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85-468: Within the mandir, murtis (sacred images of the deities) have been ritually installed. The central shrine holds the murti of Swaminarayan , with Gunatitanand Swami to his left, together worshipped as Akshar-Purushottam Maharaj. Similarly, other shrines hold murtis of other Hindu deities, such as Radha Krishna, Shiva Parvati, Sita Ram, Hanuman, Ganapati and the lineage of BAPS gurus, who are Swaminarayan's spiritual successors. Daily darshan and participation in

170-604: A temple in Gadhada , also in 1828. By the time of his death, Swaminarayan had also ordered construction of temples in Muli , Dholka and Jetalpur . From early on, ascetics have played a major role in the Swaminarayan sect. They contribute towards growth and development of the movement, encouraging people to follow a pious and religious life. Tradition maintains that Swaminarayan initiated 500 ascetics as paramahamsas in

255-606: A yajman pujan was performed and discourses on the Taitreya Upanishad were held. Construction began in September 2005, and the concrete for the foundation was poured in January 2006. In March 2006, a specialty crane was assembled to install the 106,000 cubic feet of Italian carrara marble. Over 34,000 hand carved pieces of stone were shipped from India to be finished and assembled at the site. The construction of

340-469: A book of social laws that his followers should follow. A commentary on the practice and understanding of dharma , it is a small booklet containing 212 Sanskrit verses, outlining the basic tenets that Swaminarayan believed his followers should uphold in order to live a well-disciplined and moral life. The oldest copy of this text is preserved at the Bodleian Library of Oxford University and it

425-532: A book on his life and pastimes. To enable Shatanand Swami to write from His childhood, Swaminarayan had blessed Shatanand Swami with Sanjay Drishti - special power to see the entire past right from His childhood. Once written by Shatanand Swami, this book was verified and authenticated by Swaminarayan. He was much pleased to read the book. Swaminarayan then asked his disciples to do Katha of Satsangi Jeevan. Decades after his death, several divisions occurred with different understandings of succession. This included

510-497: A collection of these things, and there is nothing to be attractive. Members of the faith are defensive of the fact that some practices seem to restrict women and make gender equality in leadership impossible. They are only permitted to enter special sections of the temple reserved for women or have to go to separate women's temples. As with practices of niddah in Orthodox Judaism, concepts of pollution associated with

595-461: A correct understanding of Vedanta , Samkhya , Yoga , and Pancaratra . To find such an ashram, Nilkanth Varni asked the following five questions on the basic Vaishnava Vedanta categories: While on his journey, Nilkanth Varni mastered Astanga yoga (eightfold yoga) in a span of nine months under the guidance of an aged yogic master named Gopal Yogi. In Nepal, it is said that he met King Rana Bahadur Shah and cured him of his stomach illness. As

680-478: A direct line of blood descent from his family. The administrative division of his followers into two territorial dioceses is set forth in minute detail in a document written by Swaminarayan called Desh Vibhag Lekh . Swaminarayan stated to all the devotees and saints to obey both the Acharyas and Gopalanand Swami who was considered as the main pillar and chief ascetic for the sampradaya. The current acharya of

765-675: A general of the Yadava king Ramacandra donated a village to a yogi in 13th-century. Near Mangalore, that later became a hub of Nath yogis, a monastery and temple was dedicated to yogis in the 10th century. David Lorenzen states that the Nath yogis have been very popular with the rural population in South Asia, with medieval era "tales and stories about Nath yogis such as Gorakhnath, Matsyendra, Jalandhar, Gopichand, Bharthari, Kanhapa and Chaurangi" continuing to be remembered in contemporary times, in

850-460: A group of early Buddhist tantrikas from Bengal ( mahasiddhas , siddhacaryas ), the alchemists of medieval India ( rasa siddha ), and a mainly north Indian group known as the Nath siddhas . The Nath siddhas are the only still existing representatives of the medieval Tantric tradition, which had disappeared due to its excesses. While the Nath siddhas enjoyed persistent popular success, they attracted

935-671: A line of acharyas or preceptors, as his successors. He established two gadis (seats of leadership). One seat was established at Ahmedabad ( Nar Narayan Dev Gadi ) and the other one at Vadtal ( Laxmi Narayan Dev Gadi ) on 21 November 1825. Swaminarayan appointed an acharya to each of these gadis to pass on his message to others and to preserve his fellowship, the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. These acharyas came from his immediate family after sending representatives to search them out in Uttar Pradesh . He formally adopted

