Swaminarayan Sampradaya

For more definitions of Swaminarayan, see Swaminarayan (disambiguation).

Swaminarayan, founder of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya

The Swaminarayan Sampradaya is a Hindu sampradaya which was founded in 1801 by Sahajanand Swami, who is worshipped as Swaminarayan, the supreme manifestation of God, by most of his followers. Under Swaminarayan’s leadership the sampradaya grew to more than 100,000 followers and 3,000 swamis (monks) by the time of his death in 1830.

An important practice is the chanting of the Swaminarayan mantra, a compound of two Sanskrit words, namely Swami and Narayan. Both the religious group and its leader became popularly known by this mantra. As followers accepted this name, some began to consider the Swaminarayan mantra to refer to Sahajanand Swami as Purushottam (God).

The Laxmi Narayan Dev Gadi (Vadtal Gadi) and Nar Narayan Dev Gadi (Ahmedabad Gadi) or dioceses, established in 1826 by Swaminarayan, are the oldest institutions, with a hereditary leadership of acharyas, as prescribed in a document titled the ‘Lekh’. To preside over these two dioceses and to maintain a direct line of blood descent from his family, Swaminarayan adopted his two nephews Ayodhyaprasad and Raghuvir respectively, establishing them in the spiritual authority of Ramanuja's guru parampara.Swaminarayan stipulated that no one—no matter their knowledge or attainments—should ever be granted greater respect and authority than the acharyas. Both current acharyas trace their lineage back to Swaminarayan.

In the 20th century, due to "different interpretations of authentic successorship," the sampradaya split-up into various denominations. The BAPS, founded in 1907, venerates "a lineage of akṣaragurus, or living gurus, [which] has been retroactively traced back to Gunatitanand Swami." Swaminarayan Gadi (Maninagar), founded in 1940, teaches that Swaminarayan handed over authority and keys to salvation to Gopalanand Swami and traces a lineage of gurus or ascetic acharayas back to him. All groups regard Swaminarayan as God but differ in their theology and the religious leadership they accept.

The Shikshapatri is considered the most important scripture of the Swaminarayan Sampraday written by Swaminarayan himself. The scripture compromises of 212 ephoristic statements, covering rules of behavior and ethics for followers of the sect including the Acharya and their wives, householders, married women, widows and ascetics. The scripture is accepted to be "an idol of Swaminarayan himself represented in words," and states, "Our followers who act according to these directions, shall certainly obtain the four great objects of human desire the disciplined life (dharma), material gain (artha), pleasure (kama) and salvation (moksha)." The Vachanamrut requires that the Shikshapatri must be read daily or worshiped.

In the Vachanamrut, the principal theological text of the sampradaya, Swaminarayan identifies five eternal and distinct entities: Parabrahman, Aksharbrahman, maya (māyā), ishwar (iśvara), and jiva (jīva). He further explains that the ultimate goal of life is moksha (mokṣa), a spiritual state of ultimate liberation from the cycle of births and deaths that is characterized by eternal bliss and devotion to God.

According to Laxmi Narayan Dev Gadi (Vadtal Gadi) and Nar Narayan Dev Gadi (Ahmedabad Gadi), Swaminarayan emphasizes in the Vachanamrut and several other scriptures the importance of Dharmakul (family of Swaminarayan's father) and states that those who know him to be their deity and desire moksha shall follow only the Swaminarayan Sampraday under the leadership of the acharyas which he has established and their successors. According to the BAPS, moksha can be achieved during one’s human life under the guidance of the manifest form of God, the Aksharbrahman Guru whereas according to Swaminarayn Gadi (Maninagar), moksha can only be achieved at the resort of Swaminarayan Gadi lineage.

Due to the commentarial work of Bhadreshdas Swami, Swaminarayan's teachings were recognized as a separate school of Vedanta by the Shri Kashi Vidvat Parishad in 2017 and by members of the 17th World Sanskrit Conference in 2018.

Swaminarayan instituted the sampradaya’s mandir tradition to facilitate followers’ devotional worship of God. During his lifetime, Swaminarayan constructed six mandirs: Ahmedabad (1822), Bhuj (1823), Vadtal (1824), Dholera (1826), Junagadh (1828), and Gadhada (1828).

Socially, Swaminarayan’s doctrine that everyone’s true self is the atman within which God resides, led him to reject caste-based discrimination within the religious community. Swaminarayan also inspired followers to engage in humanitarian service activities, leading various denominations of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya to currently provide humanitarian service globally.

Early history

Sahajanand Swami

Main article: Swaminarayan

The Swaminarayan Sampradaya takes its name and origin from its historical founder, Swaminarayan, also known as Sahajanand Swami. Swaminarayan was born on 3 April 1781 in the village of Chhapaiya in present-day Uttar Pradesh, India. After his parents’ death, he renounced his home at the age of 11 and traveled for 7 years as a child yogi around India before settling in the hermitage of Ramanand Swami, a Vaishnava religious leader in present-day Gujarat. Ramanand Swami initiated him as Sahajanand Swami on 28 October 1800, and appointed him to be his successor and the leader of his Uddhav sampradaya in 1801, giving him the name Narayan Muni. Ramanand Swami died on 17 December 1801.

