| Acharya Tejendraprasadji Maharaj | |
|---|---|
Acharya Shree Tejendraprasadji Maharaj during his days in office |
|
| Born | April 11, 1944 Ahmedabad, India |
| Titles/honours | 6th Acharya, Narnarayan Dev Gadi |
| Philosophy | Swaminarayan Sampraday (Sanatana Dharma) |
Sanatan Dharma Dhurandar Acharya Maharaj Shree 1008 Tejendraprasadji Maharaj[1] (Devnagari: आचार्या श्री तेजेन्द्रप्रसाद्जी माहाराज) was appointed Acharya of the Narnarayan Dev gadi (Ahmedabad) of the Swaminarayan Sampraday by his father, the late Acharya Maharajshree Devendraprasadji Maharaj. He was enthroned as an Acharya on 13 October 1969.[2]
Contents |
He took up the responsibilities of the Swaminarayan Sampraday on the orders of Acharya Devendraprasadji from the age of 14 years. Accompanied by learned people, he travelled to East Africa to nurture the Satsang there.[2]
In over 30 years of service to the Sampraday, his accomplishments are very numerous. The following is but a summary of the facts detailed in 'Dharma Setu', his biography produced in 1994 during the Silver Jubilee & Golden Jubilee Festival.[3]
He still remains a popular public figure even after retirement. In November 2008, he was invited to release a portfolio of paintings of Shrinathji by the Archer foundation.[4]
He established branches of the NNDYM all over the Northern Zone, along with the then Lalji Maharajshri (Acharya-Designate) Koshalendraprasadji. The organization's membership exceeds tens of thousands of youth, from all backgrounds - students, professionals, businesspersons and others. Its activities include tree planting, blood donation camps, religious camps, conferences, seminars, workshops, and many other socially useful activities.
He established the ISSO on Vijaya Dashmi in 1978 in US. It is particularly active in US and UK, where regular camps and conferences nurture the young.
1981 saw numerous celebrations to commemorate the sect's founder's bi-centennial birthday. The largest of these were at Ahmedabad, Bhuj & Muli. The renowned Pundit Late Dongreji recited the Shreemad Bhagwat Katha at the Ahmedabad festival where hundreds of thousands of devotees gathered. A few days later, he travelled to Kutch and presided over the festival in Bhuj. This was soon followed by the event at Muli, which was celebrated with grand pomp.[3]
Tejendraprasadji retired in the year 2004, and his son Koshalendraprasadji was then enthroned as Acharya. Tejendraprasadji is still very active as leader of the Swaminarayan Sampraday.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||