ReligiousKamma Dieties
Tirupatamma (Penuganchiprolu) In the 17th century, Sri Raja Vasireddy Jagga Bhoopal was ruling Krishna region, with Amaravathi as his Capital. In his kingdom, was born Sri Tirupatamma, in the family of “Kolla”. She married Sri Gopaiah Swamy of “Kakani” family, and brought glory to both families, and the entire region, by her undeterred devotion to the Lord. Sri Tirupatamba was not only a great devotee but also a good housewife, sharing sorrows and joys with her husband. Despite this, she faced severe ill treatment and misery at her husband’s house. Finally, when her husband died she immolated herself in her husband’s funeral pyre. Sri Tirupatamba is worshipped in the Penuganchiprolu Temple as the image of “Shakti”. She preached virtuous qualities of life to her devotees and made her, Adobe at Penuganchiprolu, Mudiraj Papamamba was her principal devotee and therefore, her family members are ordained to perform poojas and other sevas in the Temple. According to the folklore there were 101 Temples existing in ancient times and therefore, it was deemed as Pedakanchipuram. Muniyeru (a stream) flowing, along the Temple, and was said to be created with the spiritual power of Moudgalya Maharishi and hence it was named after him. Vengamamba (Narrawada) Goddess Vengamamba, who is worshipped in Narravada (near Nellore in Andhra Pradesh), is considered an avatar of Durga. A 15th century social reformer, she fought against evils like untouchability. She was deified as a goddess and considered an avatar of Adi Parashakti. Sri Vengamamba Perantalu Devastanam is more than 300 years old temple, this temple is situated in the village of Narrawada, dutttalur mandalam in nellore district and famous as a wish-satisfier goddess in the surrounding areas. The festival conducted in the months of June and July is very famous and visited by more than 5 lakhs Pilgrims from all over Andhra right from Srikakulam to Cuddapah. The festival celebrated in the month of June and July is called as Sri Vengamamba Tirunala. Pilgrims has a strong belief that Goddess Sri Vengamamba as their wish-satisfier.this temple is very famous in ANDHRA PRADESH – INDIA. Bhagavaan Sri Venkaiah Swamy (Golagamudi) Bhagavaan Sri Venkaiah Swamy To save the people in distress and to guide the Sadhakas (Spiritual seekers), the PARAMATMA – God (who is formless and nameless) takes a human form and lives among us as Sadguru. They must be Omnipresent, Omniscient and Omnipotent. Without these hall-marks they will be considered as fake Gurus. Bhagavaan Sri Venkaiah Swamy of Golagamudi is one such foremost saint and Sadguru of modern India, who lived up to 24th August 1982. Devotees’ experiences confirm the truth that he is Omnipresent, Omniscient and Omnipotent. “Sidda purushas will never die. They have conquered death. So they are ever living and all pervading. They respond to every call of their devotees at any place and at any time”. Devotees’ experiences with Bhagavaan Sri Venkaiah Swamy are a proof for the above statement. Even though we have not seen Sri Ramana Maharshi and Sai Baba of Shirdi, we are fortunate enough to see Swamyji who lived up to 1982. Very tactfully he concealed his spiritual powers till the day of his Maha samadhi. He shunned the unnecessary publicity. Only after his Maha samadhi, devotees ventured to reveal their experience with one another and enjoy the thrill of it. Hindu Gurus (Kamma)Kalki Bhagavan Sri Bhagavan (Vijayakumar Naidu) was born on March 7, 1949, in Natham Village, Arcot District, Tamil Nadu, to Smt. Vaidarbhi Amma and Sri Varadarajulu, parents who fostered their son’s awareness of the role of divine grace in our lives. Already as a young teenager, Sri Bhagavan knew that the solution to the problems of our world must rest in the alleviation of the deep suffering that caused neighbor to hate neighbor, families to break up, and countries to threaten each others with war and extinction. His precocious vision allowed him to inquire into the causes behind human conflict with his probing intellect and his wise, knowing heart. Throughout his youth, Sri Bhagavan took a deep intent (or ‘sankalpa’ in Sanskrit) to find a way to help all men and women, regardless of their origin, belief, lifestyle or religious association, make that profound leap into an unimpeded experience of the Divine that was previously only available to mystics. He met Sri Amma and discovered that she had the same desire and intent. They were married on June 9, 1976. Bhagavan and Amma claim to be two divine beings, or Avatars. They reside at Golden City, near Chennai, in India. Their stated mission is to bring all of humanity into the Golden Age. They claim that they will fully