As early as 1804, Sahajanand was regarded as the manifestation of God, and during Sahajanand's life, he was worshipped as God by thousands of followers, being called Swaminarayan, a name which was also given to his followers as a mantra. Both the religious group and its leader became popularly known by this name.

The word Swaminarayan is a compound of two Sanskrit words: Swami (Svāmī) and Narayan (Nārāyaṇa). According to the Ahmedabad and Vadtal diocees, the name refers to one entity, Purushottam, According to the BAPS-tradition, Swami denotes Aksharbrahman (God's ideal devotee), namely Gunatitanand Swami, as identified by Sahajanand Swami, and Narayan denotes Parabrahman (God), a reference to Sahajanand Swami himself although they also write the name as one. This understanding recalls an earlier Vaishnava tradition of the divine companionship between the perfect devotee and God (for example, Radha and Krishna or Lakshmi and Vishnu).

The sampradaya grew quickly over the 30 years under Swaminarayan’s leadership, with British sources estimating at least 100,000 followers by the 1820s. . Before his death, Swaminarayan divided his followers into two territorial dioceses in India. Swaminarayan was celibate. In 1825, he formally adopted a son of each brother and installed them in the office of acharyas {religious specialist}. Ayodhyaprasadji became acharya of the Ahmedabad diocese, and Raghuvirji became acharya of the Vadtal diocese. This sacred line of tradition (guruparampara) provides a source of spiritual authority in addition to the claim of blood descent. He also charged Gopalanand Swami with looking after the temples of Vadtal and Ahmedabad, and all of the ascetics in the sampradaya. The sampraday continued to grow with an estimated 288,000 followers by 1872. He died on 1 June 1830.

Early monasticism

Swaminarayan and paramhanso

Challenged by the growth of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, some religious and political leaders persecuted Swaminarayan and his followers, particularly his swamis (monks). Swaminarayan himself travelled with a huge entourage with armed bodyguards from the Kathi class. Swaminarayan had instructed the swamis to maintain an austere code of conduct as part of their spiritual practice. This code of conduct included refraining from retaliation when harassed by others, which left them vulnerable to physical assault. To help them escape such harassment, Swaminarayan ordained 500 swamis into the highest monastic order as paramhansas (paramhaṃsas), thereby allowing them to temporarily suspend certain practices, like applying sacred marks, that allowed opponents to identify them as one of his followers. Altogether, Swaminarayan ordained 3,000 swamis over the span of his leadership.

The swamis expressed their devotion to Swaminarayan in various ways, ranging from composing bhakti poetry to authoring scriptural commentaries. Swaminarayan also encouraged his swamis to serve others. During the devastating famine of 1813-14 in Kathiawar, for example, the swamis collected alms in unaffected regions of Gujarat to distribute among the afflicted.

Beliefs

Swaminarayan’s teachings are found in the Vachanamrut (Vacanāmṛta), the principal theological text of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. As followers believe Swaminarayan to be Parabrahman (Parabrahman, or Purushottam, Puruṣottama), his teachings are considered a direct revelation of God. In the Vachanamrut, Swaminarayan describes that the ultimate goal of life is moksha (mokṣa), a spiritual state of ultimate liberation from the cycle of births and deaths and characterized by eternal bliss and devotion to God.

Background

Swaminayaran's philosophy emerged within the Vedanta tradition, particularly the Vaishnava tradition as articulated by Ramanuja, Madhva, Vallabha, and Chaitanya. He engaged with this Vedanta tradition by presenting his own theological system, which has similarities and differences with many of those that came before it. Some scholars highlight particular similarities with Ramanuja's Vishistadvaita and Swaminarayan’s stated affinity for it to suggest that it served as foundational for Swaminarayan’s philosophy. Other scholars point to significant differences between Swaminarayan’s and Ramanuja’s systems to assert fundamental metaphysical and philosophical divergences between the two. Raymond Williams explicitly notes that the Swaminarayan tradition’s followers “are not Shrivaishnavas” who affirm Ramanuja’s philosophical tradition, while Paramtattvadas states that the similarities between Vishishtadvaita and Swaminarayan's theology lead those who do not have a complete understanding of the Swaminarayan Hindu tradition to “erroneously identify it as a ‘modified’ version of Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta.” He cautions that one should not conflate the two distinct schools of Vedanta, nor should one then see Swaminarayan’s philosophy as foundationally based in Ramanuja’s.

Metaphysics

Main article: Akshar-Purushottam Darshan

While his preference for Ramunaja’s theology is stated in the sacred text, the Shikshapatri (Śikṣāpatrī), Swaminarayan actually teaches a significantly different system of metaphysics in the Vachanamrut. In Ramunaja’s system, there are three entities: Parabrahman, maya (māyā), and jiva (jīva). Throughout the Vachanamrut, Swaminarayan identifies five eternal and distinct entities: Parabrahman, Aksharbrahman (Akṣarabrahman, also Akshara, Akṣara, or Brahman), maya, ishwar (īśvara), and jiva.

