Bhagwan Swaminarayan
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Bhagwan Swaminarayan (April 2, 1781 - 1830) is the central figure of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, a relatively recent Hindu sect.
Brief biography
Bhagwan Swaminarayan (April 2, 1781 - 1830) was born Ghanshyam Pande to a Brahmin family in the village of Chhapaiya, Uttar Pradesh, India. His father's name was Hariprasad Pande (also known as Dharmadev) and his mother's name was Premvati (also known as Bhaktimata). He had two brothers, Rampratapji Pande, the older brother, and Icharamji Pande, the younger brother. After serving his parents, he left home at the age of 11 to travel over 8,000 miles throughout India on a holy pilgrimage for 7 years, 1 month, and 11 days. During his travels, Ghanshyam was given the name Neelkant for his fearless acts against nature's most ferocious animals. He eventually settled in Gujarat. At age 21, he was given the headship of a religious sect known as Uddhav Sampraday (later known as Swaminarayan Sampraday), with the blessings of his Guru Sadguru Ramanand Swami. He later became known as Bhagwan Swaminarayan after the mantra he taught. Bhagwan Swaminarayan was known by many names such as Shreeji Maharaj, Shri Hari and Sahajanand Swami.Bhagwan Swaminarayan established temples at: Ahmedabad, Bhuj, Muli, Vadtal, Junagadh, Dholera, Dholka, Gadhpur & Jetalpur – installing images of various manifestations of God, such as NarNarayan Dev, LaxmiNarayan Dev, Radha Krishna, Radha Raman, Revti Baldevji, etc. Shreeji Maharaj made Gadhpur his home, in recognition of the exceptional devoted love from Dada Khachar, one of his most devoted disciples.
Philosophy and claims of Godhood
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Bhagwan Swaminarayan was a Narayan and Krishna bhakta considered by his followers to be Narayan himself, Rama, Krishna, etc. being his avataras. Swaminarayan sampraday stems from the Ramanuja sampraday, which holds Lord Narayan to be supreme and Krishna to be an avatar.
In his main work called Shikshapatri (108) he writes:
- "Sa Sri Krshnaha Param Brahma Bhagvaan Purushotamaha Upasya Ishtadevo Naha Sarvaavirbhaav Kaaranam"
As an elaboration to this shlok, Sadguru Shree Shatanand Muni writes in Artha Dipika (Shikshapatri Bhashya)
"Yaha Saakshaat Bhagvaan Ksharakhara Paraha Krshnaha Sa Eva Svayam Bhaktau Dharmat Aas, Bhoori Krupaya Sri Svaminarayanaha Maanushyam Bhuvi Naatayannijjan Acharyatvadharme Sthitaha Krshnam Praha Parokshavann Tu Tatonyaha Sosti Yatsa Svayam"
"That live (saakshat) God (bhagvan) Krishna who is above kshar and akshar, appeared from Bhakti through Dharma as Swaminarayan; assumed a human body on the earth like a dramatist (natta). That Krishna whilst observing the (human) dharmas of an Acharya speaks in third person (parokshavann) but that Krishna is none other than Himself."
This verse is used to prove his claim of Godhood:
- 43
- Dharmadeva tada murtau, narnarayanatmana
- Pravrte-pi kalau Brahman! Bhutvaham samago dvijaha
- 44
- Munishapannrutam praptam, sarshim janakaatmanaha
- Tato-vita gurubhyoham saddharmam sthapayannaja
- 43
- dharma-devaat tadaa bhaktaad
- aham naaraayano munih
- janisye kosale dese
- bhuumau hi saamago dvijah
- 44
- muni-saapaan nrtaam praaptaan
- rsiims taata tathoddhavam
- tato 'vitaasurebhyo 'ham
- sad-dharmam sthaapayann aja
It is mentioned that he will establish sad-dharma; but there is no name of a mother (if her name was "Bhakti", then the word bhaktaad cannot refer to her, because this is the ablative singular ending of a masculine noun; for bhakti it would have to be bhaktyaah or bhakteh). Kali_Yuga is not mentioned.
- 43 "From Dharma-deva, then, from the devotee, I, Narayan-muni, shall take birth on this earth, in the land of Kosala, indeed, as a brahma, a singer of the Sama Veda."
- 44 "O Brahma, when cursed by a muni, some rsis take birth as human beings, I will protect them from the demons and I will establish the principles of religion."
Fundamentals of the Swaminarayan Philosophy
- Dharma (Religion): Virtuous conduct as defined in the 'Shrities' and 'Smrities' (Holy Scriptures) be known as the Dharma.
- Bhakti (Devotion): Supreme fervour of the soul combined with the consciousness of the Glories of the Supreme be known as ' Bhakti'. Nothing other then Gods devotion can guide the enlighten vision of God to great deliverance.
