Ācāra — The Code of Right Conduct in Śrī Vaiṣṇava Life
Ācāra (from the Sanskrit root ā + car, 'to walk/conduct oneself properly') is the comprehensive code of conduct — personal, ritual, and social — that defines the correct way of living for a Śrī Vaiṣṇava. It encompasses śauca (bodily and external purity — bath, cleanliness, proper marking of the body with ūrdhvapuṇḍra tilaka), āhāra-śuddhi (dietary purity — sāttvika food prepared with proper intention and free from non-permitted ingredients), kriyā-śuddhi (ritual purity of action in worship and daily rites), and vyavahāra-śuddhi (purity of conduct in social relations — reverence to elders, Āchāryas, and Bhāgavatas). The Smṛti literature, especially the Dharmaśāstras, codifies the broad framework of ācāra for the four varṇas and four āśramas; the Śrī Vaiṣṇava Āchāryas further specified the ācāra appropriate for initiated Śrī Vaiṣṇavas.
The Śrī Vaiṣṇava theological understanding of Ācāra is distinct from mere social formalism. Ācāra is not a set of rules imposed from outside but the natural outer expression of an inner transformation wrought by Prapatti (surrender). The prapanna who has truly realized śeṣatva (the ātman's nature as servant of Bhagavān) and who lives daily in awareness of Bhagavān's ownership of the body-mind-soul will naturally maintain purity and correct conduct — because the body now belongs to Bhagavān, and what belongs to Bhagavān must be kept pure and used for His service (kaiṅkarya). Ācāra thus flows from the inside out: tattva-jñānam (correct theological knowledge) → Prapatti → śeṣatva-awareness → natural kaiṅkarya → Ācāra as the expression of that kaiṅkarya.
The Āchāryas were careful to distinguish genuine Ācāra from its superficial imitations. A Śrī Vaiṣṇava who maintains ūrdhvapuṇḍra tilaka and follows dietary restrictions out of mere social convention, while privately harbouring bhāgavata-apacāra (disrespect toward Vaiṣṇavas) or neglecting nityānusandhānam, is considered to have the form of ācāra without its substance. Conversely, a humble devotee whose external ācāra may be incomplete but whose inner bhāva is genuinely surrendered to Bhagavān is considered superior. Rāmānuja's own life and the lives of the Āzhvārs — some of whom were not of orthodox varṇa — demonstrate that the theological essence of Ācāra is rooted in inner śuddhi (purity), not outer form alone.