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Life
in Brief
Bharatvarsha - India has been graced since time immemorial by incarnations, rishis and sadhus. Whenever evil elements stifle Dharma - righteousness, God incarnates on earth to re-establish Dharma. Lord Ramchandra in the age of Treta and Lord Krishna, at the end of
Dwapar, are the two most notable. Five thousand years after Lord Krishna passed away, into the age of Kali - darkness, the ogre of evil defiantly arose out of its banishment, once again darkening the minds and hearts of the people, its grip suffocating eighteenth century India. Severing vital nerves and arteries, it deprived the land of life-giving moral and spiritual nourishment; hindering healthy growth of the eternal values of Dharma, Satya - truth,
Ahimsa - non-violence and Brahmacharya - celibacy.Thus He incarnated as Ghanshyam on 3rd April 1781 (Chaitra Sud 9, Samvat 1837), in the rustic village of Chhapaiya, in northern India, to a Sarvaria brahmin pundit named Hariprasad Pande. He was the second of three sons;
Rampratap, the elder brother and Ichharam, the younger. His mother, Premvati was lovingly known as Bhaktimata, and father Hariprasad as Dharmadev.
When Ghanshyam was three months old, a sage astrologer named Markandeya, studied
His zodiac signs. He then revealed to Dharmadev, "Since He is born in the Kark Rashi
(sign of Cancer in the zodiac), His name will be
Hari. His dark complexion will also confer the name Krishna and Ghanshyam. He has the virtues of tapas (austerity), detachment,
yoga, Dharma, leadership, truth and vivek (power of discrimination). Therefore people will
also call Him
Neelkanth. "He will establish Dharma on earth and remove pain and misery from people. He will be famed all over the land. He will also induce people with samadhi
(a state of spiritual trance). He will lead people to the path of God."
At the age of seven He commenced Sanskrit studies under Dharmadev after being invested with the yagnopavit rite. By the age of ten, the child prodigy had mastered the Vedic
scriptures.
Around this period, He accompanied Dharmadev, who was to chair a scholarly
debate in Benares - the renowned centre of knowledge (Jnan) in India. When a tie arose,
Ghanshyam, with Dharmadev's permission, gave a brilliant exposition, convincing the
scholars of the soundness of the Vishishtadvait philosophy (qualified non-dualism).
Soon after returning from Benares, both parents passed away. Ghanshyam then left
Ayodhya, for the Himalayas, to begin His life work of establishing Ekantik Dharma,
on 29th June 1792
(Ashadh Sud 10th, Samvat 1849). He was only eleven years old. His mendicant garb consisted of only a loin cloth. He carried an icon of Bal Mukund (the Lord) and His
miniature diary containing the gist of the scriptures, the result of His studies with
Dharmadev. He renounced home to embark upon a 7 year spiritual pilgrimage on foot
across the length and breadth of India.
In the Puranas, the name Neelkanth is associated with Lord Shiva, who drank the world's poison to redeem it. In the process, the poison turned his throat blue; Neel meaning blue,
kanth, the neck. Ghanshyam's sojourns, through the forests of India, also attributed
Him the name
Neelkanth, for His pilgrimage was to redeem.
At 20, the Lord was in Ramanand Swami’s Ashram serving as a humble servant. He was named Sahajanand when Ramanand Swami initiated Him. The Lord became the sole spiritual master when Ramanand Swami appointed Him as the Guru of his ashram. During the appointment ceremony, Sahajanand Swami requested two boons from Ramanand Swami, which remain unparalleled in the history of the Guru-disciple relationship:
'O Gurudev! If ever the devotees face the begging bowl, then let that bowl come to Me instead; and if ever the devotees face pain equivalent to the sting of even one scorpion, then let that pain befall Me enhanced ten million fold, on each pore!'.
Ramanand Swami granted the boons. As a guru commanding a disciple, he also instructed Sahajanand Swami, that in order to inspire people to follow Dharma, He should talk to women disciples and accept money given in donation, which should then be used towards feeding the needy and building mandirs. Sahajanand Swami concurred with his wishes.
