Tribute 759.

Tribute to a great friendship and respect for traditions. Today I remembered an unforgettable incident that happened in my life seven years back, when I was living in Gubbalala area . Every wednesday I used to visit Vasantha Pura temple and have good Darshan of Lord Vasantha Vallabarayaswamy. During one of my usual visit and after I finished my Darshan, suddenly some body called my name.When I turned I saw my old friend whom I had acquaintance In my UAE days. Swamy was standing. He told me that he had come to his relative ‘s marriage in Bhanashankari and heard of this old temple wanted to have Darshan. I invited him to my house. But due to lack of time he could not make it. But we have spent twenty minutes in the temple discussing our old experiences in Dubai. He was working for a leading Advertisement and marketing company at that time. I was introduced by one of our common friend and we interacted and enjoyed various topics. After seeing my fore head with our traditional Thiruman and Srichuranam symbol he was very happy. He immediately asked me Ragavan , Are you following your sampradayam of doing Thiruvaradanam at your house. I was taken aback! Yes, after my retirement I do religiously every day at home. This I do as per the path shown by my Acharyan Srimad Andavan swamigal. My friend was very happy and he said 'You are blessed you should stick to this'. I replied by God’s grace till this morning I am following our sampradayam(tradition)and shall continue till my last breath. One should strictly follow one's Sampradhayam and as per your Acharyaa or Guru. He said that he follows his sampradhayam as per his Acharyan ,the Great Kanchi Periyavaa. We both discussed at length that one should never feel shy to follow one's traditions and not bother about any criticism from any one about your sampradhayam. You should stick to it. Friendship is different and should not interfere in one's worship practices. This great personality I remembered today. Mr. Swamy. His thought is very much true .Everyone should continue their Worship Methodology and respect every one. Swamy’s words are still ringing in my ears. K.Ragavan See you Next week, 27-3-23