When one who has rendered prapatti (a prapanna) commits sinful acts such as stealing, cheating, treachery, etc., will that person be affected by the aftereffects of those sinful acts? Will that person’s sharanagati fructify?
Vidwan’s reply:
There will certainly be grievous consequences for such a person. Regardless of whether one is a prapanna, one who is devoted to Perumal, or one who renders kainkaryam-s for Perumal, one will be punished for their transgressions. No one can escape the consequences. Deliberate wrongdoings will inevitably result in punishments and such people will face severe impact.
The sharanagati performed by such people will fructify; like how sinful acts lead to punishments and good deeds yield favorable results, sharanagati which was performed for salvation (Moksham), will lead one Moksham.
These sins will not act as obstacles for Moksham because such persons will undergo the necessary punishment on this Earth during their lifetime. After having completely experienced the aftereffects of the sinful deeds, before attaining Moksham.
Please clarify Srivaishnavam’s views or perspectives on organ donations.
Vidwan’s reply:
The scriptures have not mentioned organ donation since it was not a practice during ancient times. This is a recent phenomenon. As it was unknown during ancient times, it cannot be said that the scriptures support this. Our elders hesitate in doing something that is not supported by the scriptures and only practice what is ordained by the scriptures. The wise and noble will be reluctant to accept that which is not mentioned by the scriptures. Similarly, we should be hesitant because we must consider what rights we have to donate organs of a physical body granted by Bhagavan, to another person.
Consigning the physical body to fire at the end of life is counted as a performance of a homam, which is accompanied by mantras; fire is lit to the funeral pyre accompanied by chanting of mantras. Hence, the scriptures say the physical body should not be missing any parts and offered as a whole object.
What are the rules and regulations to select flowers for Perumal Tiruvaradhanam? If fragrance is an important requirement, the Kanakambaram flower has no fragrance; can we offer Kanakambaram for Emperuman?
Vidwan’s reply:
There are regulations on the types of flowers that can be used for Perumal Tiruvaradhanam.
On offering the Kanakambaram flower, one must consider whether it is being offered to a temple Perumal, or the Perumal at one’s home. Kanakambaram can certainly be offered to Perumal at the temple; it is said that it is better to offer, white flowers as far as possible that are fragrant to Perumal at home. Shortly we will share a PDF on this subject.
During the thirumanjanam for a temple Perumal, are only the Sikshavalli, Anandavalli and Bhriguvalli recited? Can Narayana valli also be recited? Kindly clarify.
Vidwan’s reply:
During a temple Perumal thirumanjanam, Sikshavalli, Anandavalli, Bhriguvalli, and Upanishad are recited which is followed by the section in Narayana Upanishad that starts with ‘ambhasyapArE’ can be recited. Only paucity of time might prevent all of these to be recited; if sufficient time is available, all of these can be recited.
Usually what is the count of japam mantra one must chant? For teertha japam-s, what is the count?
Vidwan’s reply:
Generally, 108 counts of mantra japam are done. If not possible, the japam mantra is recited 28 times. Even if that is not possible, at least 10 times of japam is done. Beyond 108 times, one can go up to 1008 times. The japam count is not based on one’s wishes and conveniences.
There are stipulations on the number of teertha japam count. Based on the objective of the japam, it is either done 4 times or 7 times. If the stipulation requires 108 counts of teertha japam, then it must be done 108 times.
After the ascension of the father-in-law to Paramapadam, during the first one-year period, can the wife or daughter-in-law take an oil bath? Is it appropriate to offer Sumangali women Thambulam on the evening of the father-in-law’s maasikam? Is this a practice?
Vidwan’s reply:
It is not in practice for the wife of the deceased to take an oil bath; after the subhasveekaaram the daughter-in-law can take an oil bath.
I have heard Thambulam is offered only when a sraddha is performed for sumanagali sthree; have not heard Thambulam being offered for the ascension of a father-in-law.
It is considered auspicious if a very elderly person ascends to Paramapadam, Thambulam is offered then as it is considered auspicious.
Will a young girl/maiden attain salvation as she has performed sharanagati unto the divine feet of an Acharya and will a Vaishnava woman who has done prappatti attain moksham even if she gets married into a Shaiva family?
Vidwan’s reply:
Yes, the young girl/maiden will attain salvation as she has performed prapatti; prapatti is performed even for infants.
Scriptures will not specifically instruct everything. It does not state one can attain moksham by not adhering to its ordains.
Those who have performed sharanagati must comply with the scriptural ordains. If one follows the ordains for a prappanna and is a paramaikanti following Vaishnava dharma, despite being married to a Shaiva. If one could not adhere to the ordains and is associated with demi-gods, they are given opportunities to redeem themselves if not it shall be left to the divine will of God.
It is better and safer for those who have performed sharanagati not to get married into families of other beliefs rather than pondering later.
Please explain in detail why are sthalibhagam, sesha homam performed during vivaham (weddings)?
Vidwan’s reply:
Sthalibhagam and sesha homam are prescribed rituals of a wedding. First laaja homam is performed before which is saptapati in a wedding; similarly, sthalibhagam and sesha homam are similar rituals; they are done because scriptures have stated so. This sthalibhagam is the beginning for all other sthalibhagam-s to be conducted later during one`s life as a grihastha. A grihastha has to perform aupasanam every day and sthalibhagam has to be performed once every fifteen days; the sthalibhagam conducted during a wedding is a precursor for the subsequent sthalibhagam, and it is considered special.
