANA OF BHUPURA!

PURIFY AND OCCUPY OUR MANOMAYA ELIMINATING ALLITS VAKRA!!

Oh Raja Rajeswari! Hrudh Kamalavasini!!

YOU OPERATE YOUR INNUMERABLE LEELA

OF MAYA - SRUSHTI, STHITHI & LAYA

REIGNING FROM THE BINDU OF THE SRICHAKRA

YOU ALWAYS SHINE FORTH AS A BRIGHT AURA

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Om Sri Kamalambikayai Namaha

SRI MOKSHA GANAPATI

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PREFACE

It was 13th December, 1995. I was returning from Eluru to Hyderabadafter the Aradhana Celebrations of my Pujyaguru, Smt. BeharaKamalamma. My heart was filled with the love and devotion of all thosewho had attended the function. Sri Madhavapeddi Bala Srinivas, whowas also her disciple, was travelling with me. He asked me, “Akka!Yesterday, I heard so many devotees narrating their experiences and divinenature of Kamalamma garu. I worship and follow her only because Ihave seen my mother do so! Beyond this, I really don’t know anythingabout her. I sincerely feel that the life and teachings of our Pujyaguruhas to be documented and brought out as a DIVYA CHARITRA. Thiswill help people of our generation and also the future generations tocompletely know about her life and teaching; such a divine task can beaccomplished only by you.” Thus, Srinivas’s words sowed the seeds ofinspiration to take up the work of writing “KAMALAMBIKA DIVYACHARITRA.”

Smt. Kamalamma was my maternal grandmother. I was brought upunder her care and lived with her till my 17th year i.e. till I completedmy education. I have immense respect and love for her and to me shewas ‘just’ my grandmother until I was specially selected to undertakeher mission. I would like to narrate the events that caused a huge changein my life. I was not spiritually inclined in my younger days and neverpaid much attention or importance when people considered mygrandmother as Devi, worshipped her as Goddess Incarnate, consideredher as their Guru and followed her words religiously. I never believed insuch things…..

I was married to Sri Sunkesula Sambasiva Rao in 1973 with theblessings of Smt. Kamalamma garu, we were blessed with a daughter in1975 and a son in 1976. Their Annaprasanam was conducted by Smt.Kamalamma. Days fleeted and Smt. Kamalamma attained her heavenlyabode. The divine Mother’s Plan is unfathomable and it was by HerGrace that I was made Kamalamma garu’s disciple, which has nowresulted in my writing this book. I now peep down the memory lane tosee the incident that transformed my life…..

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It was the year 1985, we used to live in Eluru and my husband wasthe branch manager of State Bank of India, Vijayarai Branch. My son,who was a small boy, suddenly fell sick and from then on he could notstand up on his legs. We took him to all the leading physicians andorthopaedic doctors and they administered all types of medications, butof no avail! The doctors had given up their hope about his beingindependent on his legs. But to keep the treatment going, we came toHyderabad and camped at Smt. Ammaji’s (Bandaru Annapoorna) house.

She was my grandmother’s devotee and disciple. With greatmagnanimity their family accommodated us, comforted and supportedour depressed hearts! On seeing our son’s physical plight and oursorrowful state, Ammaji said, “Dear child! You have tried so manymedications and consulted innumerable doctors but your son’s conditionhas not at all improved. Please listen to my words. Your grandmotherwas not a mere human being as you consider her to be! She is the MotherDivine, the Parasakthi who descended in human form. Innumerabledevotees have benefited by adoring and worshipping her as their Guru.During her life time and even after attaining Siddhi, she is known toprotect and guard all her devotees and disciples. She stands as a guardianangel to all her devotees and they not only experienced her divine presencewhen she was in her physical body but continue to feel her divinity evenafter her passing away from this mortal world. That is why you see peoplegoing to the Peetham even to this day and conduct pooja as a token ofgratitude. You did not recognise the divine remedy that already existswith you! Accept and adore her as your Guru and you shall see your sonrecover miraculously. Pujyasri Kamalamma is Shakthi Swaroopini.” Idecided that my only refuge was the Holy Feet of Kamalamma garu andsurrendered myself completely to her and got back to Eluru.

My aunt Sri Tripuramba who was then taking care and administratingthe Peetham received me with love, comforted and boosted my hope.She gave me some Niyama and Deeksha. When I accepted SriKamalambika as my Guru, I vowed to be at her service if my sonrecovered completely! I also vowed to follow and execute her ideals asmy mission in life until my last breath. Within the next two years mychild was up on his legs, not just stand but he was also able to movearound and play like any other child of his age. Each day of those two

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years was filled with tests and turbulence. I washed my Guru’s feet withnever ending tears of a sorrow filled mother, unable to do anything formy child and feeling totally helpless.

During those testing times, I was not only witnessing my son’scomplete recovery mutely; I was also experiencing the divinity ofKamalamma garu which further strengthened my faith in her. It also mademe strong from within and I realized that the Ultimate Power in one’slife is GURUKRUPA. Everything is possible with the Grace of the Guru.My spiritual journey started at that moment when I submitted my life toher cause. I consider myself the most fortunate to have got her as mySadguru.

My husband was transferred to Vijayawada in 1987 and our familyshifted to the new place. I started observing a change in my outlooktowards life and people. Whenever I saw people suffer, I would experiencesevere mental agony. I would meditate on my Guru and ask them tochant HER NAMAM with trust and faith.

I would also give them the pooja Kumkum brought from EluruPeetham as prasadam and their problems would definitely come to anend. Slowly the number of people coming to me to get their problemssolved increased and today it has reached a very great magnitude, withthe Kamalambika Kutumbam spread all over the world. Sri Kamalammabecame their Guru after they approached me and ‘She’ is showering HerGrace through me. Devotees and disciples thus meditate on Her and areliberated from the turbulences of life. I draw immense pleasure in beingat Her Service, by being a bridge between the Sadguru and the sishyas.

Sri Kamalamma garu shifted BALA TRIPURASUNDARIPEETHAM to a three roomed tiled house within the temple premises ofSri Prathapa Vishweswara Swami. The house is today in a dilapidatedcondition. With the help of Hindu Religious Endowment Board, I got thebuilding renovated into a RC structure and named it “KAMALAMBIKAMUKTHIDHAMAM.” We also established a five feet statue of PujyasriKamalamma along with the idol of Ammavaru. Pooja is conducted everyday and special aradhana is held on Fridays and festive days. DusseraPoojas are celebrated on a grand scale every year and the number ofpeople participating in it is always on an increasing trend.

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Devotees also prefer to celebrate Annaprasanam, Aksharabhyasam,Upanayanam etc. of their children; married women conductLakshavathula, Nandikeswara, Kailasagowri nomulu and other Vratamsin the Peetham. Newly married couples come to the Peetham to taketheir Sadguru’s blessings. People suffering from chronic diseases areasked to sleepover a night at the Peetham and are cured by the Grace ofDevi. The Devotees invoke their Guru’s blessings at the Peetham beforecommencing any auspicious event in their family.

I would like to share something important about writing this bookand bringing it in the print form…

About a decade ago, Sri Kamalamma’s sishya and one of herManasaputrulu, Kappaganthula Kasi Visweswara Sarma, had collectedsome information about her and compiled facts, events, miracles andexperiences of her devotees and sishyas and documented it as a manuscriptcalled “KAMALAMMAGARI CHARITRA.” He handed over the copy tome, asking me to examine whether it was suitable for publishing.Somehow, I could not give attention to that issue and it escaped mypriorities. When I decided to bring out the “KAMALAMBIKA DIVYACHARITRA” in print form, I examined that copy, drew some facts andincidents mentioned in it. I collected considerable information about herlife, personality, divinity etc. from devotees, sishyas, relatives andcontemporaries through personal interviews, letters and privateinteraction. They shared their opinion, observation and experiences thathave been most precious source of information in the writing of thisbook.

Smt. Katrapati Uma Rani and Kum. Cherukuri Padma helped meimmensely in this compilation and I pray that they are blessed byAmmavaru. I also thank Sri Kasi Visweswara Sarma for sharing hiscompilation of “Kamalammagari Charitra,” since it has been the primarysource of information and inspiration for this work.

I would also like to share some facts about the publishing of thisbook. My compilation had only been a manuscript. Though filled withinformation, it had not taken a suitable form for pleasant, fruitful readingand to be published as a book for posterity. It was then I met Sri AtkuriMallikarjuna Sarma who was a professor of Mathematics at Satavahana

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College, Vijayawada. When I mentioned about the manuscript and myintention of bringing it into print form, he saw my work and said that hisgood friend and colleague Sri Pingali Venkata Krishna Rao, professor ofTelugu, would be the right person to accomplish the task of examiningthe manuscript, editing, organizing and bringing the content into a printform. He undertook the responsibility of getting the work accomplished.

Sri P. V. Krishna Rao read the manuscript and organized the contentinto chapters. He also gave apt titles to the chapters and put them in aproper sequence and wrote his interpretations on certain uniqueincidences. He made small write ups to link two different events, incidentsor experiences of devotees. He thus brought out this work into a beautiful,pleasant and inspiring experience for all those who read it. He may beactually considered as the author of this work! May his family be blessedwith good health, wealth and long life by Sadguru Mata Kamalambika;may Goddess Bala Tripura Sundari, the presiding deity of this Peethamshower Her Grace abundantly on him so that he authors many literaryand spiritual works that will bring him name, fame and prosperity!

There is a very important fact that I would like to add, this book hasbeen brought forth by me only out of the GURU-SISHYA relation that Itreasure with Sri Kamalamma, not because she was my maternalgrandmother or the next Peetadhikarini Tripuramba was my maternalaunt. There is no place for blood/family relationships in this work. Maymy Sadguru Behara Kamalambika shower her Grace on all those whoread this work with utmost dedication and devotion! I invoke her blessingsto empower me so that I may continue my service-oriented activities forgood cause.

Smt. S. Ratna Bala

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Smt. Sunkesula Ratna Bala garu is an ideal sishya to an ideal guruand also an ideal guru to many disciples. She guides and leads her sishyasthrough her teachings and preaching, giving them solace, empoweringthem to face and overcome the challenges in life, through her spiritualand psychological counselling and with her practical, simple and easymethods of sadhanas. Such sishyas now lead a contented, happy andcomplete life! Her work on the life and teachings of her Guru, PujyasriBehara Kamalamma has resulted in this book - “SRI KAMALAMBIKADIVYA CHARITRA.” This book written in a simple and elegant styleis an excellent work and is sure to be a guide to sadhakas and devotees.I would like to recall how I came to be associated with this Peetham,Smt. S. Ratna Bala and this noble work of writing about a Guru….

One fine day, my good friend Sri Athukuri Mallikarjuna Sarma metme and said, “Krishna Rao! Smt. Ratna Bala garu, a good friend of mine,has written a book about her Guru. She wants to get it edited by a Teluguscholar and get it published. Kindly examine and accept the responsibilityof getting it published”. Sri A. Mallikarjuna Sarma is my well-wisher,close friend, my children’s teacher and also works in the same college asProfessor of Mathematics. Hence I enjoy doing any work that is of helpto him. Moreover, this is a spiritual work and to be associated with sucha service is a great fortune born out of the accumulated merit of many,many births!! Hence, I thank Sri Mallikarjuna Sarma for giving me thiswonderful opportunity of my lifetime! It is generally believed that poetsand literary writers have an inborn sluggishness. I share only this natureand not their literary wisdom. Sri A. Mallikarjuna Sarma’s brother-in-law Sri Nadendla Seethapathy, who is also Smt. Ratna Bala’s disciple,was instrumental in constantly prodding and getting this good work doneby me. My acknowledgements are also due to him.

Whenever we come across biographies of great people, the firstquestion that arises is, ‘Why should we read or write about people wholived in the past and are no longer with us? Is it relevant to our presentlife?’ Our writing and not writing about them will neither affect theirgreatness nor their importance! But it helps us to know their value systemand their code of life that helped them reach higher rungs of life and

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carve a niche for them! This knowledge will inspire the youngergenerations to walk the path of Dharma. Such a book shall be morepractical rather than ideological and should be able to convey the messageof right thinking, right doing and right living! I feel that this work satisfiesall these requirements.

I’m extremely grateful to Smt. Ratna Bala garu for placing extremetrust, giving me an opportunity and making me a part of this work!Reading and hearing about great saints earns immense merit which is asgood as having their dharshan. I pray that all those who read this bookwith utmost faith and devotion shall be blessed by Sri Mata Kamalambikaand Pujyasri Ratna Bala garu.

Pingali Venkata Krishna RaoProf. of Telugu, Satavahana College

Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh

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BENEDICTION

The Telugu book “SRI KAMALAMBIKA DIVYA CHARITAMU”was first published in the year 1996 and its third edition was brought outduring 2010 with minor modifications. This ‘Holy Book’ is being usedfor ‘Nitya Parayana’ and also as ‘Sankalpa Siddhi Grandam’. Manydevotees have been repeatedly requesting me, to bring out an Englishtranslation of the Divya Charitra for the benefit of those who are notconversant in Telugu language. I also observed that younger membersof the Kamalambika Peetham family and the non-telugu speakingdevotees find it easy and convenient to read our message in English;accordingly I instructed Smt. Nivarthi Padma Ranjani Sridhar to take upthis work of English translation. Since I was impressed with her writings,I asked her to present the translation in a simple and lucid form withoutlosing the essence of the original Telugu version.

The devotees of ‘Sri Kamalambika Peetham’ have been witnessingthe manifold expansion and growth of the Peetham over the last decadeand half. Hence, I thought that it would be appropriate to include all therecent developments of the Peetham, in this English version. The devoteeswho are newly introduced to the Peetham also evince keen interest inknowing about the Peetham, its Gurus and the Guru Parampara. Keepingall this in mind and after some deliberation, I decided to present thisbook in three sections namely;

1. Introduction - Glory of the Peetham and its Lineage

2. Life & teachings of Smt. Behara Kamalamma garu

3. Annexure - consisting of Ashtothara, Divya Sooktis, etc.

I have also included two new chapters namely;

Chapter 15: The Legacy – Guruvamsaavali

Chapter 16: Sri Kamalambika Mukthi Dhamam – Home of Sadhanatowards Liberation

These chapters provide the reader a ‘Manasika Darshan’ of the GuruLegacy and also the Peetham. The Chapter 16 also describes theimportance of the Holy articles that were placed in the foundation of the‘Mukthi Dhamam’ which are given in the form of a Table.

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Devotees and Sishyas derive great benefit and spiritual merit whenthey constantly meditate on the words of their Sadguru. Keeping this inmind, I have also included ‘Sri Mata Kamalambika’s Divya Sooktis.’The Telugu transliteration and the English translation of the ‘12 DivyaSooktis,’apart from Ashtotara Satanamavali and Harati song have beenincluded as an annexure. The religious activities (daily, monthly andannual celebrations) and the social/philanthropic activities undertakenby the Peetham have also been included in the annexure.

This book has also been enhanced and made visually pleasant byincluding pictures and photographs of the Peetham and Lineage of Gurus.It has been written in a simple and elegant style and can be read withease. It is sure to foster faith and devotion in the hearts of the readers. Alot of effort has been put in, to bring this work in the form of a book,within a short span of time. This was possible only due to the ParipurnaAnugraha of the Paradevatha and our Sadguru Sri Mata Kamalambika.The coordinated team work of Sri S. Sambasiva Rao, Sri K. N. V. Raviand Sri H. Sankar along with Smt. N. Padma Ranjani Sridhar, has resultedin this commendable book, “SRI KAMALAMBIKA DIVYACHARITRA”and make this a Guru Prasadam in the hands of the reader.

I bless them and pray our Sadgurus, Sri Mata Kamalambika and SriMata Tripuramba, to shower their Anugraha on their families. I also blessthat they shall always remain in the path of unfaltering devotion towardstheir Guru and experience the protecting, compassionate and mercifulgrace of Goddess Bala Tripura Sundari.

Pujyasri S. Ratna Bala garu

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GLORY OF SRI BALA TRIPURA SUNDARIPEETHAM - ELURU

“SRI KAMALAMBIKA DIVYA CHARITRA” is about the Lifeand teachings of Smt. Behara Kamalamma. It is considered as a ‘SankalpaSiddhi Parayana Grantham’. Regular and devotional reading of this holybook is sure to fulfil the righteous desires of the devotees. ‘Sri RatnaKamalambika Seva Trust’ has brought out the third Telugu edition andthe first English edition as per the wish of the devotees.

“SRI BALATRIPURA SUNDARI PEETHAM” was establishedand consecrated in the year 1956 by Smt. B. Kamalamma garu atBrahmana Agraharam in Eluru, West Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh,534001. This Peetham’s Guru Parampara originated with BrahmasriKokkonda Venkata Ratnam Pantulu (1842-1915) who was a great DeviUpasaka, a spiritual guide and the greatest literary genius of this time.The lineage of Gurus of this Peetham has ever since been hereditary andis currently led by the fourth generation Guru, Smt. Sunkesula RatnaBala.

This Peetham is considered to be the pinnacle of the “SRICHAKRA” - the Heart Centre of Jaganmatha Bala Tripura Sundari. MataKamalambika permanently resides in Her Divine Form in this Peetham.It is this Divine Power that attracts devotees from all over the globe andfulfils their worldly and spiritual aspirations. The vermillion used forarchana and worship is given as Prasadam. It is usually mixed in waterand taken as teertha prasadam by devotees. It is considered to be anelixir that cures even deadly and chronic diseases.

This book ‘Sri Kamalambika Divya Charitra’ has been declared as a‘Sankalpa Siddhi Grandham’ by our Gurus and one who reads this HolyBook with true faith and devotion shall be abundantly blessed. One whosalutes Her, submits one’s wishes and takes up the devotional parayanaof this book shall be freed from inflictions due to chronic physical andmental diseases, malefic effects due to planetary positions, problemsrelated to occupation, family and marriage etc. Childless couples shallbe blessed with virtuous children, the unmarried shall get a suitable partnerand the sufferings due to Prarabdha karma shall be alleviated. The

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devotional parayana of this holy book shall lead a spiritual aspirant inthe path of Sadhana and they shall find their Sadguru with the blessingsof Sri Mata Kamalambika, who will guide them to the final attainmentof Liberation and Salvation.

Blessed is the one, who has the good fortune of possessing this DivineBook! One can experience the Compassion and Grace of Sri MataKamalambika right from the moment this ‘Sankalpa Siddhi ParayanaGrandham’ becomes a part of one’s life!

Those desirous of achieving specific goals are asked to place theirSankalpa at ‘Her Holy Feet’ and read this holy book once or four timesor thirteen times and make an offering of fruits, Panakamu and Vada-pappu to the Holy Mother Goddess. The devotees are then asked to takethe dharshan of ‘Bala Tripura Sundari’ at the Peetham after their prayershave fructified.

Om Shanthi!! Shanthi!! Shanthi!!

Sri Mata Kamalambika Anugraha Prapthirasthu!!!

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AVICHINNA GURU PARAMPARA

- THE HOARY LINEAGE OF GURUS

In our Indian Vedic tradition, a very high position has been accordedto the Guru. Without the grace and guidance of a realised Sadguru, onecan never attain fulfilment and reach the sole goal in life i.e. Liberationor Mukthi. The Jnana to attain Mukthi can’t be obtained through scholarlymastery over Vedas, Vedangas, scriptures etc. Only a Guru can impartthis wisdom and lead us to the goal. The existence of an unbroken chainof GURU-SISHYA Parampara is the uniqueness of traditional spirituallearning in the holy land of Bharath.

The Guru Parampara of ‘SRI BALA TRIPURASUNDARIPEETHAM’ is the greatest blessing endowed upon us by the ‘JaganmathaMahaTripuraSundari.’ Saluting and constantly meditating upon our Gurus,reminds us of their greatness and also the qualities which we have toobserve, emulate and imbibe in our lives. Elders suggest that the GuruParampara has to be meditated upon, either in ascending or descendingorder as soon as one wakes up in the morning (Pratha Smaranam) andalso at bedtime.

The lineage of this PEETHAM is given in the following page…

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SRI BALA TRIPURA SUNDARI PEETHAM - ELURU

Lineage

(1842-1915)

(1904-1977)

(1938-2006)

Maha Mahopadhyaya SriKokkonda Venkata RatnamPantulu

• Thanumadhyamaba Upasaka

• Exponent of Sankhya Sastra

• Literary genius and prolificwriter

Pujya Sri BeharaKamalamma

• Bala Tripura SundariUpasaka

• Founder of Eluru Peetham

Paramaguru SriBalaji Shamal Rao

• Timeless Yogi &Mantra MargaGuru

Pujya Sri Behara TripuraSundari

• Strengthened the Peethamthrough her SpiritualProwess

Pujya Sri Sunkesula Ratnabala

• Present Peetadhikarini

• Visionary, who systematisedthe activities of the Peetham

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DIVYA CHARITRA

LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF

Smt. BEHARA KAMALAMMA

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1. GURUSAAKSHAATH PARABRAHMA

PROLOGUE

The holy and auspicious subcontinent Bharath is the Crown Jewel ofthe World. The Western countries enjoy material prosperity and physicalcomforts due to scientific advancements and the Oriental countries arewell advanced in Inner Evolution and attaining mastery over theMysticism of Life! Bharath has always been a rich land whose countrymenare highly evolved in spiritualism and their values are deeply rooted inDharma. We can proudly claim that there is no other country on par withBharath in this aspect. Ours is a Land of Karma for the Spiritual Sadhakas;Land of Wisdom and Enlightenment since Jnanis inhabit this country;Land of Divinity due to the presence of Devas who are the Divine forcesof the Universe! Hari, Hara and Brahma - the Holy Trinity; Maha Kali,Maha Lakshmi and Maha Saraswathi - The Shakthi Triumvirate; LordIndra and His group of Divine elements have manifested time and againin this privileged land not only to accept the worship of devotees butalso to nurture and uplift them in all aspects and make living a fruitfulexperience.

Bharata Varsha Jantuvula Bhagyamademani Ceppa Vachu NeBharata Varshamamdu Hari Palmaru Buttucu Jiva KotikinDhirata Toda Tatvamupadesamu Jeyucu Celmi SeyucunAraya Bamdhvarkrti Katardhula Jeyucu Numdu Memtayun!!!

