The duties of an Āchārya

The Āchārya must first master the three divine secrets and their meaning in their entirety. Only after learning it in its entirety is he supposed to pass it on to his pupils. The Āchārya must perform Pañcha-Saṃskāram, which includes initiation to the three divine mantras, namely the Tirumantram, Dwaya Mantram, and Charama Shloka.

The Āchārya must impart in privacy to the disciple seeking moksham the inner meanings of the three Rahasyams. The disciple, in turn, must reflect with utmost concentration the implications of the mantras and how they can conduct themselves accordingly to attain moksham. Living per the Āchārya's instruction will relieve one from all sin and grant them a state free from fear about anything.

We must understand that the Lord and Mahālakshmī are the controllers of creation, sustenance, and destruction of all Chith and Achith. We must also recognize that the Lord is present as Antharyami within each of us, and that He will grant the karma-phalam to all our actions. Knowing the Lord's unique position, we must try only to seek Him out and nobody else.

From time immemorial, we see the importance of an Āchārya through the course of our history in the form of Swetaketu-Uddalaka, Brighu-Varuna, Maithreyi-Yagnavalka, Sanatkumāra-Nārada, Yama-Nachiketa, Prajāpati-Indra, Vasishṭha-Rāma, Sandipani-Krishna.