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His selfless and unconditional love captured the hearts of youths. He initiated over 51 educated youths from Africa, India, and the United Kingdom as sadhus to commit their lives to the service of Bhagwan Swaminarayan and society. Some of these sadhus were doctors, lawyers, engineers, and scholars. This brought about a renaissance in the sadhu samaj across Hindu Sanatan Dharma. Of these sadhus, Pujya Mahant Swami, Pujya Doctor Swami, Pujya Bhaktipriya Swami, Pujya Tyagvallabh Swami, Pujya Ishwarcharan  Swami, and Pujya Viveksagar Swami earned his blessings and have continued to serve society under the leadership of their guru Pramukh Swami Maharaj for over 50 years now! Yogiji Maharaj’s conviction in the Swaminarayan mantra was unwavering. One time at the Akshar Deri mandir in Gondal, Yogiji Maharaj was sitting under a tree and was bit by a poisonous snake. All of the other sadhus and devotees went to call a doctor, but Yogiji Maharaj stopped them stating that the bite would b...

One day, Sadhu Krishnacharandas, a sadhu initiated by Gunatitanand Swami, visited Dhari. When he met Jinabhai, he was impressed by his devotion to Bhagwan Swaminarayan and invited him to become a sadhu. Jinabhai quickly agreed and left Dhari soon thereafter. He then remained at Junagadh mandir and performed seva there. In 1911, he was given sadhu diksha and named Sadhu Gnanjivandas. He then joined Shastriji Maharaj to spread the Akshar Purushottam philosophy. Shastriji Maharaj and his sadhus experienced many hardships as they continued to build Akshar Purushottam mandirs, deliver discourses, and travel. Despite this, Sadhu Gnanjivandas stayed at the side of his guru and tirelessly continued to help build mandirs and spread the Akshar Purushottam philosophy. He patiently tolerated the incessant beatings, name-calling, and hostility. By now, Sadhu Gnanjivandas was affectionately known as Yogjii Maharaj. Yogiji Maharaj, despite his growing role in   in the sanstha, never...

 Yogiji Maharaj, the fourth spiritual successor of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, was known for his patient and playful nature. He carried the philosophy of Akshar Purushottam out of India to Africa and London. He was a visionary, inspirer, and initiator of the organization’s weekly children and youth activities. His positive attitude and engaging smile captured the hearts of thousands of people. Chinmayananda Swami of the Chinmaya Mission used to say, “His face carried the anand, or the divine joy, expressed in the Upanishads.” Yogiji Maharaj was born as Jinabhai in Dhari in 1892. As a young boy, he taught his friends how to properly perform darshan and puja and made both a priority for himself. He displayed honorable virtues early on in his childhood. Once, when he was in the fifth grade, the principal of his school fatally injured one of his classmates. When the police came to investigate, no one told the truth; students, teachers and other administrators all protected the principal....

SWAMISHRI’S TRUE IDENTITY Pramukh Swami Maharaj isn’t like us, although he may seem so. He isn’t human, but divine. He guides us on how to thoroughly practice satsang into our lives. Swamishri’s life is an example of how an ideal devotee of God should live. Pramukh Swami Maharaj has built more than 1,100 mandirs, initiated over 900 sadhus, made over 17,000 city, town and village visits in India and overseas, replied to over 760,000 letters and personally counselled over 810,000 people. His social work is extensive, yet there is more to Pramukh Swami Maharaj. The more one realizes his works, the more one discovers that his true identity is still beyond that. Swamishri has a constant rapport with Bhagwan Swaminarayan, and he can free us of all faults and worldly attachments and bless us with the divine happiness of Akshardham. So, who is Pramukh Swami Maharaj? Pramukh Swami Maharaj is the Ekantik Satpurush, the manifest form of Aksharbrahman and a key to attaining liberation. No huma...

PRAMUKH SWAMI MAHARAJ IS FOR ALL Amid all his hectic vicharan, building mandirs and hosting huge celebrations, Pramukh Swami Maharaj has still reached out to thousands of individuals. He has taken an active role in resolving the problems of devotees. Swamishri has also immediately responded to the needs of society during famines, floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters by arranging for necessary relief aid. Swamishri’s compassion is matchless and reaches all regardless of age, gender, status, caste or creed. His selfless love for all devotees, young and old, has won their hearts such that they dedicate themselves by observing his wishes. Thousands avoid TV, movies and all vices. Many youths are inspired to renounce this world, and today, there are over 900 BAPS sadhus who have dedicated their lives in the service of God, guru and society.  

PRAMUKH SWAMI MAHARAJ    PRAGAT BRAHMASWARUP From the time he had become a sadhu, till the passing away of Yogiji Maharaj, Pramukh Swami had always lived in the footsteps of his gurus and served under them devotedly. Yogiji Maharaj had often indicated that Pramukh Swami would be his successor as guru of BAPS. Sadguru Santvallabh Swami, a loyal disciple of Shastriji Maharaj and beloved of Yogiji Maharaj, was the first to proclaim Pramukh Swami Maharaj as the new guru. To please his gurus and continue the work they had begun, he engaged in intense, tireless vicharan. So intense, that just reading about it makes one breathless. For ten years, Swamishri, as everyone respectfully called him, followed a schedule full of exertion and difficulties. There were problems with transportation,   and other logistics, yet he still travelled to see every devotee he could and sanctify their home. The following was the typical daily schedule for Swamishri: 5.30 a.m. – wake up, bat...

