From the Bhakti List Archives
Mani Varadarajan
• Mon Jan 19 1998 - 10:44:36 PST
Krishna Kalale writes:
> I personally do not not know of any of our acharyas who instruct pranava
> mantra to females and non-traivarnikas.
Sri Manavala Maamunigal explicitly says in his commentary
on Mumukshuppadi ("the steps of the seeker of liberation")
that imparting the ashtAkshara mantra _must_ be done with
praNava, and that it must have 8 syllables, no matter who
is receiving the mantra. According to Maamunigal, imparting
it in another way destroys the mantra.
This practice is followed by acharyas in the line of Manavala
Maamunigal. Others may do it differently.
Mani
