Sriman nArAyaNA out of His great compassion towards the baddha jIvAtmAs propagates vedAs and allied sAstrAs, which are the only way through which they can possibly know about Him & the ways to reach Him. The ultimate and final essence of sAstrAs is that Sriman NArAyaNA is the sarIrI and, all chit & achit are His sarIrA. This eternal sarIra sarIrI bhAvA is composed of the following three things:

1. AdheyatvA (i.e. being supported by a sarIrI): Existence of the sarIrA(body) is due to the sarIrI i.e. sarIrI supports the sarIrA. In other words, if sarIrI ceases to exist, sarIrA also ceases to exist.
2. niyamyatvA (i.e. being controlled by a sarIrI): Not only that sarIrA derives its existence from a sarIrI, it is also being controlled by the sarIrI. So, sarIrA acts as per the will/desires of sarIrI.
3. seshatvA(i.e. existing for the pleasure of sarIrI): Not only that sarIrA is supported & controlled by sarIrI, it exists only for the pleasure of sarIrI, i.e. sarIrI is sarIrA’s Master.

It is to be noted that the “sarIrI” needn’t be physically present inside a “sarIrA”. This is not a condition to be met out for the sarIra-sarIrI bhAvA to hold good.

Thus Sriman NArAyaNA supports and controls all jIvAtmAs, and all the jIvAtmAs exist purely for His enjoyment. Thus, the very essential nature (svaroopam) of a jIvAtmA is to perform kainkaryam to Sriman NArAyaNA for His pleasure and performance of any other activity doesn’t conform to its nature. This implies that, baddha jIvAtmAs are like fish out of water, suffering in the material world by not living according to their actual nature. Only in Sri VaikuNTham can a jIvAtmA perfectly act according to its nature (svaroopam) without any interruption. Realizing this great truth by the mercy of a sadAchAryA, a baddha jIvAtmA becomes highly desirous of obtaining moksham and thereby reach Sri VaikuNTham, the spiritual world beyond this material world, and perform uninterrupted bhagavad anubhavam and kainkaryam to the Divya Dampati, with great bliss. This is just like the ardent desire of a fish which is out of water (not according to its nature), to get into the water (in accordance with its nature). Such highly glorifiable baddha jIvAtmAs are called as mumukshus, whose only goal is the attainment of moksham. The mumukshu thus needs to know about the means(upAyA) to fulfil his desire.

sAstrAs declare that Bhakti and prapatti are the only two means (sAdhya upAyAs) by which the baddha jIvAtmAs can attain moksham, while the Divya Dampati are the Siddha upAyam. NArAyaNA Himself, in Ahirbudhnya samhitA categorically declares:

“bhaktyA paramayA vA-pi prapattyA vA mahAmathe
prApyoham na anyathA prApyO mama kainkarya lipsubhihi”

NArAyaNA here clarifies that bhakti and prapatti are the only means & by no other means will He grant moksham. So, all other processes like Bhagavad kalyAna guna Sravanam, nAma sankeertanam, living at a Divya desam, bathing in pushkarinIs & sacred rivers etc should culminate in either “bhakti” or “prapatti” for one to obtain moksham. So, it is not that a highly devoted person would be deprived of moksham by Sriman nArAyaNA. Such a devotee would be guided by Sriman nArAyaNA to end up with either “bhakti” or “prapatti” and thus its just a matter of time may be within that life time or in the next few births, that he/she would obtain moksham.

In many Vedic literatures & in works of Sri Vaishnava AchAryAs, the term “Bhakti” is usually associated with the term “Bhakti YogA”, which is the meditation through ashtAnga yogA on the kalyAna gunAs, divyamangaLa vigrahA etc of Sriman nArAyaNA with unsurpassed love. “Bhakti” referred here is the continuous stream of knowledge which is of the nature of uninterrupted memory and which is unbroken like the flow of a stream of oil. This description is not be taken lightly. The intensity of the uninterrupted nature of contemplation on Sriman nArAyaNA is the central focus of ashtAnga yogA. There are 32 Brahma vidyAs (i.e. upAsanAs) that are prescribed in the upanishads. A devotee performing bhakti yogA will adopt a particular Brahma VidyA as the means (sAdhyaupAyA) for attaining moksham. Due to lack of a proper word, the term “Bhakti” is also sometimes used to imply “devotion” to Sriman NArAyaNA, which needn’t be the “matured state of jn~AnA” (i.e. “Bhakti” proper) expressed through ashtAnga yOgA.

The seven general pre-requisites for Bhakti YogA are:

1. VivekA (discrimination): Purification of body through proper intake of sAttvik food etc.
2. VimOkA (freedom): abjuration of all desires other than to meditate on Sriman nArAyaNA.
3. abhyAsA (practise): Practise worshiping the Lord with full enthusiasm (again & again). This involves strict adherence to scriptures etc.
4. kriyA (work): proper adherence to the VarnAshrama dharmA mainly dealing with the pancha mahA yaj~nAs (this makes only the dvijAs to be fit for starting “Bhakti yogA”).
5. kalyANA (auspiciousness): practise of virtues like truthfulness, integrity, compassion, benevolence, ahimsA etc.
6. anavasAda: being without any despair due to dissappointment, completely forgetting all past sorrows.
7. anuddharSa: absence of exaltation i.e. being in a state which is the optimal midway between excessive joy & the absence of it.

The severe practise of karma & jn~Ana yogA can only bringforth the stage for performing bhakti yogA. Jn~na yogA is the “self-realization” (“self” stands for jIvAtmA), whereas “bhakti yogA” is “God-realization”. So, “ashtAnga yogA” is performed for God-realization i.e. for obtaining moksham.

Jn~Ani is a person who performs Bhakti YogA (God realization) & not jn~Ana yogA. The person performing Jn~Ana YogA (self-realization) is known as kevalA. Jn~Ana YogA is the constant meditation of the self i.e. jIvAtmA. It results in Atma sAkshAtkAram i.e. self-realization. It is however important to note that a kevalA is fully aware of his swaroopa of being subservient to Sriman NArAyanA. But a kevalA is neverthless firmly attracted by the bliss derived in the meditation of his own self (with the understanding as servant of nArAyaNA) & is unable to come over it & proceed further to meditate on ParamAtmA Sriman NArAyanA. A kevalA’s position is very much understandable since many a people in this world cannot overcome even watching TV, cinemAs, sports etc which only have dry hapiness (fully material; not spiritual). The bliss derived from the contemplation of the “self” (jIvAtmA) would certainly be attracting a kevalA like a magnet. He attains “KaivalyA” wherein he attains the state in which he simply meditates on his own self (fully self-realized state). From there he can continue further to perform bhakti yogA and attain moksham.

After perfecting karma & jn~Ana yogAs one will start performing “bhakti yogA” (since karma yogA by itself is integrated with jn~Ana yogA, bhakti yogA can be started after its perfection also).

The perfection of bhakti yogA is through ashtAnga yogA which has 8 parts:

1. yama: self control & practise of virtues like ahimsA, non-covetousness, non acceptance of gifts etc.
2. niyama: practise of purity in thought, word & deed.
3. Asana: adoption of proper posture & seat.
4. prAnAyAma: Control & regulation of breath alongwith the reflection on the meaning of the mantrA like ashtAksharam.
5. pratyahAra: Withdrawl of mind & other senses from their out going tendencies.
6. dhAranA: fixing of the mind towards Sriman nArAyaNA. Depending upon the type of upAsanA (out of 32 Brahma vidyAs prescribed in upanishads) one chooses, the contemplation on nArAyaNA will vary.
7. dhyAnA: Continuous meditation on the divya mangaLa vigrahA, kalyAna gunAs etc of nArAyaNA to the exclusion of all other objects. One must be almost sinless to attain this stage of having deep and profound love towards Sriman nArAyaNA which is the driving force for dhyAnA.
8. samAdhi: Final stage of concentration when the yogi attains the super-conscious state of divine life & becomes united with Sriman nArAyaNA. There is “unity” & not “identity”. When the dhyAnA ceases, this communion (i.e. unity) with nArAyaNA also ceases. In other words, eternal communion is not possible as long as the jIvAtmA has connection with prakruti. The culmination of samAdhi is the attainment of liberation (mokshA) & eternal union at Sri VaikuNTham.

Devotion in the form of nAma sankeertanam, Bhagavad ArAdhanam, Listening to the avatAra leelAs of Sriman nArAyaNA etc aids one to have steady rememberance of Sriman nArAyaNA. They by themselves doesn’t constitute “bhakti yogA”. Rather they are some ways of expressing one’s devotion & develop the “love” for nArAyaNA, thereby aiding the process of ashtAnga yogA.

During bhakti yogA, the yogI will at first encounter the stage called “Para bhakti” wherein his mind, thought & all sense organs are completly focussed on Sriman nArAyaNA. He does only worship of nArAyaNA & meditation on Him & these are the only things that sustain him. After severe practise of the ashtAnga yogic process, the yogi passes onto the next stage called “para jn~AnA” wherein the thirst for the direct vision of Sriman nARAyaNA becomes highly intense. Sriman NArAyaNA being pleased with his devotion gives the mental vision of His divya mangaLa vigraha. This results into much more intense love & the yogI is mad after communion with NArAyaNA. He cannot bear the separation even for a second & is literally pleading with Sriman NArAyaNA constantly for the arrival of the eternal union with Him. At right time, he attains the God-realization & enjoys the divine company of nitya soorIs & muktAs at Sri VaikuNTham in serving Sriman NArAyaNA uninterruptedly.

Obviously this process is out of question in this age of kali. Likes of vashistar, vyAsar, sukar, jada bharadar, Bheeshmar, nAthamunigaL are the capable persons for performing such contemplation with deep & unsurpassed love towards Sriman NArAyaNA. Thus, prapatti is the only way out.

The second upAyA Prapatti (i.e. SaraNAgathi alias Bhara nyAsam) as nyAsa vidyA is enshrined in upanishads and can infact be performed by anyone irrespective of age, sex, caste etc. Its modus operandi is explained in a detailed manner in Ahirbudhnya samhitA, Lakshmi tantrA & other pramAnams. IthihAsa purAnams also have lot of references to prapatti. Ofcourse, AzhwArs advocate Prapatti. Similarly, Sriman nArAyaNA advocates prapatti especially in His varAha avatAram, RAmA avatAram and KrishNA avatAram through the respective charama slokams. Not satisfied, He in His most merciful archAvatAram also advocates prapatti through His varada hastham, as in Thiruvinnagaram (Than oppAr illappan alias oppiliappan) and Thirumalai (SrInivAsan).

The greatness of Sri Vaishnava sampradAyam is that, Sriman nArAyaNA in His archA avatAram as PeraruLALan (kAnchi varadan) also advocated prapatti by His divine answers to Bhagavad RAmAnujA through Thiruk kachi NambigaL. Sriman NArAyaNA did not want to merely be a preacher of prapatti. His mercy is so unbounded that He as MAlolan of Ahobilam initiated a paramabhAgavathA into sannyAsa AshramA and ordered him to propagate the most glorious prapattimArgA in each and every village and He Himself accompanied the AchAryA to all the villages, inorder to accept the prapatti of baddha jIvAtmAs. That parama bhAgavathOthamA was none other than the illustrious Sri Adivan Shatakopa Yateendra MahAdesikan, the first jeeyar of Sri Ahobila Mutt the 6th centenary celebrations of which is going to be celebrated in a very grand manner by adiyEn’s AchAryan and the current AzhagiyaSingar Sri Lakshmi Nrusimha Divya pAdukA sevaka Srivan Shatakopa Sri NArAyana Yateendra mahAdesikan, only because of whose divine katAksham can adiyEn be even considered as a worthwile object. The forthcoming celebration at Ahobilam for sure is going to be eulogized by even all the muktAs and nityasUrIs, as a great event in the history of Sri Vaishnavam.

SwAmi Desikan explains that Prapatti is neither a mere faith in the saving grace of Sriman nArAyaNA nor a mere prayer to Him for protection/moksha. Prapatti doesn’t mean merely a surrendered life in this world, centred around serving Sriman nArAyaNA. Prapatti encompasses all of this & is much much more. Though “SaraNAgathi” is in general used for denoting “surrender”, what all things that needs to be fulfilled in that surrender which is performed only once for obtaining moksham, is very important.

The greatest burden (Bharam) for a baddha jIvAtmA is “bhakti yogA” because Sriman nArAyaNA would only grant moksham to a perfectionist of bhakti yogA. Though the jIvAtmA wishes to meditate continuously on nArAyaNA, it is not able to do so primarily because of its karmA. Also, not all are eligible for Bhakti yogA. Only dvijAs can start performing it. Moreover, one cannot be sure of the number of future births that is needed to be taken while adopting bhakti yogA, since the prArabdha karmA (that which has started to yield its effect) is not destroyed.

Neverthless, a mumukshu (one desirous of moksham), who has the burden of bhakti yOgA seeks moksham. So, during prapatti, Sriman nArAyaNA Himself is pleaded to be present in the “place”(sthAnA) of bhakti yOgA and give the fruit of Bhakti YogA i.e. Sriman nArAyaNA is pleaded to attain the level of “pleasing” He will obtain if one approached Him through “Bhakti yOgA”, which will make Him grant moksham to the mumukshu. Thats why, Prapatti is also known as BharanyAsam. The main qualifications for a mumukshu to adopt prapatti are:

1. Akinchanyam: Destituteness which may result either due to one’s lack of mental and physical strength to adopt bhakti yogA OR lack of requisite knowledge from sAstrAs OR Prohibition by sAstrAs regarding the adoption of Bhakti yOgA OR Inability to put up with any delay in attaining mokshA.
2. Ananyagatitvam: Seeking the Supreme Lord Sriman NArAyaNA as the sole refuge with complete aversion to all fruits other than mokshA. This implies that one shouldn’t resort even in his/her dream to a demigod like BrahmA, ShivA etc.

Prapatti, which is also called by different names such as (Atma) nikshEpa, nyAsA, SannyAsA and tyAgA has the following five angAs (accessories).

1. Anukoolyasya Sankalpam: Determination to perform whatever is pleasing to Sriman NArAyaNA. Since sAstrAs are His divine commands, one should be firm in one’s mind to perform what they are being ordered to do so (like SandhyAvandanam, Bhagavad ArAdhanam etc), which will thus be pleasing to the Divya Dampati.
2. Pratikoolyasya Varjanam: Avoidance of acts that are displeasing to Sriman NArAyaNA. So, one one should abstain from acts that are prohibited in sAstrAs. For example, one shouldn’t either eat egg, meat, onion, garlic etc OR drink alcohol, tea, coffee etc; one shouldn’t eat rice during ekAdasi etc.
3. KArpanyam: Feeling of utter helplessness. One should cry in front of Sriman NArAyaNA for his inability to perform Bhakti yOgA and should be fully aware of the fact that he/she cannot attain moksham by their own efforts. Utter dependence on the mercy of the Divya Dampati is needed.
4. MahA VisvAsam: Intense faith that Sriman NArAyaNA will certainly grant moksham for the prapatti performed, eventhough one has committed countless sins. This complete faith on the saving grace of the Lord i.e. on the efficacy of prapatti is very difficult to obtain because of various reasons. But inorder to obtain mahA visvAsam, one needs to have absolute faith in sAstrAs and the words of Sriman NArAyaNA and AchAryAs, which unanimously glorify prapatti as a supreme upAyA. Extensive knowledge in various fields of sAstrAs wouldn’t neccessarily yield this supreme unshakable faith. Only by the mercy of a sadAchAryA can one obtain mahA visvAsam, the most important angA of prapatti.

