What is pancha samskAram?

1. Thaapa samskaram(to emboss the impressions of heated sankha & chakra on the
arms near the shoulders, for sharira suddhi (body purification)

2 Pundara samskaram (to wear the dwadasa urdhva pundram( thiruman kappu&
srichoornam uttering the 12 names of Maha Vishnu)

3.Naama samskaram (to be named by the acharya afresh as dasa at the end of one's
name to indicate that one is the forever slave of Sriman Narayana)

4 Manthra samskaram (to get the Rahasya traya mantras - Ashatksharam, Dwayam &
Charma slokam)

5. Yaaga Samskaram (to learn the worship of Sriman Narayana in a proper form
(Bhagavth Thiruvaradhanam)

Question: Swamin, Pancha samskaram "seems" like a mere ritual, it does not seem to give any spiritual experience. I would like to know how this actually helps the evolution of the soul. If one has done samashrayanam, is moksham guaranteed in this very birth? Under what circumstances the moksham may be denied? Do we have to do anything post samashrayanam to ensure our liberation? Or does the Acharyan takes care of everything? Dasan, Sridhar

Answer by Velukkudi Krishnan Swami: Samasrayanam is a certain way for liberation in the same birth. This relates us with Sri Ramanuja who was assured moksham to him and his devotees by Sri Ranganatha Himself. It is not a mere ritual but a spiritual enlightenment about the absolute servitude of jiva. As usual a few could have reduced it to a mere ritual but this is common everywhere. Just because many jump signals or yellow line their usage cannot be questioned. The almighty Himself is a mere stone (in idol form) if we do not sanctify. [Similarly, samasrayanam would be a mere ritual if duties and responsibilities after samasrayanam are not followed.] After the samasrayanam we do have duties and responsibilities for the rest of the life even though acharyan owns the single most important responsibility of granting moksham through perumal. We have to follow internal and external prescriptions (6 commands of Sri Ramanuja) which progressively matures us. Moksham would be denied if we commit bhaagavata apacharam.

Why you need an AchAryA?

Couple of quotes adiyEn came across on this topic.

1. If there is an elephant sitting on the ground and sleeping and you would like to ride that elephant, do you approach the elephant directly? No. You approach the mahout and through the mahout, you approach the elephant and go for a ride. Similarly, an acharya is like a mahout, who guides us to approach God in the right manner.
2. SoorpanakA was a jIvAthmA and she got attracted to rAmA, the paramAthmA. jIvAthma getting attracted to paramAthmA - there is nothing wrong with that. However, she approached rAmA directly and the result was she got her nose cut. This is shown as a drishtAntham of what could happen if we approach God on our own and not through an AchAryA.
3. We can see the face of the person standing in front of us. But, can we see our own face? We need a mirror to see our own face. We cannot see it ourself without a mirror. If we cannot see our own face without external help (i.e. mirror in this case), how can we expect to see our self (very subtle things like our soul (jEvAthmA) and God (paramAthmA)) without external help?An AchAryA is like a mirror that helps us look into ourselves and seek God. Hence we need an AchAryA.