These lines from Potana’s Bhagavatam, rightly describe theuniqueness and greatness of this holy land Bharath! The poet says thatThe Almighty has descended innumerable times on this land as gurus,friends, relatives etc., and taught us to follow the Path of Righteousnessand made our life meaningful. It was here that Vyasa, Valmiki and othergreat Rishis descended and wrote great epics to guide people in everywalk of life! Ours is the land where Jnanis and Gurus like Adi Shankara,Ramanuja and Madhwacharya were born and led the people towards SelfRealisation. This country witnessed devotion in its pristine form in theBhakthi Kirtans of Sakkubai, Meerabai, Bhaktha Ramadas, Tulsidas, andmany more Sanths and Naths. Bharath is the holy land where innumerableYogis and Avadhoothas choose to be born. They find this country suitable

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for their spiritual evolution and in that process see that people aroundthem also flourish just as a river starting its journey from the top of themountain, eager to merge with the ocean, travels all the way making theland fertile before it achieves its mission!

Time and again our country has been a host to such Jnanis and Gurus.In very recent times, there lived such an enlightened soul, showering itsdivine grace, on the banks of River Godavari and she was called Smt.Behara Kamalamma!!

In the mid decades of the last century, our country witnessed theupheaval of religious beliefs and cultural values due to the influence ofthe British in the field of education and religious propaganda.Monotheism, Atheism, Rationalism etc. gained immense popularity andour ancient belief systems were pushed to the back seat. People,particularly those belonging to the middle class families suffered a lotdue to insufficient income, rising prices, mediocrity, lack of properguidance, incomplete academic knowledge, improper life skills etc.Western influence not only affected our faith, religious and culturalpractices, it also made a shift in people’s thinking. People are nowadaysmore oriented towards physical comforts and materialistic outlook, ratherthan living as a Complete Human Being! This trend started gaining astrong foothold right from the early part of the last century.

It was during such an era, Kamalamma garu was born, preached thesimplest path of devotion and led people in the right path. Her method ofaradhana and niyama was so simple and easy to follow. She insisted thatfaith and intense devotion were more important than the display of rituals.She inspired the women of middle class families to adopt the path ofintense devotion which would lead them to salvation. These womengenerally repented that they could not afford to perform expensiveVrathams1 and Homams2. She practised and preached that true devotionis the only tool to attain wealth of all kinds and the key to overcome anykind of obstacle in life lies in the power of heart felt sincere prayers!

She shall always stay in the hearts of devotees as a deity of worship.Her biography should be read by every spiritual aspirant. It is sure tolead us forward in all walks of life as a beacon light and earn us the meritof having the Divine Dharshan of a self-realized person.

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Behara Kamalamma was born on 13th January, 1904 in Rajahmundryas the second child of Maha Mahopadhyaya Kokkonda Venkata RatnamPantulu and Smt. Lakshmamma. She was named by her parents as VenkataSiri Narasamma and later came to be known as Kamalamma and herdevotees fondly addressed her Pinni garu or Pooja Pinni garu (aunty).

Let us read, listen and meditate (Sravanam, Mananam andNidhidhyasam) on Her Divya Charitra, for it is sure to refine us and takeus along the path of spiritual progress. We begin this spiritual journeywith salutations to her Guru Parampara, starting from her father KokkondaVenkata Ratnam Pantulu. Let us have a glimpse of his great stature…..

JAI GURUDEVA!

TASMAI SRI GURAVE NAMAHA!

1Religious vow2 Fire sacrifice

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2. MAHA MAHOPADHYAYA KOKKONDAVENKATA RATNAM

THE ORIGINATOR OF GURU PARAMPARA (1842-1915)

KokkondaVenkata Ratnam Sarma was born on14th March, 1842 at Vinukonda in Guntur District,Andhra Pradesh. After completing his educationat Guntur, he worked as an academician atCoimbatore during 1856 to 1863. He later onsucceeded Chinnayya Suri and worked as TeluguPandit for about 25 years (1864-1889) in theMadras Presidency College. He was transferred toRajahmundry in 1889 where he lived thereafter.Kokkonda Venkata Ratnam Pantulu made

numerous literary contributions in Sanskrit and Telugu. He was proficientin Telugu, Sanskrit and English.

Literary Work: There are about 20 literary works to his credit. Thisincludes his books on grammar, prose, poetry, novels, drama in proseand music forms, etc. He translated the Sanskrit verses of Neeti Chandrikato Telugu. Some of his prominent works are Godavari Varnana,Tanumadhyamba Satakam, Tanumadhyamba Geetaratnam and Prince ofWales Taravali. He was acknowledged for his monumental work calledBILVESWARIYAM - an epic containing 3,442 verses. He was knownreverently as Kavi Brahma, Akshara Shankyacharyulu, Andhra Johnsonand he was the first person to receive the honorary title “MAHAMAHOPADHYAYA” conferred by the British Government to the eminentscholars. He was the editor of his own Telugu Magazine ‘AndhraSanjeevani.’

His prominence in the field of literature brought him good friendsand enemies as well. Famous Telugu poets DharmavaramRamakrishnamacharyulu, Ramadurgam Narasiah Sastry, KomanduriAnantha Charyulu were some of his good friends. Vedam VenkatarayaSastry, Poondla Ramakrishnayya, Mandapaka Parvatheeswara Sastrywere some of the famous literary personalities with whom he mostlydiffered. Poondla Ramakrishnayya published his criticism on Kokkonda

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Venkata Ratnam Pantulu’s works in his magazine called “AmudrikaChintamani.”

Kokkonda Venkata Ratnam Pantulu had an uncompromising nature.He never sought or accepted anyone’s assistance and held himself in highesteem. His straight forward nature was interpreted as arrogance and itwon him more enemies than friends. He was a purist, highly orthodox andconservative in his approach towards life and language. He stuck on to theVedic rituals and customs that were passed down the generations. Hence,he disapproved the liberal and modern views of people like VeeresalingamPantulu. This enmity even crept into their personal lives.

Personal Life: Sri Venkata Ratnam Pantulu’s first wife was Smt.Ramamba. Through this marriage, he was blessed with two sons namelyKumara Narasimham, Lakshmi Narasimham and two daughters VenkataNarasamma and Lakshmi Narasamma. The elder son KumaraNarasimham worked as a teacher in Pennaluripet in Chitoor district. Theyounger son was a proficient astrologer who could predict the futurewell in advance. Unfortunately, this son died when he was just twentyand this subsequently led to the untimely death of Pantulu’s first wife.Later, Sri Venkata Ratnam Pantulu married Lakshmamma and throughthis wedlock they were blessed with two sons and five daughters:

1. Kalyana Narasimham worked as a teacher in Beerakuppam nearMadras;

2. Gangeya Narasimham worked in a private firm in Madras;

3. Lakshmi Narasamma was married to Kallakuri Narasimham whowas the collector of Godavari district;

4. Venkata Siri Narasamma was later on known as BeheraKamalamma (Our spiritual guru) and was married to BeheraSatyanarayana, who was a teacher;

5. Kumara Narasamma alias Rajeshwari was married to VippaguntaLakshmi Narasimham who was working with Burmah ShellCompany at Nellore;

6. Tanumadhyamba was married to Gundlapalli Venkata Rao. Heworked as a teacher in Chitoor High School and later on enteredinto cinema field and worked as assistant director with ChittoriV. Nagayyah;

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7. Durgamba was married to Kalyana Sundaram who was employedin A.V.M. Studios, Madras as an artist.

Spiritual Life: It was an era where most of them, particularly theBrahmins stuck to Vedic rituals and worship. They gained divine powersby chanting mantras and practising rituals. This helped them to attainmaterial wealth, name and fame which were used for the benefit of thesociety. Venkata Ratnam Pantulu was devoted to Tanumadhyamba andBilweswara Swami of Bilweswara Kshetramu, which is now calledThiruvalam in Vellore district, Tamilnadu. He strongly believed that hisfaith in Tanumadhyamba had made him a great literary personality.

His daily routine included pooja, meditation and other spiritualpractices about which no one else knew. He had a special pooja roomwhere he worshipped and meditated on his Upasana deity and also usedto pen his literary works. No one was permitted to enter that room. Evenhis wife went to that room only for cleaning and arranging the poojaparaphernalia. Pantulu garu locked the room and pocketed the keywhenever he left the house. In short, his life wove around his Upasanaand literary creations. No one dared to question or disturb this Sadhana.His personal and religious discipline earned him a special status amongthe contemporary scholars and religious practitioners.

Lord Bilweswara Swamy & Goddess Tanumadhyambaat Tiruvalam Bilva Kshetram, Tamil Nadu

JAI GURUDEVA!TASMAI SRI GURAVE NAMAHA!

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3. PARIVARTHANAMVENKATA SIRI NARASAMMA TRANSFORMS TO

KAMALAMMA

Those were the days when Sri Venkata Ratnam Pantulu was workingas Telugu lecturer in Government Arts College, Rajahmundry. He wasthe one who renamed his second daughter Venkata Siri Narasamma as“Kamala”. The word ‘Kamala’ means ‘Lakshmi’, ‘Virtuous One’, and‘Fruit of right action’. Let us now see this interesting incident by whichVenkata Siri Narasamma came to be called Kamala, which was to becomean apt name by which she became renowned in the future.

This incident took place when she was about five years old.

Sri Kokkonda Venkata Ratnam Pantulu completed his daily poojaand other spiritual rituals, had his lunch and left home on some work.Normally, his wife Smt. Lakshmamma used to complete all her dailychores and then have lunch along with the children at about 12 noonevery day. On that day also she called all her children for lunch at noon.Everyone except Venkata Siri Narasamma heeded to her call. The motheragain called out her name and when there was no response they startedsearching for this little girl.

They searched for her everywhere in the neighbourhood, but in vain.The children were shocked and refused to eat and the mother’s eyes werefilled with tears of grief. When Venkata Ratnam Pantulu returned home,his wife reported the matter to him. He closed his eyes and meditated fora few seconds. The family members stood beside him not knowing whatto do. Suddenly Pantulu garu took out the key to his room with a smileon his face and he exclaimed, “Jai Tanumadhyamba” and unlocked thepooja room Lo! What a surprise..!! The little girl, Venkata Siri Narasammawas sitting on her father’s pooja seat in lotus posture, with her eyes closed.Her face was effulgent and she remained motionless. Her mother andsiblings just stood gazing her when her father went closer, placed hishands on the child’s head and gently stroked her back. The little girlregained her normalcy.

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The father lovingly asked her, “Little darling! When did you comehere?” The child replied that she did not know.

Again her father questioned, “Don’t be scared dear! Why did youcome here? How did you enter the locked room?” The child thought fora while and said, “Mother Goddess called me here. I sat in front of Herand was looking into Her eyes and later I did not know what happened tome!” The father then meditated for a few seconds, hugged the child andexamined her right foot. He found the marks of SRI CHAKRA Mudraon her right foot. He immediately went into a trance and proclaimed,“This little girl is the manifestation of the Goddess whom I worship everyday. She shall henceforth be called “Kamalamma” and shall continue theworship of the Universal Mother seated in my pooja mandir after I leavethis world.”

Thus, Venkata Siri Narasamma was renamed as Kamalamma andwas declared as the spiritual heir of Sri Venkata Ratnam Pantulu. Thisincident was a turning point in Kamalamma’s life which was later onfilled with many miracles and divine events. People started recognizingher as a spiritual person possessing special powers.


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4. KAMALAMMA KALYANAMAN AUSPICIOUS BEGINNING

Even as a small child, Kamalamma exhibited divine qualities. Afterthe incident that took place in Sri. Venkata Ratnam Pantulu’s poojamandiram, people regarded her as a divine child born with the blessingsof the Mother. Right from the beginning, Venkata Siri Narasamma wasdifferent from other children. She was radiant with divine glow, brighteyes and characteristic speech that could impress everyone. Her pleasantwords and impressive behaviour made her the darling of everyone. Theteachers at school never admonished her as she was Pantulu garu’sdaughter. Thus being pampered at home and school, her academicprogress was slow and negligible. Even her father, a great academiciandid not bother about this; on the other hand, he observed that his daughterhad learnt the essence of all knowledge.

Little Kamalamma was large hearted.She was always surrounded by a group ofchildren who considered her as their specialfriend. The child used to share the eatablesgiven to her with all those friends. She wasgood at music. She used to sing the praise ofMother Goddess and narrate stories aboutHer Glory. Now and then she used to sit infront of a portrait, close her eyes and say thatshe was in deep penance. The child grew uphappily - singing, dancing, playing andattained eight years of age. In those days itwas customary to get the girls married whenthey were quite young. Sri KokkondaVenkata Ratnam Pantulu being a staunch and orthodox believer of suchtraditions, decided to get his daughter married to Behara Satyanarayana.

Behara family of East Godavari region was well known for itsintegrity and moral values. Sri Behara Subbarayudu and his wifeSmt.Seshamma were very happy to get their fourth son Satyanarayanamarried to Sri Kokkonda Venkata Ratnam Pantulu’s daughter

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Kamalamma. Behara family considered this as an honour and pridebestowed on them.

Thus the young eleven year old Satyanarayana was married to theeight year old Kamalamma. The children did not know anything aboutmarriage or its significance. They thoroughly enjoyed the special attentiongiven to them, their new dresses and garlands, feast and fun.

The elders were also entertained by the pranks played by these littleones during the marriage rituals and it appears that it left indelible marksin their minds. One such childish incident was talked about for a longtime.

After the wedding ceremony, the child-couple were taken out on aprocession in a palanquin. To keep the dozing bride and groom awake,each one was given a laddoo. The groom being slightly older hesitated toeat amidst the crowd whereas the bride finished off hers and also grabbedand ate her husband’s quota. The boy was angered by this and he pinchedhis wife and she in turn scratched him with her nails. The elders andgrownups around saw the fun more than the fight and later consoled andcajoled them with more sweetmeats..!! Such childish pranks remainedin people’s memory for a long time and were talked about in those dayswhere there was no photo session or video.


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5. DAMPATHULA MADHYA MAYATHERAILLUSORY INCOMPATIBILITY

The Telugu literary genius Sri Kokkonda Venkata Ratnam, who earnedname and fame for his unique literary contributions failed to earn materialwealth and comfort. He left behind a large family of about 30 memberswhen his soul departed from the earthly life in 1915. The family slowlyslipped into financial struggle.

Sri Venkata Ratnam’s eldest son Sri Kumara Narasimham, who livedin Pennaluripeta, Chitoor district took up the family responsibilities afterhis father’s demise. He was a great Devi Upasaka and used to do theparayana of Devi Bhagavatham as part of his daily spiritual regimen.Unfortunately, his son accidently fell into a well and died, leaving himdejected. He retracted from family life and took to sanyasa under thename Sri Santananda Swami and established his own ashram atMadharapakkam near rural Chennai. Thus Sri Venkata Ratnam‘s familyhad to face further hardships.

Kamalamma was hardly eleven years then; though married she wasin her parental home and had not yet joined her husband and parents-in-law. Her husband Sri Satyanarayana was not quite attracted to her. Heeven felt slightly irritated and distanced by her pooja schedule and

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detached attitude. As a young boy, he could not understand or find thereason behind her behaviour, which was so different from girls of herage. Even Smt. Kamalamma did not show any special interest in joiningher husband. There was no trace of interest or inclination in leading amarried life like any other girl of her age. She had a matured and well-focussed mind with a sharp intellect and lived an extremely disciplinedlife under the influence of her father.

As long as her father was alive, Kamalamma used to accompany himwhenever he went to attend, participate and preside over the literarymeetings. She learnt many things of academic and spiritual interest bykeenly observing and imbibing them. She toured South India with herparents and visited all the prominent places of pilgrimage. Thus Smt.Kamalamma was ripe with literary knowledge and practical wisdomthough she did not have any formal schooling. People used to talk abouther spirituality even when she was a young girl. Smt. Kamalamma’s strongpersonality and the high esteem which people had for her, caused aninvisible barrier between the couple. This kind of a situation in greatpeople’s lives might be surprising and hard to comprehend for peoplelike us since we imagine their life to be picture perfect.

When we get to know about such minor aberrations in the lives ofsaints and yogis we are confronted by some basic questions of life whichalways remains a mystery. Why do people born with divine qualitiesalso suffer like ordinary mortals? What causes differences in spiritualand religious outlook, faith and integrity of values in people? Why dopeople belonging to the same family, born to the same parents and broughtup under identical circumstances are found to vary in their integral naturenamely physical, mental and intellectual capacities? It is also a greatmystery that divine qualities manifest and completely bloom only in somepeople and help them evolve into Siddha Purushas1. When we closelystudy their lives, we find that such people are born to parents who practicesevere austerities! The manifested divine qualities are those of the formof deity worshipped by the parents. The same holds true in the case ofnegative evil occult practices.

There is also another question that always arises in our minds whenwe see people having good values, integrity and intellect suffer for wantof basic things in life! Why men and women who are good individuals,

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generally liked and respected by the society, fail to make happy familiesand suffer due to incompatibility? Hindu faith system attributes theseproblems to deviation or discontinuity in the traditional religious practicesinstilled in the lineage by their ancestors. Hence, Kuladevata Aradhana2

and Pitru Devatha Aradhana3 should never be neglected. It is firmlybelieved that such omissions are bound to cause difficulties and sufferingsto the ensuing generations.

In some cases the Jnanis intentionally impose some suffering onthemselves either to do away their Prarabdha or to teach the lessons ofViveka and Vairagya to those who follow them. Hence, the life of thespiritually evolved Yogis can’t be imitated or completely comprehendedby us. We can only take refuge at their feet and pray for their guidance.Let us see in the next chapter how a Sadguru can change the course ofone’s life by lifting the veil of Maya and steer one’s life in the path ofprogress.


1 A spiritually evolved soul2 Worship of family deity3 Obligation towards departed ancestors

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6. GURUPADESAM - MAYAVICHEDHAMGURU UNFURLS MAYA AND REALITY REVEALED

Smt. Kamalamma continuedthe religious tradition of herfather. She carried out the poojaand other rituals of the familydeity after his demise in the sametradition established by him. Herspiritual discipline and religiousoutlook distanced SriSatyanarayana from her and shecontinued to remain in herparental home for a long time.This was not to be permanentsince the Universal Mother willed to bring the couple together.

Let us now see how this miracle happened in their lives…..

Sri Satyanarayana’s elder brother was Sri Behara Thimmaraju. Helived in Madras, Tamil Nadu and worked for Madras Railways. He wasgreatly concerned about his younger brother’s family life and resolvedto bring the couple together. Sri Thimmaraju used to regularly visit SriBala Tripura Sundari sametha Sri Thyagarja Swami temple atThiruvottiyur, Chennai. After taking the darshan of Lord Siva and theHoly Mother, he used to salute and take the blessings of two yogis1 namelySwami Balaji and Swami Shyamal Rao. The yogis lived in great austerityand were engrossed in penance. Their ashram was within the templepremises and it was believed that they were more than century old yogispossessing great powers of siddhi2 due to their intense Sadhana and DeviUpasana.

Swami Balaji observed that Behara Thimmaraju was visiting thetemple daily, taking the Lord’s darshan and silently saluted them with lotof faith and devotion before leaving the temple. He once asked SriThimmaraju, “I have been observing you for a long time and understandyour faith and devotion to Lord Eswara and Parameswari. Though youleave our ashram silently, I am able to see that something is terribly

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disturbing you. What do you seek from us?” Sri Thimmaraju fell at hisfeet, prostrated and said, “Swami, it is about my brother…” Before hecompleted his sentence, Swami Balaji said, “I know! His marital life isunsatisfactory. The man and woman are poles apart and don’t showinterest in each other. Isn’t this the issue that is bothering you? Don’tworry, bring them here. They shall be fine and lead a loving life oftogetherness by the grace of the Almighty!”

Sri Thimmaraju immediately brought the young couple to the ashram.On seeing them, Balaji Swami understood that the reason for SriSatyanarayana’s disinterest in Smt Kamalamma was her divine radianceand spiritual merit and this had gone to the extent of incompatibilityamong the two. As a remedy he prescribed a Deeksha3 of forty days forthe couple. They had to completely stay in the temple those forty days,spending the day in pooja, meditating on Goddess Bala Tripura Sundari,having one meal a day and sleep at night within the temple premisesitself.

After the completion of the Deekshaperiod, Swami Balaji asked Kamalamma,“Dear child! Did you get any specific dreamsduring your deeksha period?” She said,“Guruji! I used to see only the form of MotherGoddess in my earlier dreams; but yesterday Idreamt that Parvathi and Parameswaraappeared and blessed both of us when we wereseated together.” Swamiji further asked her,“Was there any difference in the form of theGoddess who appeared in your earlier dreamsand that of yesterday?” Kamalamma thoughtfor a while and then replied, “The form in which the Mother appearedyesterday was much more compassionate, gentle, peaceful and pleasanterthan the earlier forms!” Sadguru4 Balaji Swami reckoned that the divinepower and nature of Kamalamma was very intense not only due to herown sadhana5 but also due to her father’s spiritual practices, which hehad passed on to her since she was born during his intense period ofsadhana and Devi Upasana!6 Swami Balaji initiated them into suitablereligious practices through his Mantropadesam7 and perfected their

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practice under his supervision by making them stay in his ashram forsome time. Satyanarayana’s sadhana included the chanting of ShivaPanchakshari8 and Kali Mantra. Thus, his divine and spiritual powerswere aroused and channelized by the Sadguru, while that of Kamalammawas moderated and steadied through Bala Upasana.

They were made to realize the inherent principle of Shiva-Shakthiwhich creates, sustains and dissolves the Universe. Now, each oneappeared pleasanter to the other and understood that they were thereflection of Parvathi and Parameswara.

Thus the young couple were led into a harmonious family life by thegreat yogi and Sadguru, Swami Balaji. They thus lived a happy andcontented life, continuing their daily worship of Goddess Bala TripuraSundari!!


1 One who practices intense austerities2 Supernatural powers acquired through religious practices3 Initiation to a mantra4 Spiritual guide5 Spiritual discipline6 Systematic meditation of a deity7 Imparting knowledge of a mantra8 Om Nama Shivaya mantra

Goddess VadivuddaiAmman -Tripura Sundari,Tiruvottiyur, Chennai,Tamil Nadu

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7. DAMPATHYA JEEVANAMWELL-LED FAMILY LIFE

Sri Satyanarayana took up a job in a private firm at Bombay andstarted his family life. Smt Kamalamma had, by then, attuned to herhusband with the grace of her Guru. She continued her spiritual journeyalong with her daily family chores. She learnt the language as well as thecustoms and traditions of Maharashtra. She was a very kind andcompassionate lady and could not bear to see the suffering of the peoplearound her. Whenever people approached her asking for a solution totheir problems, she suggested simple religious practices by which peoplewere finding relief and respite from their troubles. People in the localitycame to know of her divinity and helping nature. The word spread aroundand many more people started coming to her. Thus she extended her helpand guidance to people through her spiritual powers, right from the initialdays at Bombay.