   It is also very important to understand that lack of mahA visvAsam doesn’t mean that one is either doubtful about the authority of vedAs or skeptical about the supremacy of NArAyaNA OR skeptical about the existence of Sri VaikuNTham etc. If one doesn’t even recognize Sriman NArAyaNA as the supreme unparalleled Lord, then his/her prapatti won’t be accepted by the Lord in first hand. The mahA visvAsam here is regarding the faith in the efficacy of prapatti which can be strengthened by contemplating upon the efficacy of purushakAratvam (recommendation) of pirAtti, eternal sesha-seshi bhAvA existing between jIvAtmA & paramAtmA, Soulabhyam & Sowseelyam of Sriman NArAyaNA, He being the Sarva Saranyan and SaranAgata Vatsalan etc.

5. Goptrtva Varanam: Begging Sriman NArAyaNA for offering protection. This is the prayer to the Lord for granting mokshA, wherein one pleads with Him, the sole refuge, to be present in the place (sthAnA) of bhakti yogA and grant its fruit of moksham to an akinchanA like himself/herself.

Performance of prapatti is done with sAthvIka tyAgam, similar to how one performs sAthvIka tyAgam before and after a kainkaryam. The three components of the sAthvIka tyAgam are:

1. Kartrutva tyAgA: One should shed the doership attitude and realize that Sriman NArAyaNA is the actual doer, since it is the ocean of His dayA that is responsible for one to perform the act of prapatti.
2. MamatA tyAgA: One should give up the thought of “mine” while performing prapatti. It is also done for the pleasure of Sriman NArAyaNA.
3. Phala tyAgA: One should give up the thought that the fruit of performing prapatti belongs to him/her and realize that the fruit of Prapatti also belongs to Sriman NArAyaNA.

One is completely wrong if he/she thinks that they by themselves performed prapatti (i.e. doership ego is still there). One cannot say “I performed prapatti to perumAL”, since this defies kartrutva tyAgam. Actually, it is by the mercy of the Divya Dampati that one is made to perform prapatti. So, one with proper understanding of prapatti will say either “Divya Dampati by their mercy has made adiyEn to perform SaraNAgathi and granted moksham” OR “AchAryA out of his great compassion made an akinchanan like adiyEn obtain moksham” etc. This is the essence of kartrutva tyAgam.

The performance of prapatti is for the pleasure of Divya Dampati. The fruit of prapatti is the eternal kainkaryam to the Divya Dampati, which is done for their pleasure. So, if Sriman NArAyaNA tells a mumukshu ‘x’ that He would grant moksham simply because ‘x’ wanted it, then also ‘x’ shouldn’t accept it. ‘x’ accepts the moksham only if Sriman NArAyaNA awards it out of His own pleasure and not simply because ‘x’ wanted moksham. Though a mumukshu sincerely wishes to be in accordance with his (jIvAtmA’s) svaroopam by performing the kainkaryam eternally to the Divya Dampati at Sri VaikuNTham, its upto the Divya Dampati to grant it out of their own pleasure and a mumukshu while performing prapatti should not have ego in this aspect also. This is the essence of mamatA tyAgam and phala tyAgam. Ofcourse, Sriman NArAyaNA’s vratam (vow) is to grant moksham to those who perform prapatti unto Him and the Divya Dampati will be very happy to grant moksham to such a mumukshu.

The most important thing to understand while performing prapatti is that, “Prapatti” (SAdhyaupAyam) as an act by itself is not the reason for one’s moksham. Rather, it is the mercy of Sriman NArAyaNA (Siddha upAyam) which is responsible for one’s moksham. Prapatti is a SAdhya upAyA which needs to be done by a baddha jIvAtmA. This becomes a vyAjA for Sriman nArAyaNA, the Siddha upAyA, to grant moksham. In front of Siddha upAyA, SAdhya upAyA is “nothing” & can’t even be compared. Neverthless, SAdhya upAyA needs to be performed since thats the way Sriman nArAyaNA has ordered (in Sruti & Smruti) to have a vyAjA (excuse) for Him and thereby grant moksham by being impartial. Similarly, Bhakti YogA is also a SAdhyaupAyam. Ofcourse, the performance of sAdhyaupAyam is also due to Sriman NArAyaNA’s mercy. Since the mumukshu has proper karmA due to various pious deeds and (most importantly) divine blessings of bhAgavathA(s) and SadAchAryA(s), Sriman NArAyaNA out of His mercy makes him/her perform the sAdhya upAyam prapatti and grants moksham using it as a vyAjA.

So, if someone asks the reason for ones moksham, without any hesitation, it is the siddha upAyam Sriman nArAyanA. The Divya Dampati is both the upAyA (means) & the upEyA (end). SwAmi Desikan beautifully portrays the state of a prapannA while performing prapatti in the best & unparalleled heart melting pAsuram:

The actual performance (angI) of prapatti is composed of the following three acts:

1. Atma samarpanam (svaroopa samarpanam): From time immemorial, a baddha jIvAtmA is of the thinking that it is independent on its own. This is the greatest theft since all jIvAtmAs being chetanAs and made up of jn~Anam, are actually the most precious properties of Sriman NArAyaNA. Svaroopa samarpanam refers to the recognition of this fact and the anusandhAnam that one belongs only to Sriman NArAyaNA (not to any demigod) and is not an independent being. It also extends to the recognition and anusandhAnam that all chetanAs and achEtanAs like wife/husband, children, house etc that are associated with one also belong only to Sriman NArAyaNA.
2. Bhara Samarpanam: Recognition and anusandhAnam that the burden of one’s (and all chEtanAs & achEtanAs associated with him/her) protection belongs only to Sriman NArAyaNA, the sarva rakshakan & not to oneself. This surrendering of burden of protection is unique for prapatti. One performing Bhakti YOgam will perform only Svaroopa and phala samarpanam & not Bhara Samarpanam.
3. Phala Samarpanam: Recognition and anusandhAnam that the fruit of one’s (and all chEtanAs & achEtanAs associated with him/her) protection also belongs only to Sriman NArAyaNA, the sarva phalI. The highly sacred Dvaya Mantram which is eulogized as Mantraratnam is the prapatti mantra and the actaul act of prapatti is performed using this. Thus, prapatti is actually an act which is performed with all its entirety in a moment. This is much like the action of an archer, who after performing preliminary acts like taking the arrow, fitting it to the bow, perceiving and aiming the object etc discharges the arrow for hitting the target, in a fraction of a second (jIvAtmA is the arrow which hits its target viz. Sriman NArAyaNA). Infact Upanishads describes this act very well. Such an act of Prapatti is celebrated as the marriage between a jIvAtmA and paramAtmA Sriman NArAyaNA, due to which the jIvAtmA would lead its life totally dedicated in serving Sriman NArAyaNA like a pati vratA.

There are various types of prapatti that is performed for obtaining moksham viz. Svanishta, Ukti nishta, AchArya nishta and BhAgavatha nishta.

“Svanishta Prapatti” is the culmination of the fully blossomed Bhagavad PremA. For performing Svanishta prapatti (i.e. on one’s own, without the aid of the AchAryA, though the prapatti sAstrA as such would be learnt from an AchAryA) one needs to have Very high qualification – likes of Bhagavad RAmAnujA & SwAmi Desikan. The most important ingredient for Svanishta prapatti is the IN & OUT knowledge of the meanings of the three rahasya mantrAs apart from other scriptural knowledge which exactly aids in completing all the requirements for a fruitful prapatti in a proper order/way. Even if one of the requirements gets unfulfilled, Prapatti is not complete & moksham won’t be granted by Sriman nArAyaNA.

Thats why, Ukti nishta & AchArya nishta is followed even by AchAryAs for their prapatti. Infact, the exact modus operandi of prapatti won’t be revealed to a sishyA & a sishyA can possibly know it only during his prapatti & that too if it is in Ukti nishta. In AchArya nishta, that also is not possible. AchAryA passes on the upadesam to his select disciple whom he likes to continue performing “prapatti” for others. In ukti nishta, since the sishyA repeats whatever the AchAryA says and Sriman NArAyaNA knows its meaning, he/she fulfills all the neccessary requirements of prapatti. In AchArya nishta, ofcourse all the neccessary requirements are taken care by AchAryA himself, while performing the prapatti for his disciple. The fourth type of prapatti is the BhAgavatha Nishta wherein a learned Sri VaishnavA (bhAgavathA) performs prapatti on one’s behalf.

Rarely does one develop very intense desire to reach Sri VaikuNTham immedietly to join nityasoorIs and muktAs to have uninterrepted bhagavad anubhavam and perform kainkaryam to the Divya Dampati. In such a case, one can perform “Artha prapatti”, for which Sriman NArAyaNA mercifully grants mokshA without any delay as per the request. But, almost everyone performs “Dripta Prapatti”, for which Sriman NArAyaNA grants mokshA at the end of one’s lifetime as per the request. The basic reason for even parama bhAgavathAs to perform “Dripta Prapatti” is purely due to their boundless compassion to rescue all the jIvAtmAs suffering in this world by imparting them the infallible knowledge vouchsafed in the sAstrAs and thereby make everyone realize their svaroopam of being subservient to the Divya Dampati and aid them in performing prapatti. Ofcourse, it is due to the sankalpam of Sriman NArAyaNA that these parama bhAgavathAs exist in this world for the benifit of everyone. They also perform everything as a kainkaryam to the Divya Dampati with sAthvIka tyAgam.

Prapatti thus assures moksham for sure, if the requirements were met out in its entirety. If even after undergoing prapatti, one doesn’t have full faith in NArAyaNA & resorts to something like demigod worship & this was the case till he/she died, then it is be understood that NArAyaNA hasn’t accepted his/her prapatti at all, since the basic qualification of having ananyagatitvam was not met out by him/her during the time of prapatti. Also, even after prapatti, if a person somehow due to prArabdha karmA resorts to demigod worship and the like, but somehow restores back anytime before his/her death and follows Sri Vaishnavam with reverence to Sriman NArAyaNA and AchAryA, and develops mahA visvAsam, it is to be understood that the Lord has accepted his/her prapatti.

A prapanna should certainly have devotion in the sense of reciting VedAs, Divya Prabandhams, StotrAs, performing Nama Sankeertanams, etc, which are to be carried out as a kainkaryam (service) with sAthvIka thyAgam. Never should a prapanna perform some act as a means of attaining moksham, since he/she has already been assured of it through the prapatti and more importantly such an act exhibits his/her lack of mahA visvAsam and would thereby even negate the previous prapatti.

While performing Prapatti, a mumukshu requests for Para Bhakti, Para Jn~Anam and Parama Bhakti from Sriman NArAyaNA and thus it is granted for him/her. Depending upon the mumukshu’s karmA, the time at which they will blossom will differ. For instance, NammAzhwAr performed Prapatti unto Sriman NArAyaNA and did not perform Bhakti yOgA. But, AzhwAr went through all these three stages while being in this material world itself. Similarly, some prapannAs may go through these stages and they will be highly immersed in bhagavad anubhavam. But, they are not carrying out these things as an upAyam (i.e. means) to attain moksham. Rather they perform it since it is their svaroopam (nature). This is ofcourse done with sAthvIka tyAgam and is known as “sAdhya bhakti”. For many, these three stages blossoms only after reaching Sri VaikuNTham.

It is however very important to understand that “prapatti” is not some mechanical process that fulfills some conditions. It is the fully blossomed stage of complete understanding of the tattva, hitam & purushArtam. sAstrAs are very merciful in enlisting various things that one would perform in that state of surrender thereby giving rise to its modus operandi. Ofcourse, for mumukshus performing through ukti & AchArya nishta, such thorough knowledge of sAstrAs & rahasya mantrAs is not neccessary. AchAryA takes care of all the requirements for pleasing Sriman nArAyaNA. This is also taken as a vyAjA for granting moksham by Sriman nArAyaNA. That is why, the adoration of AchAryA is even more important than the adoration of Sriman nArAyaNA for a baddha jIvAtmA. There is no possiblity for a baddha jIvAtmA who doesn’t have the capacity to perform bhakti yogA (complete akinchanA), to ascend to Sri VaikuNTham other than to fully depend on the mercy of his AchAryA who knows the way of performing Prapatti for him. Thus, even one who has transgressed sAstrAs for time immemorial can obtain moksham by the mercy of a sadAchAryA. To repay one’s AchAryA for either blessing one with the true & divine knowledge OR initiating him/her into rahasya mantrAs (pancha samskAram) OR performing prapatti for him/her, is an impossibility. To be in accordance with one’s svaroopam (nature), one has to perform AchArya, BhAgavatha & PerumAL kainkaryam in that order of decreasing priority & these things doesn’t mean that one is repaying something to the debt one owes to his/her AchAryA.

To understand Prapatti properly, one needs to perform kAlakshebam under the lotus feet of a sadAchAryA & only by his blessings through the exposition of the grantham far supreme viz. Srimad Rahasya Traya SAram, the magnum opus of the Vishnu ghantA avatArA SwAmi Desikan, can one appreciate its glories. It is an unparalleled granthA containing the ocean of insatiable nectar delineating all the things a mumukshu needs to know (tattvA, hitA & purushArthA), presented in such a commanding authority through pramAnAs & logic, which once heard would vanish all the sufferings and turmoils undergone by a jIvAtmA and make it have the unshakable faith on the saving grace of the most merciful Lord Sriman NArAyanA, thereby perform prapatti & attain prapatti nishtA with the impeccable jnAnam obtained from this granthA completely controlling all of its actions, thereby engaging completely in AchArya, BhAgavatha and Bhagavad kainkaryam for the pleasure of Divya Dampati, with no more burdens to be worried about.

AzhwAr, EmperumAnAr, Desikan thiruvadigaLE saranam
Sri Adhi vaNN shatakOpa yateendra mahAdesikAya namaha
Srimad Azhagiyasingar thiruvadigaLe saranam namo nArAyaNA
adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan anantha PadmanAbha dAsan
sarvam sri KrishnArpanamastu

Neccessity for Spiritual Knowledge:
Any intelligent person will have queries like “Who am I?”; “Who is God?”; “What is my duty?”; “Why am I suffering through the process of birth, old age, disease and death?”; “What is death?”; “What is the relationship between myself and God?”; etc. These are highly important queries which leads one to realize the actual realities.

The fact is that, everyone is individually a spiritual entity called jIvAtmA, who is eternally subservient to the Supreme Lord Sriman NArAyanA. Due to the karmA (good and bad activities) associated with the jIvAtmA, it takes varieties of bodies like that of a bacteria, plant, bird, animal, human being etc. It is very very rare to get a human body.

Once a jivAtmA gets the highly precious human body, he (‘he’ refers to jIvAtmA eventhough there is no gender associated) has to start enquring about the actual purpose of life. There are many varieties of knowledge floating around. But he has to pick up the ‘sAram’(essence). He should choose that type of knowledge which will answer the important queries as raised above. These fundamental queries are answered by the spiritual knowledge.

Materialistic knowledge (as explained by modern science etc) finally doesn’t help the jIvAtmA. For instance, a glorified Nobel Laureate may take the body of donkey in the next birth. What is then the credit of being a Nobel Laureate in his human birth? The purpose of human birth is to have the realisation of God (Sriman NArAyanA). If this human body is used for other purposes, then the activities of that person boils down to eating, sleeping and mating. This is the way an animal spends its life.

As long as one identifies himself as a body made of flesh and not as a jIvAtmA, he leads a life of an animal and thereby wastes the most precious human body. The greatness of Spiritual Knowledge is that it makes one understand the truth that he is a jIvAtmA, subservient to Sriman NArAyanA and not the body housing him. It also reveals the processes (Bhakti YogA and Prapatti) by which one can terminate the repeated cycles of birth and death in this material world, and reach the spiritual kingdom of Sriman NArAyanA known as “Vaikuntam”, thereby attaining complete bliss.

One has to start knowing about himself first, rather than speculating about matter. Without knowing the answer for the question “Who Am I?”, what is use of studying other things? Without knowning the purpose of human life, what is the use of engaging in varieties of activities? So an intelligent seeker of knowledge gets hold of the spiritual knowledge which is complete in itself and thus understands the ultimate knowledge one needs to know.