Parabrahman is God, who is sarvopari (sarvoparī, transcends all entities), karta (kartā, omniagent), sakar (sākār, possesses an eternal and divine form), and pragat (pragat, forever manifests on Earth to liberate spiritual seekers). Swaminarayan taught that Purushottam, or God, possesses a divine form whose shape is human-like. Most followers believe that Swaminarayan was the ‘manifest’ form of this supreme God. By ‘manifest’, it is understood that the very same transcendent entity who possesses a divine form in his abode assumes a human form that is still “totally divine,” but “accessible” to his human devotees. The majority of the followers believe thus that Swaminarayan was “not a manifestation of Krishna, as some believed,” but the supreme entity superior to all other manifestations of God, including Rama and Krishna. These other manifestations of God, of which Rama and Krishna are two examples, are known as avatars, and Purushottam (or God) is believed to be “metaphysically different” from them and their cause, the avatarin, whom Swaminarayan revealed as himself.

Aksharbrahman, is the second highest entity and has four forms: 1) Parabrahman’s divine abode; 2) the ideal devotee of Parabrahman, eternally residing in that divine abode; 3) the sentient substratum pervading and supporting the cosmos (chidakash, cidākāśa); and 4) the Aksharbrahman Guru, who serves as the manifest form of God on earth through whom God guides aspirants to moksha. This understanding of Akshar having four forms is one of the features that distinguishes Swaminarayan’s theology from others. In Vachanamrut Gadhada I-63, Swaminarayan emphasizes the need to understand Akshar in order to understand God (Parabrahman) perfectly and completely.

Maya refers to the universal material source used by Parabrahman to create the world. Maya has three gunas (guṇas, qualities) which are found to varying degrees in everything formed of it: serenity (sattva), passion (rajas), and darkness (tamas). Maya also refers to the ignorance which enshrouds both ishwars and jivas, which results in their bondage to the cycle of births and deaths (transmigration) and subsequently suffering.

Ishwars are sentient beings responsible for the creation, sustenance, and dissolution of the cosmos, at the behest of Parabrahman. While they are metaphysically higher than jivas, they too are bound by maya and must transcend it to attain moksha.

Jivas, also known as atmans, are distinct, eternal entities, composed of consciousness that can reside in bodies, animating them. The jiva is inherently pure and flawless, though under the influence of maya, jivas falsely believe themselves to be the bodies they inhabit and remain bound to the cycle of transmigration.

Moksha

In Swaminarayan’s soteriology, the ultimate goal of life is moksha, a spiritual state of ultimate liberation from the cycle of births and deaths, as stated in the Shikshaprati: "Our followers who act according to these directions, shall certainly obtain the four great objects of human desire the disciplined life (dharma), material gain (artha), pleasure (kama) and salvation (moksha)." To attain moksha, an individual must overcome the ignorance of maya, which Swaminarayan describes as self-identification with the physical body, personal talents, and material possessions.

Swaminarayan emphasizes in the Vachanamrut and several other scriptures the importance of Dharmakul (family of Swaminarayan's father), and states that those who know him to be their deity and desire moksha shall follow only the Swaminarayan Sampraday under the leadership of the acharyas which he has established and their successors. In the Nishkulanand Kavya , it states, "the Acharyas will give mosksha to the souls. My followers should all believe that this is the final way to attain liberation [...] I shall live in the Acharyas forever. Followers of Laxmi Narayan Dev Gadi (Vadtal Gadi) and Nar Narayan Dev Gadi (Ahmedabad Gadi) are initiated into the Sampraday by the acharyas, following the Shikshaprati, in which Swaminarayan stated that "The Acharyas are the religious heads and they shall initiate male disciples according to Vedic rituals," and "The wives of these Acharyas with the permission of their husbands, shall initiate, preach, and give the Mantra Diksha [...] to females disciples."

According to BAPS, the jiva attains this state, characterized by eternal bliss and devotion to God, by becoming brahmarup (brahmarūp), or like Aksharbrahman, under the guidance of the manifest form of God, the Aksharbrahman Guru. Swaminarayan then explains that an individual must earn the grace of Parabrahman and Aksharbrahman through a spiritual endeavor called ekantik dharma (ekāntik dharma). Ekantik dharma consists of dharma (dharma; religious and moral duties), gnan (jñāna; realization of the atman and Paramatman) vairagya (vairāgya; dispassion for worldly objects), and bhakti (bhakti; devotion to God coupled with the understanding of God’s greatness). By pleasing the Aksharbrahman Guru with one’s efforts, Swaminarayan states that an individual perfects ekantik dharma and acquires virtues of Aksharbrahman, becoming brahmarup. In this highest state, the jiva or ishwar never becomes Aksharbrahman but transcends maya and experiences God’s bliss through eternally serving Parabrahman.

According to Swaminarayn Gadi (Maninagar), moksha can only be achieved at the resort of Swaminarayan Gadi lineage.

Practices

According to Raymond Williams, when Swaminarayan died in 1830 the movement had 1.8 million followers, which, by 2001, had grown to an estimated 5 million followers. Lay followers of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya are known as satsangis and are expected to maintain integrity in their actions while avoiding meat, intoxicants, theft, gambling, and adultery.

The practices Swaminarayan prescribed were in part consistent with "Vaishnava and Krishnite traditions." Shruti Patel argues that such a consistency with existing practices would have aided in "sanctioning [the] novelty" of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya.

