The essence of Golu
In a divine moment of insight, we manavas realize that we find succour, solace and peace through lord Vishnu’s various forms, vahans, stories, symbols and rituals. So we pray fervently to lord Brahma and say, “O Pitamah, we, your creations are indebted to you for breathing life into our bodies. But today we yearn to express our gratitude to the various forms of lord Vishnu for He empowers us to transcend the limitations of our minds and aspire for moksha. Please help us do so.”
So Brahma hosts a nine-day festival, a Brahmotsavam, to fulfil our wishes at Tirupati. For He knows that lord Balaji still resides there in his cosmic form. This is the essence of the Golu that we create during Navratri. We seat lord Balaji on different vahans for nine days and invoke the various forms of lord Vishnu.
The Golu dolls
We place brightly painted clay Golu dolls in a specific order, depicting the various aspects of our lives, on a series of nine steps that lead to lord Balaji’s seat, with the belief that all the gods and goddesses – the various forms of Vishnu – will energize our Golu dolls with their divinity and bless us all in several different ways.
We seat lord Balaji in a Thanjavur Mandap to symbolise this festive venue and mark the beginning of this festival and on these vahans on the subsequent days.
Hamsa Vahan
We first acknowledge Saraswati Devi’s blessings and say, “O Devi, you bless us with Vedic knowledge. Through your vahan, Hamsa, we understand that it is more important to use kind words, be wise, apply Vedic insights into our lives and use our discrimination at all times.”
Hanumantha Vahan
We smile when we see our favourite god and say, “O Hanumantha, you inspire us to associate only with people who follow Dharma. Regardless of how tough the journey of our lives may be. You helped Rama and Sita cope with all the challenges that came their way. We know you do the same for us when we chant the Hanuman Chalisa and read your stories.”
Ananta Sesha Nag Vahan
We bow down to Ananta and say, “O Sesha, you as Time sober us up to the fact that everything in our lives is transient. You keep us grounded when we get carried away by beauty, success, wealth and fame and show us how to complement materialism with spiritualism and aspire for bliss that is eternal.”
Garuda Vahan
We greet our friend, Garuda warmly and say, “O Garuda, you became Vishnu’s trusted vahan because you remained noble-hearted even when you had to deal with your foes. You sit atop bells, on dhwajas and sthambhas in temples and convey our innermost thoughts, fears and emotions to Vishnu and inspire us to do the same in our lives too.”
Gajendra Vahan
We now worship Shree Devi and Gajendra and say, “O Patala Nivasini, without you we would have no food to eat. We understand through experience that your true wealth lies buried under the earth.
Gajendra ushers in the clouds and protects our crops from the scorching heat of the sun. And as Airavat, Gajendra aids Indra and blesses us with timely abundant rains – for only then can we reap a good harvest every year.
When we get carried away by our aims/ambitions, dreams/passions, you teach us to sacrifice, compromise, get our priorities right and nurture our bodies first.”
Jaitra Vahan
We listen with sobriety to Krishna when He says, “O manavas, you sing my glories and bask in my leelas often enough. Jaitra, my celestial chariot and Daruka my charioteer deserve your attention too. For even a celestial chariot like Jaitra can dispel darkness only if it is steered in the right direction by a charioteer like Daruka.
Know now, if you don’t already. That Daruka symbolises a turn in the tide of Time. For it was Daruka who conveyed the message of the total annihilation of my clan of Yadus to my father Vasudev and Arjuna.
Never forget O manavas – that – preservation may well follow creation. But destruction too will unfailingly follow preservation, for cosmic order to prevail.”
Dawon/ Narasimha Vahan
We look with fear-filled eyes at the ferocious Narasimha. And listen to Devi Durga’s words, “As long as you follow the path of Dharma O manavas, you have nothing to fear. For Dawon, my vahan and I will protect you with our myriad Shaktis.
We come to your aide in your hour of need in the most mystic of ways that often none – not even Vishnu can decipher. For I imbued my Shakti in the claws of the Narasimha when He killed Hiranyakashipu. And then only Lakshmi, an aspect of my Shakti could calm the fury of the Narasimha.
Know now, if you don’t already. That I, Shakti am present not only in your righteous anger and quiet acceptance. But also in your struggles to gain complete control over your ego and emotions.”
Devdutt- Ashwa Vahan flanked by Surya and Chandra
We know we are witnessing Shakti’s Shiva when we see Devdutt, the Ashwa of Kalki. He is flanked by his father Surya and mother Chandra.
We listen first with trepidation. And then sheer relief when Devdutt says, “Yes, the Sat Yug will give way to the Treta Yug. Which will give way to the Dwapar Yug. Which must give way to the Kali Yug. Just as Surya must make way for Chandra. Just as everything that begins must and will always come to an end. There is nothing you can do about your external world. For Kalki will manifest at the right time and do what He has to.
So O foolish manava, focus only on conquering your mind and heart. At all times. For more often than not, you are your worst enemy. I, Devdutt know this. So I disseminate the wisdom contained within the scriptures. And help you conquer the enemies that often lie only in your own imagination.
Each time you falter and fumble through life I transport you in Time. And help you create a new safe world of your own within your existing world. A world that is akin to the world that existed in Sat Yuga. A world in which only Sat – Chit – Ananda exists.”
The nine-day festival comes to a quiet close. We now reduce the number of steps in the Golu to 7, 5 and 3 steps over the next five days.
The Kadamba Tree
We seat lord Balaji under the Kadamba tree now. And listen to Krishna’s parting words of comfort when he says, “Know today, O manava, if you don’t already. That everything you experience is my Leela and Maya. And that is what the Kadamba symbolises.”
Mandap
We seat lord Balaji in a mandap on the last three days. And symbolically thank our Pitamah for hosting such a divine festival to fulfil our wish. Then we give a warm send-off to all the gods and goddesses. And thank them for being our divine guests for nine days.
We know now that without lord Vishnu’s mystic support we would drift through samsara. Without adding any value or meaning to our lives and the lives of others. Content with merely existing here. We decide to consciously pursue the path of Dharma as we move on with our material lives….
* In Tirupati, we can see lord Malayappa and his consorts SriDevi and Bhudevi during the procession. We can see several other vahanams like Pedda Sesha, Chinna Sesha and KalpaVriksha too during this Brahmotsavam.
* A small, empty wooden chariot called Brahmaratham moves ahead of lord Balaji during his processions. This represents Brahma performing this festival.
*Rituals and customs may vary in other temples and homes. But the essence of lord Balaji and the nine-day Golu festival remains the same everywhere.
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