Approaching the AchAryA of Sri Vaishnava ParamparA
Spiritual Knowledge is something which is far beyond the materialistic knowledge gained through a study of modern science. It is far beyond the reach of one’s senses. One can’t understand these on his own. Even for materialistic knowledge which are highly evident to our eyes (senses in general), one has to go to school for years. This process of learning from experienced persons goes on and on. Now, what to speak of Spiritual Knowledge, which deals with the relationship existing between the three realities namely,

1. IshwarA (Supreme Lord): Sriman NArAyanA (NArAyanA who is ever united with Sri)
2. ChetanAs (entities with knowledge): jivAtmAs
3. achetanAs (entities without knowledge): Matter, Time, Suddha-SattvA

Obviously, one has to approach a person who has this type of knowledge. But so many pose themselves to know this. How to find a bonafide AchAryA?

The answer to this is really simple. The Supremely merciful Lord Sriman NArAyanA reveals the spiritual knowledge to His most ardent devotees. They in turn instruct others. This is called a “ParamparA”. Thus, NArAyanA Himself becomes the first AchAryA and the knowledge revealed in the paramparA is nothing but what NArAyanA Himself has revealed. This chain of tradition beginning from Sriman NArAyanA is also known as the”Sat SampradAyam”.

The Sri Vaishnava SampradAyam has Lord NArAyanA as the first AchAryA, followed by His belowed consort ‘Sri’(MahALakshmi), Sri Vishvaksenar (Commander in chief of Sri Vaikuntam), Saint ShatakopA (NammAzhvAr), Sri NAthamuni, Sri PundarIkAkshA (UyyakkondAr), Sri RAmamishrA (ManakkAl Nambi), Sri YAmunAchAryA, Sri Ghoshti PUrnA (Peria Nambi), Sri Bhagavad RAmAnujA, and so on down to our presentAchAryAs.

The current AchAryA of the illustrious Ahobila Matam is Sri Lakshmi Nrusimha Divya pAduka Sevaka Srivan Shatagopa Sri NArAyana Yateendra MahAdesikan. Ahobila Matam was founded by the Supreme Lord Lakshmi Nrusimhan Himself, by initiating a twenty year old genius and supremely devout brahmachAri named kidAmbi SrinivAsAchAryA of Melkotte. He is well known as Sri Adivan Shatagopa Yateendra MahAdesikan.

The knowledge coming through the SriVaishnava SampradAyam (SatSampradAyam) is thus faultless. So, ONLY the AchAryA belonging to the Sat SampradAyam is bonafide. Such an AchAryA is called as a “sadAchAryA” (Ideal Preceptor). He will be well versed in the spiritual knowledge delineated by Sanskrit VedAs (including Upanishads), Tamil VedAs (Divya Prabandham by AzhvArs), Rahasya TrayA, Brahma SutrAs, Smrithis, IthihAsAs (RAmAyanam and MahAbhAratham), SAthvIka PurAnAs (like Vishnu purAnam, Srimad BhAgavatham), PAncharAtrA & VaikhAnasa AgamAs.

The supreme Lord Sriman NArAyanA, in His wonderful avatAram as Sri KrishnA, instructs everyone to approach the sadAchAryA. In His GIta Upadesam, Sri KrishnA says “Learn the spiritual knowledge by prostrating, by questioning and by service to wise men (sadAchAryAs), who sees the truth. They (sadAchAryAs) will teach it to you.” (4.34)

Thus the person desirous of becoming linked to the Sri Vaishnava SampradAyam, approaches the SadAchAryA with great humility. One cannot attain a sadAchAryA easily. The reasons behind the acquisition of a sadAchAryA are:

1. Sriman NArAyanA’s benevolence.
2. Merit acquired accidentally.
3. Grace of Sriman NArAyanA.
4. No aversion towards Sriman NArAyanA.
5. Listened to the anectodes of NArAyanA (Stories about avatArams of NArAyanA like NrusimhA, RAmA and KrishnA etc) and eagerness to learn.
6. Conversed with devotees of NArAyanA.

So, one should be highly fortunate to attain a sadAchAryA. AchAryA (henceforth used to refer to sadAchAryA) has every right to test that person, even for many years, before he can be initiated by him. Thus, SamAshrayanam is a result of great mercy from the part of our AchAryAs. Only the highly fortunate souls gets this rarest oppurtunity of getting initiated (SamAshrayanam) and thereby become a “SriVaishnavA”.

What is Samashrayanam?
SamAshrayanam means ‘to approach (AchAryA) with all sincerity’. In a nut shell, during ‘SamAshrayanam’, the AchAryA initiates a person, irrespective of caste, creed or sex, as his sishyA. It is a commitment from the disciple that he or she will live as per the wishes of the AchAryA. Thus the person gets the link to the Sri Vaishnava paramparA. During SamAshrayanam, Pancha SamskAram (five Purifications) is performed and he becomes a “Sri VaishnavA”.

The five samskArams and its main purposes are:

1. thApam: To emboss the impressions of heated Sankha and ChakrA on the arms (near the shoulders).
2. pundram:To wear the dvAdasa Urdhva pundram (12 Thiruman & Srichoornam)
3. nAmam: To be christened by the AchAryA afresh as”RAmAnuja dAsan”(addition of ‘dAsA’at the end of ones name) to indicate that one is forever a servant of the Supreme Lord Sriman NArAyanA and BhagavAnRAmAnujA.
4. manthram: To get the initiation of “Rahasya Traya MantrAs” – AshtAksharam, Dvayam and charama slokam.
5. Ijyai:To learn the worship of Sriman nArAyanA in proper form (Bhagavad ThiruvArAdhanam).

Panca Samskaram
In general, the human body must undergo many samskArams. This is done basically to make the body more pure and thereby aid the jIvAtmA in the path of Spiritualism, which culminates in God Realisation. The greatest stumbling block for one’s advancement in Spiritualism is their body itself, which is a result of their previous karmAs. So, sAstrAs prescribe various samskArams like JAtakarmA, NAmakaranAa, Upanayanam etc.

Pancha SamskArAm is superior to all such samskArams. One is not a born “Sri VaishnavA”. It is this “Pancha SamskAram” that makes him one. Millions and Millions of janmAs (births) were simply wasted without becoming a “Sri VaishnavA”. It is this highly sacred “Pancha SamskAram” which gives the real “birth” to the jIvAtmA. Since all the previous births were simply spent in the darkness of ignorance, they don’t have any value. The real meaning of life starts, only when one becomes a “Sri VaishnavA”. Since “Pancha SamskAram” marks the beginning of the true life one has to lead, it is a VERY VERY SPECIAL EVENT for the person undergoing it.

“IyengAr” means ‘Aindhu angam Udayavar’ or ‘Aindhu kAryangal Udayavar’. These five refers to the ‘Pancha SamskAram’. It also means the fiva angAs of prapatti. We can in general say that this Panca SamskAram gives one the name “IyengAr”.

1. thApa SamskAram:
This is the first samskAram. The AchAryA embosses the impressions of Conch (Shankam) and Discuss (Sudarshana chakram) on the left and right arms of the disciple, respectively.

To give an analogy in the materialistic world, a sales representive wears a logo representing the organization for which he is working. Factually, we (JIvAtmAs) are servants of the Supreme Lord Sriman NArAyanA. So, we also identify ourselves through the things which uniquely represent Him. NArAyanA holds the Conch(PAnchaJanyam) in His Left Hand and the Sudarshana Chakram in His right Hand. So, we also bear the same way. Any highly fortunate jivAtmA, who becomes a devotee of Lord Vishnu will be very happy about wearing Shankam and Chakram.

The AchAryA with great devotion recites the mantrAs to invoke Sriman NArAyanA and His weapons Sudarshana Chakram & PAnchajanyam. The Supremely merciful NArAyAnA abides by it. The Lord and His weapons thus become present in the Agni (Fire). Then, the AchAryA prays specifically to the divine weapons to be eternally present with the disciples for whom Pancha SamskAram is being performed.

The emblem of”Sudarshana ChakrA”is heated in the agni and is embossed on the right hand, by chanting a hymn, which translates into “Oh! Sudarshana MahAJwAlA (Highly resplendent), as lusturous as crores of Sun, please show me, an ignorant one, the path of Lord Vishnu”.

Then, the emblem of”PAnchajanyam”is heated in the fire and is embossed on the left hand, by chanting a hymn, which translates into “Oh! PAnchajanyA! You are capable of driving away the sins of individuals through your sound. Please protect me, a sinner, from this samsArA”.

In Ahobila Matam, the procedure is much simpler since the emblems of ShankA and chakrA were given by the most merciful Lord Sri Lakshmi Nrusimhan Himself, to Sri Adivan Shatagopa Yateendra MahAdesikan.

This is a highly powerful samskAram. SudarshanAzhvAr’s (ChakrA) mercy to the devotees of Sriman NArAyanA is highly glorifiable. No one can forget the wonderful way in which SudarsanAzhvAr chased DhurvAsa Muni for his BhAgavadha apachArA unto the great VaishnavA “Ambarish”. That is the way in which Sri SudarsanAzhvAr extends his mercy to protect the devotees. He wards off the evil elements and thereby makes a nice pathway for the devotee to engage in Bhagavad Kainkaryam (service).

Nowadayas, SudarsanAzhvAr is popular amongst the ‘mooda bhakthAs’ i.e. those people who pray for the fulfillment of their cheap materialistic desires. Its really a pity that eventhough SudarsanAzhvAr is highly merciful to ward off all the evil obstacles that obstruct a person from developing pure bhakti or performing prapatti, these people keep pestering him regarding their materialistic desires.

The divine conch ‘PAnchajanyam’shatters all the evils through transcendental sound. The most important aspect is that we have to realize our ignorant way of leading the life. The whole life should be packed with only devotional services (kainkaryAs) unto Sriman NArAyanA and His devotees. If we are even an inch shorter to it, it clearly implies that we are ignorant. But, attaining the mood of kainkaryA is not a material phenomena. One must deeply depend on the mercy of AchAryAs and BhAgavathAs. This is the only way to get it.

But before coming to this position, one has to know that doing kainkaryam to the Divya Dampati (Sri and NArAyanA)is the ultimate goal of life. Thats why, we pray to SudarshanAzhvAr to show us the path of Vishnu. SudarshanAzhvAr will lead us to do prapatti and by becoming a prapanna, one will be ever ecstatic in performing various kainkaryAs. But, how will he help us if we don’t want this from the depth of our hearts?

In addition to our unwillingness to completely surrender to the lotus feet of Sriman NArAyanA, there are so many nefarious traps in this world of samsArA. Since everyone is allured by this and indulge nicely in the materialistic activities, they pile up the sins. So, already being a sinner, who is attracted by all the petty materialistic things, we pray to ‘PAnchajanyam’ for his protection from ‘SamsArA’ (materialistic world).

ThApa SamskAram is highly glorified by the sAstrAs in various places. Some of them are as follows:

1. Brahmasooktha in the Atarva Mahopanishad says”ChakrA in the right shoulder and Sankha in the left shall be worn”.
2. The Pushkala Samhita in Rig VedA says”Oh vishnu ! The learned wear the holy Sankha – Chakra to cross the ocean of samsArA”.
3. Atarva vedA says”By adorning the armour of the Lord, we shall live happily in this world and reach the abode of the Lord (conveying that others cannot reach Sri Vaikuntam)”
4. In the Vishnu Tattvam, the passage narrating about NarakalokA says” Wearing of Sankha and ChakrA informs the relationship with Vishnu. The sentries of YamA are afraid of them. The world will perish if they are belittled. The devotees of Vishnu are never seen in YamA’s place due to the glory of Sriman NArAyanA”.
5. BheeshmaparvA of MahAbhArathA says”All shall, as ordained in the PAncharAtrA SAstrA preached by Lord SankarshanA (NArAyanA), wear the chakrA mark. They only are eligible to worship BhagavAn Vishnu (Bhagavad ArAdhanam)”
6. VarAhapurAnam glorifies the persons wearing the hot seals of the Supreme Lord Sriman NArAyanA on their arms (shoulders). It says that these devotees ultimately reach Sri Vaikuntam.
7. Garuda PurAnam says that only those who have been affixed with the Sankha and ChakrA are eligible to take part in the ceremony toforefathers.

Atarva vedA is very clear in the regard that one should adorn the heated symbols of Sriman NArAyanA on ones body, and continues to say that only such people attain the Supreme Abode (Sri Vaikuntam). Rig VedA is also categorical that the Sankha and chakrA be heated and adorned.

An intelligent person, after getting so much help from the divine weapons of Sriman NArAyanA, should proceed further to become a true Sri VaishnavA in practise.

Thus the AchAryA out of his dayA does this”thApA SamskArA”for the upliftment of the sishyA from the world of samsArA. Further, the disciple with Anjali MudrA should regularly chant the two hymns through which this samskAram has been performed and thereby derive the supreme protection from SudarsanAzhvAr and PAnchajanyam.

2. Pundra SamskAram:
The achAryA makes the disciple aware of the places in the body where the ‘upavyUha’ forms of the Supreme Lord Sriman NArAyanA, are to be saluted. The sishya becomes fortunate enough to know the names of the Lord and piratti, associated with each ‘upavyUha’ form of NArAyanA and also comes to know about the way in which he has to offer his salutations.

From the para-vAsudevA (Sri Vaikuntam) form, nArAyanA emanates into the four vyuha forms namely VAasudevA (Vyuha VAsudevA), SaNkarshaNA, PradyumnA and AniruddhA. From each of these four vyuha forms, nArAyanA emanates into three sub-vyuha forms known as ‘upavyuha’(vyuhAntarA) forms.

VAsudevA -> KeSavA, NArAyanA, MAdhavA
SaNkarshaNA -> GovindA, Vishnu, MadhusUdhanA
PradyumnA -> TrivikramA, VAmanA, SridharA
AniruddhA -> HrusIkeSA, PadmanAbhA, DAmodarA

There are some minor differences in these forms of Sriman NArAyanA. All these different forms of our merciful Lord are highly relished by different Yogis deeply meditating upon Sriman NArAyanA. For instance, let us take the case of sweets. Each one relishes a particular variety of sweet more than the other ones. Similarly, the taste of the Yogis/BhakthAs also differs. Each one gets attracted to a particular feature of Sriman NArAyanA.

Each ‘upavyUha’ form of Sriman NArAyanA is externally represented by the ‘Urdhva pundram’(Thiruman kaapu). The ‘thiruman’ represents the Lord and the ‘Sri Choornum’ represents PirAtti. The salutation to the Lord has to be done with folded hands (Anjali Mudra): “KeSavAya Namaha” prefixed by pranavA, “MAdhavAya Namaha” prefixed by pranavA etc. The salutation to the pirAtti is also done in a similar way: “Sriyai Namaha”, prefixed by pranavA, “AmrutodhbhavAyai Namaha”, prefixed by pranavAetc.

The thiruman (white color) should be like the outline of NArAyanAs Lotus foot. Sri choornum is yellow in color since the pirAttis thirumeni (divine body) is Golden in color. Since Red Color is for mangaLam (pirAtti), some do wear red colored Sri Choornum. There are minor differences between sampradAyams in the way of wearing Thiruman. SishyAs should follow their respective AchAryAs.

Urdhva Pundram is vertical and faces upwards denoting that it helps one in reaching ‘Sri Vaikuntam’, the spiritual abode of Sriman NArAyanA. These twelve Urdhvapundrams are known as the ‘DvAdasa Urdhvapundram’.

According to the varnA of the sishyA, there are also differences in the number of Urdhvapundrams he has to wear.

The location of the Thiruman kaapu, forms, names and colour of all the UpavyUha NArAyanA are as follows:

The upavyUha forms of NArAyanA also represent the twelve suns in the Universe corresponding to the twelve zodiacs of the universe. KeSavA is the presiding deity of month MArghazhi, NArAyanA is the presiding deity of month ‘thai’ and so on. They are the presiding deities of the twelve AdityAs.

