Swaminarayan Sampraday
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Swaminarayan Sampraday, known previously as the Uddhav Sampraday, is a sect established by Bhagwan Swaminarayan (April 2, 1781 - 1830). Bhagwan Swaminarayan was handed the leadership of the Uddhav Sampraday from his Guru Sadguru Ramanand Swami, to continue and to propagate the teachings and philosophy of Vishishtadvaita, which originates from the Sri sampradaya.
Author Raymond Brady Williams writes, "The Swaminarayan Sampraday has over 3.5 million followers worldwide. It has more followers, both householders and saints, and support more large temples than the other Swaminarayan groups."[1]
According to the Indian Express newspaper, followers of the Swaminarayan faith number over 2 crore (or 20 million).[2]
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[edit] Swaminarayan and his Sampraday
14 days after Ramanand Swami left for his mortal body, appointing Swaminarayan (Sahajanand Swami as his successor), Swaminarayan held a large gathering of followers at the town of Faneni. It was during this meeting, while explaining that God is one that Swaminarayan introduced what he termed "the father of all Mantras", Swaminarayan. It should be noted that there was no Swami who he had appointed his successor or as an ideal devotee, at that time. The name refers wholly & solely to one entity, Swaminarayan. Thereafter the name Swaminarayan Sampraday(formerly known as Uddhav Sampraday) came into existence.
He established temples at:
- Ahmedabad - Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad
- Mooli
- Bhuj - Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Bhuj
- Vadtal - Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Vadtal
- Jetalpur
- Dholera - Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Dholera
- Dholka
- Junagadh - Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Junagadh
- Gadhada - Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Gadhada
He installed images of various manifestations of God, such as Nar Narayan Dev, Laxmi Narayan Dev, Radha Krishna, Radha Raman, Revti Baldevji, etc. Swaminarayan made Gadhpur his home for over 27 years. In Gadhpur he stayed at the Darbar of Dada Khachar, one of his most well known devotees.
At Vadtal, Swaminarayan established the dual Acharyaship, in direct succession to himself. This he did by means of a legal document (known as Desh Vibhag no Lekh), which he dictated and was written by Shukanand Swami. Learned saints and elder satsangis witnessed this document. Copies were presented to the inaugural Acharyas, Ayodhyaprasadji Maharaj & Raghuveerji Maharaj – these are currently in the possession of the current Acharyas. "The document was accepted by the Bombay High Court as the authoritative document regarding the apportionment of the two dioceses, so it has legal standing".[1]
Swaminarayan appointed Shree Raghuveerji Maharaj to the LaxmiNarayan Dev Gadi at Vadtal, and Shree Ayodhyaprasadji Maharaj to the NarNarayan Dev Gadi at Ahmedabad. Presently, Acharya Maharajshri Rakeshprasadji Maharaj is at the head of Laxmi Narayan Dev Gadi, while Acharya Maharajshri Koshalendraprasadji Maharaj is at the head of the Nar Narayan Dev Gadi at Ahmedabad.
At the age of 49, Swaminarayan left his mortal body at Gadhpur, promising to remain within the Swaminarayan Sampraday in:
- 1. the images he installed (and by the Acharyas succeeding him)
- 2. the Acharyas installed by him (and those in direct succession)
- 3. the saints he initiated (and those initiated by succeeding Acharyas)
- 4. the scriptures, such as Shikshapatri, Vachanamrut, Satsangi Jeevan, Nishkhulanand Kavya etc (and those authorised by succeeding Acharyas)[3]
[edit] Fundamentals of the Swaminarayan Sampraday
The Swaminarayan Sampraday with its roots in the Vedas was founded by Swaminarayan. It follows the Vaishnav tradition and to its followers represents the form of Sanatana Dharma (Hindu) religion. It focuses its faith on salvation through total devotion – bhakti – to the Supreme God developed through dharma (virtues), gnana (spiritual wisdom) and vairagya (detachment). Established on the pillars of spirituality, it reaches out far and wide to clear the confusions and questions of the moral, social and material world of today. This was proved during the Gathering of Vadodara.[4]
The Swaminarayan Sampraday is bhakti-focussed and advocates God within the disciplines of dharma. Swaminarayan has propagated a philosophy where he says that God is supreme, has a divine form, is the all-doer and is completely independent. He simply stated that jiva (souls) never merge or dissolve into God and neither are they part of God, but are always subservient to God. Redemption consists in the realisation of ekantik dharma comprising righteousness, right knowledge, detachment and, above all, devotion to that God.