Ekantik dharma

Boy offering personal worship

Ekantik dharma (ekāntik dharma) is an important spiritual practice of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, and its establishment is one of the reasons why Swaminarayan is believed to have incarnated. Ekantik dharma consists of dharma, gnan, vairagya, and bhakti.

Dharma consists of religious and moral duties according to one’s responsibilities and situation. All Swaminarayan Hindus who are householders maintain five basic vows: abstaining from theft, gambling, adultery, meat, and intoxicants like alcohol. As part of their dharma, swamis additionally endeavor to perfect the five virtues of non-lust (nishkam/niṣkāma), non-greed (nirlobh/nirlobha), non-attachment (nissneh/nissneha), non-taste (niswad/nissvada), and non-ego (nirman/nirmāna). Another aspect of the practice of dharma is the Swaminarayan diet, a type of vegetarianism, similar to that practiced generally by Vaishnava sampradayas, that entails abstaining from animal flesh, eggs, onions, and garlic.

Gnan is knowledge of Parabrahman and realizing oneself as the atman. Basic practices of gnan include the daily study of scriptures like the Vachanamrut and Shikshapatri and weekly participation in congregational worship services (sabha/sabhā) at the mandir (temple), in which scriptural discourses geared towards personal and spiritual growth occur. In the Vachanamrut, Swaminarayan explains that adhering to the Aksharbrahman Guru’s commands is commensurate to perfectly embodying gnan—that is, realizing oneself as the atman.

Vairagya is dispassion for worldly objects, through practices like fasting on Ekadashi days, two of which occur every month, and observing extra fasts, during the holy months of Chaturmas (a period of four months between July and October) Vairagya is realized by adhering to the codes of conduct, inclusive of these practices, serving other devotees physically, listening to discourses, and engaging in devotion.

Bhakti involves devotion towards God, while understanding God’s greatness and believing oneself—the atman—as one with Aksharbrahman. Important bhakti rituals for Swaminarayan Hindus include puja (pūjā; personal worship of God), arti (ārtī; the ritual waving of lighted wicks around murtis, or images), thal (thāl; the offering of food to murtis of God), and cheshta (ceṣtā; the singing of devotional songs that celebrate the divine acts and form of Swaminarayan).

During puja, adherents ritually worship Swaminarayan, and depending on their denominational affiliation, also the lineage of gurus through whom Swaminarayan is believed to be manifest.

At the beginning of the puja ritual, men imprint a symbol known as the tilak chandlo on their forehead, and women imprint a chandlo. The Shikshaprati states that disiples who have been initiated by their Acharya shall wear a tilak which is a u-shaped saffron-colored symbol made of sandalwood and the chandlo is a red symbol made of kumkum of each has a symbolic meaning.

Other bhakti rituals included in Swaminarayan religious practice are abhishek (abhiśeka), the bathing of a murti of God, mahapuja (māhāpūjā), a collective worship of God usually performed on auspicious days or festivals, and mansi (mānsi) puja, worship of God offered mentally.

Mandir tradition

Harikrishna Maharaj - Vadtal

The Swaminarayan Sampradaya is well-known for its mandirs, or Hindu places of worship. From Swaminarayan’s time through the present, mandirs functioned as centers of worship and gathering as well as hubs for cultural and theological education. They can vary in consecration rituals and architecture, which can be adapted to the means of the local congregation.

History

Swaminarayan instituted the mandir tradition of the sampradaya to provide followers a space for devotional worship (upasana, upāsanā) to God. He constructed six mandirs in the following locations: Ahmedabad (1822), Bhuj (1823), Vadtal (1824), Dholera (1826), Junagadh (1828), and Gadhada (1828). Swaminarayan installed the murtis, or sacred images, of various manifestations of God and his devotee in the central shrines of each of these mandirs. He also installed his own image in the form of Harikrishna in the mandir at Vadtal, signifying his own divinity. Swaminarayan’s successors have continued the tradition of installing murtis of God (Swaminarayan) and his ideal devotee to facilitate his followers’ pursuit of moksha.

Murti puja

The Swaminarayan Sampradaya is a bhakti tradition that believes God possesses an eternal, divine, human-like, transcendent form. Thus, Swaminarayan mandirs facilitate devotion to God by housing murtis which are believed to resemble God’s divine form. The murtis are consecrated through the prana pratishta (prāṅa pratiṣṭha) ceremony, after which God is believed to reside in the murtis. Consequently, the worship practiced in Swaminarayan mandirs is believed to directly reach God.

After the consecration of a mandir, various rituals are regularly performed in it. Arti is a ritual which involves singing a devotional song of praise, while waving a flame before the murtis. Arti is performed five times per day in shikharbaddha mandirs and twice per day in hari mandirs. Thal, a ritual offering of food to God accompanied by devotional songs, is also regularly offered three times per day to the murtis in Swaminarayan mandirs. The sanctified food is distributed to devotees after the ritual.

Devotees also engage with the murtis in a Swaminarayan mandir through other worship rituals, including darshan, dandvat, and pradakshina. Darshan is the devotional act of viewing the murtis, which are adorned with elegant clothing and ornaments. Dandvats (daṇdavat), or prostrations, before the murtis symbolize surrendering to God. Pradakshina (pradakṣiṇā), or circumambulations around the murtis, express the desire to keep God at the center of the devotees’ lives.

