Swaminarayan | Teachings
Teachings:
The teachings of Lord Swaminarayan draw authority from the sacred Vedic scriptures by Vedavyāsa.
Note: References in brackets are from the Vāchanamritam.
1. Universal suffering
'Greed for wealth and other things, the desire to remain in the company of women, great weakness for tasty foods, ego, a liking for evil company, attachment for relatives; a person who possesses these six faults will never experience happiness in life or after death.' (Gadhada III.38)
2. Mundane pleasures '
Craving the sense pleasures for fulfilment by enjoying them is akin to pouring water into a fissure which has opened up in the ground and reaches into the depths of the earth. It will never be filled. Similarly, the senses will never be satisfied even with the utmost enjoyment of the sense-objects. ( Gadhada II.47)
The craving for the objects of sensuous pleasures can be eradicated by making the senses obey implicitly the rules laid down by God.' (Gadhada II.16)
3. Removal of Desire
'Desire can be eradicated from the roots by firmly imbibing the four attributes of: Jñāna, Ātmaniṣṭha, Vairāgya, Dharma and the full-fledged devotion to God.' (Loya 16)
4. Service to God and His Devotee
'The mind (Antahkaraṇa) is purified by engaging the activities of the senses in the service of God and His devotees.' ( Gadhada I-8)
5. Goal of Human Life
'One should identify one's Ātmā, beyond the three bodies (gross, subtle and causal), with Brahman (Akṣarbrahman) and offer worship to Parabrahman.' (Shikshapatri 116)
'There is nothing greater than worshipping God.' ( Jetalpur 5)
6. Eternal Happiness
'The devotee who
- possesses unshakable detachment (from Māyā),
- strictly observes Dharma,
- is master of his sense organs,
- has a deep attachment to God and His Sadhu and has a deep friendship with Them,
- is never upset or disappointed with Them,
- who remains joyful in Their company, but never keeps the company of those who denounce God, will remain eternally happy in this world and in the world hereafter.'
7. Nature of the Bliss of God
The blissful darśan of Paramātmā even in the blink of an eye, is more blessed than all the happiness offered by the seductive sense-objects of millions of universes. ( Sarangpur 1)
8. Moksha
'The four Vedas, eighteen Purāṇas and Itihāsas (Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata) all proclaim that only God and His Sadhu can give moksha.' (Gadhada II.59)
'When God incarnates in human form on earth to redeem the Jīvas, He does so with His divine abode Akṣardham, the divine muktas (liberated Jīvas) and His full-fledged Lordship.' ( Gadhada I.71)
'Just as one knows the glory of past incarnations such as Rama and Krishna as well as the glory of past sadhus, such as: Nārada, Sanaka rishis, Śūkdeva, Jadbharat, Hanuman, Uddhava and others, similarly, if one realises the glory of God and His Sadhu present before you, then one has nothing more to realise on the path to moksha....
'And if you ask Nārada, Sanaka rishis, Śūkdeva, Brahma, Śiva, they will reveal in infinite ways that only God and His Sadhu can grant moksha.
They will reveal the same glory of God and His sadhu manifesting before you, as the glory of past incarnations of God and sadhus.
One who has a firm conviction of this, has understood the essence and will never fall from the path of moksha.' (Gadhada II.21)
9. Endeavours to please God
'The supreme endeavour that pleases God, out of all the endeavours such as: Aṣṭāṅga Yoga, Sāṁkhya, tapas, renunciation, pilgrimages, vows, yagnas and charity is Satsang.' ( Gadhada II.54.)
10. The Means for attaining Moksha
'The Jīva is redeemed by imbibing the four factors: worshipping God, extolling the episodes of God, chanting His name and observing Dharma.' (Gadhada II.35)
'The Ekāṅta Sadhu of God, who is singularly devoted to God and who possesses the attributes of Svadharma, Jñāna, Vairāgya and Bhakti, is the upholder of Bhāgavata Dharma. The gateway of redemption for the soul is opened only by associating with such a Sadhu.' (Gadhada I.54)
'Profound love for the Sat-puruṣa (God-realised Sadhu) leads one to the path of Ātmā-realisation, and inspires in him the knowledge of the glory and greatness of such a Sat-puruṣa and it (love for the Sat-puruṣa) is also the only means for attaining God-realisation.' (Vadtal 11)
'One should offer equal and intensely loving service to God and His Sadhu. Then, despite being a mediocre devotee who may be destined to become a great (Ekāṅta) devotee after either two births, or four births, or ten births or even a hundred births he can become a great bhakta in this very birth. Such is the fruit of serving equally God, and His Devotee.' (Vadtal 5)
11. The Gunatit Sadhu
'The scriptures say that niṣkāma, nirlobha, nirmāna, Niṣāda and niṣedha are the attributes of a Sadhu. The Sadhu in whom one observes such attributes has a constant rapport with God.' (Gadhada III.27)
'The Sadhu who is venerable enough to be worshipped on par with God lives in a way in which he controls his iṅdriyas and Antahkaraṇa, but is not subdued by them.
