Bhagwan Swaminarayan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The examples and perspective in this article or section may not include all significant viewpoints.
Please improve the article or discuss the issue on the talk page.
Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan in his Vibhav Roop(Incarnate Form)
Enlarge
Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan in his Vibhav Roop(Incarnate Form)

Bhagwan Swaminarayan (April 2, 1781 - 1830) is the central figure of the Uddhav Sampradaya (also known and referred to as, the Swaminarayan Sampradaya), a Hindu sect, following in the line of Vaishnavism. This faith's attraction for its followers lies in its deep philosophy based in the Vedas, purity of purpose, ethics and strong belief in social work with a respect for all religions.

Bhagwan Swaminarayan was born Ghanshyam Pande in Uttar Pradesh (North India) in 1781 AD, renounced his home at the age of 11, performed austerities in the Himalayas and traveled through India for the next seven years across 8,000 miles, before settling in an ashram in Gujarat (Western India). He then preached his doctrine of love, peace, purity and non-violence until his death in 1830. Followers believe that he lives on beyond his mortal form.

Contents

[edit] Life

Bhagwan Swaminarayan (April 3, 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 Neelkanth, another name for Lord Shiva, for the intensive tapas, meditation, and yoga he performed. In many instances, yogis, rishis and sadhus were attracted to his figure in awe, for they had never before seen such a young renunciant who is so advanced in the art of meditation.

To dispel what he saw as the misinterpretation and malpractice that had befallen upon Hindu practice in the 19th century, he travelled across the length and breadth of India in search of an Ashram or sampradaya (following) that practiced what he considered a correct understanding of Vedanta, Samkhya, Yoga, and Pancaratra -- the four primary schools of Hinduism. He would measure the various yogis' understanding of the scriptures by asking the following five questions and assessing their responses: "What is the nature of Jiva? What is the nature of Ishwar? What is the nature of Maya? What is the nature of Brahman? What is the nature of Parabrahman?" His journey as a profound yogi eventually concluded in Gujarat, where Swami Muktananda, a senior monk-disciple of a highly respected Vaishnav guru Swami Ramananda, answered the five questions satisfactorily.

Neelkanth was pleased to see his understanding of a pure understanding of the essence of Hindu thought and practice as well as an Ashrama that was strict in abiding by the laws of Dharma, and so he decided to stay to get an opportunity to meet and become a disciple of Swami Ramananda.

Neelkanth's profound understanding of the metaphysical and epistemological concepts of the Pancha-Tattvas (five eternal entities as outlined above) combined with the level of his mental and physical discipline are said to have inspired even the senior sadhus of Swami Ramananda. At age 21, he was given the headship of the religious sect known as Uddhav Sampraday (later known as Swaminarayan Sampradaya), with the blessings of his Guru Sadguru Ramanand Swami. He later became known as Bhagwan Swaminarayan after the mantra he taught. Although the name that was given by his Guru Swami Ramananda at the time of initiation into the monk order was Swami Sahajananda, he become commonly known as Bhagwan Swaminarayan, or Shreeji Maharaj or Shri Hari.

The teachings of Bhagwan Swaminarayan transformed a significant portion of Gujarat, Saurashtra, and even parts of Rajasthan into people of all castes, creeds, and ashramas developing "a pure understanding of spirituality" and shedding what followers believe to be false conceptions of the scriptures that had led to a long-standing practice of superstitions, violence, and killing of animals in Vedic yagnas. Lord Swaminarayan, as a hallmark of his philosophy of temple theism and idol worship, constructed nine magnificent mandirs in: 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. Lord Swaminarayan made Gadhpur his home, in recognition of the devoted love from Dada Khachar, one of his most devoted disciples.

