Ans: A Sri Vaishnava is the one who feels the presence of Lord Vishnu in every object around and also within themselves. This happens by adopting a vedic ritual known as pancha samskara. A Sri Vaishnava is one who feels the pain of others as their own and helps. 

Detailed Explanation: A Sri Vaishnava is one who understands the inseparable relationship with Lord Maha Vishnu. This happens not just by thought but by adopting a Vedic ritual called Pancha Samskara. A Sri Vaishnava is one who feels the presence of Lord Vishnu in every object around and also within themselves and feels the joy and pain of others and shares it with others. If one is suffering, it is not the physical form that suffers but the inner soul who is none other than Vishnu. Hence when another person is suffering its the same Vishnu who is suffering and a Sri Vaishnava feels the pain of the other person as though it is theirs and responds by trying their best to relieve the pain of the other. As Narasimha Das sang “Vaishnava janato tene kahiye peed parayi jaane re” A Vaishnav is the one who feels the pain of others as their own and helps.  

Ans: If one believes in the relationship with Vishnu, one can become a Vaishnav by taking pancha samska:ra recommended by Lord Vishnu Himself in the A:ga:ma:s. They are tha:pa, pundra, manthra, ya:ga and na:ma:

Detailed Explanation: One can become a Vaishnava if they strongly believe the relationship with Lord Vishnu. However, a few things are recommended if we need vedic sanctity. Lord Vishnu Himself reccommended in A:gama:s that one can become a Vaishnava by taking the pancha samska:ra. There are 5 samska:ra:s recommended by Lord Vishnu Himself in the A:gama:s  namely (1) tha:pa (the imprint of the conch and disc symbol on one’s shoulders. The imprint is done after heating the symbols and hence called tha:pa) (2) pundra (the tilk on the forehead representing the divine feet of the Lord) (3) manthra (Intiated with the ashta:kshara manthra) (4) ya:ga (doing service to perumal like thiru a:radhanam) (5) naama (referring oneself as servant of Swami Ramanuja). 

Ans: Sri Vaishnava follows the Sri Sampradaya where one worships Maha Vishnu along with Maha Lakshmi as described in the Vedas. There are certain schools of thoughts which may not worship Lakshmi along with Vishnu and to distinguish from them we prefix Sri:. 

Detailed Explanation: There is not much difference between the two. Both of them believe in the strong relationship with Vishnu who is the spouse of Maha Lakshmi (also known as Sri:).  We don’t have two Vishnu’s, one with Maha Lakshmi and one without. Vedas when describing Vishnu, always described Hiim as the one with Maha Lakshmi. There are a few Vaishnavite schools of thoughts which do not believe in Sri: but just believe in Maha Vishnu. They worship Vishnu but do not worship Maha Lakshmi along with Vishnu. To distinguish from those schools of thought Sri: is prefixed. Sri Vaishnava is the school of thought where one follows Sri Sampradaya and it is the Ramanuja school of thought.

Ans: First step to excellence for any spiritual life is to lead a normal moral life. Common things like eat the right things, do good things, talk with humility and work modestly  and be a sattvik (good) personality is fundamental for leading a spiritual life

Detailed Explanation: Anyone should start with leading a normal moral life. That is the foundation of a spiritual life. Common things like eat the right things, do good things, talk with humility and work modestly and be a sattvik (good) personality is fundamental for leading a spiritual life. Nowadays our habits are corrupted with all sorts of food, polluted surroundings, and improper dressing. Moderation in all of this is the first step to excellence. Forego ego and do not think I did this or this is mine. Dedicate activities and result to God. Anything to be done, do it without ego but with humility and loyalty to god. Dedicating actions to God will not affect the result. It also does not mean rejecting or ignoring the people around you. The people around you are also provided by God, so that you can share things with them, teach them or learn from them. Ultimately one needs to feel the presence of God in everything. 

Ans: At the mind level a Sri Vaishnava should dedicate all his actions and results to God and consider God as their boss. At the physical level one should chant the guru parampara, take sri pa:da theertham, do thiru aradhanam, offer food to the Lord first and then partake it. 

Detailed Explanation: A Sri Vaishnava needs to observe a few things both at the physical and intellectual level. . At the physical level, a Sri Vaishnava must chant the guru parampara (lineage of our acharyas), take sri pa:da theertham (the water offered to the divine feet), do thiru aradhanam to perumal, offer the cooked food to the lord first and then partake it. At the mind level a Sri Viashnava should feel that God is their boss who takes care of both the soul and body.  S/heshould dedicate all their actions or activities to God be it at the start or at the finish of the activity and also dedicate the results of the activities. This internal attitude that God takes care of everything and surrendering oneself to Him is core of Sri Vaishnavism. A Sri Vaishnava should also connect everyone around them to God. These help one to feel the presence of God everywhere including within themselves . These are the basic things a Sri Vaishnava needs to cultivate