He engages in God-related activities only, strictly observes the Pañcha Vartamān, realises himself as being Brahman and worships Puruṣottama.
Such a Sadhu can be known neither as a human being nor a demi god, since neither man nor deva possess such attributes. Therefore, such a Sadhu, though he appears to be a human being, deserves to be worshipped on par with God.' (Gadhada III.26)
12. Interpretation of Scriptures
'The interpretation of the true scriptures should only be heard from the Satpurush.' (Loya 11)
'One who understands the nature of God on the basis of the four scriptures, namely: Sāṁkhya, Yoga, Vedanta and Pāñcharātra is the accomplished Jñāni (wise).' (Gadhada I.52)
13. The Nature of God
'He is one and unparalleled.' (Gadhada III.39)
'He is the all-doer.' (Gadhada II.21)
'God is eternally with divine form.' (Gadhada III.38)
'He has a human form - with two hands, two feet and has a fascinating charm. He does not possess four hands or eight or a thousand. He is like a teenager (youthful looking).' (Gadhada II.13)
'He is full of redemptive attributes and devoid of all the inauspicious ephemeral attributes of Māyā.' (Gadhada I.66)
'He is the reservoir of all bliss.' (Gadhada I.66)
14. Lord Swaminarayan
'Lord Puruṣottama, seated in His Akṣardham accepts the worship offered by the muktas (released souls) out of grace.
That Puruṣottama, having great compassion on the Jīvas, has descended on earth to redeem them from Māyā. He is visible to you and accepts your offerings.
The divine form of Lord Puruṣottama visible to you and the divine form seated in His divine abode Akṣardham are one. There is absolutely no difference in these twin forms.
This Puruṣottama visible here is the controller of all, including Akṣara. He is the Lord of all Lords, the ultimate cause of cosmic evolution and transcendentally the supreme one.
All incarnations issue from Him, and in Him they finally merge. He is the ultimate God, who alone should be offered implicit devotion with Ekāṅta bhava.' (Gadhada III.38)
'Millions of universes are evolved, sustained and destroyed only by My power... I am the transcendental highest and I, with My divine power, can move millions of universes only by a mere touch. Millions of suns, moons, receive light only from My divine light. '
Such is the divine power that, I the ultimate God, possess. I shall transport those Jīvas who have sought refuge in Me to the divine Brahmā Dham, which transcends all other regions.' (Amdavad 7)
In His own words, written during His lifetime in the khardas (old manuscripts) He revealed:
'The earlier avatars incarnated to serve a specific purpose. But My present incarnation is to Brahmanise the Jīvas and grant them ultimate salvation. For this mission, I, the Puruṣottama, transcending Akṣara, have assumed human form.’
During His short yet dynamic lifespan of forty-nine years, Lord Swaminarayan adroitly executed the purpose of his incarnation:
Along with His phenomenal group of Paramahamsas, His unflagging travels throughout the land eradicated ignorance and addiction of the people.
He inspired them to live a life suffused with Ekāṅta Dharma, of Ahimsa and Brahmacharya, of detachment from mundane pursuits and, instead offer unalloyed Bhakti to God and the God-realised Sadhu. This, He ensured, would eradicate their cycles of birth and death, transcending them to the ultimate goal of human birth; God-realisation.
He also assured them of His constant manifestation on earth through the Gunatit Sadhu. Fully contented with His mission, He departed for Akṣardham on Jeth Sud 10, Samvat 1886 - 1st June 1830.