Thus, the sishyA gets the unique previlege to wear the Thiruman kAppu. So, only after SamAshrayanam should one wear the dvAdasa Urdhva pundram. From then onwards, the sishyA withour fail should wear them. All the evils fly away on seeing the thiruman kApu (kAApu => protection).

Materialistic people apply powder, cream etc to their faces, hands etc. They keep on polishing this temporary body with their deep materialistic attachment towards it. They more over put many more ornaments over the lump of flesh(body) and foolishly think that they look beautiful. The very basic understanding is that one is a jIvAtmA (soul) who is ever subservient to the Divya Dampati, and not the lump of matter surroundingit.

The best ornament for the body is Thiruman Kappu. This should be applied with great humility, thanking the achAryA and Sriman NArAyanA for their mercy. One should be really proud of the fact that he is a servant of NArAyanA. He should be highly enthusiastic to wear the thiruman kAApu for the reason that it reminds him of the servant – master relationship eternally existing between himself and the Supreme Master Sriman NArAyanA.

Materialistic people take pride in identifying themselves as a fan of some other materialist (cinema star, sports hero etc), who is also a jIvA suffering in this whirlpool of samsArA. These so-called ‘stars’ of the material world are going to take bodies like donkey, cat etc in their future births. They are followed by thousand fools who are also going to take such bodies in the next births. Materialists are highly ignorant fools because, their level of understanding that someone is ‘great’ is highly limited. Once one becomes a fan of the greatest of all greats ‘Sriman NArAyanA’, he cannot become a fan of any other person (except NArAyanAs staunch devotees). Even the greatness of demigods like BrahmA, SivA, IndrA in comparison with the greatness of nArAyanA is like the brightness of a small spark of light in front of the brightness of billions of suns.

A Sri VaishnavA is thus never attracted to even any of the demigods (what to speak of tiny materialists in earth). One who gets attracted to NArAyanAs divya mangala vigraha; kalyAna gunAs; avatAra lIlAs as in NrusimhA, RAmA and KrishnA avAtAra; Holy Names etc can never turn back to anything short of it. It is furthermore a duty of a Sri VaishnavA to follow what the AchAryA has taught him during samAshrayanam. Some may feel that they are ignorant about these facts. But, they also see so many Sri VaishnavAs, wearing the thiruman kApu and thus should automatically enquire into it. But, there are some who even after knowing that they should wear the DvAdasa Urdhva pundram daily, doesn’t wear them out of shyness. Actually, this is due to their ignorance. Any devotee of Sriman NArAyanA is never a cheap personality. He is the most glorifiable one. So, one should wear them with love and enthusiasm without any hesitation. Once one understands about the glories of Sriman NArAyanA and the eternal connection existing between himself and the Lord, he will automatically wear the dvAdasa Urdhva pundram.

One can talk a lot about VedAs, upanishads etc. If he doesn’t put them into practice, there is no use in learning them. NArAyanA gets pleased when one follows the sAstrAs. Moreover, if it is a upadeshA from an AchAryA and is followed by the sishyA, NArAyanA gets pleased to a much greater extent. At the same time, if a sishyA doesn’t follow the AchAryA, NArAyanA will never be pleased with him. So, if a Sri VaishnavA doesn’t wear the Urdhva pundrams, he is obviously not following the AchAryA and thereby becomes avaishnavA in practice. In extreme circumstances, when one is not able to wear the dvAdasa Urdhvapundrams, salutations to Sriman NArAyanA with Anjali MudrA, should be performed without fail as explained above (AchAryAs Upadesam).

The katA portion in YajurvedA says”One who prays to the Supreme Lord Vishnu by wearing the Urdhvapundram and by accepting the hot chakrA on the shoulder, reaches the Supreme Lord Himself”. Such is the glory of pundram and thApa samskAram.

3. NAma SamskAram:
The AchAryA adds the name ‘DAsA’at the end of the disciples name, to indicate that he is forever the servant of Lord Sriman NArAyanA and Bhagavad RAmAnujA. He becomes a ‘RAmAnuja dAsan’. This is highly important.

Eventhough Sri Vaishnavam is eternal, it was Bhagavad RAmAnujA who propagated it with intensity and fervour, out of his great compassion for all the living entities. He was a supreme devotee of Sriman NArAyanA and an intellectual genius. He gave the true imports of Brahma SUtrAs and established the eternal truth vouchsafed in the Upanishads. He made everyone understand that NArAyanA, the consort of ‘Sri’ is the Supreme Lord, who has all the sentient beings and insentient things as His body (ie. NArAyanA is supporter & controller of everything and everything exists for His pleasure).

He gave the secret doctrine of ‘prapatti’ (self-surrender) to the whole world. Prapatti is the only way in this Kali Yuga by which one can reach Sri Vaikuntam (mOksham). Thus, it was Bhagavad RAmAnujA who opened the gates of Sri Vaikuntam for anyone, irrespective of caste, creed or sex. The greatness of Bhagavad RAmAnujA cannot be expressed in mere words.

Since he was the one who redeemed the whole suffering humanity by propagating the eternal truth and the ultimate good to everyone, Lord RanganAthA residing at SriRangam became so moved that, the Supreme Lord placed at the disposal of RAmAnujAchAryA , all His possessions – lIlAvibhUti (Material World) and Nitya-VibhUti (Spiritual World ie. Sri Vaikuntam) – including Himself. In commemoration of that act, Lord RanganAthA conferred upon Bhagavad RAmAnujA the name of ‘Udayavar’ (Possesor or Master), to signify that he was thenceforth the Master of all. Thus, to enter the Spiritual Abode of Sriman NArAyanA, the link with ‘Udayavar ‘(Sri RAmAnujA) becomes a vital and important criterion.

The sishyA should always identify himself through this ‘dAsa ‘nAmA. Whenever he speaks to other bhAgavathAs he should have the servitude attitude which in one way can be cultivated by remembering his ‘dAsa ‘nAmA.

4. Mantra SamskAram:
Eventhough all the five samskArams are highly important, Mantra SamskAram is the most important amongst them. The Rahasya traya (3 secrets) mantrAs are initiated to the sishyA. They are the AshtAksharam, Dvayam and the Charama slokam. These are the TOP MOST ESSENCE OF ALL THE KNOWLEDGE. They are highly potent and have deep philosophical meanings. These are secrets and are highly precious. These are to be learnt from the AchAryA only. The sishyAs at any cost CANNOT tell these mantrAs (AshtAksharam and dvayam) to others, who haven’t had samAshrayanam. Only the AchAryA who is eligible to perform samAshrayanam to others is entitled to initiate the sishyAs with these mantrAs.

One should be very very fortunate to receive these mantrAs. The glories of these mantrAs have no bounds. The potency of the mantrAs work only when it is obtained from the AchAryA (paramparA). This is because, without getting the link to the paramparA, which is started by Sriman NArAyanA, one cannot obtain the benifits of the mantrA; rather it may lead to negative results also. PAdma purAnA says that “sampradAya – vihInA ye mantrAs te niShphalA matAhA” ie. “Unless mantrAs are initiated (by the AchAryA) through the sampradAyA, it has no effect”. Anyone who wants to become the devotee of NArAyanA must get linked with the ParamparA. Sriman NArAyanA Himself has clearly laid out that the paramparA is the way through which one should approach Him.

AshtAksharam (also known as Moola Mantra, Thiru Mantra) is extolled by great people like AzhwArs and Rishis. This mantra originated from Lord BadriNArAyanA of BadrinAth, chanted in Gayathri Chandas and is addressed to Sriman NArAyanA. Since this mantra is initiated by the Lord NArAyanA Himself, this is highly sacred. Infact NArAyanA initiated this AshtAksharam to Thirumangai AzhwAr also. This same AshtAksharam was initiated to pundarIkA and PrahlAdA by sage NAradA. Yogis practising Bhakti YogA, who were ever immersed in seeing the wonderful form of Sriman NArAyanA, used this secret AshtAkshara mantram as the key to their success of God-Realisation (ie. realising NArAyanA).

AshtAkshara japam must be performed daily. AshtAkshara japam gives all benefits that one can derive from different mantrAs. More importantly, it facilitates the bondage between the person performing the japam and Sriman NArAyanA for SaranAgati (Prapatti).

This highly sacred mantra has pranavam(combination of A, U and M) in the beginning. Vedic Scriptures strictly restrict the usage of pranavam. Only men of the first three varnAs are allowed to recite it. This pranavam cannot be used according to ones whims and fancy. Whenever it is referred in general public, it has to be addressed as pranavam only. One doesn’t have the right to say this pranavam as a combination of A, U and M, in public (unless it is a part of the recitation of VedAs for a particular ceremony etc). But, the same effect of AshtAksharam can be obtained by others by reciting ‘um’instead of pranavam.

Everyone can infact chant ‘Namo NArAyanA’ aloud in public (without even undergoing Pancha SamskAram). Its a humble request to all the bhAgavathAs, that the chanting of ‘Namo NArAyanA’ be propagated allover the world. This is the real medicine for the suffering of all the living entities swirling in the whirlpool of SamsArA. Since this has no restriction, anyone can be made to chant this and the soul can be saved. Propagation of the Holy Names of NArAyanA (esp. “Namo NArAyanA”) is the best service for the whole society, irrespective of caste, creed, sex etc. The Holy Name will then make all the necessary arrangements for the spiritual upliftment of others.

Dvaya Mantram consists of two lines. It is eulogised as the ‘Mantra RatnA’ (Gem/Jewel amongst all the MantrAs). This helps one to perform SaranAgati unto Sriman NArAyanA. Once this mantrA is initiated by the AchAryA, it should be recited constantly within ourselves. It can be recited by the sishyA without bothering about time, place etc. Infact Dvayam should be dancing in the lips of all the SriVaishnavAs all the time. It is infact an instruction from BhagavAn Ramanuja that Dvayam should be chanted for maximum time possible.

Charama slokam is the famous ‘Sarva DharmAn. . . . . “sloka of Srimad Bhagavad GitA. It is a secret because of its invaluable hidden truth. Sriman NArAyanA during His Krishna AvatArA did the Gita UpadesA to all the people through ArjunA. Since Bhakti YogA was highly difficult even for ArjunA, KrishnA out of His Mercy asked him (all the people) to perform ‘Prapatti’, as a means of God-Realisation.

Bhakti YogA is the constant meditation (without any break; as constant as the flow of an unbroken stream of oil from the hole in the bottom of a vessel filled with oil) with unsurpassed love, on the essential nature (svarUpA), qualities (kalyAna gunAs) and form (divya mangala vigrahA) of Sriman nArAyanA, by the aid of any one of the 32 vidyAs prescribed in the Upanishads. Such constant meditation is obviously difficult for the kali – yugA people. That is why nArAyanA in His Krishna avatArA pointed out the presence of another means of attaining salvation (prapatti) in the Upanishads.

Bhakti is very much different from Bhakti YogA. A SriVaishnavA should certainly have Bhakti in the sense of reciting VedAs, Divya Prabandhams, Nama Sankeertanams, StotrAs etc. And all these things are to be carried out as a kainkaryam (service) to the Divya Dampati with the understanding that it is the ocean of dayA of Sriman NArAyanA that was responsible for him to be selected as an instrument in performing the kainkaryam ie. Sriman NArAyanA is the actual doer. These services should be done for Lords pleasure and the fruits of these services are to be submitted to nArAyanA. Also one should do the duties (like SandhyA Vandanam, Bhagavad ArAdhanam etc) according to his varnA and AshramA, in the same spirit of kainkaryam to the Divya Dampati (Divine Couple) as mentioned above.

Regular recital of these mantrAs are highly essential and a Sri VaishnavA should be immersed in these mantras and its meanings.

5. Yaj~na (YAgA) SamskAram:
In this SamskAram, the AchAryA teaches about Bhagavad ArAdhanA (Ijyai). ArAdhanA is the way of worshipping Sriman NArAyanA. There are basically two forms of ArAdhanA: bahyA (External) and mAnasIkA (Internal).

This samskAram is initiated by the AchAryA through Sanskrit verses whose translation in English is as follows:

“After Achamanam, wearing Urdhvapundram, prostrating to the Lord (Sriman NArAyanA), sit in a seat. After prAnAyAmam, perform japam with DhyAna slokAs (AshtAksharam, etc). Later, worship the Lord Sriman NArAyanA residing in ones heart (mAnasIka ArAdhanA). Then with water from the vessel placed left (of Sriman nArAyanA), sprinkle water on flowers and other materials for worship and also vessels for arghyam, pAdyam etc. From water in arghyA Vessel, sprinkle water on flowers etc (for worship) and also self”

“After welcoming the Lord, offer arghyam, pAdyam, Achamaniam, give ritualistic bath. Then offer cloth, Yagno Pavitha (sacred thread), Sandal paste, flower, incense, light, in order. After Achamanam, honey and Achamanam. Later offer food comprising of pudding, rice, vegetables, water, pan-betel etc. After Prostration, restoring status quo is the procedure of worship of Vishnu”

Thus, the sishyA gets the eligibility to perform Bhagavad ArAdhanam (Ijyai) to Sriman NArAyanA’s archA avatAram as ‘SALagrAmA’. Since the food we take should only be the remnants of food offered to Sriman NArAyanA, SALagrAma ArAdhanA is very important for a Sri VaishnavA. Lord Sri KrishnA in His GIta Upadesam, says that

“Good people eating the remains of yaj~nAs are released from all sins. Those sinners who cook food for their own sake eat only sin” (3. 13)

Food is the major source of input to the body. It drastically affects the proportions of sAtvikkA, rAjasA and tAmasA gunAs in the body. By eating the food which are devoid of sAtvikA nature, the person drifts away from spiritualism and his indulgence in materialistic affairs increases. Further, if the food is not offered to NArAyanA through Bhagavad ArAdhanA, the person incurs lot of sins. Therefore, One should perform the Bhagavad ArAdhana kainkaryam daily without fail.

By performing SALagrAma ArAdhanam, one gets cleansed from many impurities (seated in mind). The sacred water obtained after the ablution of SALagrAmA is highly potent. We have to remember that, the sacred water has had the direct contact with the thirumeni (divine body) of Sriman nArAyanA. Thus it makes one charged with sAtvika gunA and thus cultivates bhagavad bhakti very easily.

Of course there are many side – benifits like improvement in health, intelligence, memory, etc due to the intake of sacred water (‘PerumAL theertham’). All these benifits are for aiding the cultivation of bhakti and shouldn’t be seen in a materialistic perspective. The spiritual benifit obtained is enormous, and can only be felt by the devotee.

A true devotee of Sriman NArAyanA however does not worry about the so called scientific explainations for the side-benifits incurred during any devotional kainkaryA. These explainations are only for those who do not believe in NArAyanA and sAstrAs. For instance, Sri AnnamAchAryA (disciple of Sri Adivan Sadagopa Yateendra MahAdesikan) and Sri ThyAgarAjA have sung many songs because of their intense bhakti to the lotus feet of the most wonderful Lord Sriman NArAyanA. RAgA, tAlA etc are not planned. They pour out spontaneously out of their great devotion. But, to attract people, we can highlight the greatness of the rAgA, tAlA, way of composition etc. But, the important aspect is bhakti towards NArAyanA. If this is left out, then there is no point in discussing other things. Eventhough the rAgA, the composition structure etc are amazing, they must only aid one to create the mood of bhakti involved in that song. Similarly, we can talk about some petty, so called scientific explainations behind some devotional activities. But, the spiritual reason behind it and spiritual benifit one obtains is beyond the comprehension of our senses.

