A rhyming couplet of poems called “Dwipada” written by  Tallapaka Chinnanna, grandson of Annamacharya, enabled us to learn about the Saint Annamacharya, his life and works. Annamacharya was born on Vaisakhapoornima in the year Sarwadhari  (May 9, 1408) in Tallapaka, a remote village in Andhra Pradesh, and lived immaculately for  95 years until Phalguna Bahula Dwadasi (12th day after full moon) in the year Dhundhubhi (February 23, 1503). Annamacharya is believed to be the incarnation of Lord Venkateswara’s Nandaka or Sword. Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) have consecrated Annamacharya in two places, one in the Annamacharya Mandiram located in the Annamacharya Project Office premises at Tiruapati and the other one in Annamacharya temple at Tallapka the birth place of Annamcharya. The evidences supporting the fact that Annamacharya is the incarnation of the Lord are found in Chinnanna’s Dwipada.

It is believed that in the 10th century a big famine broke out in Varanasi and scores of scholars migrated to southern part of India for earning their livelihoods. Some of them concentrated in a town called “Nandavaram” in Andhra Pradesh which was ruled by the then king Nanda. These immigrants were called “Nandavarikas” and Annamacharyas forefathers were the so called Nandavarikas and hence Annamacharya.

In the Dwipada the story of Annamacharya goes back three generations to his grandfather Narayanayya. As a boy Narayanayya was not keen in studies and it was customary in those times for the gurus to subject the students to different kinds of torturous methods to create concentration on studies. When nothing worked for the young boy, he decided that death would be better than the life filled with torture, humiliation, and shame. He heard about the venomous cobra in the snake hole at the temple of Chinthalamma the village Goddess. In an attempt to take his life away, Narayanayya put his hand in the snake hole at the temple. To his surprise, the village Goddess appeared before him and advised him not to take his life away since a boy with an element of Hari or Vishnu would be born in the third generation of Narayanayya.  

arayana Suri, the son of Narayanayya, did not have children for a long time. Narayana Suri and his wife Lakkamamba visited Tirumala Temple and while they were prostrating in front of the Holy Mast (Dhwaja Sthambha) a dazzling brilliance from the sword of Lord Venkateswara struck them like a lightening. Eventually a boy was born to them and they named him Annamayya. Annamayya became Annamacharya when the sage Ghana Vishnu at Tirumala converted him into a Vaishnavaite at the age of 8.

During his long and prolific career, Annamacharya composed and sang 32,000 Sankirtanas, 12 Satakas (sets of hundred verses), Ramayana in the form of Dwipada,SsankIrtana Lakshanam (Characteristics of sankIrtanas), Sringaara Manjari,  and Venkatachala Mahatmamyam. His works were in Telugu, Sanskrit and a few other languages of India.

Chinnanna called the 32,000 Sankirtanas as 32,000 Mantras or Sacred Hymns. It was also recorded in Chinnanna’s Dwipada that Purandara Dasa, who was 70 years younger to Annamacharya, heard about the miracles of Annamacharya and visited him. Purandara Dasa paid his respects to Annamacharya by calling him the incarnation of Lord Venkateswara and his Sankirtanas as Sacred Hymns. 

 Standing tall: The 108-ft. statue of Annamacharya at Tallapaka.

How to go : By train / bus from Hyderabad, and by bus from Cuddapah town.

Where to stay : Choultries.

What to see : Annamacharya Dhyana Mandiram, Siddheswaraswamy Temple, Chennekeswaraswamy Temple and Sudarshana Chakra Devalayam.

When to go : Any time. Special events for Annamacharya Jayanthi and Vardhanthi.

Tallapaka village is in Rajampet mandal of Cuddapah district, about 3 km from Cuddapah town. The village has the distinction of being the birthplace of Saint Annamacharya, the famous composer of devotional songs on Lord Venkateswara who made invaluable contribution to music and literature during the 15th century.

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) constructed a "Dhyana Mandiram" (meditation hall) in memory of the great Saint Annamacharya, at Tallapaka. It was inaugurated in 1982 and ever since then the TTD has been organizing the death and birth anniversaries of Annamacharya at Tallapaka and Tirupati during which special rituals are performed.

Close to the Annamacharya temple is the Chennakeswaraswamy temple in Cuddapah district. There are many temples located within the premises of the Chennakeswaraswamy temple itself. A unique temple within this temple premise is that of the Sudarashanachakra containing the idol of the Sudarashanachakra of Lord Vishnu as well as that of Lord Santanagopalakrishna together. The temple is the only one of its kind in South India. It is believed that one such temple also exists in Kasi. Another temple is that of Lord Hanuman, the loyal devotee of Lord Rama. The temple of Lord Garuthmanthudu (Garuda, the vehicle of Lord Vishnu) is also located in the premises of the Chennakeswaraswamy temple. It contains the idol of Lord Garuda which is rarely found.

