Svami, by birth I am a saivaite. At present I am practicing Srivaishnava tradition. Recently at the ISKCON temple in the city I reside at, I bought the 1st skandam of Srimad Bhagavatam. When I enquired a few young Srivaishnava-s, they said that in the ISKCON version of Bhagavatam erroneous translations and explanations are found and they said that a Srivaishnava must not read their texts. As ISKCON follows Vaishnava tradition, can Srivaishnava-s read their books? I currently living in a foreign country and books on Sri Ramanuja philosophy is not available. So, kindly clarify whether is it wrong to read books based on ISKCON tradition though they differ slightly from our tradition. Can we make an impression of Vadakalai Thiruman Srichurnam in U shape? I am currently wearing Thiruman along with orange-colored Srichurnam. Is it ok to wear orange-colored Srichurnam or must I wear yellow or red colored Srichurnam? Kindly explain the difference between Thiruman and Gopichandanam. A Few Srivaishnava upanyasaka-s say one must wear only the Thiruman that is obtained from divine places of Vishnu such as Srirangam, Melkote, etc. But I don’t know from the Thiruman that I wear comes from. Is it ok to wear the Urdhva Pundram without being aware of its origin? If its origin is not Srirangam or Melkote, must I stop or continue?

ISKCON tradition can also be said as a Bhagavata sampradayam because they belong to Bhagavan. Hence it is not a mistake to read their books. At that same time, we must well learn about our traditions and follow the practices. So, one must be aware of the differences between these two traditions and follow the Srivaishnava, Bhagavad Ramanuja sampradayam.
An impress of Thiruman Srichurnam must be made for adorning. It is stipulated that one must wear Thiruman every day. It is called “Namam” because it is adorned and accompanied by the chanting of the divine names of Bhagavan. Thiruman is mixed into a paste by chanting the divine name of Emperuman. Most importantly, it must contain ‘man’ (sand), hence the name “Thiruman”. Only wearing Thiruman in this manner will make it a protective shield, resulting in it being referred to as “Thiruman Kappu”. It must not be adorned in any other manner.
It is mentioned that yellow-colored Srichurnam is special, especially the Srichurnam that is made from turmeric powder. If turmeric is not available, a little amount of turmeric powder can be mixed with other colors and adorned. Orange-colored Srichurnam is used only in these modern days. If we want to follow the long-held tradition, yellow Srichurnam is superior. Many temples offer turmeric powder or paste as prasadam. They can be gathered and can be mixed with whatever colored Srichurnam is available and worn. Have witnessed a few great wise and noble elders following this practice.
It is said that Gopichandanam is associated with the divine physical body of Srikrishna. Sri Pancharathra Agamam has stated that Thiruman kappu made from sand must be adorned and when Thiruman is not available, one can wear Gopichandanam instead. Because it is specified that Thriuman kappu must be white and must be made from sand, Thiruman kappu is superior to Gopichandanam. And because it is the tradition, it is special.
The Agama-s mention that only Thiruman from Divya Desam or sacred rivers such as the Ganges. Hence, one must follow this. Divya Desa Thiruman is available at places such as Ayodhya, Thiruvaheendrapuram, Pushkar, Thirunarayanapuram, etc. At shops, one can ask for Thiruman from these places. Generally, they have display boards outside the shop advertising that they sell Thiruman. But when specifically asked for Thiruman from these Divine places, they will sell those.