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1020-481: A meeting with Reginald Heber , Lord Bishop of Calcutta and a leader of Christians in India at the time. Bishop Heber mentions in his account of the meeting that about two hundred disciples of Swaminarayan accompanied him as his bodyguards mounted on horses and carrying Matchlocks and swords. Bishop Heber himself had about a hundred horse guards accompanying him (fifty horses and fifty muskets) and mentioned that it

1105-463: A pious life. Using Hindu texts and rituals to form the base of his organisation, Swaminarayan founded what in later centuries would become a global organisation with strong Gujarati roots. He was particularly strict on the separation of sexes in temples. Swaminarayan was against the consumption of meat, alcohol or drugs, adultery, suicide, animal sacrifices, criminal activities and the appeasement of ghosts and tantric rituals. Alcohol consumption

1190-675: A result, the king freed all the ascetics he had imprisoned. Nilkanth Varni visited the Jagannath Temple in Puri as well as temples in Badrinath , Rameswaram , Nashik , Dwarka , and Pandharpur . In 1799, after a seven-year journey, Nilkanth's travels as a yogi eventually concluded in Loj, a village in the Junagadh district of Gujarat. In Loj, Nilkanth Varni met Muktanand Swami ,

1275-542: A senior disciple of Ramanand Swami . Muktanand Swami, who was 22 years older than Nilkanth, answered the five questions to Nilkanth's satisfaction. Nilkanth decided to stay for the opportunity to meet Ramanand Swami, whom he met a few months after his arrival in Gujarat. He later claimed in the Vachnamrut that during this period, he took up a severe penance to eliminate his mother's flesh and blood from his body so that

1360-445: A single night. Paramahamsa is a title of honour sometimes applied to Hindu spiritual teachers who are regarded as having attained enlightenment. Paramahamsas were the highest order of sannyasi in the sect. Prominent paramahamsas included Muktanand Swami , Gopalanand Swami , Brahmanand Swami , Gunatitanand Swami , Premanand Swami , Nishkulanand Swami , and Nityanand Swami . Prior to his death, Swaminarayan decided to establish

1445-518: A son each from his two brothers and appointed them to the office of acharya. Ayodhyaprasad , the son of Swaminarayan's elder brother Rampratap, and Raghuvira , the son of his younger brother Ichcharam, were appointed acharyas of the Ahmedabad Gadi and the Vadtal ( Kheda district ) Gadi respectively. Swaminarayan decreed that the office should be hereditary so that acharyas would maintain

1530-480: A term generally applied to a practitioner ( sādhaka , sadhu ) who has, through his practice ( sadhana ), realized his dual goal of superhuman powers ( siddhis , 'realizations', 'perfections') and bodily immortality ( jivanmukti ). Archeological evidence suggests that in some contexts and regions, yogi of the Nath Siddha tradition were respected and recognized in India. For example, inscriptions suggest

1615-460: A vaccination drive in conjunction with Kennesaw Clinic and ValueCare Pharmacy at the mandir. A second drive was hosted on April 4, 2021, in conjunction with West End Pharmacy. US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy praised BAPS Charities for hosting vaccination clinics at mandirs which increased accessibility for the elderly. Swaminarayan Swaminarayan ( IAST : Svāmīnārāyaṇa ; 3 April 1781 – 1 June 1830), also known as Sahajanand Swami ,

1700-521: A yogi and yogini. One view asserts restraint in sexual activity, towards monk - and nun -like asexuality, as transmutation away from worldly desires and onto a spiritual path. It is not considered, states Stuart Sovatsky, as a form of moralistic repression but a personal choice that empowers the yoga practitioner to redirect his or her energies. The second view, found particularly in Tantra traditions according to David Gordon White , asserts that sexuality

1785-793: A younger brother, Ichcharam Pande. He is said to have mastered the scriptures , including the Vedas , the Upanishads , the Puranas , the Ramayana , and the Mahabharata by the age of seven. After the death of his parents, Ghanshyam Pande left his home on 29 June 1792 (Ashadh Sud 10, Samvat 1849) at the age of 11. He took the name Nilkanth Varni while on his journey. Nilkanth Varni travelled across India and parts of Nepal in search of an ashram , or hermitage, that practiced what he considered