The Siddheswaraswamy temple with Lord Shiva as its presiding deity is also located in Tallapaka, in Cuddapah district. The side wall of the temple has a hole through which sun rays enter during the month of Karthik, a holy time in November when married women pray for the long life of their husbands and give offerings to the Lord.

Unlike the usual temples where Lord Nandiswara (the Bull, Shiva's vehicle) is found facing Lord Shiva, here it is found outside the temple. Goddess Kamakshidevi (Parvatidevi) is the consort of Lord Shiva here.

Another idol that can be found in the Siddheswaraswamy temple is that of Veerabhadraswamy who is said to be the destroyer of Dakshayagnam, namely, Daksha Prajapathi, the father of Goddess Parvati.

The story goes that Dakshudu was holding a function and did not invite Lord Shiva and wife Goddess Parvati. Goddess Parvati however insisted on going for the function though her husband was not very happy with it. At the function she was badly humiliated and came back home very upset.

This made Lord Shiva furious and he was filled with rage and thus emerged as Lord Veerabhadraswamy who destroyed Dakshudu, the father of Goddess Parvati.

In the Siddeshwaraswamy temple premises is the statue of Ekathathayya.

A King and a great devotee of Lord Shiva, he was a wonderful human being and had all the happiness that one could ask for.

It is believed that if people suffering from migraine come to this temple and hit their head against the idol three times, then they will be relieved of the pain.

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) will celebrate the 600th Jayanthi of Saint Lyricist Annamacharya in a grand manner at Talapaka in Kadapa District, the saint's birth place, from May 19 to 22nd 2008, TTD Chairman B Karunakar Reddy said.

He said Talapaka would be developed into a modern spiritual centre on international standards.

The TTD acquired eight acre of land for constructing spritual 'Udyanavanam,' Sri Venkateswaraswamy Temple and Anamacharya Museum adjoining the imposing statue, he added.

• Vishnu Sahasranamam
• Balaji
• Alamelu mangapuram (Padmavathi)
• Chilukur Balaji Temple

Music: Universal Language

Music occupies an important place in our daily lives. When we draw an analogy between music and sport, in the sense that they both involve practice and performance, we get a clearer picture of who we are, and of the social, moral and aesthetic values that guide our existence.

Picture yourself sitting lazily in a lounge bar, having your favorite drink along with few of your friends. You let off few jokes, discuss the latest news and trends and let your soul and body relax from the everyday style of urban working. Now imagine all this without music! Feel out of place? I bet you do. Even if you don’t recall a single melody or flow of notes, still your subconscious has been catching all the music played in the background. Slowly easing and swaying to the rhythm, you enjoy the atmosphere that is created around.

Music is called the universal language of the world because of many reasons. First and the foremost, music is made up of 7 main notes. No matter, what part of the world you are, and what instrument you play, all the music created are one of the 7 notes. There may be different names for all 7 notes in different parts of the world, but for the performer, they are still the same. Secondly music, being a form of art can reach the deepest parts of your heart and soul. You don’t have to be a patient or a psychologist to understand music. As long as any melody and rhythm make you feel yourself, it is the best doctor a person can find, and best remedy anyone can recommend. Thirdly music, like any other language can express any and every type of emotion. But where it scores more is where the words fell short of expressing, while music can go on and on vocalizing all that you ever want to say.

Music therapy is even effective on animals and plants. There have been studies carried and research done on this and findings show that plants and trees that grow in company of good music show a growth percentage much more than normal ones that live without the aid of music. Animals too, reflect their behavioral pattern much better when exposed to music.

Music has evolved along with man and it’s civilization. Old cultures like India, China and some parts of Middle East have a very long history of civilization and their music is far more intricate and complex and some of their western counterparts. For e.g. in India, there are 2 main forms of music, distinct in its tonic quality and geographical location. If we combine these forms, we have more than 300 scales (combination and playing style of the 7 notes). Different scale and style of play portray different mood. Even these scales can be used in free form to someone who know the in and out of such a music form. But in some parts of the world, there are only 2 main scales (major and minor) on which all of their music is based.

If we can feel that It is not our voice, Not our fingers, But some reality deep inside our heart Which is expressing itself, Then we will know that it is The soul’s music. The outer music Comes from an outer instrument. The inner music Comes from the heart. The name of this inner music Is oneness.

Music is the inner or universal language of God. I do not know French or German or Italian. But if music is played, immediately the heart of the music enters into my heart, or my heart enters into the music. At that time, we do not need outer communication; the inner communion of the heart is enough. My heart is communing with the heart of the music and in our communion we become inseparably one.