The archA form of NArAyanA is due to His Soulabhyam (easy accesibility to one and all) & Sowseelyam (Friendship shown by an exalted one towards a lowly person without expecting anything in return). His dayA (mercy) for all of us has no bounds. Garuda PurAnam says:

“SAlagrAma shilA yatra devo dwAravathIbhavaha
vubhyoho sangamo yatra tatra mukthirna samshayaha”

ie. Mukthi is assured without doubt in those places where SALagrAma silai and DwArakA silai coexist (ie. sALagrAma ArAdhanam leads a person to perform prapatti and makes him lead a life of true prapannan). The greatness of sALagrAmA is that Sriman NArAyanA has Himself chosen (svayam vyaktA) to incarnate in that form ie. it is not consecrated or installed by others. SAlagrAmA can thus be straightaway worshipped without any special consecration.

Eventhough the sALagrAma ArAdhanA is performed by the male members of the three varnAs, ladies too have important role in that kainkaryam. They can make nice arrangements in terms of preparing food, gathering & making fragrant flower garlands, etc. Thus they too derive the same benifits out of the ArAdhanam. The entire family should assemble together for the ‘SAtrumurai’, the concluding session of ArAdhanam. The important aspect in any kainkaryam is that it is purely for the pleasure of Sriman NArAyanA. SAstrAs also clearly specify the type of kainkaryam one has to perform, according to ones varnA & AshramA. So, one has to just take up the kainkaryam assigned to him/her & perform with devotion. This is the spirit behind the kainkaryam & thus one shouldn’t entertain questions like”Why can’t I do this?”, “Why should they only do that?” etc.

mAnasIkA ArAdhanA has to be performed by all. This is similar to the bahyA ArAdhanA, but the whole ArAdhanA is done mentally. Pictures of Sriman NArAyanA in various Divya Desams, plays an important role here. Irrespective of the caste, place, time or sex, one can perform this mAnasIka ArAdhanA.

Sri Sukabrahma maharishi in his nectarian Srimad BhAgavatham says about the way in which great devotees worship NArAyanA residing within their hearts (mAnasIka ArAdhanA):

“These devotees meditate on NArAyanA with His four handsholding the Conch, ChakrA, GadhA (club) and Lotus. They fix His figure firmly in their mind. Having fixed His figure firmly, they worship Him with the courtesies (as in Bahya ArAdhanA or pUjA) including serving of food, mentally. They conclude the worship with MangalAsAsanam (MangalArathi)”.

If one doesn’t remember about the upadesam of the AchAryA as regarding the Ijyai and unfortunately couldn’t meet the AchAryA, he can approach another Sri VaishnavA who is spiritually advanced and learn the practical way of doing the sALagrAma ArAdhanA.

This samskAram is very important in many angles. thApa samskAram makes the sishyA eligible to start performing various kainkaryams to Sriman NArAyanA. The pundra samskAram makes a person eligible to wear the dvAdasa Urdhvapundram, which is a must while performing kainkaryams like Bhagavad ArAdhanam. NAma samskAram makes the sishyA get the intimate relationship with Sriman NArAyanA & Bhagavad RAmAnujA, which is again important while performing kainkaryams. The mantrAs initiated during the mantra samskAram are used to please Sriman NArAyanA while performing kainkaryams like Bhagavad ArAdhanam. So, all the samskArams are ultimately aimed to make the sishyA perform the kainkaryams like Bhagavad ArAdhanam properly.

While doing Bhagavad ArAdhanam to Sriman NArAyanA, one is also reminded about the Lord in various Divya Desams, the nectarian anubhavA of AzhvArs, mercy of our AchAryAs etc. All types of spiritual emotions can be nicely poured out during the Bhagavad ArAdhanam, thereby bringing immense divine ecstacy. This makes one get rid of the sins that propel a person to engage in materialistic pleasures and makes him deeply attached to the Lotus Feet of the Supreme Lord Sriman NArAyanA.

Life after Samashrayanam:
SamAshrayanam marks a great turning point in the journey of jIvAtmA through the cycle of repeated birth and death. The Pancha SamskAram performed is invaluable. But, one has to keep up the samskAram by his regular devotional activities. The samskArams done loses its significance when one starts indulging in more materialistic activities, without caring about Sriman NArAyanA. The whole purpose is to make a person (jIvAtmA) get involved in the sanAtana dharmA (eternal dharmA). Surrender and love towards the Supreme Lord Sriman NArAyanA is the only purpose of human life. SamAshrayanam helps in a great way to make a person progress towards achieving this goal.

The disciple should be highly thankful to the AchAryA for his great compassion. He should take deep interest in the SampradAyam & gain the true knowledge from kAlakshepams (Discourses) either under the lotus feet of his achAryA or under other SriVaishnava achAryAs his achAryA directs him to do so. In the worst case, he should atleast learn from cassettes, books etc of our AchAryAs. He should learn the recitation & meanings of the most nectarian, unparalleled divine songs of the Tamil VedA(Divya Prabandham), which is embedded with soul stirring devotional pAsurams. He should carry out the duties (like SandhyAvandanam, Bhagavad ArAdhanam etc) without fail, according to the VarnA and AshramA. The taniyan of the AchAryA must neccessarily be recited daily atleast after adorning the dvAdasa Urdhvapundram.

He should perform various services to the AchAryA and Sriman NArAyanA daily. Then, jn~AnA (knowledge), vairAgyA (detatchment from materialistic things; sense control) and bhakti is automatically gained by the devotee due to blessings of the AchAryA. By performing prapatti, the devotee should lead a life of prapannA ever immersed in devotional kainkaryams (services). Eventhough he is in the midst of the society, he can earn through dharmA as a service to Sriman NArAyanA. The money so earned should be spent for various devotional services and not for materialistic pleasures. Swami Desikan says in his NyAsa vimsati that,

“The disciple too must fulfil certain requisite qualifications. He should have:

1. good sense,
2. friendly disposition towards sAdhus,
3. good character,
4. earnest desire to understand the tenets of the sampradAyA,
5. loving mind to render service to the AchAryA,
6. no self-esteem or self conceit,
7. abject obedience to the AchAryA, this being a supreme duty,
8. tendency to wait in readiness for the correct oppurtunity to get clarification of our doubts from AchAryA,
9. complete restraint over the external senses,
10. mental discipline,
11. keen interest to surrender to the AchAryA without any jealosy,
12. an implicit faith in what the SAstrAs say,
13. the ability to pass all the tests the AchAryA admininsters, and
14. supreme graditude to the AchAryA for the great help.

Only such a disciple is eligible to be inducted into the philosophical training. “Nyasa Vimsati(3).

In his glorious ‘pallAndu’ to Sriman NArAyanA, PeriAzhvAr (Sri Vishnu chittar) glorifies samAshrayanam and instructs us the way one should lead the life after samAshrayanam: “Bearing (on our upper-arms) the imprint of Holy ChakrA, caused by the special consecrated instrument with the red – hot wheel-emblem which is blazing more fiercely than fire, we have been at the service of Lord Sriman NArAyanA, generation after generation”.

Kindly follow the instructions of our dearmost AzhvArs and AchAryAs and lead a life of a true Sri VaishnavA by their divine blessings.

AzhwAr, EmperumAnAr, Desikan thiruvadigaLE saranam
Sri Adhi vaNN shatakOpa yateendra mahAdesikAya namaha
Srimad Azhagiyasingar thiruvadigaLe saranam namo nArAyaNA
adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan anantha PadmanAbha dAsan
sarvam sri KrishnArpanamastu

1. Sri Vaishnavism – VishistAdvaita Research Center.
2. Pancha SamskAram (SamAshrayanam) I & II, Translation by Sri K. R. NArAyanan of the original in Tamil by Sri U. Ve. Purisai NadAthoor KrishnamAchAryA swAmy; Part I: Nrusimha PriyA Magazine (Samputam 55, Sanchikai 7), and Part II: Nrusimha PriyA Magazine (Samputam 55, Sanchikai 8).
3. AchArya SamAshrayanam (Resorting the preceptor) – Dr. S. PadmanAbhan, Nrusimha PriyA Magazine (Samputam 54, Sanchikai 7); Etazh 2.

Credtis
Actual credit goes to the AchAryAs who wrote these referred articles/book. Adiyen has simply assembled the various points presented by them with some elaboration.

If someone senses any mistake in the article, it is due to adiyens connection with prakruti. So, kindly pardon adiyen for the same. But, please do point out the mistake without fail.

For advanced learning, one should learn “Sath Charitra rakshai” of SwAmi VedAnta Desikan. No subject is left untouched by our Desikan. Hope that this article kindles further interest to learn the works of our AchAryAs & more importantly to undergo SamAshrayanam (for those who haven’t had so).

Thanks to Sri VakhuLAbharanan (Anand Rangarajan) for encouraging adiyen to write on this topic. Adiyens heartfelt gratitude to Sri Sadagopan and Sri JagannAth for their valuable suggestions.

SRI:
SRIMATHE RAMANUJAYA NAMAH:
SRIMATHE NIGAMANTHA MAHADESIKAYA NAMAH:
SRIMATHE GOPALA DESIKA MAHA DESIKAYA NAMAH:
SRIMATHE RANGANAYIKA SAMETHA SRI RANGANATHA PARABHRAHMANE NAMAH:

Dearest Sisters and Brothers,

Ennuyir thandhu aLitthavaraich charNampukki
yaanadaivE avargurukkaL niRai vaNanghi
PinnaruLaal perumpudhUr vandha vaLLal
periya nambi Alavandhaar maNakkal nambi
NanneRiyai avarkku uRaittha uyyakkoNdaar
nathamuni sadagOpan sEnai nAthan
Innamudhath ThirumagaLenRu ivarai munnittu
Emperumaan ThiruvadigaLai adaiginREnE!

It is my humble attempt to jot down all that I have heard and read about Sri VaishNavam. Though it is nothing new for our Bhakthi Group, it is still my sincere intent to reach the beginners and novices like me who are just in Kinder gardens of Sri VaishNavam; I have also tried to cover here at various places from His Holiness Srimad Poundareekapuram ParavaakOttai Andavan Sri Gopala Desika MahA Desika Swami’s upadEsam also (when I was blessed with the performance of saraNAgathi at Swami’s Feet.). Of course, it is all my free translation; It is most likely to have lot of errors; Please forgive me; It is all mine; any positive and good points in them- the credit goes to all AchAryALs and our rich traditions/scriptures. (It is requested that we should stick and abide by what our scriptures and AchAryALs say to the greatest possible extent).

Introduction

There are lots and lots of lives on this earth. Human beings, Animals, birds, insects, trees, plants, creepers, etc., etc., – there are so many varieties of lives living in this world. Every day- every minute, there are so many births of such lives and so are deaths.

After taking so many lives (they say about 8,400,000 lives), we have come to this human life. Avvayaar, The Tamil poet, says : “aridhu aridhu maanidaraayp piRatthal aridhu”- It is extremely rare and precious to be born of human being. It is quite true that it is our fortune to be born a human being with the capacity of sixth sense. Let us make use of it for our upliftment further. What is good and bad- what to do and what not to do- only human beings are blessed with such discriminating capabilities- We have been given that capacity by Emperumaan. Shall we not make full use of it?

Bhagyam:

Even out of human beings, it is our pUrva janma puNyam and that of our ancestors for our being SrivaishNavAs. There are so many religions in the world; Even in Hindu religion, there are many sects; and there are hindus who worship many dEvatAs as their Gods.

For us SrivaishNavAs, Sriman NarayaNan along with His consort Sri MahAlakshmi alone is the God (Deivam). He is the Primordial Chief. He is the Chief of all dEvAs, including Sivan and BrahmA. Vedas proclaim that Sriman NarayaNan is the ParamAthmA, PeramporuL and ParanjOthi. VedAs also say that except Him all including dEvas, Sivan, BrahmA and Indran are all jIvans. Being born a SrivaishNavA and/or a bhakthA of Sriman NarayaNA, we need not worship other devatAs. We are related to the Great King Himself; why to go and beg the army chief, minister or the Gate keeper? No doubt, all dEvAs are also His great bhaktAs sometime or the other; but they are NOT God. Sriman Narayanan is the God.

VedAs and SaastrAs say that even to think of Sivan and BrahmA and other dEvas as equal to God is a great sin (mahApaapam). For that matter, Sivan and BrahmA themselves are great bhaktAs of Sriman NarayaNA. I am sure They themselves DO NOT RELISH being considered anywhere near the Adhimoolam- The Primordial Chief. When GajEndrA shouted for help “AdhimoolamE!” it is NOT any name of God-please note! It is just calling the Primordial Chief, the first one- the Parathvam! Nobody dared come claiming for “Adhimoolam” post, it is our Sweet Lord Sriya: Pathih Sriman Naraynan who appeared IMMDEIATELY on GarudA and saved the elephant. You may tell that it is only the name and rose by any name will smell as sweet. But it is vEdAs (which are eternal and apaurushEyam) that proclaim that Sriman Naraynana is the Supreme Godhead. It is not just a name. It is kaaraNa peyar; name with a meaning in it; naaram + ayaNam is Narayanan. Hence, we should worship only Sriman Narayanan. Even uttering His name alone will yield tremendous benefits both in this world and in the next. (as also vouched by the Great Adhi SankarAchArya sang the Bhaja Govindham song wherein he advises us to think of KrishNA and the Parama BhakthA of Sriman NarayaNA, Sivan, when he himself tells Parvathi to utter Rama naamam, which is equal to the Thousand names of VishNu. – Do we need any other proof?)

For us, only vEdAs are the moola pramaaNam. (The proof). VedAs were not created by anybody. They are apaurushEyam. Vedas proclaim the Glories of Emperumaan Sriman NarayaNan.
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AZHWARS:

AzhwArs, 12 AzhwArs appeared in South India and composed Tamil pAsurams (about 4000) that are considered EQUAL to vEdAs. The Naalaayira Divya Prabhandham were composed for us to learn and understand the vEdAs in Tamil. As mentioned by Swami Vedanta Desikan “theLiyaadha maRainilangaL theLiginROmE!”. By reading these 4000 pAsurams, our concepts get clarified and we get to understand the incomprehensible vEdAs clearly. They are hence, called Tamil vEdam.

AzhwArs were 12. Since they always were immersed (aazhndhu) in kalyANa guNAs (the Most Auspicious attributes) of Emperumaan Sriman NarayaNan, they are called AzhwArs. They were PoigaiAzhwAr, BhUthathAzhwAr, PEyAzhwAr, ThirumazhisaiAzhwAr, NammAzhwAr, PeriyAzhwAr, MadhurakaviAzhwAr, ThondaradippodiAzhwAr, KulasEkharAzhwAr, ThiruppANAzhwAr, AndAL, & ThirumangaiAzhwAr.

NammAzhwAr is considered the Most important and the Greatest AzhwAr; for his prabhandham (of Thiruvaaimozhi of 1000 pAsurams) which glorifies the prapatti (the surrender concept). He took refuge at the Lord’s feet and performed prapatti. Hence, for all of us, VaishNavAs, NammAzhwAr is the Chief, since he leads us by example for performing prapatti at the Lord’s Lotus Feet. He is Moola purushar. He is also addressed as the Prapanna santhaana koodasthar. His Thiruvaaimozhi’s commentary is called Bhagavadh Vishayam. It is a Grantham that one has to do kAlakshEpam under the feet of his AchAryA.

Guru paramparA:

Sriman Narayanan is the first AchArya for all of us. He is the Adhi Guru. Next comes Periya Piratti MahAlakshmi. VishvaksEnar (Senai Mudhali)( -no connection with Mudhaliar caste of present times) is the next AchAryan. He is the Chief of the Lord’s army (sEnai). Next is NammAzhwAr. VishvaksEnar, it appears had come down to the earth to teach NammAzhwAr. Nathamuni is His sishyA. UyyakkoNdaar, MaNakkaal Nambi, Yamuna Muni (Alavandhaar), Periyanambi come in that lineage. Periya Nambi’s sishyar is Our Most reverred YathirAjar, Sri RamanujAchAryA (lakshmaNa Muni). He is the Most important AchArya of VaishNava Siddhantham. He is also called Bhagavadh RamanujA. Rest is all that you are aware of and we can trace down to our present AchAryA. (ask your parent, if you are not sure who your present AchAryA is.)