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1870-593: Is Purushottampriyadasji Maharaj. According to the biographer Raymond Williams, when Swaminarayan died, he had a following of 1.8 million people. In 2001, Swaminarayan centres existed on four continents, and the congregation was recorded to be five million, the majority in the homeland of Gujarat. The newspaper Indian Express estimated members of the Swaminarayan sect of Hinduism to number over 20 million (2 crore) worldwide in 2007. The manifestation belief and Swaminarayan's teachings were criticized by Hindu reformist leader Dayananda Saraswati (1824–1883). He questioned

1955-511: Is an additional means for a yogi or yogini to journey towards and experience the bliss of "one realized god-consciousness for oneself". In the second view, sexuality is a yogic practice, and one broadly revered through the lingam – yoni iconography of Shiva – Parvati , the divine yogi–yogini in Hindu mythology. Both a yogi and a philosopher are seekers of an absolute truth. But they differ in their modes of approach. A philosopher advances in

2040-569: Is called "sage" (muni). They wear clothes made of yellow rags fluttering in the wind, or perhaps more likely, they go naked, clad only in the yellow dust of the Indian soil. But their personalities are not bound to earth, for they follow the path of the mysterious wind when the gods enter them. He is someone lost in thoughts: he is miles away. The term yogin appears in Katyayana Shrauta-sutra and chapter 6 of Maitri Upanishad, where

2125-565: Is considered the principal theological text within the Swaminarayan Sampradaya . Compiled by four of his senior disciples, Swaminarayan edited and approved the scripture. As followers believe Swaminarayan to be Parabrahman, or God, the Vachanamrut is considered a direct revelation from God and thus the most precise interpretation of the Upanishads , Bhagavad Gita , and other important Hindu scriptures. This scripture

2210-504: Is one of the very few presented by Sahajanand Swami himself. Acharya Tejendraprasad of Ahmedabad has indicated in a letter that he is not aware of any copy from the hand of Sahajanand older than this text. Swaminarayan in various places of Shikshapatri describes Krishna as the greatest entity. The Vachanamrut (IAST: Vacanāmṛta, lit. "immortalising ambrosia in the form of words") is a sacred Hindu text consisting of 273 religious discourses delivered by Swaminarayan from 1819 to 1829 CE and

2295-543: Is read by followers regularly and discourses are conducted daily in Swaminarayan temples around the world. Satsangi Jeevan is the authorised biography of Swaminarayan. The book contains information on the life and teachings of Swaminarayan. It is written by Shatanand Swami and completed in Vikram Samvat 1885. Swaminarayan decided to make Gadhada his permanent residence on the insistence of Dada Khachar and his sisters. Swaminarayan instructed Shatanand Swami to write

2380-828: The Satsangi Jeevan , Swaminarayan's authorized biography, the Muktanand Kavya , the Nishkulanand Kavya and the Bhakta Chintamani . Swaminarayan wrote the Shikshapatri on 11 February 1826. While the original Sanskrit manuscript is not available, it was translated into Gujarati by Nityanand Swami under the direction of Swaminarayan and is revered in the sect. The Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency summarised it as

2465-426: The menstrual cycle lead to the exclusion of women from the temples and daily worship during the affected time. Swaminarayan also directed male devotees not to listen to religious discourses given by women. In the case of widows, Swaminarayan directed those who could not follow the path of chastity to remarry. For those who could, he lay down strict rules which included them being under the control of male members of

2550-602: The Aarti ritual are welcomed by the mandir. BAPS followers in the greater Atlanta area began gathering in the 1980s at various devotees’ houses for worship. In 1988, followers purchased a skating rink which was renovated and re-established as a mandir in Clarkston, Georgia. In February 2000, the twenty-nine-acre plot of the current mandir was purchased in Lilburn, Georgia. Pramukh Swami Maharaj performed religious rites to sanctify

2635-583: The Ahmedabad Gadi is Koshalendraprasad Pande and Ajendraprasad Pande, of the Vadtal Gadi. In 1830, Swaminarayan gathered his followers and announced his departure. He later died on 1 June 1830 (Jeth sud 10, Samvat 1886), and it is believed by followers that, at the time of his death, Swaminarayan left Earth for Akshardham , his abode. He was cremated according to Hindu rites at Lakshmi Wadi in Gadhada . Swaminarayan insisted that education

