The term "garu", as Sri Ramanujam and Smt. Jayasree have said, is a term of respect akin to "avar" in Tamil. However, while Ayyagaru is used to refer to Brahmins in general, Iyengar is not at all used by SriVaishnava families in Andhra Pradesh. In fact, the term Iyengar is used to refer only to Tamil speaking SriVaishnavas. Vaishnavas in Andhra generally refer to themselves and are referred to by others with the term Acharyagaru, or in more colloquial term simply as Charigaru. The only unique variation on this is the term "Jeeyengar", which is used by traditional families to address Jeeyars. Be that as it may, however, I think it is important to note that historical references do not limit the use of the term Iyengar just to Brahmin SriVaishnavas alone. Indeed, there was one Kandadai Ramanuja Iyengar of non-brahmin origin who was instrumental in convincing the Vijaynagaram kings to renovate and support Thirumala. He took the name of Kandadai from his acharyan, but Iyengar was a title that I personally feel could only have been conferred upon him because of his dedication to Sri Vaishnavam. adiyen Ramanuja dasan Mohan ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/.itolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> azhwAr emberumAnAr jeeyAr thiruvadigalE saranam Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ramanuja/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ramanuja-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
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