Swaminarayan | Scriptures
Scriptures:
Bhagwan Swaminarayan's principal objective in incarnating was to establish Ekāṅta Dharma, which opened an eternal path to moksha for Jīvas. Yet historians and writers have ascribed the phrase 'Social Reformer' to Him.
Not having an in-depth knowledge of the Sampradāya and won over by the revolutionary and thus socially visible work, these writers could not help laud Him as such, albeit myopically. One scholar after some detailed study came close, by describing His social reforms as off-shoots of religion.
In truth, it has to be elucidated that establishing Ekāṅta Dharma automatically encompassed His social services, which merely played a miniscule role.
One of the means of setting His principal objective was through the compilation and writing of His teachings, in several important scriptures during His life.
These were: the Shikshapatri, the Vāchanamritam, the Satsangijivanam and Haricharitramrut Sāgar.
The teachings drew authority from the Vedic scriptures, and elaborated the realisation of Ekāṅta Dharma. This is the perfect observance of Dharma - righteousness and duty, Jñāna - knowledge, Vairāgya - detachment and Bhakti - devotion with a fully-fledged realisation of the glory and grandeur of God.
Shikshapatri - The Code of Precepts
Bhagwan Swaminarayan Himself wrote this quintessence of the scriptures, a code of conduct for the devotees, in Vadtal, in 1826.
It contains 212 Sanskrit verses in couplets. Five verses are read every day by disciples; each word venerated as His personified form. The illiterate worship it as the Lord's divine form.
In such a short treatise, Bhagwan Swaminarayan has covered an amazing range of subjects, prescribing practical injunctions for the followers. To those who implicitly obey them, He grants happiness and peace, both in their mundane existence and in the life hereafter.
=> You can read full text of Shikshapatri of Swaminarayan on a separate article.
Some of the subjects and injunctions are classified below:
Ahimsa
1. not to kill animals for yagnas or food,
2. homicide, suicide forbidden.
Bhakti
1. observance of rituals outlined by Vitthalnathji, e.g., celebrating Rāma Navamī, Janmāṣṭamī, Ekādaśī,
2. daily performance of puja, offering prasādam,
3. visiting a Mandir every day,
4. singing Kirtanas extolling the glory of God.
Company
- to avoid the company of: thieves, addicts, heretics, alchemists, sinful and lustful people.
Diplomacy
- to respect people in power and those who are armed.
Ecological Awareness
- not to spit, urinate or defecate in gardens, rivers, lakes or public places.
Education
- to set up schools.
Finance Management
1. to keep a daily record of one's expenses in one's own handwriting,
2. personal expenditure should not exceed income,
3. to pay employees the agreed sum of wages,
4. to make transactions in writing even with friend and relations.
Health & Hygiene
1. to bathe every day, to drink filtered water,
2. avoid alcohol, tobacco and other intoxicants,
3. follow a vegetarian diet.
Morality
1. not to commit adultery,
2. avoid wearing indecent clothing.
Self-Control
- cultivate forbearance.
Special observances for
- married women, widows, householders, Acharyas and sadhus.
Veneration to:
1. The Five Deities - Vishnu, Śiva, Gaṇapatī, Pārvatī and Āditya.
2. Scriptures, especially the eight authoritative scriptures, namely:
Four Vedas, Vedanta Sutras of Vyāsa, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, Viṣṇu Sahasranāma, Bhāgavad Gita, Vidurniti, Vāsudeva Mahātmya and Yājñyavalkya Smṛiti.
3. Elders.
4. Sadhus.
5. Holy places - tīrthas.
Vāchanamritam
From 1819 to 1829, Bhagwan Swaminarayan's sermons to the Paramahamsas and devotees were systematically recorded in prose form. The compilers comprised four senior and learned Paramahamsas: Gopalanand, Muktānanda, Nityānanda and Shukanand.
From a collection of over two thousand dialogues, they selected two hundred and sixty two and compiled these as the Vāchanamritam - the nectar of His words.
Each dialogue includes a reference to the place, date, time, a vivid description of Bhagwan Swaminarayan's attire and the names of the participants.
A scholar, P.B. Vidyarthi, has observed:
'In fact, it is reckoned as one of the most edifying sacred texts, every word of which is packed with profound wisdom enshrined in the traditional Indian literature, like the Upanishads, the Gītā, the Mahābhārata, the Rāmāyaṇa and the Pāñcharātra.’
The compiled text, read and approved by Bhagwan Swaminarayan, renders it a unique authenticity among Hinduism's many sacred texts.
Satsangijivanam
Satsang signifies the Fellowship of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, and jīvan means life. This scripture contains details of the life to be lived by a disciple in Satsang.
It was written in Sanskrit, under the guidance of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, by Swami Shatanand.
Comprising of five volumes and 17,627 verses, it incorporates: the constitution of the Sampradāya, the details of festivals, rituals, vows of the disciples, and elaborates philosophical principles and the life of Bhagwan Swaminarayan.
Also included, are vows and penances for sadhus, known as the Dharmamrita and Niṣkāma Śuddhī.
Haricharitramrut Sāgar
'The ocean of the nectarine episodes of Hari - Bhagwan Swaminarayan.’:
The dazzling name echoes the sublime nature of this scripture:
Considered as the authoritative biography of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, an eye-witness account, its staggering length of eighty thousand Sakhīs (a system of poetic versification), renders this an epic in its own right, over three times the length of the Rāmāyaṇa.
On several occasions Bhagwan Swaminarayan had related to Muktānanda Swami His life, from birth till arrival in Loj.
In Samvat 1881 (C.E.1825), Bhagwan Swaminarayan commanded Muktānanda Swami to offer bhakti by writing His life episodes, till his last breath.
Muktānanda Swami performed this task diligently, writing details in the form of Kharda - a rough format to be systematically restructured later.
He continued writing and dictating the Khardas prolifically till Mahārāja passed away in 1830. Grief-stricken by His departure, Swami's poor health deteriorated rapidly. One and a half months later, he joined the Lord.
In Samvat 1914 (C.E.1858), Adharanand Swami, himself an artist and sculptor, but not a poet by any means, commenced the mammoth versification of the Haricharitramrut Sāgar from Muktānanda Swami's Khardas.
Divinely inspired, he composed the Sakhīs, akin to that of the Rāmāyaṇa, in Vraja Hindi.
The work comprises of twenty-eight chapters, beautifully named as purs - waves, each divided into tarangs - ripples, in consonance with the sagar's (ocean's) imagery.
A few details of Nīlakaṇṭha’s travels, in chapter two of this present work, have been selected from this scripture.
Bhagwan Swaminarayan's teachings, immortalised during His own life in these scriptures, reinforced the principles of Ekāṅta Dharma.
Nishkulanand Swami prominently extols this fact, at the end of every chapter of his Bhakta Chintāmaṇi. To Bhagwan Swaminarayan's name he attaches the prefix, Śrīmad Ekāṅta Dharma Pravartaka - Propounder of Ekāṅta Dharma.