Swaminarayan Akshardham, New Delhi

Community building and worship

Swaminarayan mandirs also serve as hubs for congregational worship and theological and cultural education. Singing devotional songs, delivering katha (sermons), and performing rituals such as arti all occur daily in Swaminarayan mandirs. In addition, devotees from the surrounding community gather at least once per week, often on a weekend, to perform these activities congregationally.

Cultural and theological instruction is also delivered on this day of weekly congregation. Cultural instruction may include Gujarati language instruction; training in music and dance; and preparation for festival performances. Theological instruction includes classes on the tradition’s history and doctrines, and the life and work of the tradition’s gurus.

Types of Swaminarayan mandirs

Swaminarayan followers conduct their worship in various types of mandirs. The homes of Swaminarayan devotees contain ghar mandirs, or home shrines, which serve as spaces for the daily performance of worship and ritual activities such as arti, thal, and reading sermons or scripture.

The majority of freestanding public Swaminarayan mandirs are hari mandirs, whose architectural style and consecration rituals are adopted to the means available to the local congregation.

As a means of expressing their devotion to Swaminarayan and their guru, some congregations elect to construct stone, shikharbaddha mandirs following Hindu architectural scriptures. In addition to being an expression of devotion, congregants strengthen their sense of community by cooperatively volunteering to construct these mandirs.

A fourth type of mandir, called a mahamandiram (mahāmandiram) can be found in India, in New Delhi and Gandhinagar, Gujarat. These mahamandirs are the largest type of mandir constructed and they contain exhibits which present the life of Swaminarayan and the history of Hinduism in various formats with the goal of inspiring introspection and self-improvement.

Scriptures of Swaminarayan Hinduism

An illustration of Swaminarayan writing the Shiskhapatri

In addition to Swaminarayan’s acceptance of perennial Hindu texts such as the four Vedas, Vedanta-sutras, and the Bhagavad Gita, Swaminarayan encouraged the creation of a scriptural tradition specific to the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. In addition to theological texts with revelatory status, the genres of textual production in the Swaminarayan Sampradaya include sacred biographies, ethical precepts, commentaries, and philosophical treatises.

Works by Swaminarayan

Shikshapatri

Main article: Shikshapatri

The first and foremost amongst the works of the Sampradaya is the Shikshapatri. The Shikshapatri is a composition of 212 Sanskrit verses written by Swaminarayan himself and completed in 1826. As an ‘epistle of precepts,’ the verses primarily communicate the Swaminarayan Sampradaya’s moral injunctions. Swaminarayan declares that the Shikshapatri is not merely his word (vani) but his “personified form” (rupa) and merits worship in its own right. Thus the scripture is accepted to be "an idol of Swaminarayan himself represented in words," and states, "Our followers who act according to these directions, shall certainly obtain the four great objects of human desire the disciplined life (dharma), material gain (artha), pleasure (kama) and salvation (moksha)." The Vachanamrut requires that the Shikshapatri must be read daily or worshiped. Special regulations of the Shikshapatri applies to the acharyas and restrict their contact with women who are not close relatives. This important function of the acharya as religious specialist is emphasized in the Shikshapatri: “My devotees should worship only those images of the lord that are given by the acharya or installed by him. Others verse are directed at particular classes: the acharyas, the acharyas' wives, women, Brahmins, widows, and ascetics of different ranks. All his followers are ordained to conduct themselves in conformity with the precepts of the Shikshapatri and not to act according of their own will.

Vachanamrut

The Vachanamrut

Main article: Vachanamrut

The Vachanamrut, literally the ‘immortalizing ambrosia in the form of words’, is the fundamental theological text of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya owing to the followers’ belief that Swaminarayan himself is the self-manifestation of Parabrahman. The text is a compilation of 274 discourses, with each discourse within the collection also called a Vachanamrut. Swaminarayan delivered these discourses in Gujarati between the years of 1819-1829, and his senior disciples noted his teachings while they were delivered and compiled them during Swaminarayan’s lifetime. In this scripture, Swaminarayan outlines his system of metaphysics which includes  five eternal entities: jiva, ishwar, maya, Aksharbrahman, Parabrahman. He also describes the ultimate goal of life, moksha (mokṣa), a spiritual state of ultimate liberation from the cycle of births and deaths and characterized by eternal bliss and devotion to God. In Vachanamrut Vadtal I-18.4, Gadhada I-1.8 and in other scriptures, Swaminarayan signifies the importance of Dharma-kul and states that those who know him to be their deity and desire moksha shall follow only the Swaminarayan Sampraday under the leadership of the acharyas which he has established and their successors. Also to attain this state, Swaminarayan states that the jiva needs to follow the four-fold practice of ekantik dharma under the guidance of the Aksharbrahman Guru to transcend maya and become brahmarup to reside in the service of God.

As followers believe Swaminarayan to be God, the Vachanamrut is considered a direct revelation of God and thus the most precise interpretation of the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, and other important Hindu scriptures. This scripture is read by followers regularly and discourses are conducted daily in Swaminarayan temples around the world.

Sacred biographies

The Swaminarayan Sampradaya has produced voluminous biographical literature on Swaminarayan. The sacred biographies complement the theological texts, insofar as their incidents serve as practical applications of the theology.

