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Vaikuntha Bound.
20 May 2012, 11:00 AM
Namaste,

Today was the day of Srinivasa Kalyanam at our temple in Phoenix, AZ. We were visited by priests from Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam who accompanied utsava vigrahas from Tirupati itself.

My wife was feeling a bit tired, so it was just my daughter and I. We arrived about an hour before the beginning of the ceremony. The Srinivasa Kalyanam took place outside of the temple, up on a stage which faced out toward a wide audience area. At 3:25pm or so, there were only a couple of hundred people. As the day wore on, though, the number of attendees soared up to about 4000. In the audience, there was more diversity than one might expect. Non-indian spouses came. A few white and latino devotee families came. And most interesting for me, people in the neighborhood just wandered in to see what all of the noise was. Admittedly, we got a few odd looks, but they were simply that - odd looks. Most everyone was really friendly. An older lady offered my daughter some tang, one of the priests offered his time to describe what was going to happen during the ritual (and we had a small group of 20-30 somethings gathered and asking questions before we were done). When we finally settled into an area of families with kids, we made quick friends of those around us, and my daughter was soon being held by every lady in a 20 ft. radius.

I'm not going to pretend that I'm now an expert on the subject, but as it was explained to me, the marriage of Lord Srinivasa to His consort prefigures the union between the Paramatma and the jeevatma. Viewed in that light, everything from the procession of the deities up to the platform, to the care offered to the deities to the culmination in their union was incredibly moving, even if I didn't understand every prayer. The priests from Tirupati are visiting a few more cities - Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Portland, Seattle, and Malibu - and if you're anywhere nearby and at all inclined toward Vaishnavism, I couldn't recommend the experience more highly.

http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/jj623/vaikuntha_bound/IMG_2970.jpg

The Lord and His consorts carried in procession.

http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/jj623/vaikuntha_bound/008.jpg

A closer view.

http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/jj623/vaikuntha_bound/IMG_2987.jpg

The goober and her new friend. My wife wants you all to know that our daughter's forehead isn't that big in real life. She had a bump on her head, and her hair had been constantly readjusted throughout the day, making it look like she has the worst comb-over of all time.

http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/jj623/vaikuntha_bound/IMG_3004.jpg

The view of the stage.

Eastern Mind
20 May 2012, 11:35 AM
Vannakkam: Beautiful pictures! Thank you. Your daughter's picture reminded me of a story my wife told of out son (age one at the time) being passed along a line of women in a crowded temple in India, and she having to get aggressive to find him. Such is the way of mothers and young ones. That is very universal.

Aum Namasivaya

Sahasranama
20 May 2012, 12:07 PM
Namaste,
I'm not going to pretend that I'm now an expert on the subject, but as it was explained to me, the marriage of Lord Srinivasa to His consort prefigures the union between the Paramatma and the jeevatma. Viewed in that light, everything from the procession of the deities up to the platform, to the care offered to the deities to the culmination in their union was incredibly moving, even if I didn't understand every prayer.
Thank you for sharing your pictures.

This explanation that was given to you is from the Tenkalai Srivaishnava sect. They consider the consort of Vishnu to be a jeevatman, but this goes against the Vedas that say that she is Ishvari sarvabhutanam, she is the Ishvari of all living beings. Sri Devi should not be seen as a jeevatman at any circumstance.

Vaikuntha Bound.
20 May 2012, 04:19 PM
Sahasranama,

Thank you for the information. The nuances of particular subsectarian arguments are interesting, particularly when they have practical impact on interpretation.

What's odd, then, is that interpretation appeared on the official handout for the event and was included in the opening remarks. The temple itself is associated with Puthige Math of the Madhva sampradaya. I know that vaishnavas of many sampradayas are devotees of the temple, so perhaps there was some intermingling of interpretations and beliefs going on.

Sahasranama
20 May 2012, 05:06 PM
In dvaita they consider Lakshmi not to be a jeevatman and eternal, but the other consorts of Vishnu are considered to be jeevatmans in this sampradaya. I was too quick to think that the marriage was between Lakshmi and Narayana, but it can also be between another consort and Srinivasa.

realdemigod
22 May 2012, 09:26 AM
Very nice pictures