The True SiddhAntham

Our VaishNava SiddhAntham is the Most truthful SiddhAntham for its right interpretation of VedAs and the srutis. In previous yugAs, Paraasarar, VyAsar, BhOdhAyanar have all propagated and campaigned for this VaishNava SiddhAntham. Paraasarar (Vasishtar’s Grandson) established this tradition of Visishtaadvaitam firmly in his VishNu PuraaNam. His son, VyAsar wrote Vedantha sUthram, wherein he ascertained the supremacy of Sriman Narayna in his sUtram, and raised his hands above his head three times and proclaimed that Sriman Narayna is the Parathvam. (sathyam sathyam punas sathyam ….vedAs saastrA param naasthi..na deivam kEsavaath param). This sUtram was detailed and commented to a great extent by BhOdhAyanar in his Brahma sUthram. After BrahmasUthram, Brahmanandhi (dunkar, Dhramidar, GuhadEvar) had also written purports for Brahma sUthram but are lost somewhere and are not available for us unfortunately. (Brahma sUthram was later unearthed and studied by Sri RamanujA and understood for his establishing the VishishtAdvaitaic traditions.) Sri Ramanujar established and re-organised the Sri VaishNava SiddhAntham and explained the conflicts and wrong interpretations in other SiddhAnthams and in other religions. He appointed 74 disciples to propagate the VishishtAdavtic SiddhAntham all over India. Sri Pillai Lokacharya and Sri Vedantha Desikar who were contemporaries, the descendants of Sri RamanujA, due to differences in schools of thought and interpretations, gave rise to Thenkalai and Vadagalai Sampradayams respectively. It is more appropriate to call as Sri Ramanuja SiddhAntham. Our reverence to all achAryAs, the giants of Sri Vaishnavam including Sri RamanujAchArya down to Sri Vedanta Desikan, ManavaaLa MamunigaL upto our present (respective) AchAryas is all the same and profound.

Tatva trayam

TatvAs are said to be of three forms; chEtanA, achEtanA and Iswaran.

chEtanA – It is also called as atmA, jIvAtmA, chit. This jIvAtmA is in every body of very being. It is only inside the body, but is dofferent from the body, mind and the intellect. It is smaller than the smallest that one can imagine and is smaller than the atomic particle. In every being, be it human, animal, plant, tree, bird, insect, ant, amoeba (unicellular organism), or whatever- be it any being, the jIvAtmA is in its body. It stays in it. Hence, it is NOT possible to count jIvAtmAs in the world or the universe. But, whatever may be the size of the body of the being, the jIvAtmA is of the same smallest atomic size. Even though the bodies of beings (like elephant, ant, human, tree, etc.,) differ, there is NO DIFFERENCE between the jIvAtmAs; But they are mutually exclusively (independent of each other) jIvAtmAs. They are all alike in its size, nature. They are all eternal- no end for jIvAtmAs; they exist since time immemorial; When the body perishes (or dies), the jIvAtmA does NOT end; If “it” had surrendered to Emperumaan, it goes to Srivaikuntam and gets the eternal salvation (mOksham). Else, “it” enters into some other body (in next birth) – it can be any “body”- need not be a human form- it can be a pig, a street dog, a dEvA, an ant, a tree, or a mosquito, a cockroach. It can be ANY BODY- depending on what all karmA you (as a jIvAtmA in your previous births) did and puNyAs or paapAs it had accumulated;

Sri KrishNa tells this to arjunA that no good action goes waste; whatever attempt you make to reach Me- however failure the attempts are- depending on efforts of your attempts-the quality and severity of them- you (jIvAtmA) will be made to enter in a conducive environment (or body) that will facilitate you (jIvAtmA) to continue from where you (jIvAtmA) had left in the last birth without your knowledge at all; (Now do you understand why we are being dragged into these discussions in Bhakti Group and talk about Sriman NarayaNA- it is all due to His grace/mercy/dayA on us (jIvAtmAs) for our getting benefited and uplifting ourselves.)

mOksham is SriVaikuntam. When we live in this world, in this human form- let us grab this opportunity to surrender to Emperumaan and prostrate at His Lotus Feet for His Grace on us; Let us approach our AchAryA and at His Feet, surrender to him and to the Feet of Sriman NarayaNA. That will ensure and ascertain our definite salvation and mOksham at the end of this life so that there at SriVaikuntam, we can eternally enjoy the Absloute Bliss of Sriman NarayNA, the Sriya: Pathi: and perform kaimaryam (render service) eternally to Divya Dampati forever and ever continuously. (Have NO DOUBTS ABOUT IT; It has been told and promised by SRI RAMA Himself; He is the Satya Vratan.-Parama kAruNyan- He was ready to forgive even rAvaNA, if he surrenders. Have we committed more paapam than rAvaNA? He will forgive us too- all that He wants is (y)our SURRENDER at His Lotus Feet)

This jIvAtmA, by its very nature has been blessed with limitless knowledge (jnAnam) and is of aanandha swarUpam”. It is jIvAtmA’s nature to be of Emperumaan’s servant and render eternal kaimkaryam to the Lord. But, when jIvAtmA is in physical bodies, it gets attached to matter and forgets its Divine nature and belongingness to the Lord. Due to karmAs and actions, paapams and puNyams, due to vibharItha jnAnam that the body is permanent, all bliss and unbounded jnAnam are blocked and forgotten by jIvAtmA. i.e jIvAtmA enjoys the Divine Bliss and gets jnAnam only to certain extent (limited extent); After mOksham, it gets back to its original position. There is nothing new it gets; it gets back to where it belongs. It gets its natural paripoorNa aanandham, paripoorNa jnAnam.

These jIvAtmAs are of three types:

1. Bhatthar- they are trapped in samsaaric ills and are in viscious cycle of births and deaths, experiencing sorrows and pleasures alternately. They are bound by karmAs.

2. Mukthar: In this life, the human being, who gets to his AchAryA and with his grace and kataaksham, surrenders to the Lotus Feet of Sriya: Pathih and reaches SriVaikuntam after the life, and attains mOksham- he gets into Mukthar category. Mukthar renders eternal service to Sriya: Pathih. Mukthar is also (I was told) given liberty to stay with sUkshuma sarIram or with sthUla sarIram at SriVaikuntam.

3. Nityar- There is no bondage of karmAs for them and they always render service to Sriman Narayanan. GarudA, VishvaksEnar, AdhsEshan are all Nityar categories.

AchEtanA- There is no intelligence for achEtanA. Hence, it does not enjoy. It is always to be enjoyed by others. ChEtanAs enjoy the achEtanAs. AchEtanAs are classified into prakriti, kaalam and suddhasatvam.

Prakriti- This is also addressed as Moola Prakriti, ThriguNam, Avyaktham, or Pradhaanam etc.. This has three guNAs, i.e satva, rajas and thamas. This prakriti always undergoes changes. When the three guNAs become EQUAL in quantum, there comes the Cosmic Cycle end- i.e PraLayam. When they differ in quantum, there comes “mahat” tatvam out of Prakriti. Out of mahat comes Ahankaaram.

Kaalam- This expands and spans everywhere. This is constituted by Past Present and Future. But this does Not have satva, rajas, tamas. This is divided into various measures of time.

Suddha satvam- This has got ONLy satva guNam. SriVaikuntam is FULL OF THIS SUDDHA SATVAM. In thsi world, all archAvbathAra ThirumEni of Emperumaan in the temples are also of Suddha Satvam.

Iswaran: As described earlier, VedAs proclaim that Sriman NarayNan is the SarvEshwaran; Sarva Vallabhan, Sarvayagnan, Parathvam. He, by His unbounded, limitless, jnAnam, swarUpam, occupies everywhere in AnandhaswarUpam. He is the One who creates everything. He is the One who destroys everything; He is the Same one who protects everything; BrahmA only has been assigned by Sriman NarayaNA to do the creation work. So is Sivan for destruction. They are all at His command. Sriman Narayanan is the essence of everything and everyone at all times; Those who worship any other demigod or devathA or deities, get all their benefits through their devatAs from Sriman NarayaNan only (It is His own statement in GITA-Let us have NO DOUBTS ABOUT it).

Under all situations and in all avataars, He is always accompanied by Sri MahAlakshmi -Periya Piraatti. She stays in His chest. She is NiyAnapaayinee. She is also of same nature and powerful as Sriman NarayaNan and is also unbounded and limitless. (Being a mother, She is more merciful at us, the paapAtmAs and forgives us immediately and recommends us to Him for redemption). Except for Piraati and Sriman NarayaNan all others are jIvAtmAs. BrahmA and Sivan are also described as positions or posts/designations like IndrA, which the Greatest puNya jIvAtmAs occupy and get these glorified posts to render service to Sriya: pathih.(I have even heard that the next BrahmA is going to be AnjanEyA.)

ISwaran’s Divine body (ThirumEni) is of five types., viz., Param, VyUham, Vibhavam, Antharyaami and Arcchai.

1. Param: The Lord who is at Sri Vaikuntam.

2. VyUham: The Four Moorthys addressed as VasudEvan, SankarshaNan, Pradhyumanan and Aniruddhan. (Explanation of these mUrthys is beyond the scope of this article.)

3. Vibhavam- Raman, KrishNan- such avataars – there are many avataars taken by the Lord; Out of them, the important ten are the DasAvathAram;- other are like., Hayagreevan, PadmanAbhan, Hamsam, et al.

4. Antharyaami- the sUkshma status of the Lord Who exists inside the cave of every being’s heart. (Hrudaya kamalam).

5. Arcchai: In all Divya dEsams and in other temples- The Lord- Sriya: Pathih is the ArchAvataara ThirumEni.

SarIra – Athma bhAvam:

This is the most important concept in Sri Ramanuja Siddhaantham or SriVaishNava Siddhaantham i.e sarIra Athma bhAvam. That means: The chEtanan and the achEtanan (as described in earlier paragraphs) – these two tatvams – (that implies all beings and non-beings;) are all the sarIram (body) for Emperumaan and Emperumaan is the AthmA for these chEtan-AchEtanAs.

This concept has been described clearly by Vedas in great amount of details, with examples. This can even be called the life line of our Siddhaantham. So, let us have a closer look.

What do we call sarIram (body matter, mind and intellect- all Gross, Fine and Finer matter)? And AthmA?

1. AthmA is the support for sarIram – without AthmA, there is no sarIram- AthmA only holds the sarIram. As long as AthmA stays inside the sarIram, there is life.

2. AthmA only employs and directs the sarIram (body, mind and intellect). SarIram is being directed by the AthmA.

3.For the benefit and enjoyment of AthmA only, the sarIram (body, mind and the intellect) acts and does all; sarIram is a lifeless matter(achEtanam) and hence, there is no benefit or enjoyment exclusively for that. There is no bodily pleasure when there is no life; one can not satisfy his intellect by reading a book when he is dead; one can not see a scene and think about some joke and laugh, if there is no life; the sarIram is still there; but no athmA; He has gone; the same shoulders of the husband whom you hugged, are still there with the sarIram; you do not even want to go nearer- it stinks; because there is no AthmA anymore. SarIram is only achEtanam. The AthmA is the master for which the sarIram works for AthmA’s enjoyment. By nature, there is NO ENJOYMENT for sarIram. Through sarIram, AthmA enjoys. (Clear? That is sarIram is the sEshan- servant – adimai- property for AthmA).

So, these three are the normal sarIra-AthmA relationship. Now, if it is clear, let us take a further step. (If it still not clear, read the above three points again and again, until it gets drilled into the head.)

As per our Siddhaantha, Emperumaan is the AthmA and holds all chEtanAs (the jIvAtmAs) and all achEtanAs in His ThirumEni . i.e. our AthmA as well as our sarIram are His Body. (interesting!).

Please Pay Attention! Thus, We, the sarIra of Emperumaan-our body, mind, intellect as well as our jIvAthmA are His servant, His body, His property- His sEshan (as was seen in point no.3 above) and are MEANT ONLY FOR HIS ENJOYMENT. We have to render service to the Master only and THERE IS NOTHING UNNATURAL ABOUT IT. THAT IS THE ONLY NATURAL THING. If we (our mind, body, and intellect as well as jIvAthmAs ) DO NOT carry out any activities for His enjoyment, THAT IS SOMETHING UNNATURAL AND UNORTHODOX. That is SOMETHING THAT WE ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO DO OR BE. )

Now, next step: If the sarIram of Emperumaan is jIvAtmAs and achEhatnAs, then logically the sarIram does not have any enjoyment. But DUE TO THE LIMITLESS, GRACE AND MERCY / DAYA of Emperumaan- our master, our sEshI, our AthmA, the Param AthmA the jIvAthmAs, i.e we are given free will, intellect, the sixth sense to experience enjoyment. IS IT NOT APPROPRIATE to utilise to the Greatest extent end enjoy the Absolute Bliss by rendering service to our AthmA (for which we are the body) and make Him enjoy and be pleased! Anything that jIvAthmA (by itself or thru’ its body, mind and intellect – either here in this life or at SriVaikuntam ) does to please the Emperumaan, the master is thus, NATURAL. Anything else, IS NOT NATURAL and against the Law. Hence, this is called VishishtAdvaitam.

Hitham:

The upaayam-the means to attain mOksham is called Hitham. Such ways for attining mOksham are Bhakti yOgam and Prapatti (Surrender). (Bhakti Group members have discussed at length about Bhakti and Prapatti). Just a single statement to further supplement. If we pour a viscous oil, how uninterruptedly, without any gap, or porosity, the oil flows down the floor- like that the jIvAthmA has to keep thinking and meditating continuously on Sriman NarayNA from this moment upto the last consciousness ,without any gap, or interruption with the highest level of bhakti- that is Bhakti yOgham. We very well know it is next to impossible due to our “monkey-like” vacillating mind, Bhakti yOgham is extremely difficult to achieve. (Please note that we are talking about Bhakti yOgham; and not bhakti). There are so many NiyamAs for Bhakti Yogham. Since we are not capable of performing Bhakti yOgam, we are blessed with Prapatti (an act of surrender)which can facilitate us to attain mOksham. All that we have to do is to surrender unto Him and His Lotus Feet completely (as assured by Sri KrishNA in gItA). But, please again note- for Prapatti yOgham, too, what we need is MAHA VISWASAM. MAHAA- note Big, Terrific- Great, Tremendous-Complete- Enormous or whatever- We should have so much faith in Him. HE WILL SAVE US; HE WILL SAVE. HE WILL OF COURSE SAVE US; (That MahA Viswasam is not all that easy, dear ones!) . Prapatti, therefore also warrants our Great Faith in Him at all times under all situations; We should Never have any doubt about Him; His Parathvam; His Supremacy; His Capacity; Do all that pleases Him; Don’t do anything that DOES NOT PLEASE HIM.

Prapatti is also addressed as bharaNyAsam, bharasamarppaNam, saraNAgathi, and athrushtam. One should approach his AchAryA and get to know about Bhagavadh VishyaNgaL. After, one should perform aurrender (Prapatti) at the Feetof AchAryA and surrender to the Lord. Through the AchAryA, we should perform Prapatti. Then we need not worry about the mOksham; we should only repose total, complete faith in Him. (This function of performing BharNyAsam is not followed by Thenkalai Sampradaayam). Just simply prostrating once at His Feet is enough; He, the Merciful one will save us: It is also correct – They do perform surrendering at the Lord’s Lotus Feet; not as a function; it is only just a matter of opinion; Let us not go further into it; Because, any way at SriVaikuntam, all of us are going to be together rendering the same Beautiful eternal service at the Lotus Feet of Divya Dampati; (along with Parama bhAgawathAs like Sivan, BrahmA, AzhwArs, with our Great AchAryAs Sri RamanujA, Sri Vedanta Desika, Sri Pillai LokAchAryA, Sri ManavaaLa MaamunigaL, et al, together with all of them- Don’t we feel EXCITED about it? How nice and Blissful it will be! Why to talk trivial issues!