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2720-659: The Deccan, western and northern states of India and in Nepal. In some contexts, adds White, the term yogi has also been a pejorative term used in medieval India for a Nath siddha, particularly on the part of India's social, cultural and religious elites. The term siddha has become a broad sectarian appellation, applying to Saiva-devotees in the Deccan ( Maheśvara siddhas ), alchemists in Tamil Nadu ( siddhars or sittars ),

2805-399: The Hindu festival of Rama Navami , celebrating the birth of Rama . The ninth lunar day in the fortnight of the waxing moon in the month of Chaitra (March–April), is celebrated as both Rama Navami and Swaminarayan Jayanti by Swaminarayan followers. This celebration also marks the beginning of a ritual calendar for the followers. Swaminarayan had an elder brother, Rampratap Pande, and

2890-794: The Swaminarayan tradition, Sahajanand Swami became known as Swaminarayan, and the Uddhava Sampradaya became known as the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, after a gathering in which he taught the Swaminarayan Mantra to his followers. He emphasized "moral, personal, and social betterment," and ahimsa . He is also remembered within the sect for undertaking reforms for women and the poor, and performing large-scale non-violent yajñas (fire sacrifices). During his lifetime, Swaminarayan institutionalized his charisma and beliefs in various ways. He built six mandirs to facilitate devotional worship of God by his followers, and encouraged

2975-562: The acceptance of Swaminarayan as the Supreme Being and was disapproving towards the idea that visions of Swaminarayan could form a path to attaining perfection. Accused of deviating from the Vedas , his followers were criticised for the illegal collection of wealth and the "practice of frauds and tricks." In the views of Dayananda, published as early as 1875, it was a "historical fact" that Swaminarayan decorated himself as Narayana in order to gain followers. In 1918, Mahatma Gandhi in

3060-416: The company government. The company officers gave it a 101 gun salute when it was opened. It was in an 1825 meeting with Reginald Heber that Swaminarayan is said to have intimated that he was a manifestation of Krishna. In 1830, Swaminarayan had a meeting with Sir John Malcolm , Governor of Bombay (1827 to 1830). According to Malcolm, Swaminarayan had helped bring some stability to a lawless region. During

3145-615: The conduct in the Shikshapatri . Swaminarayan propagated general Hindu texts. He held the Bhagavata Purana in high authority. However, there are many texts that were written by Swaminarayan or his followers that are regarded as shastras or scriptures within the Swaminarayan sect. Notable scriptures throughout the sect include the Shikshapatri and the Vachanamrut . Other important works and scriptures include

3230-567: The conventional sense of the word. The Nath Yogis were targets of Islamic persecution in the Mughal Empire . The texts of Yogi traditions from this period, state Shail Mayaram, refer to oppressions by Mughal officials such as governor. The Mughal documents confirm the existence of Nath Yogis in each pargana (household neighborhoods), and their persecution wherein Nath Yogis were beheaded by Aurangzeb . According to David Lorenzen,

3315-592: The creation of a scriptural tradition, including the Shikshapatri , which he wrote in 1826. In 1826, through a legal document titled the Lekh , Swaminarayan created two dioceses, the Laxmi Narayan Dev Gadi (Vadtal Gadi) and Nar Narayan Dev Gadi (Ahmedabad Gadi) , with a hereditary leadership of acharyas and their wives from his own extended family, who were authorized to install statues of deities in temples and to initiate ascetics. Swaminarayan

3400-428: The establishment of Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), the founder of which left the Vadtal Gadi in 1905, and Maninagar Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan , the founder of which left the Ahmedabad Gadi in the 1940s. The followers of BAPS hold Gunatitanand Swami as the spiritual successor to Swaminarayan, asserting that on several occasions Swaminarayan revealed to devotees that Gunatitanand Swami

3485-447: The extent to call sati nothing but suicide. Swaminarayan offered parents help with dowry expenses to discourage female infanticide, calling infanticide a sin. For calling a halt to these prevailing practices, Swaminarayan's "contemporaries naturally saw in him a pioneer of a reformed and purified Hinduism, and Swaminarayan Hinduism an 'ingrazi dharma' or British religion." Professor David Harman observed that Swaminarayan "criticized

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3570-415: The family. This may seem regressive, however, it gave them "a respected and secure place in the social order" of the time. Swaminarayan restricted widows "to live always under the control of male members of their family and prohibited them from receiving instruction in any science from any man excepting their nearest relations." After assuming the leadership of the sampradaya, Swaminarayan worked to assist