Lord Swaminarayan's philosophical, social, and practical teachings are contained in the Vachanamrut, a collection of 273 dialogues which were recorded with precision by five of his disciples verbatim to his spoken words. As a result, the Vachanamrut is shared by the entire Swaminarayan Sampradaya to be the most central scripture to attain a comprehensive knowledge of dharma (moral conduct), jnan (understanding of the nature of the atman), vairagya (mental and physical detachment from material pleasure or maya), and bhakti (pure, selfless devotion to God) -- the four essentialities for a jiva to attain the state of Brahman and become a perfect disciple of God. As a commentary to the practice and understanding of Dharma, Lord Swaminarayan composed the Shikshapatri, a small booklet containing 212 Sanskrit hymns that outline the basic tenets of Dharma that all disciples should follow to live a well-disciplined and moral life.

Historically, the movement that Lord Swaminarayan started can be seen to have a significant effect in the state of affairs of Gujarat and Rajasthan, for the amount of social work He conducted can be seen as one of the major factors leading to the stabilization of Gujarat during the 19th century[citation needed], a time where the British Empire and the Muslims of the north were gaining a stronger foothold. The advent of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya is arguably the strongest influence in 19th century India to provide a resurgence of Hindu philosophy and practice, defying significant outside influence and a widespread misinterpretation and malpractice of the Hindu texts, injecting a strong ideal of non-violence, religious and cultural tolerance, and simply developing a pure love for God. The abolition of the prejudice and segregation that had resulted from the caste system is another hallmark of Lord Swaminarayan's social work to reach out to all people and open the gateway of spiritual discipline and participation in the congregation (which Swaminarayan referred to as Satsang). Thus, Lord Swaminarayan, through his profoundly attractive personality, was able to transform the inherited Uddhav Sampradaya from his Guru Swami Ramananda into a massive fellowship that some historians[citation needed] estimate attracted up to two million followers and over 2,000 men and women by 1820 C.E. to follow the path of renunciation and celibacy to join the saint order[citation needed].

Today, the Swaminarayan Sampradaya is a global movement with leadership distributed among the two Acharyas who are considered "authentic" - whom pass the instructions onto Mahant Swami's and other disciples who seek to preach the concepts of Lord Swaminarayan presented in the Vachanamrut, Shikshapatri, and other texts of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. Although there are many sects of Swaminarayan Hinduism, all are united in their faith in God, ideals of devotion, and importance they attribute to the divine manifestation of Bhagwan Swaminarayan. Today, Swaminarayan Mandirs exist throughout four continents and have a total following of nearly five million[citation needed] and a saint order of well over 3,000[citation needed].

[edit] Philosophy and claims of Godhood

Part of a series on
Hinduism
History · Deities
Denominations · Mythology
Beliefs & practices
Reincarnation · Moksha
Karma · Puja · Maya
Samsara · Dharma
Vedanta ·
Yoga · Ayurveda
Yuga · Vegetarianism
Bhakti
Scriptures
Upanishads · Vedas
Brahmana · Bhagavad Gita
Ramayana · Mahabharata
Purana · Aranyaka
Shikshapatri · Vachanamrut
Related topics
Dharmic Religions ·
Hinduism by country
Leaders · Devasthana
Caste system · Mantra
Glossary · Hindu festivals
Vigraha
Hinduism: Swastika

This box: view • talk • edit

The advent of almighty God in the form of Swaminarayan Bhagwan is claimed to have been forecast in ancient Vedic scriptures by followers. Many doubts are raised as to how Swaminarayan Bhagwan can be considered Bhagwan or God.

The world's first Swaminarayan Temple was built in Ahmedabad by the instructions of Bhagwan Swaminarayan.
Enlarge
The world's first Swaminarayan Temple was built in Ahmedabad by the instructions of Bhagwan Swaminarayan.

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"

That ishvara is Shi Krishna who is PraBrahma Bhagwan Purushottam and our most cherished deity (istadev). He is worthy of being worshipped by us all (upasya). He is the cause of all manifestations and incarnations.