Pancha Samskaaram

As mentioned earlier, Sri VaishNavan, who wants to go on the right track, shall approach the AchAryA. AchAryA teaches him the sampradaaya vishayangaL. Then the SrivaishNavan shall carry out the Panch samskaaram (samAshrayaNam- Please read Sri Anand’s excellent posts on samAshrayaNam – They are really lucid and descriptive). AchAryan applies the marks of sanghu and the chakrA on the Sri VaishNavan’s shoulders, as a part of samAshrayaNam.(Please note that these Panch samskaarams ARE ALSO applicable to SriVaishNava ladies.

Every VaishNavan shall CERTAINLY carry out this Pancha Samskaaram. (Five Samskaarams).

1. Carrying the marks of Sanghu and ChakrA on his shoulders (as applied by his achAryA)

2. Applying 12 ThirumaN SrichoorNam on his body (please apply ThirumaN SrichoorNam at least one on his forehead daily- or even that is difficlut due to various reasons, at least on Saturdays and Sundays and holidays- But apply and cultivate that habit for your son – very essential- be an example- I have seen in Saudi Arabia, even the Chief Executive Director of a Petrochemical Complex a Saudi, who has graduated from the US, does not change from his traditional attire; nor does he forget the five times prayers during the day- no airs about that; why shall we be afraid of- embarrassed about- the guys who see us with ThirumaN srichoorNam are going to be seeing us for a fraction of a time in our entire life cycle- why do we give a damn to them- We belong to Emperumaan’s party and let us have His chinnam on our forehead.- we are ready to wear the dress code as specified and as called for the occasion but why don’t we wear the dress code as warranted by the sampradaayam- the Kaccham, the Oordhva puNdram- ThirumaNsrichoorNam- Please!)

3. Having the dAsya naamam, (as named by AchAryA- like NarAyaNa dAsan- PadmanAbha dAsan, etc.,)

4. getting upadEsam from AchAryA on the ManthrAs. (ahtAksharam, dwayam, charama slOkam)

5.UpadEsam for performing daily Thiru ArAdhAnam for Emperumaan with the three manthrAs as described earlier (even maanasIka ArAdhanA can be performed if one is not fortunate to get a saalagraamam or due to any other reasons).

MaansIka ArAdhanA:

Even during maanaseeka ArAdhaNA, one can do it in a couple of minutes or take an hour or so; right from waking the Dearest Emperumaan and Piraati from the Red Lotus considered to be bloomed to its full grown petals from an inverted heart of yours;

consider yourself seated at the corner at the feet of Divya dampati and one can visualise to his fullest satisfaction performing Thirumanjanam, most fragrant sambhiraNi smoke, agrbatthis, adorning Them with the most valuable vEshti and utthriyam with lots and lots of jarigai for Emperumaan and Great, Gorgeous looking Most colourful pattu pudavai (silk sari) with rettai pEttu jarigai and jarigai puttAh in the most beautiful bright, marvellous colour- adorning Them with the worlds costliest jewels, randging from diamond, MANickkam, Gold, Coral, Emerald, countless numbers of necklaces, rings, maalais, saharanaama malai, Most Fracgrant, Big, ThuLasi maalais, Diamond kireetams (crowns) etc., etc., – Just think of them; after all only imagining- Let us give Them the best that we can imagine; we can imagine and visualise Their smile while wearing all that we offer;

one can continue with the japam of those sacred manthrAs while decorating Divya Damati; one can visualise also his spouse taking part (we need not even ask them; that is also our imagination) in the alankaara kaimkaryam for the Piraati while the male member can decorate the Emperumaan with great love. One can imagine any avathaar or any ishta deivam Sri Sita Ram or Sri RukmiNi KrishNan or Sri RanganAyakI samEtha Sri RanganAthA or Sri BhUmi Piraatti samEtha Oppliliappan or Sri Lakshmi Narasimhan- any deity of Lord Sriman Narayana or any avathaar.;

while the alankaaram is about to be over, quickly one can (imagine) ask his spouse to bring from the kitchen, with a pure clothing and great love and bhakti, the Prasaadham to be offered to The Divya Dampati- This also- one may bring in variety of dishes and amudhu for our Dearest Lord- AkkAra adisil, navaneetham (butter), PuLiyOdharai, sakkarai Pongal, VeNpongal, kadalai paruppu suNdal (favourite for Sri Lakshmi Hayagreeva PerumAL), vadaparuppu, pAnakam (for Sri Rama Navami)- any or combination of them in big vessels so that we can offer Them sumptuously and also offer to other bhakthA and NityasUris present in Your Heart of Sri vaikuntam;

We have enough to offer to all 33 crores of dEvAs even; while They are all enjoying the prasaadhams, one may prostrate to Their Lotus Feet as many times as one can (not imagination- really!) and ask for Their pardon for all our apachaarams done knowingly and unknowingly.

one can make Them sit on a Oonjal also decorated so nicely with flowers and ThuLasi and gently swing it so that They look at each other and smile at our acting so much funny like the small kid tries to comb the mothers hair for fun; While They are having fun at the Oonjal, one may prostrate (without of course getting hit by the oonjal), at Their Lotus Feet; They may feel sleepy and like to relax – one may request Them to walk upto the amsa dhULikA manjam nearby (also in your heart), and ask Them to lie down- one should also request the Periya Piraatti to lie down next to the Lord and assure Her that we (you and your spouse) will gently press Their legs and calf muscles and perform kaimkaryam to Them.

we can continue the entire day activities with The Divya Damati and make this list bigger and bigger; It is all our anubhavam- We can do this only when there is less diturbance at home ; that is why we should try to get up before others get up especially the little ones at home – If you have no time, you can quicken the process and complete the entire activity in less than five minutes – He knows all our problems and understands too!)
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ManthrAs:

1. AshtAksharam: With complete purity, (with no theetu), this shall be carried out daily, (even in the evening also, if one can take bath and recite this japam with a pure heart and mind/body, it is still o.k.)

2. Dwayam: one can recite this any number of times, anywhere wherever possible;

3. saramaslOkam- sarva dharmaan…maa su cha:- this gItA slokam (18 th chapter) is called sarama slOkam which stipualtes and gives leverage to us for performing prapatti (saranAgathy).

The Meanings of these three ManthrAs: ( only the meanings are going to be detailed; not the manthrAs)

1. AshtAksharam: Sriman NarAyaNan has got the limitless, unbounded, most auspicious (kalYANa guNAs). He is always with Periya Pairaatti Sri MahAlakshmi. He protects all. He is the essence of everything. He is the AthmA of chEthanAs and achEthnAs. For chEthanAs, He himself is the upaayam (means) and upEyam (end). He Himself is the Fruit for chEthanAs. JIvAthmA is the atom. He s also a jnAnaswarUpi. He is always the servant, by his nature, of Sriya: Pathi Sriman NarayaNan and Sri MahAlakshmi. Such a jIvAthmA, the servant, I(adiyEn), will always render service to PerumAL and Pratti for ever and ever.

2. Dwayam: I am surrendering at the Feet of Sriman NarayaNan, who is always with Periya Piraatti, Sri MahAlakshmi. This jIvAthmA is not mine; It is Sriman NarayaNans property. Its benefits that the jIvAthmA reaps also belong to Him. Always, I will keep rendering service to Emperumaan Sriman NarayaNan. For rendering that kaimkaryam- whatever bad thoughts, ill desires, hurdles or anything that precludes me to perform such kaimkaryam for Emperumaan will also get alleviated and destroyed by His grace.

3. Sarama slOkam: Lord KrishNA Himself says to ArjunA in Bhagavadh gItA : Due to your inability to follow other yOgAs for attaining mOksham, you have abandoned the other means to attain mOksham and considered only prapatti (surrendering to me). Do not worry. Surrender unto Me once with complete faith. I will gladly bless you and destroy all your sins and karmAs; Even if you try to remove these karmAs and sins accumulated over the ages, you just can not succeed in removing them completely. I will save you from all that. JUST SURRENDER UNTO ME ALONE COMPLETELY. I will grant you mOksham and Parama bhAghyam of rendering eternal service to Me at Srivaikuntam along with eternal absolute enjoyment. Do Not lament at all for any thing hereafter.

(Note that God’s assurances to humanity, particularly that given to His ardent devotees, which are interspersed in sacred literature, will never go in vain. Many are His declarations but one among them brings cheer and hope to those who may at times get demoralised on account of continuous suffering.

“Listen to My oath. The heavens may fall from their height. The snowy peaks of the Himalayas may slip and come down. The seas may dry up. The earth may shiver into a million pieces. But the statements of Krishna will never be empty words.” This promise was extended directly by Lord Krishna to a devotee who pinned all her hopes on Him, having been made to go through agonising and unimaginable experiences.

The Lord is ready to extend His grace to all devotees but in the case of a few who are extremely dear to Him, He makes them go through extreme trials, tests their tenacity and removes all their sins and takes them to His abode.)

The exact explanations and commentaries (as well as the upadEsams of these manthrAs) will have to be learnt at the Feet of AchAryA by doing kaalakshEpam. Everyday, one should recite these three manthrAs (as far as possible).

Recap: AshtAksharam: only after a bath-with pure body/mind and clothing. Dwayam: anywhere, anytime, any place- this can be recited. Always think and recite the sarama slOkam in order to remind ourselves the truthful, correct statement of the Lord. Always think of these meanings while reciting in order to enable you to more mind onto reciting them. (Even if you dont know the meaning, Lord will still be pleased!).

GranthAs:

After Pancha samskaaram, SrivaishNavan is to do kaalakshEpam at the sannidhi of AchAryA at least one of the following granthAs:

1. Sri BhAshyam – Sri RamanujA?s vyAkhyaanam (purport) of bhramha sUthram of BhOdhaayanar (refer to first post).

2. Bhagavadh gItA BhAshyam of Sri RamanujA

3. Thiruvaaimozhi vyAkhyaanam of Thirukkurugaippiraan PiLLaan (Sri RamanujA?s sishya)

4. Sri Vedanta Desikar’s Srimadh Rahsyatraya saaram (RTS)(thraya- means three- these rahasya manthrAs have been explained in these RTS. Just learning this will enable us to know about our traditions.
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AchArya Mahimai (Greatness of AchAryA)

The AchArya who showed such a Grand route for us to attain mOksham and the eternal Bliss is to be greatly revered and respected. He is to be considered by us equal to the Lord or rather more than the Lord. We should always pay respects to him and always think of him (at least while praying to The Lord in the morning). If we are able to donate for his duties as AchAryA or render any sort of kaimkaryam to AchAryA, we SHOULD NEVER THINK THAT we are doing some help for him; or we have done our duty paying back for what he has done to us. What he has done to us can never be repaid. (even if we give the three worlds to him, it will not equal an iota of grace and mercy he has showered on us by his upadEsam and kataaksham- Maathru dEvO bhavA! Pithru dEvO bhavA! AchArya dEvO bhavA! Athithi dEvO bhavA! – Even our own parents are considered equal to AchAryA and God as well. Hence, SrivaishNavan should EQUALLY pay respects to the Parents and take care of them in their old age as much as we take care of our children. Any other prayer to Lord will not please Him if we forget the parents or AchAryA) We should have the same Bhakti with the AchAryA as we have on Bhagawaan.

One should always talk in praise of him; think of his mercy and qualities. Always at the back of our minds, we should think that there is no possibility of repaying him back for all that he has done to us. It is a fact, too. One should celebrate his birthday (thirunakshthram) in a grand manner and thank him for this spiritual life.

One should perform prapatti at AchAryA’s Feet after doing kaalakshEpams (as explained earlier). The prapatti ceremony is NOT GRANTING us mOksham. It is the enjoyment that Lord gets by getting pleased with our act of surrender unto His Feet through His bhAgawathA, our AchAryA, is what that enables us attain mOksham. Hence, the cause for mOskahm is NOT prapatti, but the Lord who gets pleased! So, He is SiddhOpaayam. Whereas the Prapatti is called saadhyOpaayam.

Naama sangheerthanam:

Only Bhakti yOgham or Prapatti (surrender) can enable or facilitate us to attain mOksham- as vouched by saastrAs to a great extent. But, same saastrAs, at some places say that just by uttering the Lord’s name will enable us attain mOksham or by taking bath in GangA or CauvEri or any other puNya sthalam will also facilitate to attain mOksham. Bhagawan Naama sangeerthanam is just adequate for attaining mOksham is also another school of thought. Staying at places like Srirangam is all that is required as told by few others. All that implies from the above is: Bhagawan Naama sangheerthanam, Punya nadhIs, puNya kshEthra vaasam- will all lead one a clearer mind, a purer atmosphere and will enable one to approach the AchArya for getting to know more; It will facilitate him to do good deeds, and do all that a sri vaishNava is required to do (as described above) and will perform sharaNAgathy. In the end, he attains mOksham. Thus, these DO YIELD mOksham; (like now we can add- one gets mOksham by joining in Bhakti Group- the saastrAs can be amended- because that facilitates us to now approach AchAryA- IT DEFINITELY DID FACILITATE ME! all posts of Bhakti group alone made me go on the faster track to my AchAryA. (uNmai- uNmai!)

Two Important Don’ts of SrivaishNavA:

1. BhAgawatha apachaaram. BhAgawathAs- are Emperumaan’s devotees, bhakthAs- we should never commit any apachaaram to them in any fashion. Whatever may be their caste, colour, creed, sex, or form, whether they are beautiful or ugly, tall or short, learned or illiterate, we should pay respects to all bhakthAs of Lord Sriman Narayanan. Emperumaan will be totally pissed off and displeased with the apacharams done to them; He can even forgive apachaarams to Him; but will never forgive our apachaarams to His bhakthAs. If we serve the bhakthAs full heartedly and help them in any fashion, that DEFINITELY pleases Emperumaan. It is the kaimkaryam done to Him actually. He accepts as the antharyaami in their hearts.

2. We should never consider other deities equal to Him. (here please remember the first don’t- if you consider the other deity as the bhAgawathA of Sriman NarayaNA- please go right ahead and prostrate at the deity’s feet; means we accept Sriman NarayNa is the Supreme head; this deity is His bhAgawathA and in this deity (or bhakthA of Narayana) stays Lord Sriman Narayanan as the antharyaami. BUT PLEASE DON’T EQUATE ANY OTHER jIvAthmA to SRIMAN NARAYANA)

kaimkaryam- three types: Bhagawadh kaimkaryam, BhAgawatha kaimkaryam and AchArya kaimkaryam. AchArya kaimkaryam is the Greatest and foremost among them. We should try to do all these three kaimkaryams to please the Lord. (Posting to bhakti group any subject on Sriman Narayanan like Sri Sadagopan’s is bhAgawatha kaimkaryam; Posting a request for Sillarai rahasyangal project (by Srimad Pondareekapuram Andavan Ashramam) is AchArya kaimkaryam done by Sri Ramesh. Posting a request for MaNickka koNdai for bhUmi piraati is bhagawadh kaimkaryam; by contributing to all these, we also render the respective kaimkaryams; SO IT IS CERTAIN THAT WE ARE GOING TO MEET AT THE LORD’S FEET!- Perhaps it will be He who will introduce each one of us to others of our Group- because we have not seen each other! But He is in all of us!)

BhagawathAs- three types:

1. Those who do not worship other demi-gods as equal to Lord; but pray to Sriman NarayNan for material benefits and other desires. – they are called Ekaanthis.