Her methods were easy to follow. She insisted that Shraddha andBhakti towards the Almighty will solve all the problems. She asked thedevotees to recite the Holy names of Mother Goddess and glorify Hervarious forms by chanting Lalitha Sahasranamam, Khadgamala, Lalitha

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Ashtothara-Satha-Namavali. Some were asked to fast on Fridays, performKumkum Pooja and offer panakamu and the food that was cooked forthe day to the Mother Goddess.

Most of the problems of the middle class are related either to financialor health issues. Smt. Kamalamma garu thought that these were verysimple matters and could be easily solved through devoted prayers. Whenthe problems were really severe, she used to impart her divine powersthrough her prayers and asked the devotees to follow Friday deeksha.Thus the devotees’ problems were solved even without their knowledgeor strain.

This couple led a simple life and stood as an immense source ofstrength to the devotees. Sri Satyanarayana’s worship was silent in natureand people hardly knew about his spiritual practices but Smt.Kamalamma’s worship and devotion was explicit. This reminds us ofthe Siva-Shakthi principle where everything implicit is Siva and all thatis explicit and manifests itself is Shakthi!

After working for a few years in Bombay, Sri Satyanarayana returnedto his native place and joined as a teacher in a Zilla (district) board school.This job involved transfers within the Zilla. He worked at Razole,Muthyalapalli, Sambaladeevi, Gootala, Tallapudi, Annadevarapeta,Kovvuru and Gollagudem villages. He earned recognition as an efficientteacher. Since the amenities were insufficient in these villages, his familywas put up at Annadevarapeta for some years and at Kovvuru for fewmore years. Smt. Kamalamma and Sri Satyanarayana were thusprogressing as an ideal couple not only in spiritual aspects but also as afamily unit. They were blessed with three daughters, namely, Revathiborn in 1935, Bala Tripura Sundari in 1938, and Lakshmi Sarojini in1940. The birth of her second daughter was of divine significance. Duringher second pregnancy, Smt. Kamalamma often saw in her dreams, a smallgirl holding a trident and bunches of neem leaves and sprigs; hangingout Her red tongue and sitting on her lap. This little girl who appearedoften in her dreams resembled Mother Kali.

Scared by such dreams, Smt. Kamalamma mentally sought her Guru’shelp. He appeared in her dreams, consoled her and predicted that a divinechild would be born to her and the child should be named Bala TripuraSundari. After that, such dreams never occurred. At the end of her term

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of pregnancy, Smt. Kamalamma delivered a baby girl who had the divineaspects of Kali (i.e.) dark in appearance and two protruding teeth! Onseeing her child’s appearance, Smt. Kamalamma was highly worried.After 21 days, the child gained a pleasant appearance and the protrudingteeth fell off on its own. This child grew up as Bala Tripura Sundari andtook to teaching in a school. She remained a spinster and assisted hermother in the daily pooja and other activities of the Peetham. SriSatyanarayana and Smt. Kamalamma lived a harmonious life carryingout the duties and obligations of a householder and at the same time theyprogressed and evolved towards the actual goal in life. Their life was anexample which proved that Grihasthashrama1 is not a hindrance forspiritual progress if partners in marriage also lived as soul mates, helpingand respecting each other in their respective Upasana.2


1 Phase of life where one leads a married life.2 Reli gious and spiritual practices for inner evolution

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8. TAPASSIDDHIATTAINMENT OF PERFECTION

When Sri Satyanarayana was transferred to Gollagudem, he stayedwith his family at Bhimadolu and travelled to and from his work placeevery day. Their house owner Devulapalli Sri Lakshmi Narayana and hiswife Smt. Rajeswaramma were also worshipping Goddess Bala TripuraSundari. Thus the environment was very conducive for Smt. Kamalammato carry on her spiritual Sadhana and those days proved to be the mostfruitful ones in her spiritual life. This chapter narrates how Kamalammagaru was chosen by The Holy Mother as Her Divine Earthly Medium.

Though she worshipped her deity daily, Fridays were very dear toher since many people participated in the pooja. She conducted specialpooja with different varieties of flowers, turmeric powder and kumkum.‘Panakamu’ was the special offering to the Goddess on Fridays. ThePrasadam1 was distributed to all those present there. Sometimes duringthe Friday evening pooja, the divine spirit of the Mother used to dwell inher daughter Tripura Sundari and Smt. Kamalamma used to restore herdaughter’s normalcy by making her drink some panakamu prasadam.This happened because Tripura Sundari was born when her mother wasintensely pursuing her spiritual Sadhana!

Once the Holy Mother appeared in Smt. Kamalamma’s dream andsaid that her daughter Tripuramba would soon be facing a serious healthproblem that could be fatal. She did not reveal her dream to any onefearing their anxiety. Just as the Mother had warned a fatal accidentoccurred. The child, Tripuramba, who was playing, suddenly swooned,shaking violently under a bout of fits and bleating like a goat. Kamalammagaru meditated on her Guru and prayed the Mother Goddess to save andprotect the child. She surrendered herself completely with faith to thedivine power. Gradually, the child regained her conscious and becamenormal.

When Kamalamma was about 40 years, certain incidents took placeby which she was tested and then blessed by the Mother Herself; thishelped her to reach the pinnacle of Sadhana. Some of the incidents arenarrated below. It was a Friday evening. Sri Satyanarayana garu who

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had returned from Gollagudem, refreshed himself and was about to enterthe pooja mandir. Suddenly, he was possessed by the divine spirit ofMother Kali. With his eyes red and wide open, tongue stretched out ofhis mouth and fuming breath he expressed the terrifying form of KaliDevi.

The Goddess in Satyanarayana’s body demanded an offering of meat.Kamalamma pleaded with folded hands, “Oh Mother! Don’t you knowthat such things are not available here? Why do you put me to test? OurGurus, Sri Balaji and Sri Shyamal Rao, assured us that You to shall alwaysremain in a peaceful and pleasant form and bless us. All our devotionand poojas are only to experience such a Divine and Compassionate Form.Are you not pleased with our devotion? If so, please give up your fierceappearance and remain with us in your pleasant form as Bala TripuraSundari and Raja Rajeswari.” Thus with repeated prayers she offeredcoconut and harathi. Now, the Kali spirit in Sri Satyanarayana’s bodydemanded Panakamu and Pulagam, a rice offering. The Goddess wasnow pleased with Her devotee’s prayers and had toned down to assumethe Heart of a Merciful Mother. Kamalamma quickly prepared those itemsand offered pulagam2 on a plantain leaf and panakamu in a small pot.The deity residing in Satyanarayana’s body quickly gulped the food andassured that hence forth she would appear in her calm and composedform as Bala Tripura Sundari. Sri Satyanarayana returned to normalcy.

That night, Parameswari appeared in Kamalamma’s dream. TheMother said, “Kamala! I am extremely pleased with your devotion and Ishall reside as Bala Tripura Sundari in youfrom now onwards.” Kamala said, “OhMother! How do I bear your divine powerand can I ever give you suitable offering?You are the Mother of the Universewhereas I am an ordinary mortal.” TheMerciful Mother said, “Kamala! It is yourpure hearted devotion that has won me.Even if you offer a tulasi leaf or a drop ofwater with devotion I shall be pleased. Forthe next three years, I shall move by yourside as a guiding spirit. Later on, I shallbecome one with you. You shall attain

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virtues of foresight and whatever you pronounce shall become true (VakSuddhi). You shall be worshipped just as I’m being worshipped!” Fromthat day onwards, Smt Kamalamma’s life took a new turn. She was ableto see people’s future. Her blessings and kumkum prasadam, workedmiracles and cured even dreadful diseases of the devotees.

Once, Sri Satyanarayana garu was inflicted with cholera when hewas working in Golladudem. He reached home with high temperatureand his condition was really very serious. Kamalamma cured him justwith teertham3 and kumkum Prasadam and his good health was restored.

Let us see yet another incident which established the spiritual powerof Smt. Kamalamma garu. A housewife who lived in the neighbourhoodfell sick and was suffering terribly. It was common practice in those daysto take the help of occultists to cure long standing health problems becausepeople believed that negative forces and spirits were causing the suffering.An occultist was called in this case also to drive away the evil spiritsthrough some rituals. The lady’s misery never came to an end; insteadthe occultist started black mailing and exploiting the family. Meanwhile,due to their good fortune, a family member who had heard aboutKamalamma garu, approached her for help, guidance and relief fromtheir problem. She immediately went to their house and demanded theoccultist about his intentions.

On seeing Kamalamma garu, he realized that her positive spiritualforces were supreme and superior and his occult and evil practices couldnot stand before her. He felt overpowered by her presence, apologizedand immediately left the place.

Kamalamma garu spoke lovingly to the family members andconvinced them that the lady needed a good medical treatment and wasnot possessed by evil spirits. She gave the Holy Kumkum and teerthamto the ailing lady who got back her good health in due time. Thus thelady and her entire family became close to Kamalamma garu as herdevotees and remained indebted to her.

We saw earlier that the Universal Mother had blessedKamalamma garu with the power of foresight. She could clearly foreseethe incidences that were to occur (Dheerga Darshanam) and whatevershe said always came true - Vaksiddhi!

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Let us see one of its early manifestations. Once Kamalamma garuand her husband went on a pilgrimage to ‘Patti-Seema’ and were returninghome. On their way back, Kamalamma garu started grieving all of asudden. Her husband was surprised by her surging emotions and askedher for the reason. With sorrow and grief filled in her heart and words,she replied, “My younger sister Tanumadhyamba is going to die on MahaShivaratri day which shall fall the coming Friday. That sorrowful eventis right in front of my vision and I am able to see it as clear as broad daylight.”

Satyanarayana garu was stunned to hear her answer and wasimmediately reminded of the boons bestowed on Kamalamma garu. Hecomforted his wife saying, “Kamala, why do you worry fully knowingthe power of destiny and fate? Meditate on the Holy Mother and don’tfret like ignorant people.” The couple reached home. The followingFriday, on Maha Shivaratri day, they received a telegram thatTanumadhyamba had passed away. Her premonition and prediction notonly surprised others but also surprised Kamalamma garu. It came as anindicator that she was becoming the earthly medium for the CosmicMother.

The light from a glowing lamp cannot be confined to the source. Itspreads around removing darkness. Similarly the Divine Presence inKamalamma garu came to be noticed by people around. Some acceptedand acknowledged her spiritual superiority while a few criticized andspoke negatively about it. One such person was Sri Varadarajulu. He hada cynical attitude about Smt. Kamalamma garu and about the devoteescoming to her for remedies. This man was once struck with an unbearablestomach ache at midnight. None of the medicines and remedies gavehim relief. His wife Smt. Suryavathi thought that her husband’s sufferingwas only due to the negative attitude and words expressed by him aboutKamalamma garu. She immediately rushed to Kamalamma garu, repentedfor their bad behaviour and prayed for apology.

Kamalamma garu who was an Incarnation of Mercy, immediatelycomforted them and said, “We should never condemn or criticise Divinityand Divine Power. It is sinful to do so. To recognise and acknowledgedivinity is possible only when there is an accumulated merit of yourgood deeds of this life and of past lives. Anyway, who am I to excuse

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you - it is the Merciful Mother who has showered Her blessings on you.Don’t worry; you shall get well soon by taking Her Kumkum mixed inwater as teertham.” Her divinity and love not only cured physical ailments;it also brought about a great change in the behaviour of people. Herwords cleansed the people from within and they thus became qualifiedto receive the Lord’s Grace and walk the Path of Spiritualism. ThusKamalamma garu’s divine powers came to light resulting in a steadyincrease of her devotees and people started revering her as a Devi Upasakaand also their Sadguru.


1 Remains of food offered to God2 Mixture of rice and dal cooked together3 Holy water

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9. PEETAPRATISHTAPANAMCONSECRATION OF PEETHAM

In the year 1952, Sri Satyanarayana garu was transferred to KalaparruVillage near Eluru. He preferred to have his family established at Elurukeeping the education of his daughters and other facilities in mind. Theyrented a house belonging to Yadavalli family, at Agraharam, whileSatyanarayana garu travelled every day to his work place in theneighbouring village. Kamalamma garu carefully seated the idol ofGoddess Bala Tripura Sundari, their deity of worship, and a photo ofSwami Balaji, their guru, on a raised platform and continued their dailypooja routine. Friday pooja was special and the entire atmospherereverberated with devout prayers and auspiciousness. People in theneighbourhood had already heard about her divinity and spiritual powers.They came to know that Kamalamma garu’s kumkum Prasadam hadmystic healing powers. People were attracted by her divine radiance anddevotion towards Bhagavathy. Their troubled hearts found solace in hergracious presence and consoling words. They experienced anunexplainable calm and a satiation of the inner self, which is hard toobtain, since most of us are engrossed and tossed in the huge waves ofthe Ocean of Samsara.

People also flocked to her in largenumbers praying to be relieved frompersonal and family problems relating tohealth, job, children, marriage, business,etc. Fridays witnessed more number ofdevotees than other days. Whenever peoplenarrated their problems and asked for aremedy, she would immediately say, “I aman ordinary householder like you. What doI know of remedies and miracles?Represent your problems to the DivineMother and surrender yourself to Her. Shewill take care of you and protect youalways. I don’t give solutions on my own;it is She who makes Sankalpas and gets it

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done by me. I am a mere tool in Her hands.” But Kamalamma garu’sheart would melt when she saw the suffering householders of the middleclass families. She firmly believed that everything could be wroughtthrough sincere and heart felt prayers. She believed that people shouldnever give up trust and should pursue their efforts with faith in the Graceof the Almighty. Hence, she would permit some of them to conduct Devipooja at her place; to some she taught the method of observing Upavasa-Deeksha1 on Fridays.

She would ask the devotees to chant Lalitha Ashtottara Sathanamavali,Lalitha Sahasranamam or Khadgamala sthotram. When the devoteeschanted these with faith and devotion under her guidance, their problemswould mostly be resolved. When the nature and difficulty of theirproblems were tougher, she would pray and see that their life returned tonormalcy. Most importantly, her sishyas learnt to accept everything inlife as a Maha Prasadam bestowed by the Almighty and a blessing oftheir Guru. She was loved as Pooja Pinni (revered aunt) by all the sishyasand devotees. Among the many who came regularly and followed herguidance, the members of Gunturi, Pothukuchi, Kappagantula andRayaprolu families became her ardent devotees in due course of time.

In the year 1957, Kamalamma garu had a Divine Darshan2 of herdeity, the Mother Goddess. The Holy Mother said, “I no longer wish totravel or shift from one place to another. I want you to establish apermanent place of worship for me in the temple premises of SriAnnapurna Sametha Sri Prathapa Visweswara Swami. You shall alwaysremain in my proximity (sameepyam), continue to worship Me and alsohelp My devotees to come out of their mundane problems of life. Henceforth, both of us shall get established in the same place.” The MotherGoddess thus blessed Kamalamma garu and disappeared.

On being instructed by Devi Herself, Kamalamma garu shifted herresidence to one of the tiled houses within the temple premises of SriPratapa Visweswara Swami. She established the Bala Tripura SundariPeetham3 in a separate room such that the deity faced North and constantlygracing Her Consort, Lord Shiva, with Her Loving sideward Glances.Ever since the establishment of the Peetham, devotees have beenworshipping and adoring Goddess Bala Tripura Sundari with Dhoopam,Deepam, Archana and Naivedhyam with their hearts filled with love and

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devotion. Kamalamma garu’s method of worship insisted on Bhakthi -an intense longing and love for the Almighty and not on materialisticand intellectual display. There were many middle class householders whofound her ways simple and easy to follow since it was the most affordableand suitable to their life style.

Worship at the Peetham

Apart from the daily pooja activities, special kumkum pooja wasconducted on Fridays. Only sweets and sweet dishes were offered asNaivedhyam and distributed to the devotees as Prasadam. In the initialyears of the Peetham, the divine spirit of the Goddess used to manifest inthe devotees in its most intense form.

At such times those devotees used to roll their eyes, put out theirtongues and breathe heavily (Rudra Roopam). Kamalamma garu pleadedthe Divine Mother to be merciful and compassionate in Hermanifestations, to which She complied and later on revealed Her happyand joyful form (Bala Roopam) through small girls assembled amongthe devotees. At such times those little girls used to suddenly get up,laugh, giggle, sing, dance and clap their hands exhibiting their Blissfulstate!!

The‘Laksha Kumkumarchana puja’ during ‘Devi Navaratri’ (Dussera)was initiated in the Peetham by Sri Kanukolanu Appa Rao’s wife Smt.Kamalamma. It was followed by Anna Santarpana on the next day. Manymarried women took part in the celebrations. Food was cooked and servedin the temple premises of Pratapa Visweswara Swami. Devoteesvoluntarily took up the services of purchasing pooja material, groceriesetc., cooking, serving, cleaning, attending the visitors etc. under theguidance and supervision of Kamalamma garu. From then onwards,Sharan Navaratri, also called Devi Navaratri, is being celebrated everyyear on a grand scale in the Peetham. The number of devotees participatingin these celebrations has been steadily increasing year after year. Peopleused to come from distant places to participate in the Dussera Utsav atthe Peetham. Preparation for the festivities used to begin a week aheadof Dussera. The most amazing and astonishing fact was that, money wasnever collected from the devotees for participating in pooja and othercelebrations. By the Divine Grace, there was never a shortage of food orpooja material. The same tradition continues even to this day.

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Devi Navaratri Celebration

Devi Navaratri celebrations would begin on Asweeja Suddha Padyamiwith Kalasa Sthapana during the early hours of the day - much beforesunrise i.e. Brahma Muhurtham. Pooja used to be conducted every dayas prescribed by the Holy Scriptures. Devotees used to take part in largenumbers in Laksha Kumkuma Archana. Kamalamma garu used to observecomplete fasting on all the nine days of Navaratri Celebrations and wouldbreak her fast only on the tenth day i.e. Dussera or Vijayadasami day,after food was served on a very large scale to all those who came to thePeetham (Anna Santarpana). She never showed signs of tiredness orfatigue even on those hectic days of fasting and pooja. She was amazinglycheerful and active, supervising each and every arrangement personally,interacting and blessing every devotee who took part in the Dusseracelebrations.

The devotees used to decorate the Deity and adore Her in variousforms that is normally done during Navaratri, as part of the celebrations.The atmosphere was fragrant with devotion and it was further enhancedwith loads and loads of roses, jasmines, chrysanthemums, lotuses andlilies that were brought to the Peetham, by devotees especially for Dusserapooja.

Many married women (Sumangali) used to fast on Durgashtami andconduct kumkumarchana to Goddess Durga. People came from Delhi,Calcutta, Bombay, Hyderabad, Vishakhapatnam and Chennai and tookpart in the festivities in very large numbers. When they expressed ashortage of flowers to Kamalamma garu she would say, “Why do youworry about such physical things? You worship Her with a pure heartand clear mind. Don’t you know that the Jaganmatha will be happy onlywhen your thoughts are pure and you surrender those at Her Holy Feetsince they are more fragrant than the roses and lilies!! If you still insistto perform a physical archana, you can do so with turmeric and vermillion!What can be more sacred than these two, to a SUMANGALI4 rooted inour tradition! The most important thing in any pooja is to be internallyengrossed with the Divine Mother. Never bother about these physicalthings such as flowers, food for naivedhyam etc. The Mother will get itdone as per Her Will and our job is only to surrender completely to Her”.

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Dussera celebrations not only proved to be a thanksgiving to Devi, itwas also a spiritual training to uplift the sishyas. It taught themcoexistence, cooperation, participation and sharing of responsibilitiesamong the devotees and they worked shoulder to shoulder as one family.All the devotees and disciples assembled and worked under one roofwith common purpose of obtaining the Grace of the Mother through theLoving Guidance of their Sadguru. They assembled enthusiastically yearafter year and their Atmabandhavyam 5was strengthened. At the end ofthe nine day period they left the Peetham with loved filled hearts, lifeloaded with blessings and with all eagerness to meet their spiritual soulmates during the next Dussera celebrations.

Once a Swamiji who visited the Peetham enquired whether they hada Sri Chakra6 Pratishta in the Peetham. Kamalamma garu replied in thenegative and she further added, “Only a pure mind can be a Sri Chakraand it has been surrendered at the Holy Feet of Bhagavathi.” GenerallyIndian temples and Peethams have special yantras installed in order toabsorb and radiate Divine Powers through Mantras. But Kamalammagaru did not install any such special Chakras or Yantras. There was just asmall copper plate with Shiva Panchakshari inscribed on it and placednear the deity. The Spiritual Power and Radiance of the Peetham wassolely due to her unfaltering Devotion and Sadhana with a spirit ofcomplete surrender.

Kamalamma garu was very particular that the festivities andcelebration should be carried out in a simple manner without pomp andshow. She instructed the devotees not to boast about their devotion, poojaand Sadhana. She never liked to attract attention or gain popularity ortalk high and mighty about the Peetham and its activities. She was againstarguments regarding the supremacy or validating the correctness inmatters related to religious faith and spiritual practices. She believedthat faith and belief were matters of personal choice which in turndepended on the inherent nature and tendencies (vasanas) of theindividuals. She never wanted anyone to undergo difficulties and sufferfrom the sins accumulated due to criticism, condemnation and talking illabout the Peetham and its presiding deity.

She was very particular that donations and contributions should notbe collected from the devotees. Her only concern was to make the Peetham

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a place of Bala Tripura Sundari Aradhana to middle class and lower middleclass families who could not afford elaborate and expensive rituals dueto their economic status. She felt that Bhakthi is a Supreme LiberatingExperience and there should never be barriers of age, gender, caste, creedand economic status to enjoy this Bliss. She also felt that the sense ofdevotion should be ingrained in every person. She encouraged thedevotees to come to the Peethamon on Tuesdays and Fridays also andcarry out their pooja, apart from the Dussera celebrations.

Thus the “BALA TRIPURASUNDARI PEETHAM” established byKamalamma garu turned to be a “Spiritual and Devotional Power Centre”to all those who came there. Those souls must have earned the merit oftheir lifetime by being closely associated with the Peetham and beingpersonally blessed by Pujyasri Kamalamma garu.