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

with this translation: When the asuras who were killed by myself and Arjuna begin to spread wickedness on earth, I will be born in a Brahmin family to Dharmadev and Murti from NarNarayana. I, with many other rishis, will receive a shaap (curse) from a Muni to come on the earth to a Samved Brahmin family to protect the religion from evil gurus and rulers.” (Vasudeva Mahatmya 18.43-44 of Skanda Purana, Vishnu Khanda)

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

The complete reference in the Venkatesvara edition of Skanda Purana is 2.9.18.43-44 (2.9 is Vasudeva Mahatmya).

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."

[edit] Fundamentals of the Swaminarayan philosophy

Shree Hari is Shree NarNarayan Dev Himself
Enlarge
Shree Hari is Shree NarNarayan Dev Himself
Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan
Enlarge
Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan
  • 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.
  • Jnāna (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.
  • Māyā (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.
  • Ātman (Self): The innate physiology of the subtle Self that is imperceptible by the human senses. Recognition of the ātman, after which one experiences a transcendental bliss, is achieved through bhakti-yoga as outlined in the Bhagavad Gitā, according to the teachings of Lord Swaminarayan. It is the source of energy and is the real knower; It pervades the entire body and is the essence that differentiates matter and life; in character it is inseparable, impenetrable, indestructible and immortal.
  • Paramātman (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. It is the source of infinite material universes and the First Cause. It has no prior causes, and is the inherent cause of all effects (i.e. law of causality or the Hindu concept of karma). S. Radhakrishnan, a renowned Hindu scholar, writes "The Supreme is described as a kavi, a poet, an artist, a maker or creator, not a mere imitator...even as art reveals man's wealth of life, so does the world reveal the immensity of God's life," (p. 86, The Principal Upanishads). That Paramātman is believed by followers of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya to have manifested as Lord Swaminarayan.

Prior to Bhagwan Swaminarayan's death, Shriji Hari divided his mandirs into two regions and in Vadtal, he established the dual Acharyaship, in direct succession to himself. He did so by means of a legal document Desh Vibhag Lekh which is a scripture that was dictated to Shuk Swami on Maghshar Sud 15, Vikram Samvat 1883 and witnessed by elder saints and satsangis of the Sampraday. The Lekh serves two primary purposes:

  1. Demarcation of the jurisdiction and responsibilities of the respective Gadis
  2. Means of appointing future Acharyas.

[edit] Immediate spiritual successors

According to Bhagwan Swaminarayan's Commands(as written in Shikshapatri and Vachanamrut) the Dharmavanshi Acharyas are the immediate spiritual successors of the Uddhav Sampraday. The current acharyas, by hereditary succession, are HH Acharya Maharajshri Shri Rakeshprasadji Maharaj took the seat of LaxmiNarayan Dev Gadi at Vadtal, while HH Acharya Maharajshri Shri Koshalendraprasadji Maharaj took the seat of NarNarayan Dev Gadi at Ahmedabad.

H.H.1008 Acharya Shree Rakeshprasadji Maharaj
Enlarge
H.H.1008 Acharya Shree Rakeshprasadji Maharaj

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, Swāminārāyan Hinduism has several sects based on differences of opinion in leadership. The Āchāryas of the two Gadis are followed to guide an aspirant towards the proper path 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). Gunatitanand Swami, one of the main sadhus of Swaminarayan Bhagwan, says "He who insults the temples, Acharyas, sadhus and satsangis 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) follow a lineage beginning with Gunātitānand Swami as a claimed immediate successor of Lord Swāminārāyan, to the present-day leadership of Pramukh Swami, whom devotees believe is the Ekāntik Sādhu (enlightened saint) that the Vachanāmrut speaks of in several instances. It must be noted here that BAPS' interpretation of ekantik sadhu is of a singular nature whereas the original Swaminarayan Sampraday consider it to refer to any enlightened or spiritually advanced soul.