The Satsangi Jeevan, a five volume, 17,627 verse Sanskrit compendium work written in the style of the Bhagavata Purana. is "one of the oldest and most authentic sources on the life and person of Swami Sahajananda," It contains the greatest diversity of material,combining religious, spiritual and metaphysical aspects of Bhagawata Dharma. It was written by Shatananda Muni, a veteran scholar, under the direct supervision and inspiration from Swaminarayan, incorporating the Shikshapatri in it, and completed in 1829.

The Bhakta Chintamani is a sacred biography of Swaminarayan composed by Nishkulanand Swami. Consisting of 8,536 couplets, this biography serves as a record of Swaminarayan’s life and teachings and includes the names of followers, both ascetics and householders.

The Harililamrut is a longer biographical text in verse written by Dalpatram and published in 1907. Theological works by prominent ascetics are preserved and read in religious gatherings.

Other hagiographies of Swaminarayan include: Shri Hari Digvijay, Shri Hari Charitam, Shri Hari Lila Sudhakar, Shri Hari Charitramrut, Shri Hari Lila Kalpataru, Purushottam Charitra, Shri Swaminarayan Sampradayno Sachitra Itihas, Swaminarayan Jivan Charitra, and more.

Other important works

Nishkulanand Kavya

The Nishkulanand Kavya also known as the Yama Danda was written by Nishkulanand Swami, one of Sahajanand Swami's leading sadhu disciples. It is a treatise in 1,100 verses on life, death, and salvation. The first half deals with the sorrows of worldly life separated from God and the second half extols the joys of salvation. It describes the punishment in hell for the crimes and wrong doings done on earth. The text is a work of great historical value because it is the first work written in the Sampraday. As early as 1804, Sahajanand was described as a manifestation of god in the text. Nishkulanand Swami was entrusted by his guru the task of formulating the statement of the theory of ultimate reality on which the superstructure of the sect rests. His poetic compilations are included in the text.

Swamini Vato

Main article: Swamini Vato

The Swamini Vato is a compilation of teachings delivered by Gunatitanand Swami over the course of his forty-year ministry. He was one of Swaminarayan’s foremost disciple. According to some denominations of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, he was the first spiritual successor to Swaminarayan. These teachings were first published by Balmukund Swami. In his teachings, he reflects on the nature of human experience and offers thoughts on how one ought to frame the intentions with which they act in this world, while also elaborating on Swaminarayan’s supremacy, the importance of the sadhu, and the means for attaining liberation. Often, Gunatitanand Swami elaborates upon topics or passages from the Vachanamrut, which lends the text to be considered a ‘natural commentary’ on the Vachanamrut within the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. In addition, he often made references to other Hindu texts, parables, and occurrences in daily life in order not only to explain the sophisticated concepts, but also to provide guidance on how to live them.

Vedanta commentaries

Swaminarayan Bhashyam

From its early history, the Swaminarayan Sampradaya has also been involved in the practice of producing Sanskrit commentarial work as a way of engaging with the broader scholastic community. The classical Vedanta school of philosophy and theology is of particular import for the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, which has produced exegetical work on the three canonical Vedanta texts—the Upanishads, Brahmasutras, and the Bhagavad Gita. While Swaminarayan himself did not author a commentary on these texts, he engaged with them and their interpretations in the Vachanamrut. Since Swaminarayan’s metaphysical framework consists of five eternal entities, it differs from Ramanuja’s and that of the other commentators, and therefore forms a distinct system within the Vedanta school, known as the Akshar-Purushottam Darshan.

The earliest Vedanta commentarial literature in the Swaminarayan Sampradaya reflects a heavy dependence on the Vedanta systems of Ramanuja and Vallabha. Although authorship of these nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century texts are attributed to two of Swaminarayan’s eminent disciples, Muktanand Swami and Gopalanand Swami, textual evidence indicates that they were composed by Vishishtadvaita scholars from southern India, who were called to Gujarat to head the Vadtal Sanskrit Pathshala.

The most comprehensive commentarial work on Vedanta in the Swaminarayan Sampradaya is the Swaminarayan Bhashya authored by Bhadreshdas Swami, an ordained monk of the BAPS. It is a five-volume work written in Sanskrit and published between 2009 and 2012. The format and style of exegesis and argument conform with the classical tradition of Vedanta commentarial writing. In more than two thousand pages, the commentator Bhadreshdas Swami, offers detailed interpretations of the principal ten Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahmasutras (Vedanta Sutras) that articulate Swaminarayan’s theology and philosophy.

The Shri Kashi Vidvat Parishad, a highly eminent scholarly council for adjudicating matters of Vedic studies and tradition throughout India, stated in a meeting in Varanasi on 31 July 2017 that "Mahāmahopādyāya Sadhu Bhadreshdas is an ācārya and a contemporary commentator in the lineage of commentators on the Prasthānatrayī." They also stated that it is "appropriate to identify Sri Svāminārāyaṇa’s Vedānta by the title: Akṣarapuruṣottama Darśana," and that his teachings are "distinct from Advaita, Viśiṣṭādvaita, and all other doctrines."

