Importance of Naam Daan
These five Sanskaras become a means of establishing one's rights and worthiness of serving the Almighty. The other reason here is that tāp etc. five sanskaras, as elucidated in the vedas completely conform to the teachings of vedas and are totally supported by theosophy, history, the Puranas and the philosophy of pāncharātrāgam. Just as other sixteen sanskaras make us worthy of any action whatsoever; similarly, these five sanskaras make us worthy of God's worship. These five sanskaras obliterate all sins pertaining to our opposition to the worship of the Almighty and purify us completely and fully; they also ensure our belief and rights in the exclusive divine selfless service towards the Lord ( bhagwat-kainkarya).
Tāp purifies our body and it is also instrumental in obliterating the account of our accumulated actions. Tilak purifies our mind and intellect; mantras purifies our inner faculties and our soul and lastly, remembering God's name grants us the right of becoming one with Vishnu Himself and after that we become entitled to do Lord's worship in the form of Yāg.
These five sanskaras denote our complete devotion towards Almighty and saves us from wandering away from the path of surrender and God realisation every moment.
It is equally important to know that in this path of surrender, if even once one dwindles from the emotion of surrender it interrupts the process of seeking the divine shelter. As such one should always bear the symbols given by the mentor so that the process of seeking protection does not get hindered.
In this way, complete surrender illuminates the character. A devotee is considered to be the property of the one whose symbols he bears. Just as the personnel in the defence or the police services are given the national symbols and uniforms and it is after donning them that they get the right to perform state duties; In the same way, our scriptures instruct us to necessarily go through these sanskaras in order to be worthy of performing religious rites and selfless service towards the Lord Almighty.
In our society it is necessary for a married woman to adorn herself with bangles, mangalsutra, vermilion (sindoor) etc. in order to perform her marital rites but at the same time her mind should also be completely devoted, pure and in accordance with her husband's nature. Similarly, in relation to the Almighty, the superficial symbols are shankha and chakra while the inner symbols are materialistic dettachment and sincere affection and devotion for the Supreme Being.
Among the universally acceptable innermost sanskaras these five sanskaras are considered to be of the highest order.
In order to accomplish Shri Vishnu's traits, first and foremost is donning of shankha and chakra; secondly adorning of tilak with sacred turmeric powder in the form of upward lotus, which symbolizes the Lotus feet of the Almighty; thirdly adopting the God related devotee name; fourthly getting initiated to the sacred mantra which comes as the blessing of God and illuminator of our inner traits; and fifth performing the 'Yāg' sanskara which is comparable to seeking deliverance.
These sanskaras are devised in order to prove the right and worthiness of man in the core service of the Lord Almighty. This is the directive of the Holy Scriptures. The importance of these five sanskaras in Shri Ramanuja's community of Vaishnavas is universally acknowledged because all the devotees here are perfected in these sanskaras. The other reason here is that tāp etc. five sanskaras, as elucidated in the vedas, completely conform to the teachings of vedas and are totally supported by theosophy, history, the Puranas and the philosophy of pāncharātrāgam.
Just like normal sanskaras these five sanskaras also help as the means of worthiness in other fields of life just by the virtue of their being 'sanskaras' in the first place. These five sanskaras are the means of achieving merit in the field of divine worship. The five sanskaras help in obliterating the sins that cause hurdle in divine worship and they also ensure our belief and rights in the exclusive divine kainkarya (selfless service)
At the same time, these being the sanskaras of body and soul, they purify both! By accepting the Lord's symbols of shankha and chakra in accordance with the directives of the vedas one is freed from the fear of Yamraj (the God of death) because Yamraaj is not the ruler of Shri Vaishnavas.
These sanskaras should be attained from a True Learned Preceptor(GURU).
Through the grace of the Guru a subtle transfer of energy flows into the heart,mind,body and soul of the disciple.This pure energy initiates a process of change in the disciple which ultimately leads to destruction of all evil and negative tendencies, and spurts of creative and positive vibrations encourages him to strive for the highest and best in both spiritual and material fields.
Only the grace of a True Guru can grant a disciple these samskaras making the his life holy and sanctified.