EPILOGUE
SUCCESSORS AFTER HIS PHYSICAL DEPARTURE, LORD SWAMINARAYAN CONTINUES TO MANIFEST THROUGH AN UNBROKEN LINEAGE OF SPIRITUAL SUCCESSORS - THE GUNATIT GURUS.
The first, Akṣarbrahman Gunatitanand Swami, His abode, Akṣardham incarnate, spread the Satsang in Saurāṣṭra and Gujarat for over forty years. He extolled the glory of Lord Swaminarayan as the Lord Puruṣottama. Thousands attained God-realisation through his tutelage and grace.
Bhagatji Mahārāja, a non-renunciate, succeeded him and continued nurturing the Satsang until 1897, when he instructed his ascetic and lay disciples to serve Śāstrī Yagnapurushdas, known fondly as Shastriji Mahārāja.
A saintly ascetic and a brilliant Sanskrit scholar, he installed the Mūrtis of Akṣara Puruṣottama in five grand Mandirs. He reiterated the preaching of Lord Swaminarayan as Puruṣottama and Gunatitanand Swami as Akṣara. In a similar manner to Lord Swaminarayan, people also experienced samadhi by his grace.
In 1907 in Bochasan, he consecrated the first Mandir which housed the Mūrtis of Akṣara and Puruṣottama in the central shrine, thus founding the Bochasanwasi Śrī Akṣara Puruṣottama Swaminarayan Sanstha (B.A.P.S.). He built four other Mandirs in: Sarangpur, Gondal, Atladra (Vadodara) and Gadhada.
To devotees in East Africa he wrote inspiring letters, sowing the Satsang seeds.
In 1950, Shastriji Mahārāja appointed a saintly ascetic and Sanskrit scholar, twenty-eight-year-old Śāstrī Narayanswarupdas as the Pramukh - President - of B.A.P.S.. Prior to passing away in 1951, he also instructed him and the devotees to serve Yogiji Mahārāja as Guru after his own departure.
The Satsang activities under Yogiji Mahārāja crossed the ocean to East Africa which he visited on three occasions, inaugurating Mandirs and Satsang centres.
In his final tour abroad, he created religious history by consecrating the first Swaminarayan Mandir in England, in a converted church, in Islington, north London.
On 23rd January 1971, Yogiji Mahārāja passed away leaving the Fellowship in the able hands of Śāstrī Narayanswarupdas, lovingly known as Pramukh Swami Mahārāja.
Since then, he has rapidly established a global network of centres and Mandirs. He has also promoted the Hindu and cultural heritage of India abroad.
During the centenary celebrations of Yogiji Mahārāja in 1992, he inaugurated the Akṣardham memorial, a grand pink stone edifice, in Gandhinagar, Gujarat:
Dedicated to Lord Swaminarayan, it incorporates a permanent exhibition of His life and work. Also included, are the preserved sacred relics of Lord Swaminarayan - a tuft of hair, two teeth and cut fingernails, in addition to garments and wooden sandals worn by Him; a mala, utensils, ox-cart and other objects used by Him.
Dioramas in the exhibition adjacent to the memorial, depict inspiring episodes from the Upanishads, Rāmāyaṇa, Mahābhārata, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and the Gita.
A multi-media and an audio animatronics show, using state of the art electronics and technology, reflects Swamiji's modern approach in propagating Vedic ideals.
Recently, in 1995, Pramukh Swami Mahārāja created history, by constructing and consecrating the finest modern day Vedic Mandir outside India, in London. Perhaps it is also the fastest Mandir of its kind erected in Hindu history, in a record two and a half years!
Vratza limestone from Bulgaria, Carrara marble from Italy, supplemented by marble from Ambaji, India, were intricately sculpted in India and then shipped to London, where Indian craftsmen and devotee volunteers assembled them on site.
Adjacent to the Mandir, rests the breath-taking vision of Pramukh Swami Mahārāja - the largest and the most exquisitely carved teak Haveli built in the world this century.
The Mandir has been praised as the eighth wonder of the world by the Reader's Digest (Nov. 1996, U.K. edition). It has also entered the Guinness Book of Records as the largest stone Hindu temple outside India (1997 edition, p.185). Similar Vedic Mandirs are currently under construction in India, and abroad in Nairobi and Chicago.
At the age of seventy eight, having recently undergone by-pass heart surgery, Swami continues his travels with youthful dynamism, to promote peace, harmony and the glory of Lord Swaminarayan.