- Jnyana (Enlightenment): Correct awareness about the forms of the Soul, illusion, and God be known as 'Jnyana'.
- Vairagya (Renunciation): Detachment of the affection for all material possessions and be absolutely attached towards the love for the Eternal God is known as Vairagya.
- Maya (Illusion): It is considered 'Tri-Gunatmika' i.e. deceptive illusion prevails in all the three qualities of minds viz. Satva, Rajas and Tamas; To be possessed by Maya is to be caught in darkness; God is the Lord of maya who acts as the power of God; It breeds ego in one for his body and for the relatives of the body too.
- Mukti - Moksha (Great Deliverances): To worship God in knowing he is the Supreme Deity and reaching ultimate salvation.
- Atma (Soul): Is seated in the heart and is tiny as an atom; It is the source of energy and is the real knower; It is present in the whole body from head to toe; in character it is Insuperable, Impenetrable, Indestructible and Immortal.
- Paramatman (The Supreme Soul): It is omnipresent within the souls, just as soul is present in the body; it is independent and is the one whom rewards the Fala (fruits) to the souls.
- Demarcation of the jurisdiction and responsibilities of the respective Gadis
- Means of appointing future Acharyas.
Bhagwan Swaminarayan's Immediate Spiritual Successors
Followers of Shree Swaminarayan Sampraday believe these acharyas to be Bhagwan Swaminarayan's immediate spiritual successors. The current acharyas, by hereditary succession, are HH Acharya Maharajshri Shri Rakeshprasadji Maharaj adorns the illustrious seat of LaxmiNarayan Dev Gadi at Vadtal, whilst HH Acharya Maharajshri Shri Koshalendraprasadji Maharaj adorns the illustrious seat of NarNarayan Dev Gadi at Ahmedabad.
The Acharyas of the Sampraday are mere administrative heads. They are the spiritual leaders and the Guru through whom the path to atyantik kalyan (ultimate redemption) is opened.
Today, the Swāminārāyan Sect has several offshoots based on different opinions from the original Sampraday in leadership. In addition to the two aforementioned Āchāryas of the two Gadis which are the Dharmakul whom must be followed to reach Akshardham (heaven) as written in the Vachanarut "The devotee who is aashrit of Dharmakul (i.e. he who has received initiation from Dharmavanshi Acharya and remains loyal to the Acharya) gets a divine Bhram-state body by God’s wish…” (Vachanamrut, Gadhada Pratham Chapter 1) and another quote Gunatitanand Swami said, one of the main sadhus of Swaminarayan Bhagwan "He who insults the temples, Acharyas, sadhus and satsangies will find his roots being destroyed and will inevitably fall from the satsang.” (Swami ni Vato Prakran 5, Vat 104), followers of the Bochāsanwāsi Akshar Purushottam Sansthā (BAPS Swāminārāyan Sansthā) follow the leadership of H.H. Pramukh Swāmi, whom devotees believe is the very Ekāntik Sādhu (enlightened saint) that the Vachanāmrut (the Swāminārāyan Sampradāya's primary scripture which was written verbatim to the discourses delivered orally in various assemblies by five of Swāminārāyan's monk-scholars) speaks of in several instances. The Akshar-Purushottam philosophy, the ideology that is the foundation of BAPS, seeks to understand a dualistic relationship between the only two entities of the universe that supersede māyā, namely the entity of Akshar (synonymous to the Vedāntic idea of the macrocosmic Brahman) and Purushottam, the supreme reality.
Swaminarayan Bhagwan adopted Ayodhyaprasadji from his elder brother Rampratapji and adopted Raghuvirji from his younger brother Ichcharamji. He accepted the two as his own sons and handed the Northern - NarNarayan Dev Desh (diocese) to Acharya Shri Ayodhyaprasadji Maharaj and the Southern- LaxmiNarayan Dev Desh to Acharya Shri Raghuvirji Maharaj in Vadtal on VS 1882 (1826 AD) Kartik Sud 11 - Prabodhini Ekadashi (ironically on the very same day He was given the Acharya-pad by Ramanand Swami).
The NarNarayan Desh is based in Amdavad (Ahmedabad) and LaxmiNarayan Desh in Vadtal. Though known as NarNarayan Dev and LaxmiNarayan Dev Gadi, both are Swaminarayan Gadis as they are the only gadis established by Lord Swaminarayan Himself.
The Acharyas are householders and their respective wives (Gadiwala) stand as the females’ Guru. The Gadi is passed on to the most capable of the Sons from their family.
