Priest Tejasvi moved back to India after his high school. He learned Sanskrit from Brahma Sree Telakapalle Viswanatha   Sarma Garu of Hyderabad. He has learned Smaartam for  four years in the Krishna YajurVedam from different Vedic Gurus/Ghanaapaatis in Andhra Pradesh. He is well versed in conducting different types of Pujas, Abhishekams, Homams and Japams for various Deities and has in-depth knowledge of Satyanarayana Katha, SreeChakra Puja and Devi Homam in both Vedic and Tantric methods. He has performed quite a few SriChakra Homams, Ganapathi, Vishnu and Rudra Homams. He has done Devi Alankaram, especially for NavaRaatris at several Devi Peethams.

Priest Tejasvi has worked as a priest at Sri Lakshmi Temple in Ashland, MA, USA for a year.  He has volunteered as a priest in the temples of Hyderabad , Guntur and Vizag in Andhra Pradesh and Courtallam, Tamilnadu , India.

His hobbies include offering Nava-Aavarana  Puja to Sree Raja Rajeswari, The Family Deity and Offering Pujas to Sri Kaali as Ishta Devata. A talented artist, he has done paintings of landscapes and  Gods and Goddesses. He has learned Kuchipudi dance and performed Abhinayam impromptu on different occasions.

You were born in New Hampshire/ What motivated you to pursue the unusual career path towards Indian Priesthood? What challenges if any did you encounter?

I grew up here in New Hampshire but was born in Hyderabad, India. The worship of Lalitha Devi has been a tradition in our family. I always had a keen interest in Lalitha Devi and her Leelas as stated in the Puranas. With the Anugraham of Mother, I somehow became attached to Devi and Her worship and that pulled me back to where I came from to pursue my sadhana (spiritual practice). That lead me into the path of priesthood where I can comfortably offer worship to Divine Mother Devi. It is the direction of Lalitha Devi that has brought me here.

I did face many challenges in India, but learned how to handle them only through the grace of Devi. I learn to look at every experience, in a Divine way that Devi is teaching me in the process. I had a huge transition to get accustomed to the rules of priesthood in India but . I had also the task of convincing my parents to leave me alone while my father originally had whole different educational plan for me.
 
 Currently as a priest what kind of services do you provide? What makes you unique?
 
I perform all Hindu rituals and pujas. I also offer all kinds of priest services including  annaprasanams, homams, weddings, satyanarayana pujas and  others. All the services are performed in the South Indian traditional ways. I always try to give the background about every ritual and fortunately since I was raised in the US I am proficient in English, I am able to provide the explanation in English. Perhaps this is my one unique aspect. When devotees understand the ritual they enjoy performing the puja. I feel involvement is very important when performing the rituals because that  helps us grow further in our spiritual practice. I believe there should be involvement of soul  in what ever we do, to recognize the the Divine in the work. Gods and Goddess are all around us and   that recognition is the realization we should all achieve. I think that priests help devotees to realize the Divine. There is a spiritual connection between the Deity, priest and the devotee, and that creates the divine atmosphere in the area. I always explain the purpose of why devotees need to do certain poojas and how to benefit from such rituals to grow spiritually and put them into our daily life.

3. Priests often have lofty goals. What is your goal in life?
 
The goal for anyone is to attain the never ending grace of God (Devi). I hope I can attain the full anugraham of Devi. My goal is to do the best I can in my spiritual sadhana (practice) and accept Devi's Grace in whatever shape or form.

What are your next steps to achieving the goal?

To attain the completeness of the self (Divine) sadhana (spiritual practice) is essential. I do meditation and other methods of worship according to the Hindu tradition. I feel priesthood can help me gain more in the area of spirituality through the ceremonies and rituals we perform. The next step for me is  to keep practicing spirituality. Once we are initiated in a particular path our duty is to perform Sadhana  the rest of our life leaving the results (pros and cons) to Devi. Only receiving and accepting Divine Mother's blessings in what ever forms the may be in, is our work.

Are you a follower of any particular branch of worship? What is the basic philosophy of that branch?

The branch of worship I follow is focused on the worship of Divine Mother.  My Guru is Sri Sri Sri Siddheswaraananda Bharathi Swami from Sri Siddheswari Peetham of  Courtallam, India, where Goddess Siddheswari is the presiding Deity in the temple.  The worship done there is according to the traditional Hindu Devi Scriptures. We view Divine Mother Goddess as the Supreme Consciousness  that  flows in all creation. The inner meanings of the rituals we perform in  temples are mostly linked with the aspect of Sriti, stiti, laya (creation, sustenance and destruction) which is a continuous process in the Universe. All the Gods and Goddesses are related to this aspect. Priesthood helps to practice the worship in a efficient way.    
 
You have a temple in your home. What motivated you to create the temple?

Through the Divine Grace and direction of my Guru Sri Sri Sri Siddheswaraananda Bharathi Swamiji of Siddheswari Peetham, Courtallam, Sri Siddha Lalitha Peetham has been installed  in our home last year.  Swamiji performed the Sri Meru Puja last year in 2008, and with his guidance  Sri Siddha Lalitha Devi arrived in the Peetham. We are currently performing Lalitha Devi pujas on Fridays and is open to Public from 5-9 pm every Friday.

What motivated you to learn Kuchipudi ?
 
Dancing is one of my interests and offering to  God. I can forget the world in the art of Dance. This again is a motivation of Devi where she is offered the art of Dance (as Seva)  in Her worship. That was my motivation to learn Kuchipudi. Kuchipudi is a village in Andha Pradesh where this style was originated.  In the ancient times Kuchipudi was performed in groups depicting stories of Gods in the Temples after Uthsavas (festivals).

On the same note, I also paint life size sketches of different gods and goddesses. A glimpse of these paintings can be viewed at my site http://siddhalalitha.org. We cannot capture the greatness of the Divine in the pictorial art, but, doing so helps propagate the Divine to all and especially the children where they can connect with the different qualities of that form that are pictorially depicted. I have a passion for art and try to convey all my spiritual experiences in meditation through art and my writings.

Spiritual practices transform individuals. How has your life transformed ?
 
There are many different types of spiritual practices, everyone should find their own path where they feel comfortable in the Spiritual world. I feel your life keeps changing in spiritual practice where you experience different situations and gain a lot from them. The transformation of different levels in Sadhana is what should happen in an effective life. The new learning is the grace of Devi.

As regards how it has transformed my life, what I am doing now is a result of my spiritual practices and is an ongoing effort. There is no end to spiritual practice and is a long way to gain perfection and it is only the grace of Devi that can help our practice.


What advice do you have for youngsters who may be conflicted with growing up in a culture where their own heritage and religion is not mainstream?
 

Well, every one should do some type of spiritual practice that suits them. It is our Dharma as Indians to continue our Hindu traditions in our families and teach our children about Indian spirituality at a level where they feel comfortable. We should have complete faith and devotion  in whatever we do and in God ( Devi). What ever we experience is merely Her Divine Grace.

I would suggest the youngsters growing up in this country who encounter conflicting ideals between home and outside to have faith in the Hindu system and the respect for the religious practices we do. Then, understand that all these rituals we perform lay an effective foundation from where they can grow spiritually upwards. We can experience spirituality in whatever we do, and surrender the result at the feet of Devi and she care of the rest.

Thank you for your time

Thank you. Om Shakthi Om

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