The Sampraday consolidates characters in societies, families and individuals. This is done by mass motivation and individual attention, through elevating projects for all, irrespective of class, creed, colour and country. The hallmark of the Swaminarayan devotee is that he or she devoutly begins the day with pooja and meditation, works or studies honestly and donates regular hours in serving others. No stealing, no adultery, non-consumption of intoxicants, vegetarianism, and non-conversion are the 'panch vartman' or the five principal vows, that act as prerequisites for being considered as part of the Sampraday. Such mortal purity and spiritual surety add a deeper brilliance to all the hundreds of social services performed for better life.
Bhagwan Swaminarayan's lifetime objective was to establish a permanent system of achieving aatyantik kalyaan – the ultimate redemption from the cycle of life and death. He aimed at achieving this by establishing the following :-
[edit] Murtis
As an adjunct to the scriptures in establishing Ekantik Dharma and consolidating the framework of the Satsang (holy fellowship), Bhagwan Swaminarayan constructed stone mandirs- buttressing Upasana – worshipping god, and bhakti – devotion towards the deities. Towards the end of his second decade of work, he placed a greater emphasis on bhakti over detachment – vairagya to foster love for God. This emphasis on bhakti culminated in the building of mandirs. The mandirs served four major purposes
- As a permanent place for offering worship
- As a centre for religious gathering and instruction
- As a centre for studying Sanskrit, devotional music and Vedic literature
- As centres of social services where alms, medicines and clothes were available to the poor and needy
In a span of six years, from 1822 till 1828, Bhagwan Swaminarayan sanctioned the construction of nine mandirs in Gujarat : Ahmedabad, Mooli, Bhuj, Vadtal, Jetalpur, Dholera, Dholka, Junagadh and Gadhada.
The sadhus (monks) and devotees provided the labour considered as seva or devotional service. Swaminarayan himself is said to have carried stones on his head, hauling them up the hill from the River Ghela to Dada Khachar's courtyard during the foundation laying of Gadhada mandir. He also carried thirty-seven bricks in the construction of Vadtal mandir. He further spread the concept of unique monotheism by installing murtis such as Nara-Narayana, LakshmiNarayan and Radha Krishna declaring that God is one but appears in many forms(Shikshapatri Slokh 109-111). He also consecrated his own murtis, named HariKrishna Maharaj in temples such as Vadtal. [5]
He entrusted the day to day performance of the worship rituals in these mandirs to the sadhus.
[edit] Shastra's
Religious literature of the Sampraday forms another fundamental aspect of the purpose of Swaminarayan's arrival on this earth. These endorse the preaching, principals and the lifetimes of Swaminarayan. The Shikshapatri, written by Swaminarayan, stands as the basis of the Swaminarayan Sampraday in which it contains the sum and substance of all the sat-shastras or scriptures, thereby eliminating the need for followers to refer to any other shastra for guidance. In addition, the Vachanamrut, Satsangji Jeevan, Nishkulanand Kavya, Satsangi Bhushan and Shree Hari Digvijay are prominent scriptures approved by Swaminarayan.[6]
[edit] Dharmavanshi Acharya's
Dharmavanshi meaning belonging to the lineage of Dharmadev – the father of Swaminarayan. In the year 1826 Swaminarayan Bhagwan established his two adopted sons (the sons of his brothers Rampratapji and Ichcharamji) as the sprititual leaders of the Swaminarayan Sampraday. He installed them as the Acharyas for each and every follower including both householders and ascetics. Bhagwan Swaminarayan gave sole authority to these two individuals to perform the installation of the murtis in temples and the initiation of sadhus and householders into the Sampraday. The two Acharyas are based in Ahmadabad known as NarNarayan Dev Gadi and Vadtal, known as LakshmiNarayan Dev Gadi. The current Acharyas are 1008 Shree Koshalendraprasdji Maharaj and 1008 Shree Rakeshprasadji Maharaj. [7]
[edit] Sadhus/Saints
The sadhus, initiated by either Dharmavanshi Acharya, also form an integral part of the Swaminarayan Sampraday. They lead a strict life refraining from worldly pleasures and devoting their whole life to the service of the holy fellowship. They preach the philosophy and lifetimes of Swaminarayan and encourage people to follow a pious and religious life. Swaminarayan has stated in the Vachanamrut on numerous occasions that the association of Satpurush (true saints/devotees) opens the path to moksha (Salvation).
