Vaishnava tradition traces the Guru Parampara from one’s immediate acharya through Ramanuja, Nathamuni and Nammazhwar to the primordial acharya at the helm who is the Lord along with Sri. The tradition emphasises that only with the help of the acharya will it be possible for one to approach the Lord and gain salvation, pointed out Velukkudi Sri Krishnan in a lecture. This applies to all, irrespective of whether one is a sinner or a virtuous person.
In the hymn Daya Satakam, Vedanta Desika bows down with great respect to the Guru Parampara. His poetic fancy sees the infinite compassion of the Lord as the overflowing ocean and the acharya parampara as the guiding steps to support and help those wishing to get immersed in the cool waters of the Lord’s grace. These acharyas are venerated as their way of life and their instruction help to propagate the truths that His sastras, the Vedas, voice ceaselessly.
It is believed that the Azhwars were born by His grace to make known the essence of the Vedas in Tamil, just as the cloud converts the waters of the ocean into pure rain water for the benefit of human beings.
When the Lord incarnated as Varaha, Rama and Krishna, He promised the doctrine of Saranagati as a sure means to salvation. But it is through the teachings of the acharyas that the intricacies in this apparently simple doctrine are unravelled and the jivatma is initiated into the way of life to be followed after one has surrendered oneself to the Lord.
As Krishna, He expounded the Bhagavad Gita to make known the essence of the Upanishads. But it is through the interpretations of the acharyas of the various traditions that the deeper import of this text becomes clear to the common man.