1 Fasting prayer2 Holy vision3 Consecrated place of worship4 An auspicious married women5 Soul to soul relation6 A figurative representation used in the worship of Goddess Shakthi

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10. BHAKTHA RAKSHANAMPROTECTION OF DEVOTEES

Kamalamma garu had innumerabledevotees and they considered her as ‘BalaTripura Sundari.’ She imparted immensestrength of character and devotion asblessings to her Bhaktas. Those blessed byher could face all the challenges of life,cheerfully and successfully, whatever be thenature and intensity of their problems. Herwords were powerful and the devoteesconsidered them to be the order from thedivine and they would sincerely execute herinstructions with complete Shraddha andBhakti. Smt. Kamalamma garu would sit in front of the deity in thePeetham and pronounce remedies and solutions. When someonequestioned about it, she said that Ammavaru was communicating to herthrough ‘Her’ eyes. Devotees and sishyas considered this Nayanasambhashana to be a mode through which the All Pervading Jaganmathawas showering Her Unlimited Grace through their Sadguru. They alsoconsidered that this communication with the Holy Mother was unfurlingthe past, present and future of the devotees in front of Kamalamma garu’seyes, cutting across the boundaries of time and space. It was this DivyaDrushti by which she was able to forewarn and rescue all those who tookrefuge in her. This is the Immeasurable Grace of a Sadguru and beingguided by them is the true merit of one’s lifetime. Each sishya and bhaktarecount innumerable such events in their life. Let us see a few incidenceswhere she saved the lives of her devotees from accidents and dreadfuldiseases.

a. Saving Sri Ramamurthy’s Life

Sri Ramamurthy and his wife Smt. Bhavani lived in Agraharam atEluru. He worked as an Engineer in Water Works Department. She wasdevoted to Kamalamma garu and participated in the pooja at the Peethamevery day. Once Kamalamma garu appeared in Bhavani’s dream; she

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warned and asked Bhavani to check for the intactness of herMangalasutram1.

Indian women consider their Mangalasutram precious than their lifeand as a sign of their husband’s longevity and auspiciousness. Hence,Bhavani woke up in a panic and saw that Kamalamma’s words were truei.e. the sutram’s knots had loosened and given away. She quickly tiedand knotted the sutram to her neck, woke up her husband and narratedher dream. He never seemed to be affected by it. But Bhavani went tothe Peetham in the morning and narrated her dream and expressed herdiscomfort and fears to Kamalamma garu, who asked her not to worryand promised to take care!

After two days, Sri Ramamurthy left for Vijayawada on an officialtrip. Bhavani reminded him of her dream, expressed her fears and askedhim not to go. He said that there was an urgent meeting to attend andthere were other officials also along with him. He asked her not to worryunnecessarily and left for Vijayawada. After completing his official work,he wanted to take the darshan of Goddess Kanaka Durga, a temple on thetop of Indrakeeladhri Hill, at Vijayawada. There used to be a lake nearthe temple which was quite deep. People used to go down the steps andwash their feet and hands before entering the temple. Sri Ramamurthyalso washed his hands and feet and went one more step down and bent towash his face with the cool water. Somehow he slipped and fell into thedeep water and started drowning since he did not know to swim. He trieddesperately to come out, but could not. Some of those who were standingon the steps saw him drowning and screamed for help. Sri Ramamurthywas losing his consciousness. He could see a lady in a red saree andcould feel her lifting him from water and gently placing him on the thirdstep; safely away from water.

He slowly gained consciousness and opened his eyes to see the ladywho had rescued him,‘It Was None Other than Kamalamma garu’. OnlySri Ramamurthy could see her physically and others around him couldnot see her. They were surprised and astonished to witness the miracle ofSri Ramamurthy first drowning in water and immediately within momentslying on the third step above the water level. They were curious to knowwhat had happened. He replied that Goddess Durga Herself had rescuedhim from drowning and saved his life. He changed over to dry clothes,

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had Mother Durga’s darshan and reached home late in the night on thesame day. He told all that had happened to his wife. Both of them feltthankful and spent that night with a sense of gratitude to Kamalammagaru. They were waiting with thanks filled hearts, for the night to pass,so that they could first visit the Peetham and convey their gratitude totheir Pujyaguru.

The next morning, they went to the Peetham and prostrated in frontof her and Sri Ramamurthy said, “Mother! You saved me from drowningand gave me a new lease of life. Please allow me to contribute somethingof your choice to the Peetham, as a token of gratitude.” Seeing him repeathis request, Kamalamma garu said, “I really don’t know anything, I aman ordinary human being, Goddess Tripura Sundari saved you; She willtell you what She wants.” The very same night, Kamalamma garuappeared in Sri Ramamurthy’s dream and asked him to get a woodenPooja Mandiram with an elevation of three steps specially made for thePeetham, symbolizing that the Mother had rescued and put him threesteps above water. They offered such a Pooja Mandiram to the Peethamand remained devoted to Kamalamma garu. This pedestal was used toseat The Holy Mother and other small idols in the Peetham.

b. Mallaparaju is amply rewarded

Sri Devaguptapu Mallaparaju was another ardent devotee of thePeetham. He was concerned and worried since he was not blessed withchildren even after many years of marriage. Once his wife fell sick andhe consulted a doctor for medical advice, thinking that his wife waspregnant, on observing some of the initial symptoms associated with it.But the doctor said that it was not pregnancy; it was an enlargement ofthe spleen and had to be operated. Being ardent devotees of the Peethamthey immediately went to Kamalamma garu. She said, “Oh no! Thedoctors don’t know anything. Your wife is pregnant which shall last for18 months and she shall then deliver a baby girl. You name her as BalaTripura Sundari and everything shall be fine.” Her words came true andthe couple were happy when they were blessed with their first child aftera very long wait! As a token of gratitude they wanted to offer a silveridol of Goddess to the Peetham to which Kamalamma garu gladly agreed!The couple experienced an astonishing incident when they went with

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Kamalamma garu to a silversmith to place an order for the required idolof Mother Goddess.

On seeing them the artisan rose from his seat. Before these threespoke, he said, “I have been waiting for you since morning.” These threepeople expressed their surprise. The silversmith pointed out Kamalammagaru and said, “A week ago, this lady appeared in my dream, saying thatshe was Bala Tripura Sundari. She wanted me to make a silver idol ofthe Goddess and added that she would come and collect it today. ThoughI have not seen her earlier, I made the Vigraham, considering it to be anorder from the Devi whom I worship every day.

I have been waiting eagerly to see how and when the Goddess shall cometo collect the order placed by Her! She is Bala Tripura Sundari, TheDivine Mother.” The silversmith fell at her feet and submitted the idolwhich he had already made, as per the instruction of the Mother whoappeared in his dream. All the devotees were surprised and astonished tohear this. But Kamalamma garu who was poised always, took the idolfrom the silversmith and duly established it in the Peetham.

c. Lobhabuddhi2 Reprimanded

Once, a devotee’s son was severely affected by small pox. It was lifethreatening in those days. She came to the Peetham and prayed desperatelythat her son should recover and get back to normal health. She vowed tooffer a silver flower basket to the deity as soon as her son recovered. Bythe Grace of the Almighty, the boy’s health improved and was restoredto normal condition. The lady bought the silver flower basket to makethe offering and keep up her vow. But suddenly a miserly and greedythought crept into her mind. She thought, “Why should I give such a bigbasket? I shall offer a smaller one and keep this for myself.” Thinkingthus, she locked the silver article safely in her cupboard. That nightAmmavaru appeared in her dream and demanded, “So, you have lockedup the basket! Just keep watching how it reaches me.” The lady wasscared and also felt guilty. She immediately made her offering andconfessed her sin to Kamalamma garu. The devotee must have feltrelieved from the sense of shame and guilt. The Sadguru not only savesus from disaster, they also lead us by hand, correcting our mistakes andwalking by our side so that we don’t slip into the mire of Durbuddhi.

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d. Cancer Cured

Kamalamma garu not only appeared in the dreams of her devoteesand disciples, she gave Swapna Darshan even to those at far off placeswho had never seen her in person and drew them to her. That is theUnfathomable Grace and Love of the Sadguru! A man who lived inMumbai was highly distressed since his wife was diagnosed with cancerand doctors had given up their hope. Kamalamma garu appeared in hisdream, asked him to come to Eluru Peetham with his wife and assuredhim that she would be cured by partaking teertham and Prasadam at thePeetham. She gave her Eluru address in the dream and vanished. Thisman was surprised and wondered who that unknown lady was! But anew hope of his wife’s survival gave him courage and enthusiasm. Hecame to Eluru with the address given in his dream and reached thePeetham. He was stunned to actually see Kamalamma garu in personand her appearance tallied with the one who had appeared in his dream.His astonishment transformed to devotion and faith immediately and hewas choked with emotion. His eyes were filled with tears of joy andhope and he surrendered at her feet. He explained his state to her and shecomforted the couple with positive words of hope and blessed them. Shegave them teertham and prasadam and kept sending kumkum prasadamby post for few weeks until the greatest medical miracle happened!

The incurable cancer was completely cured without a trace. It appearsthat the Disease was only a superficial reason for the meritorious coupleto reach their Guru or for the Guru to draw them to her and bestow herLiberating Grace on them! We can hardly comprehend the Leela of theAlmighty who manifests as Sadgurus on this earth to guide and lead usin the path of Dharma! From then onwards, the couple worshippedKamalamma garu all through their lifetime as Bala Tripura Sundari.

e. Kamalamma - The Guardian Angel

The Jeevaatma3 gets tossed and turned by waves of difficulties, inthe unfathomable ocean of Samsara4due to prarabdha. It is only the Graceof the Almighty and Unconditional Love of the Sadguru that shall leadus safely to the shore. Kamalamma’s grace had such a comforting presencein the lives of her devotees.

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A devotee called Komalavalli had the Swapna Darshan of Ammavaruwho appeared as a twelve year old girl and merged with the physicalform of Kamalamma garu. From then onwards, she started worshipingher guru as Bala Swaroopini. She was struck with a huge tragedy of lossof her son and husband. The family was at physical, emotional andfinancial distress since both the bread winners of the family were cruellysnatched away by fate. But good fortune knocked their doors in the formof Guru Krupa. When Kamalamma garu visited to console her devoteeand sishya, she assured her divine protection and that there would be nowant for food and clothing in the family. Within days, Komalavalli’sdaughter got a job and their family needs were completely taken care!Words do not suffice to explain a Sadguru’s Rakshana Shakthi and theircommitment to protect their devotees who have completely surrenderedto them in thought, word and deed without an iota of doubt in their minds!

f. Glimpses Of Kamalamma’s Divinity

Innumerable devotees have been benefitted and protected by ourSadguru and each experience is unique and blissful. Only few of thosehave been listed below:

● Somanchi Durgamba was enlightened by the mere touch ofKamalamma garu i.e. Hastha-Masthaka Samyogam. Durgamba hadlost her husband when she was very young. Her guru’s guidanceshowed the path of devotion and helped her to overcome her griefand lead the family by shouldering all the responsibilities.

● Mokkayapati Santha Devi was suffering severely due to ill healthand was made to observe fasting prayers on Fridays and make anoffering of food to the Goddess. Her naivedhyam was accepted byAmmavaru who appeared as a small girl and ate the prasadam offeredby Santha Devi. She was also blessed by Ammavari’s SwapnaDarshanam after which her health greatly improved.

● Kamalamma garu appeared in the dream of Smt. Hari Swarajyamma,who wanted to be blessed with children. Pinni garu promised to blessher with a son and wanted him to be named as Balaji Shyamal Raoi.e. the name of her Pujyaguru. They agreed to it and kept up theirword when a son was born to them! Once Hari Swarajyamma’shusband met with a fire accident and his skin was badly burnt. Doctors

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advised a ‘skin-graft’ since the injuries were severe. But Kamalammagaru asked them not to worry and she assured that the skin wouldbecome normal in six months with ordinary medication. Theyfollowed her instructions and he was completely cured.

● Konduru Seethamma’s family and her brother’s family were not onlyardent devotees; they were also close to her. The entire family showedtheir utmost respect and devotion while she reciprocated her unlimitedlove for them!

There were instances when Kamalamma garu voluntarily went in searchof the devotees to save their lives and bless them even when they did notknow her.

● One such instance is that of Madhavapeddi Varalakshmi! Kamalammagaru voluntarily went in search of her and warned her of an impendingdanger to her life. She advised her to pray and worship Ammavarufor protection. Within few days Varalakshmi slipped and fell into thewater canal while washing clothes. Her head hit a rock and she lostconsciousness and got washed away by the speeding water in thecanal. Some God sent person admitted her in the hospital. The badtime had passed and had brought her closer to Kamalamma garu,who later took her to Nellore for Jonnawada Kamakshi’s Darshanand Varalakshmi was blessed with children.

● Hymavathi, another devotee, narrates so many incidents and personalexperiences of being saved and protected by Kamalamma garu’sanugraham. One such incident is the miraculous escape of her husbandfrom the clutches of death when he met with a lorry accident.

● Once Kamalamma garu visited Indira Devi’s house, she inspectedeach and every room and cautioned her not to keep any preciousthings and valuables in the last room. After a few days the house wasrobbed and all the articles kept in the last room were taken away bythe thieves. Since Indira Devi had heeded to Kamalamma garu’swords, they did not suffer any major loss.

● Chebbiyyam Annapurna’s husband Prakash Rao was a good man butan atheist. Though he did not object openly, he did not like his wifeinvolved in the daily pooja and religious activities at the Peetham.He held Kamalamma garu in high esteem. One fine day he went to

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the Peetham with the intention of bringing back his wife immediately.On seeing him, Kamalamma garu invited him to come in and gavehim a glass of panakamu to drink. He could not refuse out of courtesyand he drank the entire glass of panakamu.

This was a turning point in his life. After this incident his attitudetowards religion changed and he evolved to be a fine devotee ofAmmavaru! Thus the Guru becomes an all pervading presence inone’s life. Issues related to health, money, education, marriage etc.merely become reasons to enter into their fold and surrender untothem. They only act as a turning point in one’s life after which theJeevatma gets a new lease of life to realise the Self!

g. Kappagantula Brothers Get The Special Privilege Of Being The‘Manasaputrulu’ Of Kamalamma garu

It is a general belief that the events that occur and the relationshipwe enjoy with people in our life largely depends on the merits and sinsearned in the previous lives. Some of the relationship in this earthly lifecould be a continuation from the previous births as well! That is thereason why we develop liking for people unknown to us, help strangers,sponsor medical and educational support or even happen to cremateunknown people. Though these selfless activities definitely earn somemerit, it can’t be refused that those people might have been related to usin some earlier birth.

Kamalamma garu had a special place in her heart for Kappagantulabrothers. They were four of them namely Subramanya Sarma, Rama Rao,Kasi Visweswara Sarma and Venugopal Rao. She considered them asher own sons though they were not born to her i.e. they were her ManasaPutrulu.

Kamalamma garu had once visited Denduluru village to attend themarriage of Sri Subramanya Sarma, the eldest among Kappagantulabrothers. In her dream, that night, she saw these four brothers performingher last rites and cremation, though she did not know them in person tillthen. She deeply thought about it and understood that these people wererelated in some previous birth and Goddess was indicating that they shouldbe treated as sons since Kamalamma garu had only daughters and nomale issues. When these four brothers met her the next day, she developed

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an intense motherly feeling for them, while they experienced a specialdevotion and attachment one would feel for one’s mother. Right fromthe first day of meeting them, she considered them as her own sons thoughthey were not born to her. Thus, Kappagantula brothers became herManasa Putrulu and they came to live in Eluru. Let us see how theirrelationship transcended from a mother-son relation to guru-sishyarelation and later to Devi-devotee relationship! Each one of these brothersenjoyed a special privilege and unique experiences.

Subramanya Sarma’s wife Gayatri Devi was quite concerned andworried that the infants born to them never survived. When she expressedher problem to Kamalamma garu seeking a remedy she said, “Don’t worryabout getting children Gayatri, your husband’s life is in an impendingdanger. Pray and worship Devi so that he is saved and is safe.” Just asKamalamma garu had predicted, Subramanya Sarma met with a caraccident and was miraculously saved by Kamalamma garu’s grace, butthe couple continued to request Kamalamma garu to bless them with achild. She asked Gayatri Devi to observe fasting on Tuesdays as long asshe lived and said that a girl baby would be born to them and shall benamed “Kamala” and every word came to be true.

Subramanya Sarma was moved by her grace and asked her how hecould repay her for the immeasurable motherly love and divine graceshowered on him. Kamalamma garu in turn asked him to conduct herlast funeral rites and also the annual ceremonies. Sarma considered it ashis blessing and a shower of boons. The brothers kept up their promiseand conducted the last funeral rites of Satyanarayana and Kamalammagaru and conducted their annual ceremonies without fail.

Gayatri Devi once beat her daughter Kamala because she had donesome mischief. Kamalamma garu was in Calcutta when this incidenthappened. Two days later, Gayatri Devi got a letter from Kamalammagaru saying, “You beat me so hard that your five fingers have left red,burning imprints on my back. If you repeat this kind of treatment, I shallnot stay with you”! On seeing this content in the letter, Gayatri Deviwas astonished to note that Kamalamma garu was hurt there at Calcuttawhen baby Kamala was beaten here. It became clear that the child wasgiven as her blessing and should be regarded as MahaPrasadam and herOmnipresence was firmly established. Time and space are limitations

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only for ordinary mortals and not for Yogis. From then onwards Gayatriwas very careful, she neither scolded nor punished the child.

Rama Rao was the second among the four brothers. He had greatdevotion and regards for the Tamil saint and poetess Avvaiyar. Hecompared Kamalamma garu to Avvaiyar5. His wife Venkata Subbalakshmiwas given Somavara Deeksha by Kamalamma garu which bestowedprosperity on the family.

Kasi Visweswara Sarma, the third among them, consideredKamalamma garu as his own mother. He loved her, held her in highregards and worshipped her with complete faith and devotion. This DivyaCharitra is based on his primary work,”Kamalammagari SamkshipthaCharitra” in Telugu.

Venugopal Rao, the last among the four brothers, was also very closeto Kamalamma garu. He experienced her divine powers when she healedhim of his boils and ulcers in his mouth. These four brothers, their familiesand their parents were not just devotees; they also enjoyed personal andintimate bonding with Kamalamma garu and her famiy.

She has been constantly protecting her people - through her physicalform in the past and in her divine form in the present! Her love for thedevotees is beyond words. It was unconditional and infinite just asGoddess Parvathi and Lord Parameswara love the entire creation! As aGuru Roopini, she gave Swapna Darshan to most of her devotees,reminded and taught them how to perform their duties and saw that theirproblems and difficulties were solved. She was an ocean of love andeveryone was accommodated in her world filled with divinity andmotherly concern!

h. Bestowing Boons To The Childless

Many childless couples came seeking her blessings for begetting achild. She understood their plight and abundantly blessed them with herdivine powers and they were soon blessed with healthy children.Kamalamma garu periodically visited her Gurusthan at Tiruvottiyur BalaTripura Sundari Temple. The following incident took place during oneof her visits to the temple. It was an evening and she had walked a fewsteps into the temple. Suddenly a couple fell at her feet and she askedwho they were! They said, “We are Ammavaru’s devotees. We fervently

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prayed Her to bless us with children and it’s been a long time since wegot married. The Goddess appeared in our dream and asked us to takeher darshan on this day. She also asked us to take the blessings of herdevotee, an auspicious lady, with two big warts on her face. If we did so,the Goddess said that we would be blessed with a child. We have beenwaiting here since morning. It is our good fortune that we were able toget your darshan. Amma please apply some kumkum on our foreheadsand bless us.” They again fell at Kamalamma garu’s feet, happy to haveher darshan.

Kamalamma garu blessed them and said, “Oh! Is it so? Okay then,you shall be blessed with a daughter.” The couple were later blessedwith a healthy girl baby with Kamalamma garu’s divine grace.

A similar incident happened when Kamalamma garu made apilgrimage to Kanyakumari with her devotees and disciples. Theycollected at a place after the Holy Bath (Samudra Snanam) in theconfluence of three oceans. Kamalamma garu bought some curds thatwas being sold there, mixed some sliced bananas and distributed it toeveryone in the group. A married couple who were passing by stoppedand asked for her name. She replied that her name was BeharaKamalamma.

On hearing her name they immediately fell at her feet. It was a newplace and the couple were strangers! Kamalamma garu was surprisedand asked about them. They said that they were a childless couple.“Mother Goddess gave us a swapna darshan and asked us to go toKanyakumari. She instructed us to take the prasadam from an elderly,auspicious lady with two warts on her face, wearing a red saree, standingby the seashore.

The goddess also told that her name was Behara Kamalamma. SoAmma, we have found you as instructed by the Mother. Please give ussome prasadam and bless us with the gift of children.” Saying thus theyagain fell at Kamalamma garu’s feet. She gave them the curd mixture asprasadam and blessed them. Those around her wore a stupefied look.Turning to them she said, “Why are you all staring like that? Go andhave Goddess Kanyakumari’s Darshan. Today you can see that GoddessKanyakumari is also decorated with a red saree like the one I am wearing!”The devotees were further stunned to see that Goddess Kanyakumari

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and Kamalamma garu were both in identical red sarees. Is there reallyany difference between Bhagavathy and a Brahmajnani!

Kamalamma garu sometimes took the childless mothers on pilgrimageif their dosha was very severe. She took Remani Vijaya on a pilgrimageto Sri Rangam, Rameswaram, Mantralayam and also gave herRaghavendra Swami pooja and Brindavan Pradakshina as deekshaniyamam. After all these austerities, Vijaya was blessed with a son.

Thus Kamalamma garu constantly guarded her devotees and bestowedher immeasurable grace upon them. She was their Mata, Pitha, Sadguruand Deivam! Even to this day her devotees firmly trust that her anugrahamalways brings Sreyas and Subham.


1 A sacred thread worn by Indian married women2 Avarice and miserliness3 Soul4 Cycle of Birth-Life-Death5 Tamil Poet - Saint

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11. KAMALAMMA GARI VYAKTHITVAMPROFOUND PERSONALITY

Kamalamma garu displayed unique qualities like supreme devotion;respect towards elders, compassion towards the younger, etc. even whenshe was a small girl. She was generous by nature and would extend ahelping hand to those who were in need. She was an excellent host andwould serve food sumptuously even when visitors came unannounced inspite of her bad financial conditions.

