Acaryahrdayam, the esoteric text explores various metaphysical means, through which Sriman Narayana provides sastras to discriminate good from malefic; and through them, the jivas could acquire true knowledge without the samsaya, anyatha and viparita jnanam. Nayanar has given importance to Tirumantra, which contains compressed meaning of spirituality. Influenced by this, He puts forth reasonable arguments and declares the reliability of Tiruvaymoli which is more valuable than Vedas. He propagates the essential attributes of Lord; how He resides at holy places like Tiruvarangam, etc.; how Nammalvar has done mangalasasanam and invested them with divine sanctity; how the Alvar has undergone a blissful spiritual experience; and how he analyses the significant qualities of Lord. Nayanar confirms that, the mellifluous verses of Tiruvaymoli are the out bursting manifestations of his overwhelming love of Lord. He is in fact, spiritual fervent personified. He asserts that, Tiruvaymoli, the expansion of Trimantra, Dvaya Mantra and Carama Sloka has taken avatara to guide people, who are afflicted with materialistic entanglements. He through his polemic treaty in par with ten decades of Tiruvaymoli explains the ten prominent features such as paratva of the Lord. The Author holistically concludes that, the divine grace gained through parabhakti, parajnana and paramabhakti upon the Lord affords the pure knowledge, which eliminates ignorance and grants paramapada. The society, by following the teachings of Nammalvar is bound to lead a spiritual life with self-contentment.

About the Author

Prof. J. Rangaswami, Professor and Chairperson, School of Philosophy and Dean, Faculty of Languages, Tamil University is rank holder in M.A. (1980), M.Phil. (1981) in Philosophy, and Ph.D. (1985) on Bhagavadgita at the Department of Philosophy, Annamalai University. He obtained M.A., Sanskrit (2013) and Diploma in Astrology (2012) at SASTRA University. He has completed 14 Research Projects and credited with UGC Research Associateship in the Department of Philosophy and Religion, Banaras Hindu University (1994-96) and Indian Institute of Advanced Study (1996-98). As an acknowledgement for his outstanding erudition, Madras University honoured him with a D.Litt. (2012) for his magnum opus, Srivacanabhusanam. He has published 9 books, 50 articles, delivered 50 special lectures and presented papers to 95 national and international conferences. He completed this Acaryahrdayam under the scheme of Major Research Project (2004-2007), financed by UGC. He is a Commonwealth Fellow (2004) at Lancaster University, UK and delivered special lectures at various scholarly institutions of England. He also participated in the 2nd International ‘Ayurveda and Yoga Conference’ at Sidney on 2009; and delivered special lectures at ‘Dharma Heart Yoga and Meditation Centre’, Australia. His modern erudition on Srivaisnavism with Western perspectives remarkably has cut across the boundaries of multi-cultural and religious legacies of the world.