During the five days wedding rituals, aupasanam is conducted without a break for four continuous days, and a homam that is performed finally is called sesha homam to conclude the wedding rituals.
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?
Vidwan’s reply:
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.
What type of coin should devotees collect that was offered in Sudarshana homam as per our tradition? (We are collecting rupee coins now)
Vidwan’s reply:
One can collect rupee coins in the denomination of 10s and 20s that were offered in Sudarshana homam rather than currency notes as it is like a pro-note (promise to pay).
Few doubts
Will the prapatti fructify if a prapanna has an association with demi-gods until the last breath?
If a prappanna surrenders to Emperuman during the last stage by dissociating from demi-gods, will Emperuman accept and grant moksham even when prayachista prapatti is not performed? Or will Perumal make the prappanna undergo the relevant punishment and then grant moksham?
How many times can one do atonement prapatti (Prayaschitta prapatti)? Should it be done only once like prapatti? Does it contain the Dwaya mantra?
Vidwan’s reply:
Swami Desikan says it is doubtful for the prapatti to bear fruits if one has an association with demi-gods until the last breath.
Nammazhwar states if a prappanan surrenders to Emperuman at the final stage by disassociating with demi-gods, without a doubt Emperuman certainly accepts the prapatti and grants salvation. (‘’mALumOr iDatilum vaNakoDu mALvadu vaLamE’’)
It is not wrong to do prayaschita prapatti immediately after realizing one’s offense; if another offence is committed, one can do another prayashcitta prapatti; but it is important that one should not repeatedly commit the offense and must refrain from committing sins. Elders perform prayaschita prapatti for everything only once invoking the Dwaya mantra.
Adiyen always has this thought that adiyen’s prapatti will not bear fruits if adiyen were to commit transgressions. Have heard several great wise and noble men saying that it is not so and prapatti will certainly yield fruits. Kindly clarify whether adiyen’s understanding is correct. Aidyen has the constant fear that aidyen’s prapatti will not fructify should adiyen commit offenses – even though aidyen is aware that unintentional sins do not count towards a prapanna’s sins; and performance of prayashcitta prapatti will remove intentional offenses or that adiyen would require a mild form punishment before moksham is granted. Is this fear of adiyen due to the prArabdha karmA? Kindly advise what needs to be done to remove such fears.
Vidwan’s reply:
It is good that one is fearful that occasional acts of offence will affect prapatti from yielding the desired results as this will ensure one remains without committing misdeeds. One must not be casual that having performed prapatti will yield the benefit regardless of one’s behavior. In this matter, one must be apprehensive and be worried that committing sins will result in punishments.
But one need not be fearful whether one’s sharanagati will yield the desired benefits. This is what Svami Desikan says “nibharO nirbhayOsmi”.
You are not fearing what should be feared and are fearful of those that need not be feared. You not need have any worries about sharanagati, as its performance entrusts the responsibility to Bhagavan. It is wrong for many who question whether it will grant moksham.
Sharanagati is a mark of us surrendering us and the responsibility for our protection; we need to remain unworried about this. If we still are perturbed, it implies that we have not surrendered our burdens properly.
Those who have rendered sharanagati must avoid questions about whether it will yield fruits if one were to transgress. After having performed sharanagati one must be peaceful that that Bhagavan will take care of us. But we must be worried about committing sinful acts as they will certainly result in punishments.
Hence, those who have performed sharanagati need not be worried about whether it will fructify, whatever happens. We will remain unconcerned about the affairs of others; similarly, the soul belongs to Bhagavan and one must remain unconcerned about the wellbeing of the soul; but one must be worried that misdeeds will lead to punishments.
In the Ani Sudarshana issue it was mentioned that a disciple will have one day theetu if the Acharyan ascends to Paramapadam; is this applicable to the Acarya-s who impart shloka-s and Prabandham-s?
Vidwan’s reply:
The Acharyan that was mentioned in the answer was those Acharya-s who impart Vedas and predominantly mantropadesam. This does not apply to the preceptors imparting shloka-s and Prabandham-s.
Can Brahmacaris conduct Ayushya homam (for self), homam-s in shraddha or for samashrayanam?
Vidwan’s reply:
We shall explain in detail as to what type of homams can be performed in the next issue.
Adiyen’s father attained Acharyan Tiruvadi on 13.08.2011 on shukla paksha tithi; please clarify on which date should we conduct the annual oblation this year.
Vidwan’s reply:
We shall verify and get back if you could provide which tithi in Shukla paksham.
When we say scriptures, do we follow the scriptural rules based on Manu Smruti or Apastambasutram?
Vidwan’s reply:
Dharma Sastram is not based upon a single book, but many books as relied upon as references. There are various sastra-s like Apastamba sutram, Gautama dharma sutram, Manu Smriti, etc. Our elders determine based on these.
Can we add honey during Salagrama aradhanam; can we partake in the madhuparka?
Vidwan’s reply:
Yes, honey can be added, and madhuparka can be partaken.
If we could not perform Avani Avittam on the prescribed day due to circumstances, can it be performed on another day?
Vidwan’s reply:
If one cannot perform Avani Avittam due to unavoidable circumstances like theetu, or being admitted to the hospital on that day, it can be performed the following month on a full moon day (Paurnami); but we should not postpone for personal reasons like attending a wedding or traveling on that day.