3655-420: The god Shiva and the goddess Parvati are depicted as an emblematic yogi–yogini pair. Traditional In Classical Sanskrit , the word yogi ( Sanskrit : masc yogī , योगी ; fem yoginī ) is derived from yogin , which refers to a practitioner of yoga. Yogi is technically male, and yoginī is the term used for female practitioners. The two terms are still used with those meanings today, but

3740-480: The heights of spiritual bliss to the heaviness of earth-bound labor. This is true of man in general and the [Vedic] Keśin in particular, but the latter has mastered and transformed these contrary forces and is a visible embodiment of accomplished spirituality. He is said to be light and enlightenment itself. The Keśin does not live a normal life of convention. His hair and beard grow longer, he spends long periods of time in absorption, musing and meditating and therefore he

3825-598: The implied context and meaning is "a follower of the Yoga system, a contemplative saint". The term sometimes refers to a person who belongs to the Natha tradition. They usually belong to Shaiva tradition, but some Natha belong to the Vaishnava tradition. In both cases, states David Lorenzen, they practice yoga and their principal god tends to be Nirguna , that is a god that is without form and semi- monistic , influenced in

3910-605: The land. He visited the site again in 2004 and performed the foundation stone-laying ceremony, and inaugurated the mandir upon completion of construction in 2007. In February 2000, with the blessings of Pramukh Swami Maharaj, a 29-acre plot of land was purchased in the Atlanta suburb of Lilburn. The mandir is a type of ‘Shikarbaddha’ mandir, built according to principles laid out in the Shilpa Shastras, Hindu texts prescribing standards of sacred architecture. On June 13, 2004,

3995-443: The letter to his nephew, expressed that Swaminarayan's values didn't align perfectly with his interpretation of Vaishnavism and the love taught by Swaminarayana was all about sentimentalism. According to Gandhi, Swaminarayan had not grasped the essence of non-violence. In 1924, Gandhi applauded efforts of Swaminaryan and added that "what was accomplished in Gujarat by one person, Sahajanand [Swaminarayan], could not be accomplished by

4080-439: The lower Rajput and Khati castes but not any lower. He allowed dalits and lower caste people to visit places of worship . However, Dalits - those outside of the caste system - were formally excluded from Swaminarayan temples. Members of a lower caste are prohibited from wearing a full sect mark (tilak chandlo) on their forehead. Even now, however, for the vast majority of Gujarat's lower-caste, Untouchable and tribal population,

4165-415: The mandir through a traditional Vedic ritual called the murti pratishtha to consecrate the murtis. On this occasion, Pramukh Swami Maharaj noted that “this mandir is open to all. Whoever sincerely offers his prayers will attain happiness and peace.” Dignitaries present at this event included Congressman Henry Johnson Jr., Lilburn's mayor, Jack Bolton, and Commissioner of Gwinnett County, Charles Bannister. This

4250-485: The mandir was completed in just under two years, and Pramukh Swami Maharaj inaugurated the mandir in August 2007. On August 24, 2007, a Vishvashanti Mahayagna was performed for world peace and family unity in the presence of over ten thousand people. A festival to mark the centenary of BAPS’ establishment as a formal organization was also celebrated on August 25, 2007. On August 26, 2007, Pramukh Swami Maharaj inaugurated

4335-600: The medieval era by the Advaita Vedanta school of Hinduism, Madhyamaka school of Buddhism, as well as Tantra and Yogic practices. The Yoga-Bhashya (400 CE), the oldest extant commentary on the Yoga-Sutra offers the following fourfold classification of yogis: A yogi or yogini aspires to Brahmacharya (Sanskrit: ब्रह्मचर्य), which means celibacy if single, or non-cheating on one's partner. There have been two parallel views, in Hindu texts, on sexuality for

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4420-518: The meeting with Malcolm, Swaminarayan gave him a copy of the Shikshapatri. This copy of the Shikshapatri is currently housed at the Bodleian Library at University of Oxford . Swaminarayan ordered the construction of several Hindu temples and he had built six huge temples by himself and installed the idols of various deities such as Radha Krishna , Nara-Narayana , Laksmi Narayana , Gopinath , Radha Ramana , and Madanamohana . The images in

4505-507: The myth that moksha (salvation) was not attainable by everyone. He taught that the soul is neither male nor female, nor yoked to any specific caste. Swaminarayan was against animal sacrifices. To solve this problem, Swaminarayan conducted several large-scale yajnas involving priests from Varanasi . Swaminarayan was successful in reinstating ahimsa through several such large-scale yajnas. Swaminarayan stressed lacto vegetarianism among his followers and forbade meat consumption, codifying

