The moment we say ‘Acharya’ it is impossible to describe the guru bhakti of our Bhagavatpadha whom the entire world remembers and praises. It is said that in Badrinath he had looked upon his guru Govinda Bhagavatpadha and Parama Guru (Guru’s Guru) Gowdapada as the very form of Dakshinamurthi and it was at that time that he had recited ‘Dakshinamurthi Ashtakam’ and after each line he prostrated before them. He himself was the avatar of Dakshinamurthi. Acharya when extolling the greatness of a guru says in one place, ‘just as Sparsa Vedhi’ converts even brass into gold if it is said that a guru changes the ‘brass hearts’ of people and makes them shine brilliantly as gold, it will not be a correct description. This is because the brass which is in Sparsa Vedhi will alone become gold. But it cannot become Sparsa Vedhi itself and change other brass to gold. But a sishya who had taken refuge under a guru not only attains ‘Purnathvam’ himself (perfection) but he becomes a guru himself and gives Purnathvam to others. Therefore, the guru is higher than the Sparsa Vedhi. When Parameswara Himself came in disguise as a ‘chandala’ (an outcaste) before Acharya he who had earned the title ‘Jagadachariar’ said with utter humility, ‘it is not necessary that a atma jnani (a realized soul) must be a Brahmin. Even if he is born as chandala, he only is my guru’.

Guru Bhakti - Sri Ramanujacharya 

Many of you might have heard that Ramanujachariar discarded the advice of his guru Thirukkottiyur Nambi and gave upadesa to all people. But the stories of the lineage of Vaishnava Gurus (Guru Parampara) talk about the great humility with which he had conducted himself before the same Nambi. Before Thirukkottiyur Nambi gave upadesa he made Ramanujachariar walk eighteen times from Srirangam and only at the end he gave him upadesa. Without a trace of bitterness, Ramanuja had walked like this.

It is the practice among the Smarthas that they prostrate before the Acharya four times. But the Vaishnavas keep prostrating till the Acharya says enough. It is said that ‘Thirukkottiyur Nambi’ was standing in the cool waters of the river (or it would have been a mandapam at the bathing ghat). Outside on the river bank on account of the heat of the sun, the sand was burning like fire. On such sand, Ramanuja kept prostrating unmindful of the bruises he suffered from the hot sand. Nambi who had done this to test his guru bhakti could not bear it himself and stopped Ramanuja

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