She would always have some money neatly folded and tied to hersaree or in a small box hidden in her person. When newly wedded couplesor children saluted her to take her blessings she would bless them andalso gift them some money from the folds of her saree. No one knewhow much money she had! In spite of her financial setbacks, she wouldalways give money to those in dire need. When devotees pointed out thatshe was going out of way to help people, she would laugh heartily andsay, “When I have money, I feel I am Kubera, the Lord of Wealth, andhence give away to the needy without any hesitation. When I don’t havemoney I am Kuchela, the famished, poverty stricken friend of LordKrishna. Yet, I don’t have any problem because the Lord himself standsby me.”

Kamalamma garu could adjust and accommodate with people of allages, gracefully and comfortably. She would collect a group of childrenaround her, compose songs and sing along with them in her melodiousvoice. She made everyone around her feel comfortable and showeredher unconditional love without any bias.

She respected the religious faith of others. She never spoke ill ofothers or criticised their devotion or religious practices. Though sheworshipped Bala Tripura Sundari, she gave Raghavendra Swami Deekshato a devotee. She exhibited religious tolerance towards other faiths. Shehad some Muslim devotees as well and would also participate in the Urs1

celebration in Nagoor Baba Darga located near Eluru Taluk office.

Kamalamma garu considered pilgrimage and a dip in holy rivers asspiritually meritorious acts. She would make annual pilgrimage with herdisciples and Peetham devotees to Tirupathi, Jonnavada and Tiruvottiyur.

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She always considered herself as an ordinary person and a firm devoteeof Devi. Even when people pointed out her divine powers, she wouldask them to trust and be devoted to the Almighty and emphasize thatnothing would be possible without Divine grace.

There was also another novel dimension to her individuality. Shehad a modern outlook about women. She believed that women should beempowered intellectually and financially to establish their ownindividuality. She considered that this would be possible only throughhigher education and employment of women. She encouraged women tobe financially independent. She saw that her daughters received goodquality education.

Kamalamma and Satyanarayana garu thus led a fruitful married life.Each one progressed rapidly in their spiritual sadhana and rose to thelevel of acknowledging the divinity in the other person. Thus, both ofthem evolved to be great Siddha Purushas. Such people can’t be emulated;they can only be saluted, revered and followed.


1 Death anniversary of a Sufi Saint

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12. JNANA VAIRAGYA PRAPTHITHE WISDOM OF DETACHMENT

Kamalamma garu crossed the age of sixty and her spiritual strengthreflected in the stability, clarity and integrity of her thought, word andaction! Some of the incidences narrated in this chapter reflect her spiritualpower, knowledge and realization of the Self i.e. Viveka1, Vairagya2 andAtma Jnana3.

Knowledge of completeness of the Self - Purnamida Purnam

One fine day, three old men cameunannounced to the Peetham andspoke thus to Kamalamma garu. “OhMother! Please serve us lunch; we arevery hungry.” Kamalamma garuwelcomed and asked them to comeinside. Just then a small girl calledLakshmi also entered quickly and said,“Pinni garu! You asked me to get threeplantain leaves to serve lunch to someguests, whom you were expectingsince morning. Here are they, I got theleaves for you”. She handed over theplantain leaves to Kamalamma garu sothat lunch could be served. Takingthose leaves in her hand, Kamalamma garu pointed out the three men tothe little girl and said, “Yes, little one, they are the three visitors whom Ihad mentioned to you in the morning.” She then requested the visitors torefresh themselves with a quick wash. The visitors were stunned andasked how she knew about their coming.

Kamalamma garu replied that the Jaganmatha had told that they wouldbe coming. They sat down and lunch was served. Their hunger seemedabnormal. Food cooked for six people was already served and one of theguest asked if she could still serve them with some more food.Kamalamma garu replied, “Yes sir, there is sufficient food. The DivineMother who guided you here will also see that your hunger is satiated!”

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The guests further asked, “What would happen if we ate all the food thatis cooked? Would food still be left out?” Kamalammagaru said,“Everything in this world is a Manifestation of Parabrahmam thatoriginated from the Primeval, All Pervading Power called Adhi Shakthi.This Peetham is the seat of such a Magnificent Infinite Shakthi calledBala Tripura Sundari. What was - what is - and what shall remain is onlythat Parabrahmam and hence nothing can be emptied. “WHATEVER ISSHALL ALWAYS REMAIN!”

These words are filled with deep wisdom, devotion and are the essenceof Vedanta, which says:

OM PURNAM-ADAH PURNAM-IDAMPURNAAT-PURNAM-UDACYATE

PURNASHYA PURNAM-AADAAYAPURNAM-EVA-AVASHISSYATE!!

OM SHANTHI SHANTHI SHANTHI... !!

Let us now meditate upon her words and the depth of its meaning!The words BRAHMAM and PARABRAHMAM are generally used inreligious context. Though they appear to be the same, they are notidentical!

PARABRAHMAM is also called Brahmam, Atma, Satyam,Mahabhootam, Self or Super-Conscious. It is Eternal and does not haveany Attributes. It is Anantham and Nirguna. It is All Pervading, AllPowerful and beyond dualities of creation namely, brightness-darkness,birth-death, love-hate etc. It is beyond the reach of senses, thoughts,intellect and intuition. Hence, it can’t be perceived by the Five Senses orimagined by the limited powers of the Mind or understood by theIntellect. This entire creation originated from this SUBSTRATUM calledPARABRAHMAM; is nourished and sustained by PARABRAHMAM andis finally dissolved into the PARABRAHMAM. This manifestation ofPARABRAHMAM to aid creation, sustenance and dissolution is calledPRAKRUTHI. How does this happen?

The initial PULSATION is a STIR or PERTURBATION in the STILLSTATE OF PARABRAHMAM and is called SPANDANA. From thisSPANDANA arose the SANKALPA that is THE DIVINE WILL TO

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CREATE. The state of SPANDANA is embedded with the power (Shakthi)to design, decide and execute (ICCHHA, JNANA and KRIYA SHAKTHIS).Such a state is a transitory state between STILLNESS/DEVOID OFTHOUGHTS TO MOVEMENT/ EXISTENCE. Thus was born the MINDOR MANAS. This clearly explains the vacillations and transitory natureof the mind. The evolution of the mind and its powers is termed as THETRINITY i.e. BRAHMA, VISHNU and MAHESWARA. The furtherpropagation of the Spandana Shakthi of the PARABRAHMAM results indifferent forms of creation, namely - animate and inanimate; living andnon-living, moving and sedentary etc. A deep probe into this aspect leadsus to the conclusion that there is only void everywhere and the entirecreation is only a projection of thoughts and the dualities associated withit. This is what our seers and sages called as MAYA OR ILLUSION. Theentire creation and its nature/ qualities never appear to be the same; it isalways relative and continuously changing. We can never identify thecause of creation and dissolution because our comprehension is boundby narrow parameters of space and time.

This can be compared to the light emitted by a very distant star,observed by a person on earth. It is proved that light from some starstake millions of years to reach earth. They might even become extinct bythe time the light reaches earth. By being/living in a certain place and agiven instant we cannot comprehend either the birth, active phase or thedeath of star. This principle of Relativity and Uncertainty was also wellexpounded by physicists of the West.

This is because we live in a space and time frame, whereas theBRAHMAN operates seamlessly; unlike Brahma who operates from theseat of MIND. There might be innumerable Brahmas creating innumerableworlds and dissolving into the PARABRAHMAM, after a time frame whichis larger than what we can comprehend with our limited understanding!

Our ancient scriptures explain the time frame in terms of man-years,YUGAS, KALPAS AND MANVANTARAS in the most logical sequence.

The basic unit of measuring time is EARTH YEARS. It is believedthat a human being is created with suitable mechanism to live for ahundred earth years.

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Brahma’s Lifetime

The Vedic epoch consists of four Yugas namely,

KRITHA YUGAM = 17,28,000 earth years

TRETHA YUGAM = 12,96,000 earth years

DWAPARA YUGAM = 8,64,000 earth years

KALI YUGAM = 4,32,000 earth years

1 MAHAYUGAM = 4 Yugas=43,20,000 earth years

For Lord Brahma

1 Complete Day = 1 Day + 1 Night =

1,000 Maha Yugas + 1,000 Maha Yugas

i.e. = 2,000 Maha Yugas

1 Complete Year = 360 Such Brahma Days

Complete Life Span = 100 Brahma Years

= 100 x 360 x 2,000 x 43,20,000 HumanYears

The Life span of Brahma is huge in comparison to ours; yet it isfinite; but Parabrahmam is Akshayam and Anantam - Eternal; without abeginning or an end! Parabrahmam manifests itself as Prakruthi andPurusha. Brahma draws His energy (Shrushti Shakthi) only by constantlymeditating on the Parabrahmam.

Thus our Vedas tell us the way in which entire Creation Operatesand Dissolves. We cannot comprehend the depth of such details unlesswe are blessed with this wisdom by a Sadguru. How does a person identifyand reach his Guru? Only a person who is in good company of devoteesis blessed to hear and read about the life, mission and teachings of variousGurus. Such a person earns great merit through his good thoughts, wordsand deeds. He is then endowed with the ultimate virtue of reaching aSadguru who will then take care of him and ensure that he becomes onewith the Parabrahmam. This is called Jeevan Mukthi state and let us praythat we are all guided thus by our Sadguru - Kamalamma garu - JAIGURUDEV!

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Now let us return to the Peetham where the three guests weresumptuously fed. On hearing the words of Vedic wisdom fromKamalamma garu, they said, “Oh Mother! You have satisfied our thirstfor Jnana along with the hunger for food. We are extremely pleased withyou. May this Peetham lead many devotees and their families in thevirtuous and righteous path laid down by the Sastras.” They thus blessedher and left the place. A devotee who witnessed this entire incidentenquired Kamalamma garu about them. She said that they were Trimurthiswhose hunger was satiated by the reigning deity of the Peetham i.e. theParabrahmam in the form of Bala Tripura Sundari

Peetham Is A Mukti-Dhamam and Not A Kamakootam

Let us now see another incident which shows that she was steadilyfocused in evolving into Jeevan Mukta and also enabling the otherdevotees to walk a similar path through their Sadhana. We saw earlierthat her second daughter Tripuramba was born with divine qualities andpower! On a hot summer afternoon, the child who was playing inside thehouse suddenly rose into air in a sitting posture and remained floating inthat posture for some time. “It is so hot outside isn’t it? Let us make ourhome a bit cool!” Saying so she slightly shook her hand and it startedraining jasmines!! Then she waved the other hand and it started pleasantlydrizzling, producing a cooling effect all around!! Kamalamma garuimmediately understood that the Divine Mother had manifested inTripuramba. She immediately prayed, “Oh Devi! Please do not bind usin illusion and desires by exhibiting such acts! I pray that this Peethamshould be the centre for Liberation - Mukti-Dhamam and not a place forfulfilling desires through display of supernatural powers.” Her prayerswere answered and such incidences never occurred again.

Sympathy, Empathy and Acceptance - Marks of Spiritual Evolution

We generally observe good people showing sympathy towards thesuffering and down trodden. But empathy is a sign of greater spiritualevolution. Only when a person is detached from the physical world, he/she can understand and evaluate one’s own and others’ thought process,estimate the gravity of situations and problems and analyse them correctlywithout getting entangled. This is also an aspect of VIVEKA ANDVAIRAGYA.

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Many instances of such empathy were seen in Kamalamma garu’slife. Once she had gone to Bhadrachalam, on a pilgrimage with otherdevotees. They saw a lady carrying an idol of Lord Krishna, just as onewould carry a child. This lady bathed, fed and sang lullabies to put theidol to sleep just as one would pamper a child. All those who saw herconsidered her to be mentally disturbed and laughed on seeing her actions.Kamalamma garu who observed all this remarked, “You are all mistaken!Her devotion is beyond the comprehension of those who are bound tothis materialistic world. She is so engrossed in her Sadhana towardsLiberation and is totally cut off and far above these worldly behaviourand attachment.” Kamalamma garu was spiritually mature to such anextent that she could comprehend the Sadhana mode and degree ofprogress of the Sadhakas.

Kamalamma garu firmly believed in the Law of Karma. When oneof the devotees was widowed, she consoled saying, “We cannot escapethe Law of Karma. Whatever is destined will surely happen. ThroughFaith in the Almighty, we shall feel protected and gain sufficient mentaland physical strength to endure the pain of struggle and overcomedifficulties.” Her Vedanta was so practical and convincing!

What we PERCEIVE and how we VIEW the world and the happeningsaround us depends on our inner growth and evolution. Kamalamma garuwas progressing towards greater stability and had established an InnerTranquil. She perceived the world as a brilliant aspect of theParabrahmam! She saw the Almighty even in things that appear mundaneto us. To ordinary people like us, a train journey would only mean lot ofnoise, discomfort and strain. But Kamalamma garu treated every eventas an opportunity to learn. She would draw a message from the journeyand immerse herself into meditation or Panchakshari Japam. She wouldwonder about the intellectual power of the inventor and the Supremacyand Grace of the Almighty who had bestowed such intelligence to humanbeings. She would feel inspired to overcome obstacles that come in theway of life when she saw the train tear past the opposing wind! Even therhythmic sound of the train on the tracks sounded like the powerfulOMKAR and PANCHAKSHARI (Namah Shivaya) to her. Thus, she saweach and everything as an incarnation of the Almighty which furtherstrengthened her spirit of Vedanta!

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Detachment from materialism is true learning

She developed an extraordinary sense of detachment frommaterialistic things and extreme compassion for fellow beings. Once, asmall time thief robbed her gold chain. When her family complained tothe police the thief was caught and beaten black and blue. On seeing hiscondition Kamalamma garu’s eyes filled with tears of compassion andshe pleaded the police to cancel the complaint and let him go.

On another occasion one of her relatives visited her. After the formalexchange of pleasantries, the guest delved into the details of a crisiswhich her family was facing due her newly married daughter and son-in-law. She expressed that she could not honour her promise to gift herdaughter with a pair of gold bangles during the wedding due to financialproblems. So her son-in-law had sent her daughter back asking her tocome only when the promise was honoured. On hearing her words filledwith guilt, remorse and concern, Kamalamma garu immediately removedher gold bangles and gave it to her saying, “Take this, give it to yourdaughter, comfort her and ask her to join her husband! Goddess TripuraSundari asks me to give this to you and we have to honour Her command!”

She strongly felt that society and human relations could bestrengthened and nourished only when each one of us exhibit forgivingnature and compassion towards others. She discouraged people criticizingand talking ill about others. She wanted each one of us to foster love anduniversal brotherhood and be ideal SOULMATES.

Thus Kamalamma garu progressed in her Spiritual Sadhana,developing Viveka and Vairagya through Jnana!


1 Discrimination of the Real and Unreal2 Detachment3 Knowledge of Self

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13. SIDDHA PADHAMULTIMATE LIBERATION AND DELIVERANCE

Satyanarayana garu retired from his services when he was atKalaparru. His spiritual practices also intensified after his retirement.The couple came to regard each other as Divine Souls; their relationshipwas not like any other husband and wife. It had reached a different planesimilar to that of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Sarada Devi. Theysaluted each other whenever they came face to face. Both of themunderstood that the path to Spiritual Evolution and Final Liberation fromSamsara (Mukthi) has to be treaded alone through individual efforts.They realised the need for ‘Isolation’ for such practices.

Kamalamma garu had the responsibility of managing the Peethamand its activities and she could not isolate herself from the society andinteracting with the people. But Satyanarayana garu felt that he hadcompleted his responsibilities as a husband and as a father. He hadeducated and also got his daughters married and hence had nocommitments towards the family and society. He moved toRajamahendravaram, stayed with his elder brother’s sons so that he couldpeacefully carry out his meditation and other spiritual practices atMarkandeya Swami temple. He would visit Eluru now and then and spendsome time with his wife and children. Living thus, Satyanarayana garureached his heavenly abode in the year 1972.

The grief of losing her husband did not disturb Kamalamma garu’stranquillity. She knew and also told the devotees that she had to liveanother five years. She honoured the Hindu religious tradition and gaveup all the auspicious articles which adorn a Sumangali namely kumkumtilakam on the forehead, applying turmeric to feet and face and wearingglass bangles. When her relatives and devotees felt sad and disturbed tosee her in such a form, she consoled them saying, “Our ancient Hindutraditions have been established keeping the welfare of the society inmind. If elders like me fail to follow the traditions of Haindava Dharma,I would be setting a wrong example. Don’t grieve over my appearance.Nothing is inauspicious. From now onwards Samskara shall be mykumkuma tilakam, working for the welfare of the people shall be thebright turmeric I apply to myself and extending motherly compassion

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and love to everyone shall be my Mangalasutra.”

Kamalamma garu remained in isolation most of the time. She wasseen to withdraw from the worldly matters and spend more timemeditating and contemplating. Her second daughter Tripuramba wastaking care of the Peetham, its management and activities.

It was the year 1977 Devi Navaratri was celebrated with greatenthusiasm, with people coming from faraway places to participate inthe festivities and pooja rituals. In spite of her ill health, Kamalammagaru observed her Navaratri Upavasa Deeksha, took part in all thecelebrations and blessed the devotees. Anna Samaradhana was alsoconducted on a grand scale on Vijaya dasami. Her health graduallydeteriorated after that.

On 13th December, 1977, shehonoured an invitation for lunch bya devotee and returned home in theafternoon. She sent word for K.Rama Rao and asked him to go toTadepalligudem and ask herdaughter Lakshmi Sarojini to cometo Eluru at the earliest. Sarojinireached Eluru by evening and askedher mother why she had asked herto come urgently. Kamalamma garureplied that she just felt like seeingher. At about 10 p.m. she felt uneasyand experienced some difficulty inbreathing. She wanted Sarojini tocall Narayana Murthy, one of Kamalamma garu’s devotees. Tripuramba,without understanding her mother’s intention, asked her, “Why shouldwe disturb Narayana Murthy late in the night?” Kamalamma garu said,“You need not call any one from tomorrow onwards. My call has comeand it is time for me to leave this mortal coil.” She sat in meditativePadmasana posture and Her Prana left the body through the Brahma-Randhra1 and reached the Heavenly abode. Her relatives and devoteeswere immersed in deep sorrow and grief. They were reminded of herwords of wisdom and Vedanta. She would often tell them, “This body is

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mortal but Atma/Soul is immortal. I shall shed my body but shall alwaysremain in Spirit in this Peetham and protect all my devotees. I shall alwaysabide by them as their shadow.” These words of promise echoed in theirears and strengthened their faith. The Kappaganthula brothers, whomshe considered as her own sons, performed her last rites with great respectand devotion.

She left the mortal body with such great ease as one would shed aused garment. This is a proof of her Goodness, Discrimination andDetachment!! Her Presence can be felt and Her Protection is beingexperienced by all her devotees who worship her at the Peetham.

Let us now see a couple of experiences of devotees who experiencedher presence even after she had attained Siddhi:

● A devotee, by name Jalamma, stopped going to the Peetham afterthe passing away of Kamalamma garu. She grieved that therewas no one to whom she could turn for comfort and guidance.Kamalamma garu appeared in her dream and demanded why shewas not going to Peetham. Jalamma was led to the Peetham andright in front of her eyes Kamalamma garu merged into the idolof the Peetham. Thus Kamalamma garu established that shecontinued to remain in the Peetham in her divine form.

● Padmasri, a devotee, was also Kamalamma garu’s grand daughter.In the year 1985, Padmasri had delivered a baby boy in a maternityhome at Eluru. She heard someone knock the door late in thenight and opened the door to see who the visitor was! She waspleasantly shocked and astonished to see Kamalamma garu enterthe room saying that she had come to see her great grandson. Shepicked up the baby from his cradle and played with him for sometime. Carefully placing him back she said, “I have to get back tothe Peetham to be on time for the early morning Dussera poojaafter having a Holy Bath in the Ganges at Kasi” and hurriedlyleft the hospital. Padmasri was dazed not knowing whether shewas awake or dreaming. The same day in the early hours, adevotee called Durgamba was in deep slumber in the Peetham.She felt that Kamalamma garu was trying to awaken her saying,“Arrange some warm water for my bath. I just returned from the

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hospital after blessing the new born.” When Padmasri andDurgamba correlated their experiences the devotees weredelighted and their faith was reinforced when they experiencedtheir guru’s Omnipresence! Even after she attained siddhi,numerous devotees felt her presence in the Peetham!!

Sadgurus transcend all boundaries and can appear anywhere, anytimeand in any form to assure their devotees of their protection andbenediction.


1 An opening at the crown of the head

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14. BHAKTHULA ANUBHAVALU ABHIPRAYALUDIVINE EXPERIENCES

Kamalamma garu has innumerable devotees and most of them arewomen belonging to middle class households. She brought cheer andhope in their lives by helping them overcome their difficulties and attaina peaceful state of mind. These women who could not afford to go onpilgrimage or conduct Vratams and Poojas, found solace in Kamalammagaru’s words and a solution to their mundane problems in life by followingher advice.

Let us see the experiences of some the devotees:

• Remani Kasi ViswanadhaSastry

He was a disciple ofKamalamma garu and wasunder her direct guidance forseven years. His Sadhanacontinued under her guidanceeven after he moved out ofEluru on transfer. He says,“Kamalamma garu was aMaha Yogini. She proved/taught us that the Sadhana toattain Mukthi is to remain inthe society and develop a detachment without failing to perform one’sduty. We need not do penance in caves or forests to attain this state.Kamalamma garu was a Sadguru in the form of a Compassionateand Merciful Mother. She was efficient yet simple and disliked pompand show. People who grew under her guidance are sure to becomeefficient and inspiring leaders. Her Peetham is sure to be the foremostin fostering the devotees and leading them steadily in the path of AllRound Progress!”

• Mahankali Adinarayana Murthy

Sri Adinarayanamurthy was associated with Kamalamma-Satyanarayana garu ever since their stay in Bhimadolu. Kamalamma

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garu considered him as her son and his mother Smt. Swarna as hersister. He presented another interesting aspect of Kamalamma garu.

“She was capable of reading our thoughts even when we werephysically away from her. Once my mother thought of presenting asilver spoon (Uddharini) to her, since we had two of them, she didnot disclose her intention even to us and it was just a passing thoughteven in her mind. The next morning Pooja Pinnigaru entered ourhouse and addressed my mother, “Swarnam! Where is the silverUddharani you thought of giving me?” My mother was astonished toknow that even her passing thought was read by Kamalamma garuand humbly presented the Uddharani to her”….