In the spiritual world, next to meditation is music, the breath of music. Meditation is silence, energising and fulfilling. Silence is the eloquent expression of the inexpressible. Aldous Huxley says: “After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.”

Silence is the source of everything. It is the source of music and it is music itself. Silence is the deepest, most satisfying music of the Supreme.

Silence is like a stream that goes to one place and becomes a river, or to another place and becomes a brook, or to the sea where it is totally expanded.

Silence is the nest and music is the bird. The bird leaves the nest early in the morning and returns to the nest in the evening. Similarly, in the spiritual world, divine music comes from the inmost soul of silence.

Soulful Music

Soulful music immediately awakens and inspires our hearts because it embodies the Absolute Supreme. Soulful music is the Light that wants to express itself in a divine way. Even as darkness wants to manifest its authority on earth, Light also wants to manifest its Reality and Divinity in a specific way. Light is the soul of everything. Light is the soul of music, Light is the soul of love and Light is the soul of all art. When Light divinely manifests itself in the form of music, it is the music of the soul.

Music means Self-expansion and oneness. The Self expands through music. The Self that expands is not the individual self but the unlimited Self. Music is the expansion of unlimited Reality.

We can use music to help us in our spiritual life provided we know that music and the spiritual life are like twin brothers; we cannot separate them. How can we separate two fingers, two eyes? They sit side by side. If one eye is not functioning well, then we feel that our vision is imperfect. Similarly, music and the spiritual life must go together; one complements the other. Music helps the spiritual seeker to go deep within to get the utmost satisfaction from life, from truth, from reality. The spiritual life, in turn, helps music to offer its capacity and its strength, which is the soul’s light, to the world at large.

When we listen to soulful music, or when we ourselves play soulful music, immediately our inner existence climbs up high, higher, highest. It climbs up and enters into something beyond. This Beyond is constantly trying to help us, guide us, mould us and shape us into our true transcendental image, our true divinity. When we hear soulful music, or when we play a soulful piece of music, we feel a kind of inner thrill in our entire existence, from the soles of our feet to the crown of our head. A river is flowing through us, a river of consciousness, and this consciousness is all the time illumined.

Music and Meditation

Next to deep prayer or meditation, music is of paramount importance. Meditation is like a direct route, or shortcut, to the goal. Music is a road that is absolutely clear: it may be a little longer, but it is quite clear of obstacles. If we can play soulful music or hear soulful music, the power of our meditation increases. Soulful music adds to our aspiration. Similarly, if a spiritual seeker wants to be a musician, even if he does not have a musical background, he will be able to be a good musician because prayer and meditation contain all capacities. You may never have studied music, but if you pray and meditate soulfully, then inside your prayer, inside your meditation, by the Grace of the Supreme, the power of music looms large. Then you can utilise this power in your own way.

Each time soulful music is played, we get inspiration and delight. In the twinkling of an eye, music can elevate our consciousness. But if we also pray and meditate, then we are undoubtedly more illumined and fulfilled than a music-lover who is not consciously leading a spiritual life. Each spiritual musician is consciously spreading God’s Light on earth. God is the cosmic Player, the eternal Player, and we are His instruments. It is the Supreme who makes the proper instrument. Then, it is He who makes the player play properly, and it is He who makes the musician.

The Power of Music

Soulful and spiritual music really helps us; it feeds our inner life. Music has tremendous power. With fire we can burn ourselves, or we can cook and do many other good things. It is the same with music. Divine music immediately elevates our consciousness, whereas undivine music immediately lowers our consciousness and tries to destroy our sincere inner cry for a better spiritual life. The spiritual person will immediately be affected by this music. So music can change our consciousness provided it is the music that comes from the heart and enters into the heart. The music that touches the very depth of our heart can elevate our consciousness.

The Mind and the Senses

Our senses are restless. Therefore, our mind suffers. Our mind is doubtful. Therefore, our senses suffer. The mind has no capacity to bind or discipline the senses. Here music comes to the mind’s rescue. With the help of music, the mind binds and disciplines the senses and makes them into perfect instruments so they can be inundated with peace, light and bliss from above.

Again, when the mind is doubtful, when the mind drinks deep of doubt-poison, the senses have no capacity to inject faith into the mind. Here also music comes to the rescue. The senses take help from music to transform and illumine themselves. When the senses are calm and quiet, the doubtful mind is totally transformed and it becomes inseparably one with the heart, which is all receptivity. At that time our Inner Pilot—the Supreme Musician—can manifest Himself blessingfully, powerfully and measurelessly. As He is manifesting Himself in and through us, the divine music becomes part and parcel of our existence and we grow into perfect Perfection. In and through us the Supreme Musician creates a new world. We become the divine music, and a new vision of God’s transcendental Reality operates in and through us.

