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Satsangi Jivan is the authorised biography of Lord Swaminarayan. [1] The book contains information on the life and teachings of Lord Swaminarayan. [2] It is written by Shatanand Swami and completed in 1829. [1] Lord Swaminarayan decided to make Gadhada his permanent residence on the insistence of Dada Khachar and his sisters. [3] Upon completion of the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Gadhada in 1828, Lord Swaminarayan instructed Shatanand Swami to write a book on his life and pastimes. [4]
Satsangi Jivan comprises 19,387 Shlokas among 360 Chapters, in 5 Volumes. [4]
To enable Shatanand swami to write from His childhood, Lord 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 Jivan.
Volume 1 narrates the prologue and the circumstances leading to Lord Swaminarayan taking birth. [4] This volume then goes on to speak of His childhood, His journey across India as a teenager and the meeting of Lord Swaminarayan (then known as Neelkanth Varni) with his guru, Ramanand Swami. The volume ends with Lord Swaminarayan being appointed head of the Swaminarayan Sampraday. [4]
In volume 2, Shatanand Swami describes Lord Swaminarayan’s social upliftment of the masses, spiritual / religious / social guidance for their personal well being and visiting followers whilst moving through villages, towns & cities. [4]
Volume 3 continues the narrations of Lord Swaminarayan’s movements to teach the depths of Devotion with true observance of Dharma. [4] It is in this volume that the construction of temples by Lord Swaminarayan is first talked about.
Volume 4 commences with narrations of the scriptural recitals that Lord Swaminarayan instructed. However, this volume is primarily revered for its intricate explanation of the Shikshapatri, the establishing of the Acharyaship and teachings specifically to the Acharyas. [4]
Volume 5 is dedicated to personal religious activities of Lord Swaminarayan in minute detail. [4]
In Satsangi Jivan, Shatanand Swami mentions that merging the two terms, the meaning of Satsang is derived. The term Sat implies four significances: [5]
1. God
2. Saints who has entirely surrendered to God
3. Dharma asserted by God Himself and his favorite saints, and
4. The Scriptures wherein these three above mentioned are prescribed.
In Vachanamrut, Lord Swaminarayan commented on the term "sang". The association which is made by body, action, and mind is called "sang". [5] When you put the two together you get Satsang. Jivan means life, therefore the meaning of the title, Satsangi Jivan is way of life for a Satsangi.
Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, is a Hindu denomination within the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. It was formed in 1905 by Yagnapurushdas following his conviction that Swaminarayan remained present on earth through a lineage of gurus starting with Gunatitanand Swami.
The Shikshapatri (Gujarati: શિક્ષાપત્રી, Devanagari: is a religious text consisting of two hundred and twelve verses, written in Sanskrit by Swaminarayan. The Shikhapatri is believed to have been written in the current form in Sanskrit by Satanand Swami, who incorporated into and compiled the scripture known as Satsangi Jivan. The Shikshapatri is a key scripture to all followers of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya and is considered the basis of the sect.
Rakeshprasad is the disputed acharya of the LaxmiNarayan Dev Gadi of Swaminarayan Sampraday. An order by the Gujarat High Court restrained Ajendraprasad from acting as Acharya. This was a temporary order until the concluding court case. Ajendraprasad disputed this and filed a review petition in the Gujarat High Court. A satsang mahasabha headed by monks namely a Nautam Swami, self-appointed Rakeshprasad as acharya. Ajendraprasad main ideology was that monks of the fellowship should stay in their prescribed rules and regulations. Especially after some monks had turned towards murdering fellow monks. That the acharya at the time was firm and strong furied many monks to dispose of him.
Swaminarayan, also known as Sahajanand Swami, was a yogi and ascetic around whom the Swaminarayan Sampradaya developed, and whose life and teachings brought a revival of central Hindu practices of dharma, ahimsa and brahmacarya. He is believed by followers to be a manifestation of God.
The Laxminarayan Dev Gadi is one of the two gadis (diocese) that together form the Swaminarayan Sampraday. It is headquartered at the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Vadtal and controls the Dakshin Vibhag Lekh.
Muktanand Swami (1758–1830), born Mukunddas, was a swami and paramahansa of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya.
Brahmanand Swami was revered as a saint of the Swaminarayan Sampraday and as one of Swaminarayan's Paramahamsa. He was also known as one of Swaminarayan's Ashta Kavi's within the Swaminarayan Sampraday In the scriptures of the Swaminarayan Sampraday it was noted that Brahmanand Swami as stated by Swaminarayan that as the name suggests and implies "Brahmanand" is an Avatar of Brahma.