Akshar-Purushottam Darshan was also recognised as a distinct school of Vedanta in 2018, by members of the 17th World Sanskrit Conference. Paramtattvadas Swami describes Swaminarayan's teachings as "a distinct school of thought within the larger expanse of classical Vedanta," presenting Swaminarayan's teachings as a seventh school of Vedanta.

Major branches

Swaminarayan temple Ahmedabad 1866

In the 20th century, due to "different interpretations of authentic successorship," the sampradaya split-up into various denominations. All groups regard Swaminarayan as God but differ in their theology and the religious leadership they accept.

In the early years of the Sampradaya, Swaminarayan personally directed control of the spiritual and administrative duties. Swaminarayan later delegated responsibilities amongst swamis, householders, and the members of his family. In the Lekh, Swaminarayan established two "administrative dioceses," the Vadtal diocese (Laxmi Narayan Dev Gadi) and Ahmedabad diocese (Nar Narayan Dev Gadi), and appointed two acharyas to "administer his temple properties" which are distributed among them, establishing a hereditary line of succession. The first acharyas of the two dioceses were Swaminarayan's two nephews, Raghuvir (Vadtal) and Ayodhyaprasad (Ahmedabad), whose descendants continue the hereditary line of succesion.

According to certain traditions, Swaminarayan introduced a spiritual lineage of gurus. Swaminarayan Gadi adherents believe a spiritual succession begins from a lineage starting with Gopalanand Swami. BAPS adherents believe Swaminarayan introduced Gunatitanand Swami as his ideal devotee from which a spiritual lineage of gurus began reflecting the principle that a form of God who lives “before one’s eyes” is necessary for aspirants to attain moksha (liberation).

Laxminarayan Gadi (Vadtal) and Narnarayan Gadi (Ahmedabad)

Acharya Rakeshprasad & Acharya Koshalendraprasad

Main articles: Nar Narayan Dev Gadi and Laxmi Narayan Dev Gadi

Per the Lekh, Swaminarayan appointed two of his nephews as acharays to administer the two gadis, or dioceses. Ayodhyaprasadji, son of his elder brother Rampratap, became acharya of the Nar Narayan Dev Gadi (Ahmedabad diocese), and Raghuvirji, son of his younger brother Ichcharam, became acharya of the Laxmi Narayan Dev Gadi (Vadtal diocese).

In the twentieth century, several controversies involving the acharyas led to litigation resulting in restrictions on the acharyas’ authority along with schisms and the formation of new subgroups within the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. The current acharya of the Nar Narayan Dev Gadi is Koshalendraprasad Pande. The current acharya of the Laxmi Narayan Dev Gadi is Rakeshprasad Pande.

Mahant Swami Maharaj, current guru and president of BAPS

Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS)

Main article: Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha

The Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) was formed in 1907, by Shastriji Maharaj (Shastri Yagnapurushdas). Shastriji Maharaj's primary reason for separation from the Vadtal diocese and creation of BAPS had been due to doctrinal differences in the interpretation of Akshar (Aksharbrahma) and Purushottam.

As articulated in the theology of Akshar-Purushottam Darshan, followers believe Swaminarayan manifests through a lineage of Aksharbrahma Gurus beginning with Gunatitanand Swami and currently Mahant Swami Maharaj.

Swaminarayan Gadi (Maninagar)

The Swaminarayan Gadi (Maninagar) was founded in the 1940s by Muktajivandas Swami after he left the the Ahmedabad diocese with the belief that Gopalanand Swami, a paramhansa from Swaminarayan's time, was the spiritual succesor to Swaminarayan. On 9 July 2020, Jitendrapriyadasji Swami was appointed as the spiritual leader.

Followers of the Swaminarayan Gadi accept the Rahasyarth Pradeepika Tika, a five-volume work written by Abji Bapa, as an authentic exegesis of the Vachanamrut.

Gunatit Samaj

The Yogi Divine Society was established in 1966, by Dadubhai Patel and his brother, Babubhai after they were excommunicated from BAPS by Yogiji Maharaj. The brothers were expelled after it was discovered that Dadubhai illicitly collected and misappropriated funds and, falsely claiming that he was acting on the organization’s behalf, led a number of young women to renounce their families and join his ashram under his leadership. After Dadubhai’s death in 1986, an ascetic named Hariprasad Swami became the leader of the Yogi Divine Society (YDS). YDS became known as the Gunatit Samaj and consists of several wings: namely, YDS, The Anoopam Mission, and The Gunatit Jyot.

Swaminarayan Gurukul (Rajkot)

In 1947, while still maintaining a relationship with the Vadtal diocese, Dharmajivandas Swami separated from the diocese to establish hostels and educational centers. In the 1970s the group opened a hostel in the Ahmedabad diocese territory and neither Vadtal or Ahmedabad acharya agreed to perform the opening ceremony. Thereafter, the group identified themselves independent from either diocese although never formally making such separation. In 2017, Swaminarayan Gurukul lists 15 gurukuls in India, 4 in the United States, one in London, and one in the Dominican Republic.

