Spirituality

Spirituality: The quality of being concerned with deep, often religious, feelings and beliefs, rather than with the physical parts of life.

Andhra Pradesh (A State of India, Rice Bowl of India): A spiritual land of culture and heritage. 'Great Spiritual land in the world.'

** Hindu Temples

* Tirumala-Tirupati: Tirupati is the abode for the famous Hindu temple of Lord Venkateswara. It is the richest Hindu religious institution and second richest in the world after the Vatican. It records an annual income of about 416 Crore Rupees , mostly from offerings by the devotees.One day Income of Rs.2.65 crore is Record 'hundi' collection on Jan.1.2008. Every year, 20 Crore devotees visits The Tirumala Temple.

* Srisailam: Abode for Lord Siva worshipped with the name of Mallikarjuna and Goddess Parvathi, worshipped with the name of Bhramaramba. Srisailam has a unique distinction amongst the Hindu temples of the world; it is the only place to be one of 18 Shaktipithas and one of 12 Jyothirlingas.

* Bhadrachalam: Abode for Lord Rama.Bhadrachalam is famous temple of Sri Seetaramachandra Swamy in India. Situated on the left bank of the mighty river Godavari it is a place of pilgrimage for Hindus, as it is considered to be one of the greatest holy shrines in South India with a historical background.The Temple was constructed in 17th century by the local Tahsildar, Kancharla Gopanna popularly known as Bhakta Ramdas, a Great devotee of Sri Lord Rama.

* Srikalahasti: SriKalahasti is one of the Panchabhoota Sthalams signifying the 5 elements, 1) wind (Kalahasti), 2) water (Thiruvanaikaval), 3) fire (Tiruvannamalai), 4) earth (Kanchipuram) and 5) space (Chidambaram) that Siva embodies.

* Brahmamgari Matam - Temple (1693): Brahmam garu is a famous person who envisaged many events of the Dark Age (Kaliyuga). In fact, what all he predicted has really happened. People still believe that Brahmamgari will appear as "Veerabhoga Vasantha Rayalu" in Kaliyuga, to demolish the evil forces and restore the values.

* Annavaram: The holy shrine is the sanctum sanctorum of Lord "Satyadeva" or "Satyanarayana".

* Simhachalam:This holy shrine is the adobe of Lord Narasimha, worshipped in the name of "Narasimha".

* Kanaka Durga Temple: This holy shrine a famous temple in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located on the Indrakeeladri hill in the city of Vijayawada on the banks of Krishna River.

* Pillala Marri: Temples built by Kakatiya dynasty gives a clear picture of their culture through the exquisite pillars, beautiful paintings and several ancient inscriptions.

* Ramappa Temple: a Shiva temple in the temple town of Palampet, near Warangal.

* Thousand Pillars Temple : a Shiva temple in Hanamkonda city center, near Warangal. 

** Telugu Musicians

* Sri Tallapaka Annamacharya (1408-1503), the mystic saint composer of the 15th century is the earliest known musician of South India to compose songs called 'sankeertanas' in praise of Lord Venkateswara, the deity of Seven Hills in Tirumala, India. He is widely regarded as the Telugu pada kavita pitaamaha (Grand old man of simple poetry).

* Bhadrachala Ramadas (Kancharla Gopanna, 1620-): Bhadrachala Ramadas was a great Devotee-Saint-Poet-Composer.Bhadrachala Ramadas, who dedicate his life to sing the glories of Lord Rama and composed numerous songs in Telugu on his beloved deity of Sri Rama, which are very popular even today in the land of Andhra Pradesh. Ramadasu is known for constructing the current Rama temple in Bhadrachalam and as consequence suffered the agonies of prison for 12 years.

* Sri Thyagaraja (1767-1847): Great composer in the history of Karnatic music. Tyagaraja was born to Kakarla Ramabrahmam in the small town of Thiruvarur in the Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu on May 4, 1767. Tyagaraja, who along with his contemporaries Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri forms the trinity of Carnatic Music composers. He was a prolific artist and highly influential in the development of the South Indian classical music tradition. Tyagaraja composed hundreds of devotional songs, most of them in praise of the Hindu god Rama. His compositions are very popular even today.

* Annamalai Reddiar (1865-1891): Great Composer/Musician in Tamil Nadu.Annamalai Reddiar was born in Cennikulam, Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu.'Kavadi Chindu' is one of the forms of light compositions in Tamil which are highly popular for their simplicity, emotional content and appeal. In praise of Lord Muruga of Kazhugumalai in Tirunelvelli, Annamalai Reddiar had composed kavadi chindus. Rich in poetic excellence and charming melody, his songs include pieces like 'Murugan Tirumal Marugan Perumai' (Atana). Has composed Thalapuranam. 

** Christian Shrine

Medak Church(1924): The church, the single largest diocese in Asia and the second largest in the world after the Vatican , is built in solid white granite. The tower is 173 feet high, with four pinnacles. C.W.Posnett built this church on 1000 acres of land in Ghusnabad.The church was opened on 25th December 1924.
From 1914 to 1924, the farmers toiled to erect the church and Thomas Edward Harding, the architect, left no stone unturned in building the cathedral. For the floor, tiles from famous potteries were shipped from England. Then, Italian workmen were brought from Bombay to lay them. The tile's design is an intricate one in six colours - red, brown, black, yellow, chocolate and grey. The marble on the chancel floor and the reredos behind the Holy communion is from Italy.

** Muslim Shrines

* Ameen Peer Dargah (Pedda Dargah), Kadapa: which is believed to have been established by a spiritual leader belonging to the clan of Prophet Mohammad.

* Makkah Masjid, Hyderabad, India(1694): It is one of the oldest and the biggest mosques in India. Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the 5th Sultan of Hyderabad began building it in 1617 under the supervision of Mir Faizullah Baig and Rangaiah Chowdary. The work continued during the reign of Abdullah Qutub Shah and Tana Shah and was completed in 1694 by the Moghal Emperor Aurangzeb. It took about 8000 masons and 77 years to be completed.