Okay, so an automorphic form $f$ on a reductive group $G/ \mathbb{Q}$ and arithmetic subgroup $\Gamma$ is a smooth function satisfying the following conditions: (a) invariance with respect to left $\Gamma -$ translations. (b) Right $K -$ finiteness. (c) Annihilated with respect to a finite co-dimension ideal of the center $Z(\mathcal{U}(\mathfrak{g}_{\mathbb{C}}))$ ( of the complexified universal enveloping algebra). (d) Growth conditions. Now as I understand, it is clear why condition (a) is relevant. Condition (b) comes from the idea that representation of $G$ associated to $f$ is admissible. My understanding is that condition (d) ensures that we can "extend" the automorphic form to the cusps of the symmetric space. I would like to know: what exactly is the intuition behind condition (c)? (I hope it is not just to provide a framework which includes classical modular forms over upper half-plane and the Maass forms.) Also any comments about "my understanding" of conditions (a), (b) and (d) are appreciated!