[edit] Bhagwan Swaminarayan's Spiritual Succession
The Acharyas of the Sampraday are more than mere administrative heads, they are the spiritual leaders and the Guru through whom the path to moksha (liberation) is opened according to Bhagwan Swaminarayan.
Bhagwan Swaminarayan adopted Ayodhyaprasadji from his elder brother Rampratapji and adopted Raghuvirji from his younger brother Ichcharamji and placed them as the Acharayas (Spiritual Leaders) of his sect. (Shikshapatri Slokh 3)
He accepted the two as his own sons and handed the Northern- NarNarayan Dev Desh (diocese) to Ayodhyaprasadji and the Southern- LakshmiNarayan Dev Desh to Raghuvirji in Vadtal on VS 1882 (1826 AD) Kartik Sud Prabodhini Ekadashi (ironically on the same day he was given the Acharya-pad by Ramanand Swami). The NarNarayan Desh is based in Amdavad and LakshmiNarayan Desh in Vadtal. Though known as NarNarayan Dev and Lakshminarayan Dev Gadi, both are the Swaminarayan Gadis as they are the only authentic gadis established by Bhagwan 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.[8]
- Initiate followers into the sampraday with a Samanya Diksha by giving the guru-mantra
- Initiate monks-sadhus 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
These responsibilities have been prescribed in the Shikshapatri, Satsangijeevan and Desh Vibhag no Lekh, and according to these shastras no other individual other than the Dharmavanshi Acharyas are permitted to carry out the above duties. In the scripture Purushottam Prakash (Nishkulanand Kavya), the writer Nishkulanand Swami describes the instance when Bhagwan Swaminarayan established the Dharmavanshi Acharyas.
Swaminarayan felt that as he had established the temples and the Swaminarayan Sampraday, he wanted to keep his sadhus free from the affairs dealing with wealth, power etc. He therefore decided that he would create leaders for each and every sadhu and householder, who would then subsequently be responsible for the Swaminarayan Sampraday.
The establishment of the Dharmavanshi Acharyas was therefore immensely important for both administrative and spiritual purposes.
The constitution of the sampraday is laid out in Desh Vibhag no Lekh which describes in detail the functions of the Acharyas.
“... it is my command to all sadhus, bhamcharis and all satsangies, that for the purpose of your kalyaan (emancipation) you must obey and follow the two Acharyas of Dharmavansh, and obey their commands by thought, action and speech. If this is compromised and whoever turns elsewhere (rejecting the Acharyas) will find that they will never find sukh (happiness) in this world or the worlds beyond and will experience immense distress ..” (Desh Vibhag no Lekh)
Furthermore, in one of the most authoritative scriptures the Vachamanamrut, Bhagwan Swaminarayan states one of the prerequisites for attaining Akshardham.
“…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)
So it is seen as imperative to be a humble loyal follower of the Dharmavanshi Acharya once receiving the diksha (guru mantra) in order to be qualified to achieve a bhram form.
Even Gunatitanand Swami, one of the main sadhus of Bhagwan Swaminarayan states “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)
[edit] Organisations
[edit] ISSO
The now nivrut Acharya of the Ahmedabad gaadi (who was then Acharya), Acharya Shree Tejendraprasadji Maharaj founded International Swaminarayan Satsang Organisation (I.S.S.O.) in the USA on the occasion of Vijaya Dashmi in the year 1978. The prime objective of I.S.S.O. is "To advance the Sanatan Dharma, in accordance with the principles and teachings of the Swaminarayan Sampraday, founded and ordained by Sahajanand Swami", enabling Lord Shree Swaminarayan's devotees from both the Nar Narayan Dev Gadi (Ahmedabad) & Laxmi Narayan Dev Gadi (Vadtal) to practice their religious duties in harmony. This achieved, the efforts of all the followers of the Sampraday can be polarised, allowing for joint activities to be undertaken. In turn, this will enable us to meet the challenges we are faced with today in giving our youth a religious experience that they can understand and practice themselves.[9]
[edit] ISSO Seva
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.[10]
[edit] NNDYM
Narnarayan Dev Yuvak Mandal is a youth orgainisation which was founded by Acharya Shree Koshalendraprasadji Maharaj (As Bhavi Acharya) in 1994 with its headquarters at the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad and was created to help young people to confront the challenges of human life.