Adinarayana Murthy also narrated another instance,”When I got ajob at Chennai, I went and saluted Pinnigaru to take her blessings.She assured me that everything would be fine. I reached Madras.Since the place and language were totally new to me, I went toKamalamma garu’s elder daughter Revathi’s house, to seek help tillI gained familiarity with the place. The entire family was preparingto leave for Nellore and stay there for the next three months. Theywere supposed to leave the previous day but due to some untold reasontheir trip was postponed to the next day. Revathi garu and I felt thatit was Kamalamma garu’s divine plan and grace that made our meetingpossible so that I could settle comfortably in a new place with theirguidance and help.

Revathi garu’s family left for Nellore, handing over the keys of theirhouse for me to use until I found a suitable home for my own family.I always remind myself of Pujyasri Kamalamma’s pleasantcountenance and words of assurance during my prayers at dawn anddusk (Sandhya Vandanam) and they definitely lead me in the righteouspath. I consider Tripuramba and Ratna Bala as the rays emanatingfrom the Bright Sun called Kamalamma.”

• Devulapalli Hemalatha

When Kamalamma garu and Satyanarayana garu lived in Bhimadole,they had rented the house belonging to Devulapalli Lakshmi Narayanaand his wife Rajeswaramma. The family members were friends andsishyas of Kamalamma garu. Even their newly wedded daughter-in-

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law Hemalatha became her ardent devotee. Hemalatha narrates herobservation. “Many devotees used to come to Kamalamma garuasking for advice, suggestions and remedies to alleviate their problemsin life. She would say, “Don’t ask me! Surrender yourself to the DivineMother, She will tell you what to do either in your dreams or in anyother mode comprehensible to you.” To some she would voluntarilysuggest methods to overcome their problems and give them herblessings and attribute everything to the grace of The Mother. Wewould say, “Your words are the words of The Mother and to us youare Mother Divine.” She would laugh heartily like a child and hugus. I consider Kamalamma garu and Bala Tripura Sundari to be oneand the same.”

• Akella Chittemma

She was also one of the disciples of Kamalamma garu. She first cameto Kamalamma garu to take her darshan and request a remedy forher problem. Chittemma bowed and stood silently. On seeing her,Kamalamma garu said, “You are not yet blessed with children isn’tit? They die as soon as they are born.Your Thulasi Pooja, Bala TripuraSundari Aradhana, worship of Hanuman and Pradakshina around theHoly Banyan (Aswatha) tree have not yet fructified isn’t it?”

Kamalamma garu could envision the past and future of anyone whostood in front of her, without their telling! The devotees who camefor the first time were in awe of her Dheerga darshanam andVaksuddhi. But this was only to draw them into the divine fold of theAlmighty and instil faith and trust in Him! In the case of Smt.Chittemma, her prayer was answered and was blessed with a son bythe grace of the Almighty Mother and Kamalamma garu.

• Pothukuchi Pullabhyakshi

Her first meeting with Kamalamma garu was so different andinteresting. Let us see how it happened as described by her.

“Once, I dreamt as if an auspicious married lady of middle age wasasking me to come to her house to have the Darshan of Bala TripuraSundari Peetham and take teertham and prasadam. Since this dreamkept repeating I resolved to visit the Peetham which was in the nextlane. I had heard about it but never visited since our’s was a very

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conservative and orthodox family where women could not freelymove out of the house. But that day, the same lady appeared in mydream saying that she was leaving for Madras and would be returningafter two days. She also said that her name was Kamalamma. Exactlyafter two days, I heard the same voice, in my neighbour’s house. Itwas so familiar because I had heard it in my dreams many times. Shewas telling my neighbour that she had returned from Madras thatday. I rushed out of my house to see who it was! Lo! To myastonishment I saw the person in flesh and blood - the lady whom Ihad seen in dreams.

People there told me she was Kamalamma garu who stayed in thenext street and there was a Bala Tripura Sundari Peetham at her place.When I later went to the Peetham, I narrated my dream to her. Shesaid that she was ignorant of such happenings and everything shouldbe attributed only to the Grace of the Almighty! From then onwardsour entire family was drawn to her and we experience her protectionand love in every moment of our life.”

• Cherukuri Seethalakshmi

Seetalakshmi was closely associated with Kamalamma garu sinceher childhood days. She would go to the Peetham every day, takeflowers for pooja, do small chores of help and enjoy the prasadamgiven by Kamalamma garu. She was one among their family and astudent of Sarojini garu and enjoys the same closeness withTripuramba and Ratna Bala garu - the successive gurus of thePeetham. She shared one of her own experiences. “Once I sawPinnigaru busy cooking when I went to her place. She wanted mymother to come down for lunch. I informed my mother and went offto school. When my mother went to the Peetham, Pinnigaru alreadyhad her lunch.

My mother reminded Kamalamma garu that she had sent wordthrough me to join her for lunch. Kamalamma was surprised to hearthat! She said, “Oh no! I hadn’t asked you to come. Oh, now Iunderstand. Lakshmi is so lucky. She has had the darshanam of Deviin my form and it is She, who has asked you to come for lunch.”Saying thus she served food to my mother. I get horripilation wheneverI think of this incident!”

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Seetalakshmi also narrated another of her experience. “Once I wasin the Peetham cleaning and washing the idols and putting the PoojaKumkum in a jar. Seeing this Pinni garu remarked, “There are twoold gold coins in that kumkum jar. Someone who is lucky will getit.” Generally the devotees who came to the Peetham would takesome kumkum from the jar, apply it on their forehead and wouldalso take some for people at home. A devotee from Bhimadolu gotthose two gold coins when they were taking some kumkum forthemselves. From then on their business improved and theyflourished.”

Very often Kamalamma garu would say, “Lakshmi! I may not livewhen you grow up to become a lady. Would you like to see me appearin this form even after I passed away?” I did not quite understandwhat to say and replied that it sounded ghostly and I would be scared.Then she said, “Okay, then I shall follow you as your shadow andalways protect you!” I am able to feel her protective presence, everymoment of my life,” says Seethalakshmi.

• Bandaru Annapurna (Ammaji)

She was one of the most blessed devotees and to have receivedinitiation to Gayatri Mantra from Kamalamma garu. When her sonsuffered from serious health problem she prayed Pinnigaru to protectand restore his health. She then heard Kamalamma garu’s assuringvoice that she had always kept them protected. Her son’s health wasrestored to normalcy in due course of time. Once Kamalamma garusaid, “Goddess Rajarajeswari tells me that She wants to come to yourhome; adore Her with devotion and care.” Saying this, she gave theRajarajeswari idol of the Peetham to Annapurna. This vigraham,decorated with a silver umbrella, used to be worshipped at the Peethamand it now adorns the Pooja mandiram of Smt. Annapurana, whoconsidered Kamalamma garu to be the human form of JonnawadaKamakshi Devi.

• Pothukuchi Lakshminarayana

His entire family was devoted to Kamalamma garu. He narrates howhe was saved by the Grace of the Guru. “Once I had to visit Delhi onan official trip. When I was getting down from the train, my legs

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slipped and I fell down. I was severely injured yet saved. When Ireturned home after the trip, my mother charged her words at me, “Itseems that you were severely hurt when you were at Delhi! Pinnigarutold me all that had happened to you through her dheerga drushti!!She wanted to see you on your return. Go and take her blessingsfirst; it was she who saved you from a major disaster.”

Pinnigaru told my mother at Eluru that I was hurt, exactly at thesame instant when I fell down from a train at Delhi. It was her AllPervading Presence that has been always protecting all her followers,”says Lakshminarayana.

• Rayaprolu Kamalamma

She got acquainted to Kamalamma garu right from the initial days ofestablishment of the Peetham at Eluru. The acquaintance maturedinto a guru-sishya relation; both of them being name like, was a specialfeature.

Rayaprolu Kamalamma’s daughter was of marriageable age and therewas a good matrimonial alliance proposed for her. But the father ofthe girl wanted to reject it due to some trivial issue. This upset themother. She went to the Peetham and expressed her worry and concernto Kamalamma garu and returned home. Just as she stepped into thehouse, a small girl called Manikyamba from the neighbour’s family,who was already present there, behaved very oddly. With wide openedeyes, she started laughing aloud, as if she was possessed by somespirit. Rayaprolu Kamalamma asked her why she was behaving sodifferently. Manikyamba said, “I am Bala Tripura Sundari. I followedyou when you came from the Peetham. Call your husband I want tospeak to him.” Her husband came and meanwhile she sent word forPinnigaru. Manikyamba told the man, “Tomorrow, you will get aletter from the groom’s house, indicating their acceptance of themarriage proposal of your daughter. You should give a positive replyand get your daughter married to him. She will lead a prosperouslife.” Meanwhile, Kamalamma garu also arrived from the Peetham.On seeing Manikyamba, she said, “You should not come in thismanner; it may scare people.” Manikyamba replied, “It is not myintention to scare the bhaktas, Kamala! I only wanted these people togo ahead with this alliance since it is good for their daughter. Is this

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not your opinion as well? I came to convey this immediately to them!”Pinnigaru offered some panakkam to drink and waved Harathi to thespirit of the Holy Mother who had possessed the little girl. The divinespirit left the body of the girl and she dropped unconscious.

She got up after a while and behaved like any other child, playingand running around happily, oblivious of what had happened earlier!Later the letter from the bride groom’s parents came as predictedand the wedding was conducted as per the Divine will.

• Sistla Sitamma Rao

She narrates how she was drawn to her Sadguru and blessedabundantly:

“I took Pooja Pinnigaru’s darshan at the behest of a well-wisher. Iexpressed my desire to be blessed with a child and prayed her tofulfil my request. She asked me to wait for the Divine’s Guidance. Indue course of time I saw an elderly lady in my dream; she resembledKamalamma garu and instructed me to observe fasting prayer for aperiod of 27 Fridays. She assured me that I would be blessed with adaughter who was a divine element of Bala Tripura Sundari. Iobserved the fast as per the instructions and a daughter was born tome in the due course of time. But I failed to honour my vow to nameher as Bala.

After a few days the infant refused to drink milk and I went to thePeetham seeking a solution. On seeing me, Pinnigaru, who wasperforming Ammavari pooja, said, “Why didn’t you give my nameto your child? Get back home and name your child as I had earlierinstructed you!” I hadn’t spoken to Pinnigaru about my child’sproblem, but my mistake was pointed out and the remedy pronounced!I renamed my baby daughter who immediately became normal andstarted taking milk. When she was very mischievous, one day, I lostmy temper and beat her. The little child got angry and her eyesreddened and in threatening voice asked me not to beat her thusreminding that She was the Divine Mother.”

This devotee also narrated another experience of hers. “I used tosing very well and was a stage performer. Suddenly, I lost my voiceand could not sing. When I went to the Peetham, in due course of

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time, Pinni garu asked me to sing. I told her that I had lost my voicebut she insisted that I should sing. I thought I would give a try and tomy astonishment I could sing very well without any problem. Myvoice was restored. From then on, I always sing in praise of the MotherGoddess whenever I go to the Peetham as my thanksgiving to Her.”

• Kanukolanu Kamalamma

She was the most privileged devotee to perform the first LakshaKumkumarchana in Bala Tripura Sundari Peetham under the guidanceof Pujyasri Kamalamma garu! She narrates how her house was savedfrom a fire accident.

“Most of the houses in our area had thatched roofs. There was a fireaccident in the neighbourhood and the fire was spreading rapidly.Upon Pinnigaru’s advice, I sprinkled some water mixed with kumkumand placed few balls of curd rice. I fervently prayed Ammavaru whois also praised as Sheethala Devi, that the fire should soon subsideand no one should be harmed. Though all the other houses were burntdown to ashes, ours was saved. This miracle was only due toPinnigaru’s blessings.”

• Kuppa Kameswaramma

She was Kamalamma garu’s disciple and an ardent devotee of SriRajarajeswari. They had a factory, manufacturing ceramic jars atBhimadolu. Their business flourished only when Pinnigaru blessedthem. Though she hadn’t seen the factory, Kamalamma garu woulddescribe it accurately from her inner vision and even correctly listthe trees in the factory premises. It was through this Divya Drushtishe was constantly monitoring and protecting the welfare of all herdevotees and sishyas!

• Nancharu Subbalakshmi

She was devoted to the Peetham since her childhood. She used tomake packets of archana kumkum to be sent to the devotees at far offplaces and also be of help to Kamalamma garu. Once she expressedher desire to see the Divine Mother in human form. Let us see howher desire was fulfilled! The devotee thus narrates:

“When I was pregnant with my eldest son, very often, I used to see a

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weird form in my dreams. It had a long bearded face and the body ofa serpent. I narrated this to Pinnigaru. She comforted me and askedme to pray to her guru, Balaji Swami and vow to give his name to thechild to be born. I did as she said after which there were no weirddreams. When my son was born I named him Balaji Chandrasekar.One day, Pinnigaru visited our home at Vijayawada. I had put thebaby to sleep in the cradle in the bedroom and was chatting withPinnigaru in the veranda. Suddenly, I heard the baby cry and withina moment the baby stopped his cry. I was not sure of myself; sofrom the veranda itself I peeped to get a glimpse of the inner room. Icould not believe my eyes; my hair stood on its edge all over thebody; my hands and feet turned cold and I even forgot to blink. Abeautiful, pleasant looking girl, about 16 years of age, was rockingthe cradle, which had stopped the baby from crying. Pinnigaru gentlypatted my back and confirmed that it was Ammavaru in human form.She had heard my prayers and come down to fulfil my desire!Pinnigaru said I was lucky to get Her darshan. I peeped once again tocatch another glimpse of the DIVINE SHODASI and Lo! There wasno one there. Yes, I consider myself very lucky to get a guru likeKamalamma garu who could bring down the Goddess Herself into ahuman form for the sake of her sishya”.

• Gundlapalli Venkata Ram Mohan

He was Kamalamma garu’s nephew i.e. her younger sisterTanumadhyamba’s son. He lived in Madras and used to visit his auntat Eluru occasionally. He recalled his memorable experiences. “Oneof my visits to Eluru was during Dussera celebrations and I vividlyremember that the arrangements were going on for Ammavaru’spooja. My aunt Kamalamma remarked that all the varieties of flowersexcept chrysanthemum were there. I asked her whether I should buythem from the bazaar.

She said that the Goddess Herself would make arrangements for theflowers to reach the Peetham on time for Her Pooja. Just then adevotee got down from a rickshaw, bringing in two baskets ofchrysanthemum flowers. I was surprised beyond words.”

Yet another time, our family reached Eluru from Bandar, quite latein the night. Early next morning, the milk man who usually supplied

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milk to their household said, “Amma, a lady came and told me thatyour relatives arrived yesterday, late in the night and that you needextra milk for the guests. I have brought it for you, please take it.”He poured out the additional quantity of milk into the container. Iwas stunned and turned towards Kamalamma garu and saw hersaluting the Peetham with a bright smile. The Devi had come downfor her sake and even run an errand to the milkman! Her sishyas,devotees and even those who did menial jobs for her were lucky toget such Divine Darshan!

• Hari Durgamba

She hailed from Eluru and had the privilege of being closelyassociated with Kamalamma garu for about 18 years. She consideredPinnigaru to be an incarnation of Ammavaru and used to carry outthe devotional activities of giving an oil bath, braiding her hair,decorating Kamalamma garu in person and attend to her personalneeds with love and faith. Durgamba loved to have Devi’s darshanin a prominent temple in Eluru town during Dussera. There they usedto beautifully decorate the Mother’s idol depicting the various Avatarsof Devi. On a certain day when Devi was decorated as Maha Kali,Durgamba could not take Her darshan due to heavy rush in the templeand returned home very much disappointed. Kamalamma garu whowas sitting at her door step called Durgamba and found out the reasonfor her disappointment. Kamalamma asked, “Do you want to seeKali?” Durgamba expressed her keenness. Kamalamma garu askedher to come inside the house and took her close to Ammavaru’sPeetham. Kamalamma garu stood in front of Durgamba and said,”Okay then, now you can see Mother Kali.” Durgamba had a wonderfuldarshan of Kali Maatha in the place of Kamalamma garu. In a splitsecond the Divine Vision vanished and Kamalamma garu stood asbefore, with her pleasant, smiling countenance!

Hari Durgamba also narrated how she was introduced to Kamalammagaru and the course of events that happened thereafter. “It was myfirst visit to the Peetham to meet Kamalamma garu and take thedarshan of Ammavaru. I had gone there with Pulabyakshi, whoregularly went to the Peetham and as we ascended the doorsteps,Kamalamma garu shouted loudly asking us to stop where we were!

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We halted abruptly and stood perplexed.

She came there and said, “Pulabyakshi, someone is engaging thugsto beat her up in a day or two. Ask her to be careful.” After warningme thus, she took me inside and comforted me saying that she wouldprotect me. Her words came true! My brother-in-law had engagedsome people to beat me up since there were some unsettled propertydisputes between my husband and his brother. But his plot foiledsince Kamalamma garu stood by us in protection!

• Buddhiraju Ramakrishna

His younger brother had a severely impaired vision, was mute andhis hearing was almost nil, due to some chronic disease. Theyapproached Kamalamma garu, who made them observe some niyamaand deeksha. He gradually recovered within two years and the entireBuddhiraju family remained grateful and devoted to Kamalammagaru. Ramakrishna narrates an incident where he witnessed thedivinity of Kamalamma garu.

“I had gone with Pinni garu to Vijayawada to have the darshan ofGoddess Kanaka Durga. There were no roads for vehicles to ply upand down the Indrakeeladri Hill top which housed the Mother’s Holyshrine. Devotees had to take the steps both the ways. After the darshan,Kamalamma garu appeared very fatigued and tired and she sat onthe topmost step. I thought that her tiredness was due to her age andasked whether she had the stamina to go down the steps or preferredsome rest. She got up and asked me to follow her. In a split secondboth of us had descended the hill and I saw her seated on the bottommost step. I was astonished and stunned beyond words on seeing thishumanly impossible incident. I am convinced that she was theManifestation of the Divine Mother.”

• Murali

Sarada and Murali lived in Delhi. This highly devoted couple hadthe good fortune of hosting Kamalamma garu during her pilgrimageto North Indian temples and attend the Kumbhamela at Haridwar.Kamalamma garu reached Delhi, stayed with Murali’s family andthen went on a yatra to Haridwar with another devotee. When theywere returning to Delhi after the yatra, they missed each other. She

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boarded a Delhi bound bus on her own, got down at some unfamiliarplace that was far away from Murali’s place. To make matters worse,she had lost Murali’s address. Meanwhile people at home wereworried that she had not returned from the yatra even after thestipulated period. The hosts were worried not knowing what to do.Their worry and tension heightened at the very thought that she neitherknew the language nor the landmarks of the busy city. All of a suddenKamalamma garu entered the house, pleasantly surprising andrelieving their anxiety.

She narrated how she had got lost and somehow managed to reachhome. Murali who was all the more perplexed asked how she wasable to reach home in-spite of not knowing the address! She repliedthat a Naamaala Swamy (a Vaishnavite wearing naamas) had broughther home in his auto rickshaw and she was yet to pay the fare! Muraliimmediately rushed out to thank him and pay the fare. But there wasno one outside…It is a mystery even to this day, as to, who haddropped Kamalamma garu at Murali’s house, was it Lord NarayanaSwamy Himself!

• Kota Janakirama Sarma

He was a very fortunate and blessed soul who was guided andmoulded by Sadguru Kamalamma garu even when he was a youngman. He reaped rich fruits of Sadhana and Guru Krupa from ourPujyaguru. He experienced Spiritual Bliss through his devotion andSadhana! Let us see one of his experiences with his guru:

Once he dreamt that Kamalamma garu had given himMantropadesam. When he mentioned this to her, she laughed sayingthat she didn’t even know the twelve Kesava namas which peopleare expected to chant regularly and exclaimed how an ignorant personlike her could have given him mantra deeksha.

When people assembled in the Peetham had left, she reprimandedhim for discussing such spiritual matters in public and said thatSadhana should always remain a private matter between the Guruand Sishya and be maintained a secret. In the same note, she alsomentioned that his spiritual practices lacked a sincere devotionalattitude in his previous births. She also added that their Guru-Sishya

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relation spanned over many births; it was Markatta–Kishora Nyaya1

in the previous birth and it was Marjala–Kishora Nyaya2 in this lifetime! She promised to lead him to deliverance and assured to takecare of him always.

Thus each devotee has a unique experience with their Guru dependingon their mental and spiritual statures! We may read or hear other’sexperiences and interpretations but we can never fathom the TrueMeaning hidden in the words and actions of the Sadguru!


1 The disciple takes the effort of holding on to the Guru, like a baby monkeyclinging on to its mother in order to be taken care of.

2 The Guru makes the effort to take care of the Sishya, like a mother cat takingcare of the safety of the kitten.

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15. GURUVAMSAVALITHE LEGACY

The All-Pervading Supreme power was worshipped by KokkandaVenkata Ratnam Sarma garu in the form of his Upasana deity,TANUMADHYAMBA. He passed on the responsibilities of worship andadoration of the Mother Goddess and the divine Peetham to Kamalammagaru who established the inherited Peetham at Eluru. She continued toworship the Devi as BALA TRIPURA SUNDARI. Kamalamma garunominated her second daughter, Tripuramba as the successor of thePeetham and also declared that the legacy shall be continued by her granddaughter Ratna Bala garu.

MATA TRIPURAMBA - THE EPITOME OF SELFLESS SACRIFICE

When the Jaganmatha wishes tostrengthen Sanatana Dharma, She assumesand descends in various forms. Thus variouspersonalities appear in their functionaryroles within the Guru Parampara, to assistHer mission. Sometimes it is the AlmightyHerself (or) Her Plenary Portion [Amsa] (or)a Partial Incarnation. Such an empoweredGuru Parampara extends its divine andspiritual powers to the other souls; enrichestheir lives and leads them towards theultimate goal in the Life! This Grandeur is well experienced by thedevotees who are associated with this Peetham since the last threegenerations!

Kokkanda Venkata Ratnam garu declared that his deity of worshipi.e. Goddess Tanumadhyamba had incarnated as his daughter,Kamalamma. Similarly the Kali aspect of the Holy Mother had incarnatedas Kamalamma garu’s second daughter, Tripuramba. The mysticexperiences which Kamalamma garu had at the time of her seconddaughter’s birth was elaborated in Chapter 7 of this book.

Tripuramba was born to the divine couple Sri Behara Satyanarayanaand Smt. Kamalamma, on Vaikunta Ekadasi i.e. in December 1938. Even

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as a child she was extraordinary and her divinity was quite obvious. WhenTripuramba’s divine powers surfaced as miracles in some of her actions,Kamalamma garu prayed to the Jaganmatha that such miracles shouldnever occur again because it may distract the sadhakas!