enlighten 64,000 people in the world. In order to do this, he teaches to give diksha. He considers 2012 as a deadline for his teaching. Kamma ChristiansArchbishop Thomas Pothacamury (Pothakamuri) Born on September 2, 1889 in Ravipadu, Guntur District in andhra Pradesh. He was Archbishop of Bangalore for 27 years. He was Ordained Priest, 17 Dec 1916, Appointed Bishop of Guntur, India, 9 Apr 1940, Appointed Bishop of Bangalore, India, 15 Oct 1942. He was Appointed Archbishop of Bangalore, India, 19 Sep 1953. He was died on 11 Jan 1968. Archbishop Samineni Arulappa Born on August 28, 1924, in a Telugu-speaking village, Kilachery, near Chennai in Tamil Nadu, he was educated at the Loyola College, Chennai, and pursued religious studies at Kandy in Sri Lanka. He also acquired a doctorate in public administration from Oxford University, London. He was ordained a priest on May 6, 1950. Archbishop emeritus of Hyderabad, Samineni Arulappa, passed away at 81 years in 2002, and had been ailing for sometime. Incidentally, Pope Paul VI ordained him the Archbishop of Hyderabad on the same day 33 years ago in 1972 in Rome. Christened affectionately as the “Bishop of the poor,” Arulappa had established the Archdiocese of Hyderabad as a leader in the fields of education, social work and religious work. Under his able leadership, several institutions were born and grew into centres of excellence over the years. Some of these were Loyola College, St. Ann’s College, St. Joseph’s College besides a string of schools, hospitals and social service centres to name a few. He was died on Feb-13-2005. “By birth I am an Indian, by culture a Hindu and by faith, I am a Christian,” the Archbishop had stated once. Indeed, a man of great tolerance and goodness who leaves behind a multitude of followers from all faiths. Bathineni Venkata Subbamma Bathineni Venkata Subbamma (1 July 1925 – 12 January 2009) was an indigenous scholar, Indian theologian and a member of the Association of Theologically Trained Women of India. She spoke Telugu and English. Subbamma was born to Smt. Bathineni Seshamma and Sri Bathineni Veeraiah in Bodipalem in Guntur District. She attended the Lutheran school in Bodipalem and later studied at the Government High School in Peddanandipadu and then at the Andhra-Christian College, Guntur for pre-university studies. N. T. Rama Rao and Victor Premasagar were contemporaries of Dr. Subbamma. Subbamma studied the degrees of Bachelor of Arts (1947)] and Bachelor of Education through the Andhra-Christian College and St. Joseph’s College of Education in Guntur after which she served as a teacher in one of the Lutheran Schools around Guntur. Subbamma was was sent to the New York Theological Seminary (then known as the Biblical Seminary), New York where she studied M.A. in Education during the academic year 1957-1958. After returning to India, she also pursued Bachelor of Divinity as an external candidate through the Andhra Christian Theological College then located in Rajahmundry and completed it by 1968. The thesis submitted to the Senate of Serampore College (University) in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the B. D. degree was entitled The Mission of the Church in Andhra Pradesh – A Critical Evaluation. Subbamma was sent by her Church society again to North America in the academic year 1969-1970 where she pursued M. A. in Missions from the Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena. In the continuing academic year 1970-1971[19], she enrolled at the Wittenberg University (Hamma School of Theology), Springfield to pursue a Ph. D. in Missions. Subbamma served on international forums providing leadership. She was a member of the Executive Committee of the Lutheran World Federation, Geneva from 1977-1984. Subbamma also attended the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the LWF in Hong Kong in 1997. Subbamma was recognised by the LWF as one who did pioneering work in her respective country. Subbamma was on the Board of Trustees of the Institute for Ecumenical Research, Strasbourg providing leadership to this Institute bringing together a team of Theologians from many nations. India’s first University], the Senate of Serampore College (University) in West Bengal took Subbamma as a member on its Senate. In fact, Subbamma was the first woman Senator of the Senate of Serampore College (University).Later in the year 1994, Subbamma was conferred a Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa by the University. Subbamma retired in the year 1985 but continued to render services through the United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India (UELCI), Chennai.On 12 January 2009 Subbamma died in Guntur. |