An explanation of a fivefold Sacrament in Sri Vaishnavam

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SAMASHRAYANAM

 

An explanation of a

fivefold Sacrament in Vaishnavam

 

by KaraLapAkkam Anand

 

 

 

Table of Contents:

 

I. Introduction

1. Neccessity of Spiritual Knowledge

2. Approaching the AchArya of Sri Vaishnava

Parampara

3. What is Samashrayanam ?

 

II. Pancha SamskAram

1. thApa SamskAram

2. Pundra SamskAram

3. Nama SamskAram

4. Mantra SamskAram

5. YAgA SamskAram

 

III. Life After Samashrayanam

 

 

 

I Introduction

 

1. Neccessity of 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 know 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 knowing about the

actual

purpose of life . There may be so 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 all such 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. Ofcourse , this is the way an

animal also 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

gives 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

so many other things ? Without knowing 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.

 

2. 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 things on his own. Even

for learning materialistic things which are highly

evident to our eyes (senses in general ) ,one has to

go to school for

years together.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, SuddhaSattvA

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

these things to others. This is called as 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 "SatSampradAyam" .

 

Sri Vaishnava SampradAyam has Supreme Lord

NArAyanA as the first AchAryA , followed by His

belowed consort 'Sri' ( MahALakshmi ), Sri

Vishvaksenar ( Commander

in chief of Sri Vaikuntam ) , Saint ShatagopA

(NammAzhvAr) , Sri NAthamuni , Sri PundarIkAkshA (

UyyakkondAr ) , Sri RAmamishrA ( ManakkAl Nambi ) ,

Sri

YAmunAchAryA , Sri Ghoshti PUrnA ( Peria Nambi ) ,

Sri Bhagavad RAmAnujA, ....SwAmi Desikan and so on

down to our present AchAryAs.

 

Sri Ahobila Mutt 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 . This AchAryA

is very well known as Sri Adivan Shatagopa Yateendra

MahAdesikan .. The current AchAryA of this illustrious

Ahobila Mutt is Sri Lakshmi Nrusimha Divya pAduka

Sevaka Srivan Shatagopa Sri NArAyana Yateendra

MahAdesikan.

 

The knowledge coming through the SriVaishnava

SampradAyam (SatSampradAyam) is thus faultless. So,

ONLY the AchAryA belonging to the SatSampradAyam 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 AgamA & other Vedic

Literatures.

 

The Supreme Lord Sriman NArAyanA , in His merciful

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 :

i.Sriman NArAyanA's benevolence .

ii.Merit acquired accidentally.

iii.Grace of Sriman NArAyanA .

iv.No aversion towards Sriman NArAyanA.

v.Listened to the anectodes of NArAyanA ( Stories

about avatArams of NArAyanA like NrusimhA,RAmA and

KrishnA etc) and eagerness to learn.

vi.Conversed with devotees of NArAyanA.

 

 

So, one should be highly fortunate to attain a

sadAchAryA .AchAryA ( Henceforth used to refer

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 "Sri VaishnavA" .

 

3. 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 fold 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 OOrdhva 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 BhagavAn

RAmAnujA .

4.manthram : To get the initiation of "Rahasya

Traya MantrAs" - AshtAksharam , Dvayam and charama

slokam .

5.Ijyai : To learn the worship of Supreme Lord

Sriman NArAyanA in proper form ( Bhagavad

ThiruvArAdhanam) .

 

 

II. Pancha 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 varnA specific

samskArams like JAtakarmA , NAmakaranA , 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 'Iyndu angam Udayavar'or'Iyndu

kAryangaL Udayavar'. These five refers to the 'Pancha

SamskAram'. It also means the fiva angAs of prapatti.

We can in

general say that this PanchaSamskAram 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, 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 Sri Ahobila Mutt , 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 .

 

Nowadayas , SudarsanAzhvAr is popular amongst the

'mooda bhakthAs' ie. 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 to forefathers.

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.

 

Any 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

VAsudevA ( 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 'OOrdhva

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 pranavA etc.

 

The thiruman (white color) should be like the

outline of NArAyanA's Lotus foot. Sri choornum is

yellow in color since the thirumeni of pirAtti (divine

body) is Golden in

color. Since Red Color is for mangaLam (pirAtti) ,

some do wear red colored Sri Choornum. Any photograph

of GodA pirAtti (AndAL) shall reveal the way in which

the

ladies has to wear thiruman on their foreheads .