Kamalamma garu firmly led her sishyas in the path of devotiontowards the final deliverance. She wanted everyone to remain focussedon the Goal in Life i.e. Liberation and not be distracted by the powers ofSiddhi which inevitably arise during Sadhana to tempt and distract theSadhaka.

Tripuramba garu was brought up in a strongvalue based system which aimed at Spiritual-Social-Economic-Physical harmony of theindividual soul. Her spiritual strength isrevealed in the fact that Kamalamma garuconsidered her as the most suitable successorto manage and strengthen the Peetham. She haddecided that Tripuramba would remain aspinster all through her life and finally dedicatethe accumulated merit of DIVINE POWER tothe welfare of the Peetham and its devotees.

She had told Tripuramba, “Don’t worry that you shall not have a familyand children like other women in the society! All those who come to thisPeetham are your children. The Holy Mother shall take care of all yourneeds till your last breath. This Peetham shall come to limelight in thenext generation and shall be well known and acknowledged for its serviceand religious activities. Hence, it is your responsibility to take care ofthe Peetham till then.”

All those who know her in person, recollect her unconditional loveand motherly concern which she had for everyone without any inhibition.It was this infinite compassion that translated into the noble action ofhelping the needy. She never waited to be asked for help. She volunteeredfood, money and clothes to those who were in need. She lived anddemonstrated the ideals and values ingrained by her mother i.e. To RemainCheerful At All Times and always Speak and Share Positive Thoughtsand Words.

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Kamalamma garu firmly believed that women can be empoweredonly when they learn to be academically competent and economicallyindependent. She was against the practice of taking personal favoursfrom others and insisted that each one should be self-sufficient andsupportive to others. Being bought up under such an influence,Tripuramba garu excelled not only in spiritual cognition but also atconventional school. She grew up to become a qualified and trainedteacher at a very early age. She worked at the Theosophical Society Schoolfor 40 years. She was an excellent teacher and many of her students arein a good position today. They were moulded to become completepersonalities under the loving yet strict guidance of Tripuramba garu.She helped the economically backward students by giving them schooluniforms, books and by paying their school/examination fees. She shallalways be remembered by those students for her kindness andcheerfulness.

Tripuramba garu led a well-disciplined life. Her food habits and needswere simple. She kept herself physically fit, active and agile. Any keenobserver of her daily regimen would understand that a Sadhaka shouldneither ignore nor pamper the body.

She considered the physical body to be the carrier of the soul andthought that it has to be properly nurtured and utilised without negligenceand indulgence. She travelled all over Bharath with her disciples andhad the darshan of the Almighty at all the prominent pilgrim centres. Herfavourite pilgrimage was to Kashi. She carried out an annual pilgrimageto this holy place for eleven years uninterruptedly. She used to stay atKashi with Peetham devotees during the entire month of Karthika – lunarmonth in Hindu calendar, which usually falls in the months of October-November. Her daily schedule during those days was to bathe in theholy Ganga, have darshan of the presiding deities of Kashi i.e. LordViswanath and Goddess Annapoorna and spend the day in prayers andmeditation.

She followed the path set by her Guru and considered the spiritualnourishment and enrichment of the Peetham as her only mission inlife. She was an ideal daughter who took utmost care of her parents, theirhealth and financial issues. She dedicated her physical, mental andspiritual powers to the Peetham. She lovingly hosted the devotees who

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came to the Peetham and made suitable arrangements for them to conductpooja and keep up their religious vows and niyamas.

She kept up the traditions of daily pooja (nitya pooja), special poojaof Tuesday, Friday and grand annual Dussera celebrations. Tripurambagaru also conducted the Aradhana of her parents on their siddhi day. Shedrew immense satisfaction in honouring Vedic pundits and musicians onspecial occasions and during festive celebrations.

Under her loving and able guidance, the Peetham was well-maintained. Tripuramba garu stands as spiritual Guru and role model ofthe author of this book, Smt. S.Ratna Bala garu. She nurtured and mouldedRatna Bala garu as her spiritual successor and as the next proficient Guruto uphold the values and ideals of the Peetham and its parampara.

Mata Kamalambika had predicted that her daughter’s spiritual missionwould go on until some yogis from the Himalayas came and led her tothe heavenly abode. Just as she had envisioned, a group of yogis andtheir sishyas visited the Peetham, a couple of days before Mata Sri BalaTripurasundari garu gave up her earthly life and attained siddhi on 3rdMarch, 2006. She had given up everything and lived the life of a trueJeevan Mukta, with Highest Bhakti Bhava of Atmanivedhana. Thephilosophy, mission and message of her life were:

“When Mine Becomes Thine, Life Becomes Divine.”

She lived a life synonymous to service and sacrifice which sublimatedher and she was absorbed into the all-pervading, omnipresent Jaganmatha,Maha Tripura Sundari.

PUJYASRI RATNABALA: INCARNATION OF PERFECTION &COMPLETENESS

The stillness and quiet of the night is the time when the mindwithdraws itself from the physical body and senses, drops all the thoughtsarising from the Ego and merges itself with the ever Blissful Soul calledSatchitananda Swaroopa or Paramatma. This is the time when the evervigilant soul can be experienced in its Pure and Nascent Form. Thewakeful and watchful nights of Navaratri and Shivaratri are aimed atthis experience of Samadhi Sthithi after which the Jiva experiencesAmaratva - an Immortal state. The fear of samsara vanishes and one

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experiences the Lord in every living moment. This is Jeevan-Mukthiand has to be achieved here and now and not after death.

This is the message brought by all the Gurus and seems to be thesignificance of selecting the ratri or night time as their time of birth!

It may be recalled that the Jagathguru Sri Krishna of the Oriental andJesus the Christ of the Occidental descended to earth only at night. TheEnlightened souls - Gautama Buddha, Mahavir, Guru Nanak andBhagavan Ramana chose to be born only at night i.e. during the darkages of Kaliyug and lead the mortals to immortality,

In such a similar manner, GoddessRaja Rajeswari decided to descend onthis earth, assume a human form and leadpeople in the path of Jnana-Bhaktitowards Mukti by playing the role of aGuru. The Parashakti, of ableadministrative skills who is adored as SriRaja Rajeswari, dressed in flowing whitesilk with glittering crown adoring her,holding a trident, riding on a white horsealighted from it and entred into BALATRIPURA SUNDARI PEETHAM atEluru during the wee hours of 13thMarch, 1957. Only Mata Kamalambikahad this darshan and she understood its significance. Within minutes,her son-in-law Sri Nidamarthy Narayana Rao came there. Kamalammagaru immediately asked whether a daughter was born to him. He wasstunned because he had come there, only to convey the good news of hisfirst daughter’s birth during those late night hours. When he expressedhis surprise, Kamalamma garu narrated her vision. She also said, “Thisbaby girl born to you and my youngest daughter Lakshmi Sarojini is anamsa of goddess Raja Rajeswari.This Peetham shall remain obscure forsome time after I leave my mortal coil.

When this little girl grows up, she shall take charge of the Peethamand its activities. The Peetham shall then bloom to its complete gloryand devotees from all over the world shall then come to the Peetham.”

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Ratna Bala garu was brought up by her maternal grandmotherKamalamma garu and aunt Tripuramba garu. She spent her childhoodand student life at Eluru, keenly observing the activities and administrationof the Peetham. She shared the administrative responsibilities of thePeetham with Mata Tripuramba garu, the sequence of events thattransformed Smt. Sunkesula Ratna Bala garu to the Fourth guru ofBalatripura Sundari Peetham is well described in the preface of this book.

The Peetham has seen a vast expansion in its infrastructure andactivities ever since she took charge of it. Her completeness and poiseare reflected in all the activities taken up by her. The reader can have avivid picture of the Peetham and its socio-religious and philanthropicactivities in the next chapter, Kamalambika Muktidhamam – A Homeof Sadhana Towards Liberation.

The fundamental core of the Peetham is the Ideology of MataKamalambika. Ratna Bala garu is a visionary who has carefully woven

and integrated all the aspects of life aroundthis core. The activities planned andexecuted by her, give immense satisfactionand happiness in all the spheres of life toall the sishyas irrespective of their age,gender and social status. She is alwaysinclusive yet detached; concerned yetuntangled; caring yet unconditional! Thisplaces her on a very high pedestal whichordinary human beings can’t easilyachieve. Her clarity and purity arereflected in her plans which flow easilyand materialise into actions. Her spiritual

strength is evident when one observes the crumbling and disappearanceof challenges and problems faced by her sishyas and devotees. It is thiseternal spring of spiritual power that draws devotees to her and to thePeetham from all over the world.

Her multifaceted approach and open mindedness can be seen in thevarious activities undertaken by the Peetham, under her initiative andguidance. Her cheerfulness and welcoming semblance draws the sishyas

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towards her. Under her motherly guidance and care, one is sure to attaincompleteness in their Sadhana.

Ratna Bala garu was instrumental in

1. Developing a multi storeyed, own building for the Peetham and itsdevotees.

2. Constructing a DHYANA MANDIRAM - a meditation hall calledSMARANDHAM which includes a spiritual library and a museumwhere the things used by previous gurus are maintained.

3. Bringing out spiritual works like:

● Sri Kamalambika Ashtotara Sata Namavali

● Sri Kamala - Satyanarayana Poojavidhi

● Sri Kamalambika Divya Charitra in Telugu and English

● Sri Kamalavedam - uploaded in YouTube as audio files

● Sri Kamalopanishad

4. Launching a website ratna.kamalambika.org

5. Bringing out the Second Edition of BILWESWARAMAHAKAVYAM – a Telugu epic poem by Kokkanda VenkataRatnam Sarma garu.

6. Launching of Bhakti Manjari - Casettes and CDs containingdevotional songs of Mata Kamalambika.

She has travelled all over the globe. She has taken her sishyas onpilgrimage to all the prominent places of worship in India, Vatican, Nepal,Tibet, Srilanka etc. She has taken extreme care to collect teertha, akshathaetc. from different Kshetras and placed them in the foundation of thepremises of the Peetham, so that anyone who visits the Peetham obtainsthe merit of having the Darshan of the Almighty at Shakti Peethams,Dwadasa Jyotir Linga Kshetrams, Vaishnava Divyadesams etc.

Sishyas and the inmates of the Peetham have imbibed her shraddhaand they work in harmony to see that every activity is executed withutmost care and perfection!


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16. KAMALAMBIKA MUKTIDHAMAMHOME OF SADHANA TOWARDS LIBERATION

“Kamalambika Muktidhamam’’ is the Bala Tripura Sundari Peethamestablished by Mata Kamalambika in the premises of “Sri AnnapoornaSametha Pratapa Viswesara Swami Temple,” Agraharam, Eluru, AndhraPradesh. Mata Kamalambika and the Peetham are synonymous andinseparable. She has repeatedly assured all her sishyas that she shallcontinue to remain in the Peetham in her divine form and protect all ofthem, like a mother fish that protects her babies through her loving glanceeven when they are physically far away from her. Mata Kamalambika istrue to her assurance and we can feel her protection even to this day.

The Peetham’s glory continues togrow by every passing day. ThePeetham was initially established in asmall tiled house and it could notaccommodate the increasing numberof devotees. Under the initiative ofSmt. Ratna Bala garu, this tiled housewas converted into RC structured,spacious rooms in the year 1993 andwas named “KAMALAMBIKAMUKTIDHAMAM.” This helped thedevotees to conduct pujasconveniently. The number of devoteescoming to the Peetham startedincreasing and there arose a need to expand and develop the premises ofthe Peetham. Keeping this in mind, 156 sq. yards of land and buildingwas brought from Smt. Hari Durgamba, one of Mata Kamalambika’sdisciples in the year 2005 and a Dhyana Mandiram (meditation hall) wasconstructed there. This hall conveniently accommodated a large numberof devotees and Dussera Laksha Kumkum pooja was performed on agrand scale in this hall for many years.

After the Siddhi/Niryanam of Pujyaguru Tripurasundari garu in theyear 2006, the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board wanted the original

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premises of the Peetham (situated within the premises of Sri PratapaVisweswara Temple) to be vacated.

Smt. Ratna Bala garu had founded and registered a trust under thename “SRI SRI RATNAKAMALAMBIKA SEVA TRUST,” in the year2001. Under the auspice of the trust, 500 sq. yards of land was acquiredclose to the site of Peetham. In the year 2007, a three-storey buildingwas constructed in that site and was named as “SRI SRI RATNAKAMALAMBIKA SEVASHRAM”.

Smt. Ratna Bala garu had personally collected several Holy articleslike Rudrakshas, Silk Vastras, Mrithika, water from Holy Rivers,Manasasarovar, from Divya Kshetras of our holy land Bharath. Theseitems were laid in the foundation during the Bhoomi Pooja and this newbuilding was named SRI KAMALAMBIKA MUKTIDHAMAM. Theitems placed in the foundation bear a great significance and relevance tothose pursuing spiritual Sadhana to attain Liberation. They help in creatinga positive and conducive atmosphere for Sadhana and Upasana. Theyalso help in overcoming the obstacles that arise at physical, mental andintellectual levels.

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The Holy objects placed in the foundation of the Mukthidhamamand their significance is listed in the following table:Sl.No.

KSHETRA

1. MANASA-SAROVAR(Tibet)

2. PERENNIALRIVERS OFINDIA

3. KEDARNATH(Uttaranchal)

4. BADRINATH(Uttarakhand)

KSHETRA MAHIMA

Symbolises the Creatorand His Creation. Itsholy water is believed tobe Mother Parvathi’sForm, as a life givingforce. It is also a ShaktiPeetham

Ganga, Yamuna,Godavari, Narmada,Sindhu, Kaveri etc. arethe main rivers whichforms the basis of Lifeand Living in Bharath.Even the mention oftheir names is said tomake one’s life andactions sacred.

Jyotir Linga Kshetraathighestaltitude.Pandavasattained Liberation andascended to heaven.AdiShankaracharya’sSamadhi.

One of 108 VaishnavaDivyadesams. LordVishnu manifested asNara - Narayana and didpenance for the welfareof the entire Creation.Guru - Sishya paramparahas its roots here.

VASTHU

Holy Water

Holy Waters

Pashanam

Tulsi

Silk Clothes

VASTHU MAHIMA

Helps the disturbedand ruffled mind tosettle down and attaintranquillity

Symbol of Purity,Sanctity and BASISOF MORALEXISTENCE

Creates aRESONANCEbetweenthe Sadhaka and theALL PERVADINGNADHA BRAHMAM

Instils the greatestBhakti Bhavam asthat of Narada whoworships LordBadrinath withAshtakshari andTulasi.

Blesses the unmarriedwith best spouse andprosperity sinceGoddess Mahalakshmiwho guarded LordVishnu as a Badari treegot married to Himwith great pomp andgrandeur, arranged byLord Kubera - the Godof Wealth!

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Sl.No.

KSHETRA

5. HARIDWAR(Uttarakhand)

6. MANASA DEVITEMPLE(Bilva Parvath)

7. CHANDI/MAYADEVI TEMPLE(Neel Parvath)

8. SAMADHI OFLAHIRIMAHASAYA

9. VAISHNO DEVI(Jammu &Kashmir)

KSHETRA MAHIMA

Called the GATEWAYTO THE LAND OFGODS. Believed thatdrops of AMRUTH fellhere from the Heavensand hence Kumbhmelais celebrated here.Holydip in River Ganga atHaridwar is supposed toremove the FEAR OFMORTALITY i.e. GiveAMARATVA.

The Shakti that emergedfrom Lord Shiva isworshipped in thisSiddhapeetham

Place where MotherGoddess rested afterslaying Shumbha andNishumba.Shaktipeeth& Siddhapeeth

Holy Ashes of LahiriMahasaya are enshrinedat KESHAVANANDASHRAM. He is theFather of Kriya YogaParampara.

Shakthi Peetham whereMother Goddessmanifested as TRIDEVI;MAHALAKSHMI-MAHASARASWATHIand MAHAKHALI inPindi form.

VASTHU

Water fromholy Ganga

Silk Clothes&FlowerPetals

Pashanam(Small piecesof stone/rock)

Mrittika(Soil)

Pashanam

VASTHU MAHIMA

Removes unholythoughts and preparesthe sadhaka to receiveAtmajnanam

Removes the Veil ofMaya from the mindsof the Upasaka andgives them a sense ofDiscrimination andDetachment. Fulfilsthe Dharmic desiresof devotees

Removes theobstacles of the mindand keeps it free fromevil thoughts.

One of the form thatinvokes the presenceof Kriya Yoga Guru,Lahiri Mahasaya.

Helps in conqueringthe dark forces. Helpsin deriving inspirationand effort. Helps inattaining wisdom andrighteousness.RAISES THE LEVELOF SPIRITUALCONSCIOUSNESS.

(Contd.)

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Sl.No.

KSHETRA

10. SRIKHANDMAHADEV(HimachalPradesh)

11. HARI PARVATH(Jammu &Kashmir)

12. SHANKARA-CHARYATEMPLE(Kashmir)

13. NAIMI-SARANYA(Uttar Pradesh)

14. CHAKRATEERTHAM

15. RIVERGOMATI ORADI GANGA

KSHETRA MAHIMA

After granting a boon toBhasmasura, Lord Shivasat in Samadhi Sthithi as50 feet Stone Lingam.The asura was slayed byLord Vishnu in MohiniAvatar. Place ofPandava's Penance.

Maha Tripura SundariTemple also called SriJagadamba SarikaBhagawati Peetham. TheSwayambu Srichakra ison the western face ofthis Holy Hill which isconsidered as the MahaMaha Sri Chakra.

Cave where GuruGorakshaknath andShankaracharyameditated under aKalpavruksha tree.

First ever pilgrim centreon earth. Place where88,000 sages conducteduninterrupted meditationand yagam (DheergaSatra yagam) for thewelfare of humanity.Place where all Puranas,Upapuranas and Vedasoriginated.

Water that spouted fromthe ground where LordBrahma's ManomayaChakra struck.

Transcendental River

VASTHU

MrittikaPashanam

Mrittika

Mrittika andBarks ofKalpavrukshatree

Mrittika

Pashanam

MrittikaPashanam

VASTHU MAHIMA

DESTROYS THEEGO that arises due towealth and power.

Imparts spiritualstrength, mentaltoughness andphysical well being.

Attainment ofJNANA SHAKTHI.

Bestows DivinePower to overcomeworldly desires.

Destroys all the sinsand Graha Peeda of10 earlier and 10future generations.

Cleanses the Sadhakaof all the sins namelySanchitha, Prarabdaand Agaami.

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Sl.No.

KSHETRA

16. VYASAGADDHI

17. HANUMANGARHI

18. ASHRAMS OFVALMIKI,SUKA,SOUNAKA,DADICHI

19. UJJAINI(MadhyaPradesh)

20. MATHURA,BRINDAVAN,ALLAHABAD(Uttar Pradesh)

KSHETRA MAHIMA

Ashram where sage VedaVyasa classified theVedas into 4 parts andwrote the Puranas, Vedasand imparted this Jnanato his disciples.

18 feet self-manifestedLord Hanuman Deity.Place where LordHanuman emerged fromPathala Loka bringingLord Rama andLakshmana from theclutches of AhiRavanana.

The ashram whereRamayana wascomposed. SrimadBhagavatham and otherPuranas were narrated toRishis. Dadichiconverted his spine intoVAJRAYUDHA andgave it to Devas.

MAHAKHALI andMAHAKALESWARinstantly shower theirmercy and stand by theirBhaktas. It's a ShaktiPeetham and is one ofthe Jyotirling Kshetras.Bhakti and Jnanaflourished under thepatronage of its rulers. Itis referred asMokshapuri.

Birthplace of LordKrishna - Mokshapuri.Place of Krishnaleela/Rasaleela. TRIVENISANGAM - where theHoly Ganga, Yamunaand Saraswathi riversmerge into each other.

VASTHU

Barks ofVyasaVruksham

Pashanam

Pashanam

Pashanam

Pashanam

VASTHU MAHIMA

Stimulates and steersthe Sadhaka'sthoughts towardsJNANA.

Imparts strength ofmind, control of senseand sharp intellect.

Instils and reaffirmsthe moral values to beupheld in human life.

Involves Sadhakas inPREMA BHAKTHIand JNANABHAKTI.

Bestows fulfilment Inthis life and thereafter.

Leads Sadhakas alongthe path of PREMA-JNANA-BHAKTHIand makes lifeconducive for JEEVAPARABRAHMAIKYASTHITHI.

(Contd.)

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Sl.No.

KSHETRA

21. VARANASI(Uttar Pradesh)

22. BHADRA-CHALAM(Telengana State)

23. CHAMUNDITEMPLE(Mysore)

24. SRINGERISHARADHATEMPLE\(Karnataka)

25. TIRUVOTTI-YUR(Chennai,Tamilnadu)

KSHETRA MAHIMA

Holy Ganga which flowsNorthwards. Kasi is aMokshapuri and aneternal city wheredevotees are guardedand guided by LordViswanath and GoddessAnnapoorna till lastbreath.

Sri Sita - Ramachandraspent a part of their exilein these forests, on thebanks of river Godavari,which is considered tobe Mother Ganga whowas compassionate toflow through theSouthern Parts ofBharath and make itfertile.

Mother Goddess rests asShakti roopini afterslaying the rakshasas -Chanda and Munda

One of the SphatikaLinga brought by AdiShankara from Kailashwas installed by him atthis place.

The Goddess of learningis enshrined in Sringerias Sharadhamba.

Gurusthan of ourPujyagaru Kamalammagaru Famous Shiva-Shakthi Kshetram

VASTHU

BHIKSHARICE fromGODDESSANNAPOORNITEMPLE

Sri SitaramaKalyanaAkshathalu

Pearls

Sutra

Kumkum

MrittikaPashanam

VASTHU MAHIMA

Symbol of prosperityand completeness.There shall never bean unsatisfied want orneed in the life of theSadhakas andBhaktas. Satiates thehunger of the body,mind and soul andleads to Jnana andVairagya. Gives us anunderstanding ofuniversal brotherhoodand all pervasivenessof Iswara.

Brings prosperity andauspiciousness inone's life.

Bestows purity andclarity in thought,word and deed -Trikarana Suddhi.

Capable of fulfillingany desire even whena person merelytouches it.

Blesses the upasakawith VIVEKA

Creates an intenselonging for liberationi.e. Mumukshu.

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Sl.No.