APPOINTED PRESIDENT OF BAPS As the years passed, under the guidance of Shastriji Maharaj, Narayanswarup Swami earned the respect of all through his saintliness and skills. His adherence to niyams was par excellence. Thus, Shastriji Maharaj decided to appoint the 28-year-old Narayanswarup Swami as President of BAPS in his place. However, Narayanswarup Swami did not wish for such honour, but, because it was his guru’s wish he reluctantly accepted the responsibility. Others felt that he was too young for such a post, but Shastriji Maharaj boldly stated, “I have never taken a decision in my life that I have regretted.” So, on 21 May 1950, at Amli Vali Pol in Ahmedabad, Shastriji Maharaj draped Narayanswarup Swami in a chadar – a symbol of his appointment as President (Pramukh) of BAPS. On this occasion Pramukh Swami pledged, “Today, before my guru and this whole gathering, I promise that I will fulfil my responsibility properly. Without caring for myself, I will remain loyal to this ...

We live in a free country and this freedom is a gift of democracy to us.  Our constitution gives us the right to freedom and most importantly to exercise this freedom in an equitable manner. At the same time it is incumbent on the part of the state to ensure that equality prevails in all sections of the society.  However in today’s  time one of the major roadblocks to this equality is the  Reservation System . The reservation system finds its origin in the age-old caste system of India. The caste system at its birth was meant to divide people on the basis of their occupation like teaching and preaching (Brahmins), kingship and war (Kshatriya) and lastly business(vaish) etc. but soon it became an instrument to divide the society on caste-basis, creating various walls between different sections of the society. Today we stand divided widely into Hindu, Muslim, SC, ST & OBCs with newer reservations coming up for other different sections of the society like ...

As they were getting ready to leave a youth from Bhaili, the neighbouring village, approached Shantilal with a letter from Shastriji Maharaj, addressed to his father, Motibhai. Shantilal showed the letter to his parents. In the letter Shastriji Maharaj had instructed that Shantilal be sent to become a sadhu. Motibhai was reminded of the time when Shastriji Maharaj gave the infant Shantilal vartman and said, “He is ours. Please make sure to give him to us when the time is right.” That time had arrived. Without tears or anguish, his parents accepted guru Shastriji Maharaj’s wish and Shantilal immediately left. At the age of 18 Shantilal embarked on a new chapter in his life. TRANSITION INTO SADHU  LIFE Shantilal joined  Nilkanth Swami and Ghanshyam Swami, two of Shastriji Maharaj’s sadhus, and accompanied them to the village of Sakarada and then to Bochasan. After a few days of travelling with Nirgundas Swami, Shantilal met Shastriji Maharaj in Ahmedabad. Shastriji ...

The dog and her seven puppies had taken a shelter under the staircase of a house at Satabhauni bazaar when a cobra slithered in and bit the two puppies, leaving them dead. Bhadrak (Odisha): The residents of a neighbourhood in Odisha's Bhadrak woke up to the sounds of ferocious barking and hissing on Tuesday night. They managed to capture the dramatic pictures of a fierce fight between a poisonous cobra and a dog after the reptile bit two  of her puppies. The neighbours immediately alerted a local snake rescuer who timely intervened, captured the cobra and took it away in a jar. The rest of the five puppies are safe.

  THE CHILDHOOD YEARS… Pramukh Swami Maharaj was born in a very small village called Chansad on 7 December 1921 (Magshar sud 8, Vikram Samvat 1978). His father’s name was Motilal Prabhudas Patel, and his mother’s name was Diwaliba Patel, who came from the village of Menpur.  Motibhai was in regular contact with Shastriji Maharaj, while Diwaliba’s family had been satsangis since the time of Bhagatji Maharaj. Motibhai and Diwaliba decided to name their child Shantilal, meaning peace. Shantilal had nine siblings, of whom four passed away at a young age. Shantilal was the youngest. Shantilal started doing daily puja from the age of seven. His first puja was presented to him by Nana Akshar Swami. As a child, young Shantilal excelled in his studies. When he began studying in Padra, a village 6 km from Chansad, he would insist on lgetting there early.  After school hours, Shantilal spent his free time at one of three mandirs: Hanuman Gadhi Mandir, Satyanarayan Mandir and Swam...

Gujarat, on the West Coast of India, has a rich history dating back to ancient times. It has had its fair share of maharajas and princes though it may have been slightly overshadowed by the princely splendor of neighboring Rajasthan. The excavation at Lothal shows that this region was part of a flourishing Indus valley civilization dating back to 3700 BC with its dock connecting Sabarmati to trade routes in Sindh.  Early History There are no written records of the ancient period. The earliest known history is about Chandragupta Maurya having conquered parts of this region around 322 BC to 294 BC. He deputed Pushyamitra who ruled the region from Junagadh. Emperor Ashoka too left his legacy here in the form of the edits on the rocks near Junagadh. The Solanki Dynasty Rajputs rules Gujarat from 960 to 1243 AD. The Solankis, descended from the Chalukyas that ruled parts of Western and Central India from 10 th  to 13 th centuries, established supremacy in this region. Mulr...