There is an unwritten convention among ladies to wear

Red Sri Choornum if they are SumangalIs & Yellow Sri

Choornum if

they are widows.

 

OOrdhva Pundram is vertical and faces upwards

denoting that it helps one in reaching 'Sri Vaikuntam'

, the spiritual abode of Sriman NArAyanA.These twelve

OOrdhvapundrams are known as the 'DvAdasa

OOrdhvapundram '.

 

The location of the Thiruman kaapu , forms , names

and colour of all the UpavyUha forms of NArAyanA are

as follows :

 

Location

(part of Human Body)

Forms of Lord

for Meditation

Name &

Colour

of Lord

Name of PirAtti

Forhead

(Golden)

ChakrA in all

Four Hands

KeshavA

Sri

Lower Abdomen

(Middle)

Conch (SankA) in

all Four Hands

NArAyanA

(Blue

cloud)

Amruthodhbava

Chest

Mace in all

Four Hands

MAdhavA

(Gem)

Kamala

Front Neck

(Middle)

Bow in all

Four Hands

Govinda

(Moon)

Chandrasodari

Lower Abdomen

(Right)

Ploughshares in all

Four Hands

Vishnu

(Lotus

Filament)

Vishnu Patni

Right Arm

Pounding Rod in all

Four Hands

MadhusUdhanA

 

(Lotus)

Vaishnavi

Neck

(Right)

Sword in al

Four Hands

TrivikramA

(Sparkling

Fire)

VarAroha

Lower Abdomen

(left)

Thunder Bolt in all

Four Hands

vAmanA

(Rising

Sun)

Hari VallabhA

Left Arm

Axe in all

Four Hands

SridharA

(Lotus)

ShArngini

Neck

(left)

Crow-bar in all

Four Hands

HrusIkeSA

(Lightening)

Deva DEvikA

Back

(Lower Spinal)

All weapons in all

Eight Hands

PadmanAbhA

(Lustre of

Sun)

MahALakshmi

Back

(Upper Spinal)

Whip in all

Four Hands

DAmodarA

(Silk-worm)

Surasundari

 

 

First of all , all the 12 OOrdhvapundrams ,

starting from Lord KesavA should be adorned at

appropriate places with proper salutations . After

this , one might be left with

some amount of thiruman . In accordance with the

traditions of Sannidhi SampradAyam (Sri Ahobila Mutt)

the remaining thiruman should be smeared on top of

ones head

while meditating on Lord VAsudevA through

dvAdasAksharam . Then , Sri Choornum at all the

appropriate places should be worn .The remaining Sri

Choornum should

be smeared on top of one's head while saluting

pirAtti as "SarvAbhishta phala pradAyai Namaha "

prefixed by pranavam .

 

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 OOrdhva pundram .From then

onwards, the sishyA (including ladies) WITHOUT

FAIL should wear them. All the evils fly away on

seeing the thiruman kAppu (kAppu => protection).

 

Materialistic people apply varieties of powder &

cream 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 housing it.

 

The BEST ORNAMENT for the body is THIRUMAN KAAPU.

This should be applied with great humility , thanking

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' ( follower) 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 Supreme Lord Sriman NArAyanA is like the brightness

of a

small spark of light in front of the brightness of

millions 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 OOrdhva 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 OOrdhva pundram.

 

One can talk a lot about VedAs, PurAnAs etc. If he

doesn't put their teachings into practice, there is no

use in learning them.NArAyanA gets pleased when one

follows

the sAstrAs .Moreover , if it is a upadesA 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 OOrdhva pundrams , he is obviously

not

following the AchAryA and thereby becomes

avaishnavA in practice . Moreover , sAstrAs says that

a body without OOrdhvaPundram is equivalent to a

Cemetery (burial

place).

 

In extreme circumstances ,when one is not able to

wear the dvAdasa OOrdhvapundrams , salutations to

Sriman NArAyanA at the twelve places , with Anjali

MudrA ,

should atleast be performed without fail .

 

The katA portion in YajurvedA says " One who prays

to the Supreme Lord Vishnu by wearing the

OOrdhvapundram and by accepting the hot chakrA on the

shoulder ,

reaches the Supreme Lord Himself ". Such is the

glory of pundram and thApa samskAram.

 

 

 

 

 

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