2. Those who do not pray to Lord Sriman Naraynan for any material pursuits except mOksham are called Paramaikaanthis.

3. Those Paramaikaanthis, who after performing prapatti, do not even ask for mOkshaanubhavam; all that they ask for is for rendering eternal kaimkaryam to Divya Dampati and do such kaimkaryams (to other bhakthAs, AchAryA and to archAvathArams and antharyaami with ArAdhanams) are the Greatest BhAgawathAs.

Some BhAgawathAs may have to earn money by working in the office and live in lowkika life/ environment to carry out their family welfare and to make both ends meet; We should not look down at such bhAgawathAs; they may even have vices; they may even have some wrong or bad habits; we should not hurt their feeling by looking down at us and commit apachaarams to them- (if they are His bhakthAs- even EkAnthis!) Since they are His bhakthAs, they will come on the right track soonest – not to worry.

SrivaishNavan- How he should be!

Yes. We have done Panch samskaaram- we have surrendered to the Lord through our AchAryA. We have become His bhakthAs. Now what & how we should be? (BhAgawatha apachaaram- idhara dEvathA- we have already talked about)

1. As per our saasthrAs, traditions, as stipulated, we should continue to do our Nitya karma anushtaanams (like trikaala sandhyaa vandhanams). There is no statement in our saastras that say that we need not perform our anushtaanams after surrendering to the Lord completely. (Even sanyaasis are required to do sandhyavandhanams as per Sri Ramanuja siddhaantham). Of course, there is mOksham for our surrender to the Lord; but, the karmAs (nitya karmAs) are His command to us; If we do not do that we are disobeying the Lord. And even after Prapatti, we should not antagonise the Lord- He may not punish us; ” vaaL koNdu veesinaappOlE!” means ; He will take the sword and with a pretending anger He raises His sword at our neck but stops there! He scares us only; do we need that?- hence, do the sandhyavandhanams regularly)

2. We should live in a good place and should speak truth always; Speak softly and sweetly; (But by speaking truth we should never hurt other’s feelings; if it amounts to that, let us be silent).

3. If someone scold us or shows disrespect to us, never get angry or feel bad; All that happens is His leelA, Bhagavadh sankalpam; Good or bad is His game; we are only His property.

4. We should be ALWAYS CLEAR ABOUT THE PARATHVAM OF SRIMAN NARAYANAN and know for sure that all others are only jIvAthmAs wherein He, Sriman Narayanan stays as antharyaami.

5. There is nothing wrong in gratification of desires that are not banned in saastrAs; (for example, marrying, having children, etc..), earning for livelihood, etc.. But we SHOULD NOT CRAVE FOR worldly pleasures and material pursuits.

6. When we get more money or wealth or position or promotion or whatever, we should always think that it is all HIS GRACE. His blessing and we should not unnecessarily jump with joy; nor should we feel unduly depressed and feel like committing suicide if we get failures or lose something or any calamity comes due to unforeseen circumstances; We should not lament and pray to Him for granting us the strength to withstand such sorrows. (In fact, we should even consider the fellow human beings, the poor, the orphans and the destitute and try to help them by sending little bit of our earnings regularly to charitable organisations; a good and non-religious, organisation in Madras is Udavum KarangaL (Helping Hands). (You may like to see the web page created by IIT Madras on this good organisation). (Should anyone need their bank A/c number to deposit, contact me)

7. We should NEVER FEEL PROUD and have ahankaaram that we have done kaalakshEpam, we have studied ph D, we are Engineers, we have a Mercedes Benz, We hail from Sri Rangam we belong to Vaishnava traditions, etc. etc., It is all His grace that there is nothing in us- We should consider ourselves lower than the lowest straw in the street; We should NEVER look down at others who have not done what we have done (or who are not blessed with what we are blessed with) or who do not understand the philosophy like what we do; NEVER HAVE KALVI, SELVA and KULA CHERUKKU. Being proud of one’s education (or knowledge), one’s wealth, or one’s kulam is NOT GOOD, It is all His grace.

8. We should be kind to all including the animals, trees and plants; we should be kind hearted and never get jealous of others’ growth or prosperity. Since Emperumaan is an antharyaami in all lives, all are to be considered equal to us; This should always be at the back of our minds.

9. We should do PaarAyaNam of any (or all of) VedAs, Divya Prapandham RamayaNam, BhAgawatham, Vishnu sahasranaamam, Slokas, etc.,

10. We should eat sAtvik food; Especially the food that increases the rajasic, thamasic qualities of ours (like onions, garlic, Drum stick, etc.,) shall be avoided. (of course Non vegetarian stuff shall completely be avoided. )

11. we should try to eat, as far as possible, at home and avoid hotel food because the food becomes the thought. At home, naturally (we hope), the food is prepared with affection and love for us; Then the mind will not go after rotten things.

12. we should offer whatever that we eat or drink to the Lord before we take in; That will naturally prelude us to avoid taking stuff that we, naturally do Not want to offer to the Lord (For example, can you offer a hot cup of coffee or a coke to the Lord) let us try to avoid the beverages like coffee and tea; (Not to talk about the alcoholic drinks; we SHOULD NOT drink them- Please don’t)

13. we should try to fast on EkAdasi days (If not completely, at least eat only fruits, milk and avoid solid food like rice). Also try to persuade your spouse to cook at least poruccha saaRUmudhu on dwAdashi day (if someone does not know, I can send the recipe), because for having fasted on the previous day, one should not eat “turmeric” stuff for its negative effect on the stomach; Poruccha rasam is good for health. Of course, if one can get agatthi keerai, Nellikkaay pacchadi, suNdaikkay, its is great. – But never mind.)

14. We should not cheat, deceive, people and get benefited thereby. As far as possible, let us perform kaimkaryam to bhAgawathAs and AchAryA.

15. we should be scared and feel disgusted to do things against the saastrAs. (Now, we may not know all saastrA; if in doubt ask the Bhakti Group; there are great scholars; or if it pricks your conscience, it is against saastrAs- definite.)

16. We should always recite ( utter) the dwaya manthram.

17. We should perform kaimkaryams at the Lord’s temples/sannidhis by lighting lamps, offering sandal paste, garlands, flowers, etc.,

18. When we see other bhAgawathAls, we should feel as if we have seen freshly bloomed flowers, the full bright moon, the lovely charming kid, etc., and feel so much happy. On the same token, when we see a nAsthikA (an atheist), or a person who hates Sriman NarayanA or one who considers the Primordial Chief Sriya: Pathih Sriman NarayaNan as equal to other demi Gods- we should ignore their presence and try to avoid them. (and not enter into arguments with them)

19. here again, when we see someone who does not recognise the Supremacy of The Lord, we should not feel proud that we are better off than them; That thinking will make us feel proud and make as inflate our ego; On the contrary, we should be thankful to the Lord for His mercy on us and pray to Him for showing such mercy on that person, too.

20. We should ignore and be indifferent to those who are also indifferent to Sriman Narayanan. They are worse than atheists.

All these are to be always followed by each and every staunch bhakthA of Sriman NarayanA.

Greatness of Prapatti (Surrender)

It is our fortune that the Lord was so compassionate to us and took a vow to save all of us if only we surrender to him unconditionally, completely, and take refuge at His Most Beautiful Lotus feet. He assured and promised that those who surrender to His Feet and Him alone will NEVER be deserted by Him; What He speaks is Truth because Sri Rama never talks twice; He is a Satya vrathan, He is Druda vrathan. He will never leave us once we surrender to Him and Him alone with complete faith in Him (mahAvishwasam). That is performing Prapatti. Prapatti is only an act of surrender. Once, we have surrendered to Him once, there is no need to do it again. He will DEFINITELY GRANT US MOKSHAM. The question is: what happens to the karmAs and paapams knowingly and unknowingly being committed after performing Prapatti ? (Whatever sins and karmAs committed during all our previous births before performing Prapatti are all removed by Lord KrishNA as promised and assured by Him). If due to lots of circumstances, we perform paapams (which we will definitely), they all will also be removed by the Lord for the prapatti which we had done before. If at all we have committed any sins KNOWINGLY, we are supposed to do Praayaschittam; Emperumaan accepts that.

But, if someone (a vidhaNdAvadhi), argues that what happens if someone performs Prapatti, and commit sins knowingly afterwards, will he still attain mOksham? Emperumaan is, no doubt, compassionate; But He is the Most Shrewdest maayavan KaNNan. He can understand all our ill-intentions crystal clear. If someone does any sins knowingly after performing Prapatti, and does Not do any Praayaschittam, He punishes them, in this birth itself (by making him disabled, or blind or lose his children, etc., etc., )and STILL grants him the fruit of mOksham for performing Prapatti (unconditionally and completely). VaaL koNdu veesinaap pOlE- As if someone is just raising the sword to cut our neck and kill us, but not actually killing us- That is the sort of punishment one gets.

But Please remember: All that we need is MAhA Viswaasam- the Complete Faith in Him; unflinching faith in Him; Prapatti is only the means for getting His grace. He is the One who grants us mOksham. Have faith in Him; Then, simply forget about all other births and deaths, He is sure to save us!

Archiraadhi Maargam:

jIvAthmA, during the death- How does “It” leave the sarIram? As mentioned earlier, the five jnAnEndriyAs, five karmEndriyAs, are joined with mind by Emperumaan. The mind joins with the PrANa vaayu. Then, the prANan joins with the jIvAthmA. The jIvan is now with the sUkshuma amsanghaL of Pancha bhUthAs.

In the body, there are 101 naadis (Pulse?). The jIvAthmA, which had already surrendered to the Lord, to attain mOksham, goes through the Brahma Naadi (the 101st Naadi).

Such a jIvAthmA is welcomed by agni, The Sun, Vaayu, The Moon, The Goddess of Lightning, VaruNan, Indran, BrahmA and Sivan and send “It”"of” to Sri Vaikuntam. This is called Archiraadhi Maargam.

Purushaartham:

The Prapanna jIvAthmA, thus, through the archiraadhi Maargham, reaches the river, that is full of nectar, the VrajA NadhI. There after crossing the VrajA nadhI, the Muktha jIvan, leaves “its” sUkshma sarIram also, and attains the new Divya sarIram. The jIvan losses all “its” karma vaasanAs. The jIvan attains the atomic swarUpa AvirbhAvam and shines again with samastha kalyANa guNAs that are actually ever existent with the jIvAthmA always. (sinlessness, lasting, changeless youth, immortality, freedom from sorrow, hunger, thirst, sathya kamathvam, sathya sankalpathvam, etc.,- How nice! I know we all are longing to go there IMMEDIATELY! First surrender with MahAvishwaasam and continue to think of the Lord’s Lotus feet alaways.) There jIvan reaches the Irammadheeyam-the pond and enters the KINGDOM OF SRIVAIKUNTAM, The Eternal, The Blemishless, unlimited bhOghams. Then the jIvan approaches the pupil tree (arasa maram called sOmavanam), the tree worshipped by dEvAs. The flabbergasted, wonder struck jIvan now is simply not able to believe the exquisite beauty of Sri vaikuntam. At the mantapam called Prabhuvimitham, about 500 apsaras ladies welcome the jIvan with garlands, most fragrant deepams, lights, sandal paste, incenses, etc., and music from Divine musical instruments, to celebrate the arrival of the (successful) jIvan in Sri Vaikuntam. (nammAzhwAr’s Thiruvaaimozhi 10.9 describes this most beautifully). The apsaras adorn the jIvan with the PeethAmbharam and offer him the food partaken by the Lord.

Sisters and Brothers, it is an excellent scene! Now the jIvan enters the Most Beautiful Divya MaNi maNdapam where Emperumaan Sriman Narayanan is gracefully seated along with Sri Devi, BhU Devi, and NeeLA Devi on the AdhisEshan. The NityasUris wash the feet of the jIvan in grateful recgnition of the arrival of that Sri VaishNavan. The consorts (Our dearest Goddesses, mothers) with Thier Most Beautiful moon-like faces offer the jIvan, Sri sadagOpam, Sri chUrNam, and welcome the jIvan with pUrNa kumbhams and dheepams.

Here the jIvan sees all his pUrvAchAryAs in front of the simhAsanam of Sriman Narayanan. They are all beaming with joy, not only due to their continuous enjoyment of Lord’s beauty; also due to Lord’s compassion on this jIvan’s too. The jIvan offers “it’s” salutation to Them and goes closer to Him. The jIvan seeks the permission of AdhisEshan and climbs on the 1000 head snake’s body to sit on the LAP OF SRI VAIKUNTA NATHAN. (Simply wonderful! What a nice fragrance jIvan would be enjoying; I am sure jIvan would not know what to enjoy and where to take “it’s” eyes from!)

The jIvan performs mangaLAsAsanam on the Most exquisite Divine Beauty of The Lord Sri Vaikunta Nathan and the KalyANa guNAs of the Lord and His consorts. The jIvan (Muktha jIvan) is totally OVERWHELMED by the unmatchable Beauty of the limbs of the Lord and enjoys completely part by part of the Lord’s sowndharyam. The jIvan prays to the Lord for the boon and eternal Bliss of Lord’s Lotus Feet. The Lord immediately agrees to that and keeps His Lotus Feet on the jIvan’s head. The Divya Dampati shower their Blessings on the Muktha jIvan. The Mukhtha jIvan gets a COMPLTE BRAHMAANUBHAVAM and PARAMAANANDHAM at Sri vaikuntam and stays as a PERMANENT RESIDENT OF SRI VAIKUNTAM FOR EVER.

All the above, sisters and brothers are NOT SIMPLY Burudaa (or kattu kadhai); They are 100% TRUE , FACTUAL AND EXISTING; The vEdAs say all these; the Brahma sUthram says this; NammAzhwAr describes them; Sri RamanujA narrates them most beautifully in his Gadhya Trayam.
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CONCLUSION:

God’s assurances to humanity, particularly that given to His ardent devotees, which are interspersed in sacred literature, will never go in vain. Many are His declarations but one among them brings cheer and hope to those who may at times get demoralised on account of continuous suffering.

“Listen to My oath. The heavens may fall from their height. The snowy peaks of the Himalayas may slip and come down. The seas may dry up. The earth may shiver into a million pieces. But the statements of Krishna will never be empty words.” This promise was extended directly by Lord Krishna to a devotee who pinned all her hopes on Him, having been made to go through agonising and unimaginable experiences.

The Lord is ready to extend His grace to all devotees but in the case of a few who are extremely dear to Him, He makes them go through extreme trials, tests their tenacity and removes all their sins and takes them to His abode. AdiyEn tried to gather and wrote all that I could blabber on Sri VaishNavam; I would have definitely made LOTS AND LOTS Of mistakes; Please correct them and enable the readers to get the correct facts / interpretation. Please forgive me for all my errors and omissions. I consider as a privilege to write on this Sri VaishNavam; it is more for a beginner like me, so that we can get to know what all Sri VaishNavam talks about and what exactly does it say. It is our fortune, again, Dear ones, to be a BhakthA of Sriman NarayaNA and be a Sri VaishNavA. It is Emperumaan’s grace that we talk about Him in this electronic media via Net.

Even after knowing all these, we should not still ignore Sandhyaa vandhanam, Pancha samskaaram, SamAshrayaNam, ManthrOpadEsam (from AchAryA), Prapatti (surrender) to Emperumaan’s Lotus Feet, diong kaalakshEpam, carrying out kaimkaryams to bhakthAs, AchAryA and Emperumaan (at the temple). We should always recite the Dwaya Manthram wherever we are and whatever we are doing; We should always keep thinking of Emperumaan’s Most Beautiful Just Bloomed Red Lotus like Feet. We should dance and sing His glories and names and forget ourselves in the process.

May Lord Sriya: Pathih Sriman Narayanan and MahAlakshmi keep showering His continuous Mercy and Grace on all of us for ever and ever and ever!

Narayana Narayana

Sri RanganAyikA samEtha RanganAtha ParabhrahmaNE namah:

AchAryAL ThiruvadigaLE saraNam

NarayaNa dAsan MadhavakkaNNan