Swaminarayan Bhagwan adopted Ayodhyaprasadji from his elder brother Rampratapji and adopted Raghuvirji from his younger brother Ichcharamji, to hand over the Swaminarayan Sampraday to. 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 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

The concept of having a householder (non-monk) as guru and that of hereditary succession are unique to the Shree Swaminarayan Sampraday. It is the uniqueness of the Swaminarayan Sampraday, that the closest a tyagi (saint) comes to leadership is being appointed the Mahant Swami (head-saint) of a Shikharbandh Temple. At all times, the true saints of the Sampraday take their instructions from the Acharya, their ultimate guru and leader.

In the Shikshapatri (62), Swaminarayan Bhagwan 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.

The Vachanāmrut details the specific attributes of ekantiks and explains that such a saint has his mind constantly attuned to the divine form of God, is totally detached from material pleasure (nishkāmi), bodily attachment (nisnehi), covetousness (nirlobhi), and ultimately ego (nirmāni). Such a saint offers selfless devotion to God while desiring nothing but the spiritual, moral and social stabilization of the disciples. The devotees of BAPS believe that such a Saint Lord Swāminārāyan speaks of is Pramukh Swami, a spiritual guide who incorporates extensive social work with moral and intellectual development. The devotees of the Original Swaminarayan sect believe that these attributes are present in numerous of their saints. It is worthwhile noting here that despite instructions from Lord Swaminarayan in the Shikshapatri, Pramukh Swami has not received diksha or inititiation from a bonafide Acharya of the Swaminarayan Sampraday and the devotees of the Original Swaminarayan therefore question whether he really does possess the virtues that Lord Swaminarayan mentions in the Vachanamrut.

[edit] Nand Santos

'Nand Santos' are the saints of the Swaminarayan Sampraday who were initiated Paramhans by Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan, and came to believe in his divinity. There are articles on several Nand Santos (see external links section for a more complete list):

[edit] Swaminarayan Sampraday developments

Shree Swaminarayan Museum under construction
Enlarge
Shree Swaminarayan Museum under construction

Currently the Swaminarayan Sampraday is working on a Swaminarayan Museum in Ahmedabad, to treasure Swaminarayan 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 centres.[1]

In 2005 a 17 acre plot of land was acquired in Middlesex UK, to build the first ever Swaminarayan Temple with separate praying rooms for the men and women. This will accommodate the community and help advance the future generation of followers, as well as other rooms for providing education classes and conducting social and community events. It has been named Dharma Bhakti Manor.

Central deities situated at Swaminarayan Manor - Gatwick
Enlarge
Central deities situated at Swaminarayan Manor - Gatwick

The opening utsav for Swaminarayan Manor was held between 31st July to 6th Aug; this was the marking of the first Swaminarayan Hindu Hostal in the Crawley/Gatwick area for more info please visit Official Swaminarayan website

Model of the proposed new Swaminarayan Mandir - Bhuj
Enlarge
Model of the proposed new Swaminarayan Mandir - Bhuj

On the auspicious day of Rama Ekadashi on the 17th October 2006 (Aso Vad 11, Vikram Samvat 2062 Indian Date) in the presence of H.H Acharya Maharajshri Koshalendraprasadji Maharaj, Shree Swaminarayan Mandir Bhuj appointed S.G. Dharmanandandasji Swami as the New Mahant Swami of Bhuj Swaminarayan Mandir to succeed Nivrut (Retired) S.G. Mahant Swami Purani Hariswarup Dasji .[2]

At 12:00AM GMT, on the 30th October 2006 (5:30AM IST Kartik Sud 8, Vikram Samvat 2063 Indian Date) our beloved Nivrut (Retired) S.G. Mahant Swami Purani Hariswarup Dasji of Bhuj Swaminarayan Mandir departed to Akshardham while chanting the Swaminarayan Maha Mantra. Funeral procession

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.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Nand Santos biographies

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../b/h/a/Bhagwan_Swaminarayan_f7d9.html"