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Sama:srayaNa:
Divine initiation - the act of surrendering to the Lord through the preceptor

Sama:srayaNa is an extremely important ritual in Sri:vaishnava parlance. It involves the surrender of the soul and all its faculties to the Lord thorugh the divine channel of an acha:rya or preceptor. It is profusely essential for a Sri:vaishnava . Sama:srayaNa establishes the link of the soul with the Lord through the channel of divine preceptors . This lineage of preceptors is called Guruparamapara and starts with the Lord Himself.
Usually regarded in terms of Pancha samska:ra, the basic features of the ritual are
1. Tha:pa Samska:ram-The preceptor marks on the shoulders of the disciple , the chakra(divine disc) and Shanka(divine conch).This is the authoritiative symbol of being a Sri:vaishnava.
2. Pundra Samska:ram-The preceptor teaches the disciple to wear the twelve Urdvapundra:s (the holy mark of Sri:vashnava:s).
3. Na:ma Samska:ram-The preceptor names the disciple as a servant of the "preceptor of the world"Svami Ra:ma:nuja:cha:rya. The disciple's name usually bears the word Ra:ma:nujada:san . This accomplishes the designation of the disciple as a person carrying out the spiritual orders of the great acharya Svami Ra:ma:nuja.
4. Manthra Samska:ram- The preceptor teaches the three divine secrets called Rahasya trayam that explain the totality of this philosophical religion.
5. Ijyai Samska:ram-The preceptor grants rights to the disciple to perform Kainkarya to the Lord including the form of routine worship called Thiruva:ra:dana.

The ritual of Pancha samka:ra is very crucial. People taking up this ritual have to subscribe themselves to the teachings of their preceptor and must know that the "preceptor is the means to the Lord".