4590-402: The opposite sex." This strict precept was one he likely internalized "after travelling as an ascetic throughout India [when] he was reported to vomit if approached by even the shadow of a woman". To help his male ascetic followers maintain their vow of celibacy, Swaminarayan taught “the woman who attracts attention is made up of bones, blood vessels, spittle, blood, mucus and feces; she is simply

4675-487: The path of rational logic (theory) and wants to intellectually understand the Truth. A yogi advances in the path of self discipline (practice) and aspires to spiritually realize truth. —Akshaya Banerjea, Philosophy of Gorakhnath A yogi or yogini lives by other voluntary ethical precepts called Yamas and Niyamas . These include: According to David White, [S]iddha means 'realized, perfected one',

4760-417: The poor by distributing food and drinking water. He undertook several social service projects and opened almshouses for the poor. Swaminarayan organized food and water relief to people during times of drought. Some suggest that Swaminarayan worked towards ending the caste system , allowing everyone into the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. However partaking in the consumption food of lower castes and caste pollution

4845-563: The popular shakta cults and ' gosai ' and ' nath ' ascetics for the contemptuous and instrumental way in which they viewed and treated women. These cults were often responsible for gross sexual abuse of women." Hardiman added that Swaminarayan's view towards women was not in line with this type of misogyny and was rooted in his desire to prevent ill-treatment of women along with promoting celibacy for ascetics. Swaminarayan "forbade all sadhus and sadhvis (that is, male and female ascetics) of his sect from having any contact whatsoever with members of

4930-645: The power of the State". Yogi A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga , including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions . The feminine form, sometimes used in English, is yogini . Yogi has since the 12th century CE also denoted members of the Nath siddha tradition of Hinduism , and in Hinduism , Buddhism and Jainism , a practitioner of tantra . In Hindu mythology,

5015-779: The religious groups in Hinduism that militarized and took up arms following the Muslim conquest of India , to resist persecution, appeared among the Nath or Kanphata yogis, often called simply yogis or jogis. The warrior ascetics were institutionalized as a religious order by Gorakhnath and were expanding in the 13th century, after the establishment of the first Islamic Sultanate in India. They interacted and cooperated with fakirs of Sufi Muslims. The yogis feature prominently in Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire period official documents, states David White, both in terms of impressing

5100-634: The ruling elite in the Muslim administration and awards of receiving land grants in some cases such as by Akbar , as well as those yogis who targeted the elite merchants and disrupted the business of administrative Islamic elites in urban areas. In other cases, yogis from the Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism traditions of Hinduism marshaled armed resistance against the Mughal and British colonial armies. The history of Nath yogis has been diverse, such as in

5185-466: The scorn of the elite classes. According to White, the term yogi , has "for at least eight hundred years, been an all-purpose term employed to designate those Saiva specialists whom orthodox Hindus have considered suspect, heterodox, and even heretical in their doctrine and practice". The yoga as practiced by these Yogis, states White, is more closely identified in the eyes of those critics with black magic, sorcery and sexual perversions than with yoga in

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5270-494: The sect consider Swaminarayan a pioneer of education of females in India. According to the author Raymond Brady Williams, "Swaminarayan is an early representative of the practice of advocacy of women's rights without personal involvement with women". To counter the practice of sati (self-immolation by a widow on her husband's funeral pyre), Swaminarayan argued that, as human life was given by God, it could be taken only by God, and that sati had no Vedic sanction. He went to

5355-690: The sect is out of bounds. Reginald Heber , the Lord Bishop of Calcutta, noted that disciples of Swaminarayan cut across all castes, and even included Muslims. He writes "they all pray to one God with no difference of castes. They live as if they were brothers." Furthermore, in a meeting with Swaminarayan, he noted that "[Swaminarayan] did not regard the subject as of much importance, but that he wished not to give offense (to ancient Hindu system); that people might eat separately or together in this world, but that above "oopur" pointing to heaven, those distinctions would cease." Swaminarayan worked thus to dispel

5440-452: The shilanyas vidhi, a Vedic ceremony to purify the land and bless those working on the temple's construction, was performed when stones were placed at the foundation of the future temple. Pramukh Swami Maharaj led senior BAPS swamis and several thousand people participated in the ceremony. The shilanyas vidhi was commemorated with a four-day celebration which included spiritual programs conducted for senior citizens, children, and youth. Each day,

