The name Seshan means someone who serves his guru or lord with utmost devotion. Adi Seshan serves Mahavishnu at all times, even during his avatars — as Lakshmana when the Lord manifested as Rama and as Balarama during Krishna Avatar. In Kali Yuga, Adi Seshan appeared as the great preceptor Ramanuja in order to help people reconnect with divinity, said Tirukkudanthai Dr. Venkatesh in a discourse.
Born in the Tamil month of Chittirai, under the Tiruvadhirai star, in Sriperumbudur, Ramanuja’s mission is five-fold, says Manavala Mamunigal. First, he taught the world that god resides within a person. Secondly, in Kali Yuga when sins are multiplying, he established that moksha is not the purview of merely a few privileged people, but is within reach of anyone who surrenders to the Lord. His lucid exposition of the Vedas made it easy for the ordinary people to understand the essence of the Vedas and Upanishads. Third, his unstinting efforts to inculcate bhakti in all had positive results: it is said that proliferation of sinners burdens Mother Earth. Through his teachings and inculcating the Bhakti cult, he upheld the virtue and thus lightened the burden on Bhooma devi.
Fourth, he ensured that the Tamil pasurams of the Azhwars, encapsulating the essence of Vedas, were given their due importance, and reached a wider audience. Due to his efforts, the Tamil hymns resonate in the sanctum sanctorum of Vaishnavite temples today. Last but not the least, he showed the faithful that the great idols in various temples such as Sri Rangam, Srimushnam, Kancheepuram, Kumbakonam, etc., were not mere symbols, but archa avtars: resident gods offering succour to the devout.