This step set into motion various initiatives by this orgainsation to build a foundation of young people across the globe. The organisation propagates dharma (duty), bhakti (devotion), gnaan (knowledge), and vairagya (detachment from maya). [11]
[edit] Swaminarayan Sampraday Developments
Following are recent developments in the Swaminarayan Sampraday.
[edit] Swaminarayan Museum
Currently the Swaminarayan Sampraday is working on a Swaminarayan Museum in Ahmedabad, to treasure Bhagwan Swaminarayan's most cherished items of Prasadi which can be viewed by all people for darshan. The museum will hold items such as Bhagwan Swaminarayan's 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 Swaminarayan's Prasadi items from Temples all over the world. This museum had been a long dream of H.H Nivrut Acharya Tejendraprasadji Maharaj.[12]
[edit] USA April 2008
In April 2008, Murti Pratishtha Mahotsav was celebrated in the USA twice with the opening of two new Mandirs, one in Cleveland (Under Narnarayan Dev Gadi)[13] and the other in Downey (Under the Laxminarayan Dev Gadi).[14]
[edit] New Zealand
Thousands of hours of selfless service have gone into individually hand carving the walls and ceiling of this temple. Over the last 5 years, careful planning and implementing has been taking place by the local community of Papatoetoe, Auckland to ensure a new home is made for Almighty Shree Swaminarayan Bhagwan. The Murti Pran Pratistha Mahotsav (Deity installation ceremony) was conducted by His Holiness Acharya 1008 Shri Koshalendraprasadji Maharaj, on 24 March 2008. The central Murtis consecrated in the temple are Shree Ghanshyam Maharaj, Shree NarNarayan Dev, Shree RadhaKrishna Dev and Shree Ram Parivar as well as Kul Dev's of the local community. [15]
[edit] London (Stanmore)
In 2005 a 17 acre plot of land was acquired in Middlesex UK, to build the first ever Swaminarayan Temple in the UK 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.[16]
[edit] London (Gatwick)
The opening utsav for Swaminarayan Manor was held between 31 July 2006 to 6th Aug 2006; this was the marking of the first Swaminarayan Hindu Hostal in the Crawley/Gatwick area..[17]
[edit] Bhuj
The Swaminarayan Sampraday controls and maintains the first nine authentic Swaminarayan temples built by the instructions of Lord Swaminarayan as well as many other temples in India and centers worldwide. 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 abroad, have resolved to construct a new marbled temple a short distance away from this historic site.[18]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism, Raymond Brady Williams, 2001.
- ^ Niche Faiths.
- ^ )".About the Swaminarayayan Sampraday.
- ^ Vadodarani Sabha.
- ^ Shree Gopinaathji Maharaj, Gadhada.
- ^ Scriptures of the Swaminarayan Sampraday.
- ^ Acharyas: The Managing Head Of Swaminarayan Sampraday.
- ^ Acharyas of the Swaminarayan Sampraday.
- ^ International Swaminarayan Satsang Organisation.
- ^ ISSO Seva.
- ^ Narnarayan Dev Yuvak Mandal.
- ^ Shree Swaminarayan Museum.
- ^ New Mandir in Cleveland, April 2008.
- ^ New Mandir in Downey, April 2008.
- ^ Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Auckland.
- ^ Stanmore project development.
- ^ Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, London (Gatwick).
- ^ Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Bhuj : Progress.
[edit] External links
- Ahmedabad Shree NarNarayan Dev Gadi Website
- Vadtal Shree LaxmiNarayan Dev Gadi Website
- Bhuj NarNarayan Dev Mandir Website
- Shree Swaminarayan Museum Website
- ISSO Seva Website
- Latest development of Bhuj Mandir
- Latest development of the Swaminarayan Museum
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