5525-420: The sign of his physical attachment to family, was completely removed. According to the sect, Nilkanth's understanding of the metaphysical and epistemological concepts of the pancha-tattvas (five eternal elements), together with his mental and physical discipline, inspired senior swamis of Ramanand Swami. Nilkanth Varni received sannyasa initiation from Ramanand Swami on 20 October 1800, and with it

5610-603: The singing of devotional hymns and spiritual discourses on Hindu scriptures and their teachings. During the COVID-19 global pandemic, BAPS Charities has provided relief and assistance worldwide. On March 29, 2020, all six BAPS shikharbaddha mandirs in North America broadcast a special mahapuja performed by the swamis to pray on behalf of all those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 12,000 families in North America participated. On March 28, 2021, BAPS Charities hosted

5695-557: The supreme being is not formless and that God always has a divine form. Swaminarayan's philosophy asserts that Parabrahman and Aksharabrahman are two distinct eternal realities. Swaminarayan strived to maintain good relationships with people of other religions, sometimes meeting prominent leaders. His followers cut across religious boundaries, including people of Muslim and Parsi backgrounds. Swaminarayan's personal attendants included Khoja Muslims. In Kathiawad , many Muslims wore kanthi necklaces given by Swaminarayan. He also had

5780-433: The temples built by Swaminarayan provide evidence of the priority of Krishna. Disciples of Swaminarayan composed devotional poems which are widely sung by the tradition during festivals. Swaminarayan introduced fasting and devotion among followers. He conducted the festivals of Vasant Panchami , Holi , and Janmashtami with organization of the traditional folk dance raas . The first temple Swaminarayan constructed

5865-729: The term yogi refers to an adherent of yoga . The earliest evidence of yogis and their spiritual tradition, states Karel Werner , is found in the Keśin hymn 10.136 of the Rigveda , though with the terminology of Rudra who evolved into Shiva worshipped as the lord of Yoga in later Hinduism. The Hindu scripture Rigveda uses words of admiration for the Yogis, whom it refers to as Kesin, and describes them as follows (abridged): Carrying within oneself fire and poison, heaven and earth, ranging from enthusiasm and creativity to depression and agony, from

5950-429: The word yogi is also used generically to refer to both male and female practitioners of yoga and related meditative practices belonging to any religion or spiritual method. The term yogini is also used for divine goddesses and enlightened mothers, all revered as aspects of the mother goddess , Devi . A yogi should not be confused with someone practicing asceticism and excessive self-mortification. In Hinduism

6035-520: Was Aksharbrahm manifest. Followers of BAPS believe that the acharyas were given administrative leadership of the sect while Gunatitanand Swami was given spiritual leadership by Swaminarayan. The current spiritual and administrative leader of BAPS is Mahant Swami Maharaj . The followers of the Maninagar Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan hold Gopalanand Swami as the successor to Swaminarayan. The current leader of this sect

6120-509: Was a yogi and ascetic believed by followers to be a manifestation of Krishna or the highest manifestation of Purushottama , around whom the Swaminarayan Sampradaya developed. In 1800, he was initiated into the Uddhava sampradaya by his guru, Swami Ramanand , and was given the name Sahajanand Swami. Despite opposition, in 1802, Ramanand handed over the leadership of the Uddhava Sampradaya to him before his death. According to

6205-459: Was an incarnation of Krishna . The images and stories of Swaminarayan and Krishna have coincided in the liturgy of the sect. The story of the birth of Swaminarayan parallels that of Krishna's birth from the scripture Bhagavata Purana . Most of his followers believe that Swaminarayan is the complete manifestation of Narayana or Purushottama Narayana - the Supreme Being and superior to other avatars. The belief of many followers that their founder

6290-618: Was born on 3 April 1781 ( Chaitra Sud 9, Samvat 1837) in Chhapaiya , a village near Ayodhya , then under the Nawab of Oudh , in present-day Indian state of Uttar Pradesh . Born into the Brahmin or priestly caste of Sarvariya, Swaminarayan was named Ghanshyam Pande by his parents, Hariprasad Pande (father, also known as Dharmadev) and Premvati Pande (mother, also known as Bhaktimata and Murtidevi). The birth of Swaminarayan coincided with