KSHETRA

26. KAMAKSHITEMPLE(Kanchipuram,Tamilnadu)

27. MEENAKSHITEMPLE(Madurai,Tamilnadu)

28. CHIDAMBA-RAM(Tamilnadu)

29. RAMESWA-RAM(Tamilnadu)

30. NAVAGRAHAKSHETRAS

31. KALADIPURNA NADHI(Kerala)

KSHETRA MAHIMA

Mokshapuri of SouthIndia. The place whereSri LalithaSahasranamam wastaught and Maha TripuraSundari was adored asKAMAKSHI.

SRI CHAKRANAGARAM - whereMother Goddess ispositioned at thePINNACLE - BINDU

Lord Nataraja whosymbolises the EternalCosmic Creation,Evolution andDissolution. One of thePancha Bhootasthalam.

One of the 12 JyotirLingas. TheRamanatheswaraShivalinga was made byGoddess Sita andinstalled by Lord SriRama.

Birthplace of Sri AdiShankara. It is believedthat mother Goddess fedAdi Shankara when hewas an infant and cryingout of hunger. The riverthat followed LittleShankara and traced hisfootsteps and startedflowing in his backyardfor the convenience ofAryamba.

VASTHU

Kumkum

Kumkum

Pashanam

Mrittika

AkshathaKumkum

Mrittika

VASTHU MAHIMA

Enlightens theSadhakas by pointinghim towards a Guru.

Bestows immenseShakthi for one'ssadhana to fructify.

Opens up one'sconsciousness tohigher levels ofspirituality.

Absolves the sins.Pilgrimage to Kashi isconsidered to becompleted only whenone takes darshan ofthe Lord atRameswaram also.

Frees one from themalefic effects of thePlanets and relievesthem from physicaland mental ailments,financial troubles,difficulties in marriedlife etc.

Symbolises that LordKrishna rushes toprotect the weak whooffer their intenseDEVOTION to theLord.

(Contd.)

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When a person is desirous of attaining liberation from the shacklesof mundane life, he is encountered by many challenges:

• At the physical level, his health, financial conditions, familyproblems, social commitments etc. many disturb him.

• At the mental level, there might be lack of focus, variousdistractions and disturbances, shift in priority etc.

• At the intellectual level, there arises lack of clarity, absence ofright guidance, influence of negative energies etc.

The ‘Holy Articles’ that wereplaced in the ‘Foundation of thisPeetham’ provide a suitable energisedzone for the Sadhakas to overcome allthese obstacles. Thus a strongfoundation (Bhoomika) for completedevelopment, evolution andemancipation was laid during theBhoomi pooja (consecration of the land under construction) of thePeetham’s building.

Manaseeka Darshan of the Peetham

On 9th February, 2008, Sri Bala Tripura Sundari Peetham was re-established and consecrated in this new building as per the DivineInstruction of Pujyasri Mata Kamalambika. The idols of Lord MokshaGanapathi, Goddess Bala Gowri, Sri Swaprakaseswara Swamy andmarble statue of Pujyaguru Mata Sri Kamalambika were installed on thealtar and consecrated. It was a day of great jubilation and delight tohundreds of devotees. Witnessing the religious and Vedic rituals of the

Sl.No.

KSHETRA

32. SHIVA DUTTAYOGI ASHRAM(Mumbai)

KSHETRA MAHIMA

An ashram of intenseSadhana towardsrealisation of self.

VASTHU

Rudrakshas,Shivalinga,Coins

VASTHU MAHIMA

Creates a cocoon ofenergy shield againstthe negative energies.Brings calmness andalertness in theUpasaka.

General well-being,health and freedom.

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Peeta Pratishtha (consecration) brought immense happiness to all thosepresent there! On 22nd August, 2008, the Salagrama Vigraha of Sri YogaNarasimhaswamy and Sri Balaji were also installed on the same altar.

As we mentioned earlier, Sri Sri Ratna Kamalambika Sevashram is athree storey building. The Divine Peetham is installed on the groundfloor which has a spacious and well-ventilated hall.

This Hall has a big stage on which special ceremonies can be hosted.The walls of the Hall are beautifully decorated with oil paintings andportraits of the divine forms of goddess Durga, Bala Tripura Sundari andthe Gurus of this Peetham. A life size oil painting of Mata Kamalambikadecorates the stage and our Pujyaguru always initiates, witnesses, presidesand blesses all those who come there!

Religious ceremonies like Laksha kumkumarchana, Kailasa GowriVratham, Nandikeswara Vratham, Parayanam and Purana pravachanametc. can be conveniently organised on this stage. Apart from these,devotees also prefer to celebrate their family functions like marriage,upanayanam, aksharabhyasam, annaprasanam, baby shower, birthday,etc. on this stage with the benediction of their Guru. This tradition whichstarted during Kamalamma garu’s days continues even to this day.

The second floor has a big hall, two rooms and big kitchen. Prasadam iscooked and served in this big hall to all the devotees during Dussera andother special occasions. This large hall is also used to screen the videosshot during the pilgrimages undertaken by the members of the Peethamwith Guru garu. It also has a Homa Vedika where different homams areregularly conducted for the welfare of Humanity.

The third floor has furnished rooms and accommodates the families ofsome of the Peetham members, i.e. the contemporaries of Kamalammagaru and Tripuramba garu. An elevator has been fitted for convenienceof the elderly. The inmates of the Sevashram offer excellent service inthe maintenance of the Peetham and in hosting the devotees, who comefrom distant places to complete their vows, conduct special pooja, familyfunctions or participate in Dussera celebrations. Their cheerfulness andhospitality is sure to win everyone’s hearts!


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PHALASHRUTHIEPILOGUE

We have been blessed with this Divya Charitra only on account ofthe merits earned in our previous births. This Guru Prasad is a favourbestowed upon us out of the Infinite Karuna Kataksha of Sadguru andthe Almighty!

We have so far read all the sixteen chapters of “Sri KamalambikaDivyaCharitra”, with utmost devotion. Let us now salute and prostratebefore our Sadguru with Trikarana Suddhi i.e. purity of body, mind andintellect and take refuge at Her Holy Feet with complete surrenderance;

Tvameva Mata cha Pita Tvameva;Tvameva Bandhu cha Sakha Tvameva!

Tvameva Vidya, Dravinam Tvameva;Tvameva Sarvam, Mama Deva Deva!!

SRI MATA KAMALAMBIKA is:

• THE PARABRAHMA TATTVA that pervades and permeatesthe entire COSMOS!!

• She is our PARAMA GURU, who helps us to cross the Ocean ofMundane Existence and guides us to Evolve and Emancipate!!

• She is our COMPASSIONATE MOTHER; PROTECTINGFATHER; an ABIDING FRIEND and WELL-MEANINGRELATIVE.

If we constantly meditate on Her Lotus Feet and completely surrenderto Her, She will fulfil all our dharmic desires and make us attain the goalof life.

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Prayer

Oh Sri Mata! We Desire Nothing but Thee

With A Pure Heart and Mind We Have a Plea

To Remove the Miseries and Fill Our Life with Glee

Always Singing Your Glory like A Humming Bee!!

Bless us and set our Mind devoid and free

Of Greed, Avarice and all those Condemned by God’s Decree

Sow In Us the Seeds of a Tree

That Yield Fruits of Love of a Universal Degree!!

Make Us Fit To Receive Your Grace

Burn Our Sins without a Trace

So That We Progress At a Great Pace

Only To Surrender Ourselves At The Every Phase!!

Reward of Study

One who reads this Divya Charitra with Shraddha and Bhakti willevolve and progress in all the walks of life. A sincere parayana of theseSixteen Chapters is like performing a Manasa Shodasa Upachara Poojato the Sadguru i.e. worshipping our Paramaguru with 16 Holy Articleslike Aachamaniyam, Argyam, Aasanam, Archanam, etc. This parayanais sure to cleanse the devout reader, in thought, word and deed and makeone fit to receive Guru’s Upadesa to cross the Bhava Sagara. AReverential Reading of this book shall please Sri Mata Kamalambikaand it shall remove ignorance and poverty and fill our life with knowledge,wealth and prosperity.

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This Divya Charitra is an Unfathomable Ratna Sagaram – An Oceanof Precious Gems. One who repeatedly reads this charitra will gatherthis immeasurable and priceless Ratnas and make their life, a richexperience. One who contemplates on the divine leelas of Sri Mata, thatare strung to make this GARLAND OF SIXTEEN FRAGRANTFLOWERS, will derive immense happiness.

Let us read this Divya Charitra specially on ‘Guru Pournima’,‘Dussera’, etc. to make the occasion more significant with constantremembrance and salutations at Sri Mata’s Lotus Feet. This will deliverus from the repeated cycles of birth and death. May the readers of thisDivya Charitra be blessed with whole hearted devotion and experience‘Sri Mata’s’ all-pervading and protecting presence at all times.

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1. Sri Kamalambika Ashtothara Sathanamavali

2. Sri Kamalambika Mangala Harathi

3. Mata Kamalambika Divya Sooktis

4. Pooja Schedule&Religious Activities

5. Social Activities

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1. Om Sri KamalambikayaiNamaha

2. Kamala Bhoomaye

3. Kanthayai

4. Kamapradhayai

5. Mahamayayai

6. Varapradhayai

7. Sripradhayai

8. Vimalayai

9. JnanaMudrayai

10. Kamaroopinyai

11. Mahapathakanasinyai

12. Vagdevyai

13. Kokkandavamsodhbhavayai

14. Satyanarayanapathiniyai

15. Trayimurthaye

16. Trikalajnanayai

17. Trigunayai

18. Sowmyayai

19. Suravandithayai

20. Sudhamurthaye

1. SRI KAMALAMBIKA ASHTOTHARASATHANAMAVALI

Prefix each Naama with Om and Suffix with Namaha,as show in the first Naama…

21. Padmalochanyai

22. Divyalankarabhooshithayai

23. Vidyaroopayai

24. Mahabhadrayai

25. Brahma Vishnushivathmikayai

26. Sarswathayai

27. Sowdhaminyai

28. Chandikayai

29. Bhogadayai

30. Brahmajnanasadhanayai

31. Shubhadhayai

32. Varijasanayai

33. Chitharamalyavibhooshithayai

34. Prakruthiyai

35. Vikruthyai

36. Sarvabhoothahithapradhayai

37. Shraddhayai

38. Deepthayai

39. Kleemkaryai

40. Suchayai

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41. Swahayai

42. Swadhayai

43. Vasudhadharinyai

44. Anaghayai

45. Padmapriyayai

46. Suprasannayai

47. Chandravadhanayai

48. Indusheethalayai

49. Aahladhajananyai

50. Vimalayai

51. Shivayai

52. Dharidriyanasinyai

53. Shanthayai

54. Bilvanilayayai

55. Vararohayai

56. Hemamaliniyai

57. Mahakalyai

58. Bhuanveswaryai

59. Jayayai

60. Helapurinivasinyai

61. Kalamavasinyai

62. Lalithayai

63. Kambhugreevayai

64. Dhyuthimathe

65. Jaganmathre

66. Balayai

67. Sarvamangalayai

68. Mahimayai

69. Mantraardhayayai

70. Papanasinyai

71. Nityayai

72. Nireeshayai

73. Nirmalayai

74. Ambikayai

75. Kalidoshanishudhinyai

76. Kamalrchithayai

77. Sathayayai

78. Sowbhagyadhayai

79. Amalayai

80. Annapoornayai

81. Amrutheswarayai

82. Balajigurukatakshalabdhaprabhavayai

83. Syamala prasadhithavibhayayai

84. Parayai

85. Sukshmayai

86. Haridhrakumkumaaradhyayai

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87. Sarvabhogapradhayai

88. Vedanta lakshanyai

89. Kankshitharthapradhayai

90. Devyai

91. Aryayai

92. Putrapoutravarapradhayai

93. Punyayai

94. Purushardhapradhayinyai

95. Satyadharmarathyinyai

96. Sarvasakshinyai

97. Thanumadhyambaswaroopiniyai

98. Akhilagama samsthuthayai

99. Bhanukotisamadhyuthyai

100. Hiranmayai

101. Srividhyayai

102. Omkara swaroopinyai

103. Hreemkaryai

104. Nadharoopayai

105. Trigunambikayai

106. Bhaktavatsalayai

107. Bhadradhayinyai

108. Kashtadharidhrasamanyai

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2. SREE KAMALAMBIKA MANGALAHARATHI

Jaya Jaya Sri Mangalamanare Sri KamalambakuJaya Jaya Sri MangalamanareOm Jayasri Kamalamba Jayathu; Jayasree KamalambaBhaktha Vathsali Sri Sirikamala Nekede Shubha Mangalam

i. Thalli Thandri Guruvu Deivamu Neevega ThalliSathathamu Mammu Brovaga RaaveKolachinavariki Kongubangaramu Sri KamalambikaMukthidhamamuMokshapradhayani Sri KamalambikakuManopushpapu Mangalam Harathi (Jaya)

ii. Pasupu Kumkuma GandhakshthaluMallelu Jajulu Mandara Sampangi DhavanamuluKadhali Phalamulu Seethaphalamulu, Narikelamulu, PanakambuluDhoopa Deepa Mahanevedhana Swekarimpumu Sri Kamal

(Jaya)

iii. Brahma Vishnu Shivathmikavi Sri KamalambaBrahmagyaneka SadhaniviSarvabhoothahitjapradhyani PutrapoutravarapradhayaniGhaikonavamma Nakshtra Harathi Panchaharathi Srikamalambika

(Jaya)

iv. Kokkonda Vamsthobhavi Sri KamalambaSatyanarayana PatniviBalaji garu Kataksha Labhdivi Shyamala Prasaditha VibhaviniHelapuri Sri Dhamma Vasini Ratna Harathi Karpura Harathi

Jaya Jaya Sri Mangalamnare Sri KamalambakuJaya Jaya Sri MangalamnareOm Jayasri Kamalamba Jayathu; Jaya Sree KamalambaOm Jaya Sri Kamalamba

Shivashakthiyaikkya Swaroopini Kamalambaku Jai!!!

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3. MATA KAMALAMBIKA DIVYA SOOKTISTHE MOST MEMORABLE QUOTES

FromSADGURU KAMALAMMA GARU’S TEACHINGS

A Sadguru imparts immense knowledge unconditionally to all thosewho come under his/her spiritual umbrella irrespective of their social,economic and intellectual status. Their only concern and mission in lifeis to uplift all those around them. Their simple messages are completelypower packed capsules which can produce positive changes in life iffollowed with devotion and commitment. Every word uttered byKamalamma garu became a mantra for her disciples and devotees. Thereare ‘Twelve’such important ‘Empowerment Tools’called Sooktis.

They are sure to refine the thoughts, attitude, behaviour andpersonality of all those who contemplate and follow them in their dailylife! Given below are the Telugu transliteration of the Sooktis and theirEnglish translation:

• Sookti 1. Vakramu Leni Manase Chakramu;

Atti Archane Sreechakrarchana

(A mind free of Askewness and Lopsidedness is theseat of the almighty; such a mind is a sacred toolfor true devotional worship)

• Sookti 2. Guru Darshaname Sarva Devathala Darshanamu;

Guru Brahma; Guru Vishnu; GururdevoMaheswara

Guru Sakshath Parabrahma; Tasmai Sri GuraveNamaha

(One who contemplates the Guru, beholds all theforms of divinity)

• Sookti 3. Nirmala Hrudhayam Bhagavthi Nilayam

(Pure Heart Is the Abode of Bhagavathi)

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• Sookti 4. Alpa Vidyalu Visarjinchu ; Mukthi MargamunuAnusarinchu

(Let your intellect lead you to towards Liberationand Deliverance and not trap you in MaterialisticEntanglements)

• Sookti 5. Upasana Kanna Jnanam Minna ;Jnanam KannaAacharana Minna

(Wisdom and Knowledge of Self are superior torituals; yet Abidance in truth surpasses allKnowledge)

• Sookti 6. Nenu Bhakthiki Vashamouthanu

Edhuthi Vari Badhalu Naa Baadhalu

(I am bound by the unconditional supreme devotionof those who have surrendered unto me! I empathiseand experience the pain of others’ as my own)

• Sookti 7. Nannu Nammu, Ninnu Ekkadiki Cherchalo NakuTelusu

(Repose trust and faith in Me; I am aware and Ishall take you to your final destination in life)

• Sookti 8. Nenu EEPeethamulone Untanu

Needala Naa Bhakthulanu Veeantu Kapaduthanu

(I shall always remain in this Peetham; those whosurrender and take refuge unto Me shall always beprotected and I shall remain inseparable from themas their shadow)

• Sookti 9. Neevu Vinagaligithe Railu Koothalo KoodaOmkaram Vinapaduthundhi

(If you are keen and intent, you can experience theall pervasiveness of the Omkara even in the chaoticshrillness of a train)

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• Sookti 10. Bhouthika Sareeramula Anubhandham KannaAtmala Anubhandham Goppadhi

(Soul relationships are Superior to Bloodrelationship)

• Sookti 11. Nee Manasununi Vishalam Chesuko

(Develop Broad Mindedness)

• Sookti 12. Karmanubhavamu Tappadhu; GurukrupeSharanyamu

(Law of causality is inescapable; the fruits of karmahave to be inevitably assimilated and experienced;the only refuge is the Grace of the Sadguru)

JAI SRI MATA KAMALAMBIKA

SARVAM SRI GURU CHARANARPANAMASTHU

OM TAT SAT

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4. POOJA SCHEDULE & RELIGIOUSACTIVITIES

a. Nithyotsava

4.00 a.m. Sri Sooktham Recital, On Monday, Friday and Saturdays,Kumkumarchana, Panchamrutha Abhisekham withNaivedhyam, Purushasooktam Recital to SwamivaruDeeparadhana. followed by Sri Rudra Homam

7.00 a.m. Satsang - where Lalitha Sahasranamam, Vishnuto devotees share their Sahasranamam, Devi Khadgamala8.30 p.m. spiritual knowledge, Stotra Namavali, Parayana on

experiences and Tuesdays & Fridays.teachings of the Gurus.

Special Pooja on Fridays Daily Pooja followed by, Kamala-Satyanarayana Vratham, VaibhavaKamala Vratham, Guru CharitraParayana

b. Pakshotsava

As per the instructions of their Gurus, some Sishyas come on NewMoon Day, Full Moon Day or Tuesday and stay overnight in the Peethamand participate in the Pooja activities and do Parayana.

c. Samvathsarotsava

Month Occasion Highlights

January 13 - Mata Bhogi celebrationsKamalambikagaru’s Jayanthi

15 - Shanthananda Distribution of food and clothes to physicallySwami’s Aradhana challenged, old & destitute

February Vasantha Panchami Samishti UpanayanamMaha Shivaratri Rudra Abhisekham, Archana, Rudra Homam,

Jagaram with Shiva Nama Smaranam

Mata Tripuramba Distribution of food, clothes and medicines togaru’s Aradhana cancer afflicted patients and to physically

challenged.

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March 13 - Pujyasri Ratna Distribution of Pratibha awards to meritoriousBala garu’s birthday students awarding scholarship to economically

backward students distributing books,notebooks and other stationery, exam fees topoor and needy students

Ugadi – Telugu Special Pooja for Loka Kalyanam and

New Year Day Panchanga Sravaam

April Sri Rama Navami Sri Sita Rama Kalyanam celebrated on a grandmanner followed by Muthyala Talampralu

Sri Annamacharya Music concert and felicitating musiciansVardhanthi

Shankara Jayanthi Anugraha Bhashanam by Guru garu

May Hanuman Jayanthi, Hanuman chalisa recital by devoteesSuvarchala-Hanuman (108 times), Annadhanam to the PoorKalyanam

June/July Guru Pournami Special Homam, Guru Padhuka Aradhana.Anugraha Bhashanam, Guru CharitraParayanam

August Sravana Mangala Married women, desirous of virtuous childrenGowri Vratham on offer butter to Lord Krishna as NaivedhyamTuesdays and then lay the idol in a cradle and gentlyVaralakshmi Vratham rock and sing lullabies. This tradition wasSri Krishna started by Mata Kamalambika garu right fromJanmashtami the initial days of the Peetham.

September Vinayaka Chaturthi Students are made to do this Pooja and Prayfor their academic excellence

October Navaratri Kalastapana on 1st day at 4.00 a.m. (BrahmiMahotsavam Muhurtham), daily Kumkumarchana, special

Alankaram of Bala Tripurasundari SpecialDevi Homams, Pravachans in the evening,followed by Pallaki Seva and finallyPavalimpu Seva at 10.00 p.m. Abhisekham toGoddess Saraswathi on Mahanavami Day byStudents, Aksharabhyasam (Initiation toLearning) on Vijayadasami followed by AnnaSantarpana

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November Dhanalakshmi Poojaon Deepavali DayShivaradhana duringthe month ofKarthika

December Mata Tripuramba’s Distribution of food and clothes to physicallyJayanthi on challengedMukhkoti Ekadasi

Mata Kamalambika Special SatsangsAradhanotsavam

d. Kalyana Seva

Special Kalyana Seva and Pooja are also organised;

i. Sri Sita Rama Kalyanam and Pattabhishekam on SriRamanavami Day

ii. Sri Valli-Devasena Sametha SubramanyaSwamy Kalyanam onShukla Sasti Day

iii. Parvathi Parameswara Kalyanam During Dussera Celebrations

iv. Suvarchala - Hanuman Kalyanam on Hanuman Jayanthi Day

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5. SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

Under the able leadership and guidance of Pujyaguru Smt. S. RatnaBala garu, the Peetham organises various social welfare activities, therebyrealising the ideals of Mata Kamalambika.

These include:

� Conducting special medical camps

� Extending support and help to feed and educate children inorphanages, centre for hiv affected , physically and mentallychallenged

� Distributing food and clothes to cancer patients, physicallychallenged and old people in hospitals and old age homes

� Awarding merit scholarship and financial aid to economicallybackward students

� Extending financial support to the poor and needy

� Conducting yoga and meditation classes

� Conducting sloka and music classes to uphold our culture andtradition

� Extending financial help towards conducting marriages andupanayayams of the economically backward

� Distribution of milk/water/buttermilk packets to the devotees onShivaratri

� Conducting personality development programmes in governmentschools

Under Educational Activities:

� ‘PRATHIBA PURASKAR’ awarded annually to encourage themeritorious school children

� ‘SCHOLARSHIPS’ to students from economically backwardfamilies to pursue higher studies like B.Tech, B. Pharm, and Post-Graduation etc.

� ‘PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT’ programmes throughtrained personnel

Peetham’s activities

Mata Kamalamma garu & Mata Tripura Sundari garu

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