Can spiritual music be played during meditation?

Certainly, although it depends on the one who meditates. There are many seekers on earth who meditate extremely well, but who have not developed their musical sense. Their ears have not been trained, so we cannot expect them to change their nature overnight. They either lack the capacity of appreciation or they have some austere feeling about music. Psychic music is not very widely appreciated, and very few people appreciate the soul’s music. They feel it is like a stranger that is entering into their consciousness. But it is actually their eternal tenant, their soul, that is deep within them waiting to come to the fore.

If divine music is played during deep meditation, it enhances the meditation. It will immediately help in elevating the consciousness. If you are fond of music, then playing soulful songs or chants during your meditations at home will definitely help you.

Were we to play spiritual music on tape while we slept, would it benefit us in any way?

While you are sleeping if you play soulful music, your subtle vital, subtle physical and subtle mind will enjoy it. But your physical body may find it difficult to appreciate it, for it wants total silence. Although soulful music will add to pure silence, inner silence, the physical body wants a kind of silence which is totally devoid of outer sound.

If you play your tape very softly, it will definitely help and inspire the subtle physical and subtle vital which are not sleeping.

Many, many times when the physical sleeps, the subtle physical and the subtle vital do not sleep. They move around. They roam here and there. They visit their friends and enemies. My music is definitely a source of joy to them. So for the subtle physical, subtle vital and subtle mind, undoubtedly it is a help. But for the gross physical which is trying to sleep, it may be a hindrance, a disaster.

What is the supreme duty of an artist or musician?

The supreme duty of an artist or musician is to meditate before he creates something and, while creating, to be in a very contemplative, divine mood. Then, when the creation is completed, he will immediately offer his creation to the Supreme. No matter what others say about his creation, no matter what his feelings are about his own creation, as soon as his creation is completed, he will offer it to the Supreme for Him to use in His own way. This is the supreme duty of the spiritual musician or artist.

Is creativity another form of meditation?

It depends on what you are creating. If it is spiritual art or music, then certainly it is a form of meditation. But if you play undivine music or write unbearable books or keep your mind in the gutter while you are painting, this is not any kind of meditation. While you are creating, if your consciousness is in the lower vital world, it will not be a form of meditation. But if you are singing something soulful or if you are in a very high consciousness while you are creating, if you are giving yourself in a divine way to the object or subject that you are involved with, then definitely you are doing a form of meditation. You have to know what you are creating and where your consciousness is while you are doing it.

I am giving a lot of importance to aspiring through music.

There is nothing wrong if you feel aspiration in your music. But you have to know how many hours you can think of your music. If you spend five hours, six hours, seven hours a day on music, then you should spend one hour or two hours, let us say, on spirituality. Music is also a form of spirituality; I do not deny it. But the height that you will achieve from meditation either you may not get or cannot get from your music. Music is an added help.

If you can play spiritual music, soulful music, then you will have no problem in your life. But if you play only mundane music, then you may not be satisfied. You may be pleasing the outer world, but you are not pleasing your Inner Pilot in His own way. If you are not an aspiring seeker, that is fine. But if you are a sincere seeker, then you will feel miserable.

When I play music, I feel a tingling around my third eye.

That indicates an awakening. But this does not mean that your third eye is about to open. No. When you play most soulfully, an inner vision-light will come to the fore. Vision is within you, yet it is dormant. But now it wants to function properly; it does not want to sleep anymore. So inner vision is starting to operate. The vision of the third eye is trying to come to the fore, and that is why you are getting that sensation. It is a very good experience.

What is the soundless sound, and can it serve as a bridge between the manifest and the unmanifest worlds?

As it stands now the outer world is not at all aware of the inner world. So first the outer world has to be fully aware of the inner world, and then it has to listen to the blessingful dictates of the inner world. Then the soundless sound—which is now heard only by very, very few Truth-seekers and God-lovers—can be of divine service to mankind. It is an inner discovery. This discovery has to be brought to the fore, and for that the outer world has to be consciously awakened and devotedly accept the beauty and divinity of the inner world.

The soundless sound is something real, absolutely real. But we hear it only in our highest realm of consciousness, or when we dive deep within and reach the inmost recesses of our heart. The soundless sound is infinitely, infinitely more powerful than any man-made sound. But up to now, it has been operating only in the inner world. So those who have a free access to the inner world can hear this sound. Not only do they derive tangible benefit from this sound, but it helps the seekers and God-lovers immensely in their self-giving life to God the Creator and God the creation.