6375-665: Was considered by him his own ishtadevata . In contrast with the Vaishnava sect known as the Radha-vallabha Sampradaya , he had a more puritanical approach, rather than the theological views of Krishna that are strongly capricious in character and imagery. While being a worshipper of Krishna, Swaminarayan rejected licentious elements in Krishnology in favor of worship in the mood of majesty, alike to earlier Vaishnava teachers, Ramanuja and Yamunacharya . According to Swaminarayan-tradition, Sahajanand Swami

6460-473: Was forbidden by him even for medicinal purposes. Many of his followers took vows before becoming his disciple. He stated that four elements need to be conquered for ultimate salvation: dharma, bhakti (devotion), gnana (knowledge) and vairagya (detachment). Doctrinally, Swaminarayan was close to eleventh century philosopher Ramanuja and was critical of Adi Shankara 's concept of Advaita , or monistic non-dualism . Swaminarayan's ontology maintained that

6545-502: Was granted the names Sahajanand Swami and Narayan Muni to signify his new status. At the age of 21, Sahajanand Swami was appointed successor to Ramanand Swami as the leader of the Uddhava Sampradaya by Ramanand Swami , prior to his death. The Uddhava Sampradaya henceforth came to be known as the Swaminarayan Sampradaya . According to sources he proclaimed the worship of one sole deity, Krishna or Narayana. Krishna

6630-464: Was humiliating for him to see two religious leaders meeting at the head of two small armies, his being the smaller contingent. As a result of the meeting, both leaders gained mutual respect for one another. Swaminarayan enjoyed a good relationship with the government of the ruling East India Company . The first temple he built, in Ahmedabad , was built on 5,000 acres (20 km ) of land given by

6715-523: Was in Ahmedabad in 1822, with the land for construction given by the Company Government. Following a request of devotees from Bhuj , Swaminarayan asked his follower Vaishnavananand to build a temple there. Construction commenced in 1822, and the temple was built within a year. A temple in Vadtal followed in 1824, a temple in Dholera in 1826, a temple in Junagadh in 1828 and

6800-525: Was later known as Swaminarayan after the mantra he taught at a gathering, in Faneni, a fortnight after the death of Ramanand Swami. He gave his followers a new mantra, known as the Swaminarayan mantra , to repeat in their rituals: Swaminarayan . When chanting this mantra, some devotees went into samadhi , and claimed that they could see their personal gods. As early as 1804, Swaminarayan, who

6885-444: Was not supported by him. A political officer in Gujarat, Mr. Williamson reported to Bishop Herber that Swaminarayan had "destroyed the yoke of caste." He instructed his paramahamsas to collect alms from all sections of society and appointed people from the lower strata of society as his personal attendants. Members of the lower castes were attracted to the movement as it improved their social status. Swaminarayan would eat along with

6970-590: Was reported to have performed miracles, was described as a manifestation of God in the first work written by a disciple and paramahamsa, Nishkulanand Swami . This work, the Yama Danda , was the first piece of literature written within the Swaminarayan sect. Swaminarayan himself is said to have intimated that he was a manifestation of God in a meeting with Reginald Heber , the Lord Bishop of Calcutta , in 1825. Some of Swaminarayan's followers believe he

7055-519: Was the incarnation of the Supreme God has also drawn criticism. According to Professor Raymond B. Williams, Swaminarayan was criticized because he received large gifts from his followers and dressed and traveled as a Maharaja even though he had taken the vows of renunciation of the world. Swaminarayan responded that he accepts gifts for the emancipation of his followers. Swaminarayan encouraged his followers to combine devotion and dharma to lead

7140-527: Was the inherent right of all people, including women, despite considerable criticism from those in his own contemporary society who "loathed the uplift of lower caste women". At that time, influential and wealthy individuals educated their girls through private and personal tuition. Male followers of Swaminarayan made arrangements to educate their female family members. The literacy rate among females began to increase during Swaminarayan's time, and they were able to give discourses on spiritual subjects. Members of

7225-555: Was the second opening of a traditional Hindu mandir by Pramukh Swami Maharaj in North America in the same year. The other mandir was the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Toronto, which was inaugurated on July 22, 2007. The tenth anniversary of the mandir was celebrated on July 1, 2017, in the presence of Mahant Swami Maharaj and Lilburn Mayor Johnny Crist. The mandir holds weekly satsang sabhas on Sundays serving all age groups. The weekly sabha includes

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