A month later, Ramanand Swami passed away. On the 14th day of the funeral rites, in the village of
Faneni, the Lord introduced the new Swaminarayan Mantra. News of this Mantra spread far and wide. And its spiritual power was felt everywhere. Sahajanand Swami now became known as Lord Swaminarayan. Anyone who chanted the Mantra enjoyed
samadhi - the ultimate spiritual experience. Those who heard it, wrote it or thought of it experienced
samadhi. Others who saw Lord Swaminarayan, heard the sound of His
sandals, or discussed His philosophy saw a divine light and beheld the visions of the great incarnations of God -
Rama, Krishna and Shiva. Since the trance was an experience of
His grace, it was called krupa
samadhi.
Followers from all walks of life, of all talents and stations, of all positions and powers joined the flock of Lord Swaminarayan. Scholars and music maestros, spiritual seekers and spiritual leaders came forth and took initiation. Lord Swaminarayan was accepted as God Himself and the way of life He introduced came to be known as the Swaminarayan Sampraday.
The word 'Sampraday' emphasizes the fact that the Movement, its philosophy and principles have been continually guided and preserved, in all their purity, by an unbroken and untainted spiritual hierarchy of enlightened Gurus.
By 49, Lord Swaminarayan completed His mission on earth and returned to His divine abode. Over 2 million devotees had experienced His divinity and hailed His purity. Six magnificent mandirs enshrined His spirituality and several scriptures encapsulated His knowledge. Yet His personality, in all its totality was preserved by His spiritual successor Gunatitanand Swami.
On 1 June 1830 CE (Jeth sud 10, 1886 VS), Lord Swaminarayan left His mortal body which was cremated in Gadhada.
But long before that He had begun to reveal that He would continue to be present on this earth through a succession of spiritual Gurus. The Lord's eternal words spoken on 8 February 1826 CE (Maha sud 2, 1882 VS) are recorded in Vachanamrut Vadtal 19:
"When the Jiva gets a birth as a human being, God or God's enlightened Sadhu are always manifest on this earth. When the Jiva knows and understands them, he becomes a
Bhakta - God's devotee."
Keeping to this timeless promise, Lord Swaminarayan entrusted Gunatitanand Swami, His Enlightened Sadhu, with the oars of the Sampraday.
"Gunatitanand and I are no different."
 "Just as people follow me, millions shall follow Gunatitanand." Such revelations and predictions of the Lord, were truly and fully realized as Gunatitanand Swami led the mission. Since then, the spiritual succession has continued in all its divinity through
Bhagatji
Maharaj,
Jaga
Swami Maharaj,
Shastriji
Maharaj,
Yogiji Maharaj
and, at present,
Pramukh Swami
Maharaj
and
Mahant
Swami Maharaj.
Philosophy of Succession
Philosophically, Lord Swaminarayan is Purushottam - the God Supreme. And Gunatitanand Swami is Aksharbrahman - His divine abode, also called Akshardham. The Lord in His fullest glory, eternally resides in Gunatitanand Swami. They are ever together, inseparable - The Lord as the Master and Gunatitanand Swami as the ideal devotee, the disciple. On earth, every spiritual Guru in Lord Swaminarayan's succession is the
incarnation of Aksharbrahman in whom the Lord resides fully and eternally. As every Guru is the same Aksharbrahman entity, the devotees feel no spiritual change, except the
physical change of another successor. It is clear that the Guru is not God, but is God's ideal devotee in whom God resides eternally.
Gunatitanand Swami – The First Successor
 Lord Swaminarayan's sole successor was Gunatitanand Swami
who was the incarnation of Aksharbrahman, the Lord's divine abode. Lord Swaminarayan had brought him on earth to establish the worship of Bhakta-Bhagwan and continue the mission He had begun. For administrative purpose, He divided His mandirs into two regions and appointed two Acharyas, Raghuvirji Maharaj and Ayodhyaprasadji
Maharaj to guide the progress.
However, to the whole of Satsang in general, to all His followers, He revealed,
"Gunatitanand is Aksharbrahman, My divine abode.... I am the Lord supreme
and Gunatitanand is my ideal devotee."
He lovingly commanded everyone, "One month, every year come to Junagadh and stay here," since it was in Junagadh that Gunatitanand Swami resided as the Mahant - Head Sadhu. And only by associating with him, would devotees ultimately realize the true glory of the Lord and attain eternal salvation.
(
For more information on Gunatitanand Swami click here )
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