For Bhumana Karunakar Reddy, ‘Govindakoti’ is more than a pet project. It is touted as a sincere attempt to usher in Sanatana Dharmic values among the youth.
The maiden trust board meeting of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), with its newly nominated head Mr. Reddy in the chair, had resolved recently to offer VIP break darshan for those writing ‘Govindakoti’ (the name ‘Govinda’ for one crore times). It has been an ancient practice to write ‘Ramakoti’, i.e., writing the word Rama for one crore times, which Mr. Reddy had slightly adapted to extend the devotional path towards devotion to Lord Venkateswara.
In an interview with The Hindu, Mr. Karunakar Reddy maintained that the sustained promotion of Hindu Dharma among the youth could be possible through such incentivising measures. The modalities of choosing the beneficiaries will have to be worked out since it is a new initiative and there is no precedent on offering VIP break for such activities.
Asked about the administrative setup needed to check the veracity of the claims made by youth seeking break darshan, he said, “What if they did not write for one crore times and stopped mid way? I believe that the intention has to be rewarded instead of going strictly by the rule book to deny them the benefit.”
Though the guidelines and the monitoring mechanism required to check the same would be evolved over time, Mr. Reddy said the larger goal should be to attract and retain the youth towards Dharmic activities.
The TTD chairman on Wednesday visited the ‘Vinayaka Sagar’ tank in Tirupati where the Ganesh idols are meant to be immersed. Notably, the huge idol installed here has been designed in tune with ‘Govindakoti’ theme, with the idol of Ganesha depicted as writing ‘Govinda’ by sitting at the feet of Lord Venkateswara.
Accompanied by Mayor R. Sireesha Yadav and MCT commissioner D. Haritha, the TTD chairman offered prayers and distributed ‘Govindakoti’ books to the youth. This technically marked the first step taken towards implementing the scheme considered the ‘brain child’ of the incumbent trust board led by Mr. Karunakar Reddy.