Influence on society

Humanitarian Service

In addition to his efforts in social reform, Swaminarayan was instrumental in providing humanitarian aid to the people of Gujarat during turbulent times of famine. When given the opportunity to receive two boons from his guru, Swaminarayan asked to receive any miseries destined for followers and to bear any scarcities of food or clothing in place of any followers. In the initial years of the sampradaya, Swaminaryan maintained almshouses throughout Gujarat and directed swamis to maintain the almshouses even under the threat of physical injury by opponents. During a particularly harsh famine in 1813-14, Swaminarayan himself collected and distributed grains to those who were suffering, and he had step wells and water reservoirs dug in various villages. He codified devotees’ engagement with humanitarian service in the Shikshapatri, instructing followers to help the poor and those in need during natural disasters, to establish schools, and to serve the ill, according to their ability.

Consequently, various denominations of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya currently engage in humanitarian service at a global scale. For example, BAPS has been involved with coordinating responses to major natural disasters, building various residential and day schools, organizing blood donation drives and free medical clinics as well as constructing and running seven hospitals and treatment centers through its humanitarian services wing, BAPS Charities. Following the devastating earthquake in Gujarat in 2001, they rebuilt 15 villages and neighborhoods and 39 schools. For its work, BAPS has been granted consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

ISSO Seva, a subsidiary of the Ahmedabad diocese, is involved in disaster relief, food and blood donation drives in the United States and providing accessible healthcare in Africa. The Gunatit Samaj also hosts medical camps, provides educational services, healthcare, and other social services in India and abroad. The Swaminarayan Gadi (Maninagar) diocese primarily hosts health camps and other social services in the UK, Africa and North America. SVG Charity, a subsidiary of the Laxmi Narayan Dev Gadi, is involved in disaster relief, food and medicine donations, blood drives, and organ donation registration drives across the United States, Europe, Canada, and India.

Caste

During Swaminarayan’s time, the oppressive nature of caste-based customs, like endogamy, dress codes, and commensality, pervaded many aspects of society. Religious groups and other institutions often regulated membership based on caste. Swaminarayan opposed caste-based discrimination and has been credited as one of the foremost social reformers of 19th century India for his efforts in reducing caste-based oppression. In fact, Swaminarayan’s opposition of caste-based discrimination through his spiritual teachings and practices incited vehement criticism and violence from some high-caste Hindus. Kishore Mashruwala, a Gandhian scholar writes that “Swaminarayan was the first to bring about religious advancement of Shudras in Gujarat and Kathiawad region…And that became the main reason for many to oppose the Sampraday”. It is noted in an 1823 memorandum published in The Asiatic Journal that upper-caste Hindus “regret the levelling nature of [Swaminarayan's] system” often resulting in frequent violence against followers of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya.

Swaminarayan's doctrine that everyone's true self is the pure atma within which God resides, led him to reject caste-based discrimination and welcome those of all caste backgrounds equally into the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. In his public writings, Swaminarayan allowed for some caste rules to protect his followers from violence incited by his opposition of caste-based discrimination. For example, in the Shikshapatri, Swaminarayan states that his followers should follow rules of the caste system when consuming food and water. Based on these public writings some have criticized Swaminarayan of supporting caste-based discrimination. However, numerous scholars have demonstrated that this criticism is unfounded, citing Swaminarayan’s continued actions in combating caste-based oppression and promoting inclusivity. In fact, Swaminarayan not only accepted people from all castes into the sampradaya but also Muslims and tribal peoples. Additionally, various historical sources indicate that Swaminarayan himself often ignored caste rules and urged his followers to do the same. When asked about his views on caste by Bishop Reginald Heber, Swaminarayan stated that he did not believe in the caste system but sometimes accommodated it publicly so as to not offend the masses.

Taken together, Swaminarayan’s contemporaries and modern scholars both credit him for reducing caste-based oppression and discrimination through his actions and teachings. Swaminarayan’s actions uplifted many of the oppressed and drew them to the Swaminarayan Sampradaya.

Further reading

• Williams, Raymond Brady (2018). An introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism (Third ed.). Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-42114-0. OCLC 1038043717.
• Williams, Raymond Brady; Trivedi, Yogi (eds.) (2016). Swaminarayan Hinduism: tradition, adaptation and identity (1st ed.). New Delhi, India: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-908657-3. OCLC 948338914.
• Paramtattvadas, Swami (2017). An introduction to Swaminarayan Hindu theology. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-15867-2. OCLC 964861190.
• Patel, Iva (2018), Jain, Pankaj; Sherma, Rita; Khanna, Madhu (eds.), "Swaminarayan", Hinduism and Tribal Religions, Encyclopedia of Indian Religions, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 1–6, doi:10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_541-1, ISBN 978-94-024-1036-5, retrieved 15 August 2020
• Kim, Hanna (2014). "Svāminārāyaṇa: Bhaktiyoga and the Akṣarabrahman Guru". In Singleton, Mark; Goldberg, Ellen (eds.). Gurus of modern yoga. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-993871-1. OCLC 861692270.
• Brahmbhatt, Arun. "BAPS Swaminarayan community: Hinduism". Global religious movements across borders: sacred service. Burlington. ISBN 1-4094-5689-7. OCLC 872618204.

External links

• Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha)
• Shri NarNarayan Dev Gadi (Ahmedabad)
• Shri LaxmiNarayan Dev Gadi (Vadtal)
• Maninagar Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan Gadi
• Gunatit Samaj