The Vachanamrut is a sacred Hindu text consisting of 273 religious discourses delivered by Swaminarayan from 1819 to 1829 CE and 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.
Akshar Purushottam Upasana is the BAPS-practice of worshiping Swaminarayan as a supreme being along with Gunatitanand Swami as his ideal devotee. It was formalized by Shastriji Maharaj from the teachings of Swaminarayan when he created the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) in 1907 after leaving the Swaminarayan Sampraday. It could also be referred to as Brahman Parabrahman Upasana or Bhakta Bhagwan Upasana. In this belief, Akshar and Para Brahman are worshiped together, and Para Brahman is present through the living ideal guru on Earth. Followers of BAPS regard Gunatitanand Swami as first the spiritual successor of Swaminarayan and then by Bhagatji Maharaj, Shastriji Maharaj, Yogiji Maharaj, Pramukh Swami Maharaj and Mahant Swami Maharaj.
Swaminarayan Mandir, Vadtal headquarters of the LaxmiNarayan Dev Gadi are located in this temple in Vadtal. There are three main shrines in the temple the central shirne of this temple is that of Lakshmi Narayan and RanchodRai. On the right there is idol of Radha Krishna with Swaminarayan in the form of Hari Krishna and the left has Vasudev, Dharma and Bhakti. The wooden pillars of the temple bear colourful wood carvings. There is a dharamsala within the temple premises. Gnyanbaug is a garden to the northwest of the temple gate that has four memorials dedicated to Swaminarayan.
Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Bhuj is a Hindu temple in Bhuj. This temple (mandir) that was constructed by Swaminarayan, founder of the Swaminarayan Sampraday.
Acharya Shree Tejendraprasadji Maharaj founded International Swaminarayan Satsang Organization (I.S.S.O.) in the United States on the occasion of Vijaya Dashami in the year 1978.
NarNarayan Dev Yuvak Mandal (NNDYM) was founded by Koshalendraprasad Pande in 1994 with its headquarters at the Kalupur Swaminarayan Mandir (Ahmedabad) and was created to help young people to confront the challenges of life.
The Desh Vibhag Lekh is an Indian document written by Swaminarayan in 1827 establishing the division of territory into the two dioceses of Ahmedabad and Vartal.
The Naranarāyan Dēv Gadī, named after NarNarayan Dev, is one of the two Gadis (seats) that together form the Swaminarayan Sampraday. Its headquarter is at the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad and controls the Uttar Vibhag.
Nityanand Swami (1793-1852) born as Dinmani Sharma, was one of the senior Paramhansa’s initiated by Swaminarayan. He was given the name Nityanand as a reflection of his lasting joyful persona. Prior to his initiation, he had already established an impressive knowledge base through his association with great scholars and pundits. Generally recognized as one of the foremost scholars in the Swaminarayan Sampraday on Hindu scriptures, Nityanand Swami’s knowledge and abilities were often displayed in scriptural debates common for the era. In line with his inclination for scriptural studies, Nityanand Swami was also appointed as of the five compilers of the Vachanamrut. Nityanand Swami was regarded as the incarnation of Vyasa
The Swaminarayan Sampradaya, also known as Swaminarayan Hinduism and Swaminarayan movement, is a Hindu Vaishnava sampradaya rooted in Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita, characterized by the worship of its charismatic founder Sahajanand Swami, better known as Swaminarayan, as an avatar of Krishna or as the highest manifestation of Purushottam, the supreme God. According to the tradition's lore, both the religious group and Sahajanand Swami became known as Swaminarayan after the Swaminarayan mantra, which is a compound of two Sanskrit words, swami and Narayan.
The International Swaminarayan Satsang Mandal (ISSM) is a religious organisation of the Hindu faith based in USA. It comes under the Shree Laxminarayan Dev Gadi of the Shree Swaminarayan Sampraday. The organisation has temples and centres in various parts of the country as well as a temple in Chicago, Illinois (America).
Botad District is a district of the state of Gujarat, India. It was created on 15 August 2013 from the southwestern part of Ahmedabad District and the northwestern part of Bhavnagar District. Botad consist of four taluka Botad, Gadhada, Barvala, Ranpur. Botad city is the administrative headquarters of the district.
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