22/12/2012
THE LIFE OF SWAMINARAYAN
The Swaminayarana movement was founded by Sahajanand Swami. His original name was Ghanashyam Pande. Born in a Brahmin family in 1781, at Chapaiya in Uttra Pradesh, he showed spiritual bent of mind from an early age. At the age of 11 he went on a seven year holy pilgrimage and wandered from place to place seeking spiritual answers to the questions that troubled him. During such wanderings he met Ramanand Swami who admitted him into his ascetic order known as Uddhav Sampraday and gave him a spiritual name Sahajanand Swami. When Ramanand Swami died in 1802, he became the leader of the sect. His charismatic appeal, inner purity, personal touch and wisdom drew many new followers to the sect. They considered him as God himself in human form and addressed him as Bhagawan Swaminarayan and the ascetic order he was heading as Swaminarayan sect. The sect drew large following from various parts of Gujarat, Saurashtra and Rajasthan. Inspired by his teachings, people from various castes and different backgrounds joined it. Swaminarayan attempted to reform Hinduism in many ways. Considering the fact that it was early nineteenth century it must have been a very courageous move. He was compassionate towards widows and the socially under privilege. He preached against superstition, violence, animal sacrifices, caste discrimination, female infanticide and sati. He advocated strict adherence to ancient vedic traditions and pure Vaishnava dharma. He laid emphasis on devotion and encouraged people to worship images and idols of their personal gods and goddesses by visiting temples. He believed in the segregation of sexes, the importance of virtuous living, the need for inner purity and self-discipline and adherence to scriptural injunctions. To establish a tradition of temple centric image worship and devotion to God, he undertook the construction of nine temples in various parts of western India installing images of Narnarayan, Lakshminarayan, Radha, Krishna and other divinities.
Swaminarayan left a record of his teachings in the form of two works which together constitute the sacred literature of the sect. One is a compilation of his commandments for his followers to abide by. It is known as Sikshapatri or a document of education. The other is a collection of the discourses he delivered at various places during his life time, which is known as Vachanamrit or nectar of speeches.