The Acharya’s role is to:
- initiate followers into the Sampraday with a Samanya Diksha by giving the special guru-mantra
- initiate sadhus (monks, ascetics) by giving them the Maha-Bhagwadi Diksha
- perform murti-pratishtha, install deities in the temples
- authenticate scriptures of the Sampraday
- act as the Guru and leader of the entire Sampraday
In the Shikshapatri (62), Swaminarayan Bhagwan clearly states “And the form of Shri Krishna that has been given by your Acharya for the purpose of your worship and the forms that the Acharya has installed (i.e. in the mandirs) are the only forms of God worthy of worship. The rest are worthy of respect but not worthy of worship” Therefore, the only murtis (deities) worthy of worship are those installed by the Acharyas.
Bhagwan Swaminarayan's Nand Santos
'Nand Santos' are the saints of the Swaminarayan Sampraday who were initiated Paramhans by Shree Swaminarayan, and came to believe in his divinity. Here are a few nand santos' biography
- [Ramanand Swami - Guru of Bhagwan Swaminarayan] Samvat Year 1795 - 1858 (1739-1802 AD)
- [Muktanand Swami] Samvat Year 1814-1887 (1758-1830 AD)
- [Brahmanand Swami] Samvat Year 1828-1888 (1772-1832 AD)
- [Gopalanand Swami] Samvat Year 1837-1908 (1781-1852 AD)
- [Nityanand Swami] Samvat Year 1832-1908 (1776-1852 AD)
- [Shukanand Swami] Samvat 1855-1925 (1799-1869 AD)
- [Nishkulanand Swami] Samvat 1822-1903 (1766-1847 AD)
- [Shatanand Swami]
- [Akhandanand Swami]
- [Premanand Swami] Samvat 1840-1911 (1784-1855 AD)
- [Gunatitanand Swami] Samvat 1841-1923 (1785-1867 AD)
- [Devanand Swami] Samvat 1859-1910 (1803-1854 AD)
- [Vyapakanand Swami]
- [Swarupanand Swami]
- [Sachchidanand Swami]
- [Adwaittanand Swami]
- [Bhumanand Swami]
- [Mukundanand Brahmachari] Samvat 1822-1902 (1766-1846 AD)
Swaminarayan Sampraday Developments
Currently the Shree Swaminarayan Sampraday is working on a Swaminarayan Museum in Ahmedabad, to treasure Bhagwan’s most cherished items of Prasadi which can be viewed by all people for darshan. The museum will hold items such as Bhagwan Swaminarayan writing scripts, day to day garments, ornaments etc. This is the first ever project in the Swaminarayan Sampraday to create this unity in all of Bhagwan’s Prasadi items from Temples all over the world. This museum had been a long dream of H.H Nivrut Acharya Tejendraprasadji Maharaj.
In 2001 ISSO-Seva was established. It is an independent running charity under the Swaminarayan Sampraday to give a helping hand to mankind, to help the homeless and needy as well as making awareness about the modern day diseases and infections. It provides relief for when a natural disaster strikes worldwide. The charity is run by professionals and volunteers of the Swaminarayan temples and tentres.[link]
In 2005 a 17 acre plot of land was acquired in North-West London UK, to build the first ever Swaminarayan Temple with separate praying halls for the men and women. This will accommodate the Asian community and help advance the future generation of followers by providing education classes and conducting social and community events. It has been named Dharma Bhakti Manor.
On January, 2006 the Bhoomi Poojan (Foundation Laying Cermony) was performed in the presents of H.H. 1008 Acharya Shree Koshalendraprasadji Maharaj and devotee’s from each part of the UK. This will be the first Hindu temple in the Crawley area, the mandir will consist of a prey room, education facilities, community events and sufficient parking space. Currently work is in production carried out by the devotee’s of the Swaminarayan Sampraday on a volunteer basis.[Gatwick Temple Bhoomi Poojan]
The temple opening utsav will be between 31st July to 6th Aug; this will be the marking of the first Swaminarayan Hindu Temple in the Crawley/Gatwick area for more info please visit [Official Swaminarayan website]
The original Shree Swaminarayan Sampraday controls and maintains the first nine authentic Swaminarayan temples built by the instructions of Lord Swaminarayan as well as 129 other temples in India and 45 centers worldwide.[link] Due to the Earthquake on 26 January 2001, much of the City of Bhuj was shattered, including the magnificent and divinely constructed Bhuj temple. The saints & satsangis of Kutch residing in India and satsangis living abroad, have resolved to construct a new marbled temple a short distance away from this historic site.
[Latest development of Bhuj Mandir]
[Latest development of the Swaminarayan Museum]
External links
- [|| Shree Swaminarayan Sampraday || Website]
- [Vadtal LaxmiNarayan Dev Mandir Website]
- [Bhuj NarNarayan Dev Mandir Website]
- [Shree Swaminarayan Museum Website]
- [ISSO-Seva Website]
- [Digital Shikshapatri Website]
- [Desh Vibhag Lekh Explanation]
- [Shree Swaminarayan Temple Willesden - First Swaminarayan Temple in UK]
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