About Gunatitanand Swami
Gunatitanand Swami (17 October 1785 – 11 October 1867; born Mulji Sharma) was one of the most prominent of the 500 paramhansas of the Swaminarayan Sampraday who were ordained by Swaminarayan and is accepted as the first spiritual successor of Swaminarayan by the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) sect.[4] Born into a religious family in Bhadra, a small farming community in the state of Gujarat, India, he first received religious education under his father’s guru, Ramanand Swami before encountering Bhagwan Swaminarayan and becoming a sadhu under him at the age of 25. Revered for his spiritual discourses and divine service, he embodies an essential element of the doctrine of Akshar and Purushottam. Devotees of BAPS believe based on interpretation from the Vachanamrut (scripture containing discourses by Swaminarayan) that “Akshar is an eternally-existing spiritual reality having two forms, the impersonal and the personal.” Furthermore BAPS claims that Gunatitanand Swami was believed to be the first personal manifestation of Akshar in the Guru Parampara, an unbroken line of “perfect devotees” who provide “authentication of office through Gunatitanand Swami and back to Swaminarayan himself.” The Vadtal and Ahmedabad dioceses of the Swaminarayan Sampraday do not subscribe to this theory. Gunatitanand Swami held various administrative roles, most notably as the Mahant of Junagadh mandir, a position he held for forty years. In addition to this, he was a prominent speaker and was held in high regard as an authority on religious matters in general. A collection of his most important teachings on swadharma (one’s duty), atmagnan (knowledge of the soul), detachment, devotion to God and various other matters relating to the Swaminarayan sect has been published under the name Swamini Vato. Gunatitanand Swami died on 11 October 1867 at 12:45am while resting his back against a pillar inside Gondal Mandir. His obsequies were performed on the banks of the river Gondali and a famous shrine known as the Akshar Deri was built upon the spot.
Early life
Gunatitanand Swami was born on 17 October 1785 (Aso Sud Punam, Vikram Samvat 1841) to Bholanath and Sakarba Jani in the village of Bhadra, situated near the river Und in what is now Gujarat, India. His father’s guru, Ramanand Swami, named him Mulji. Even from a young age, it was evident that Mulji had a “disinclination towards material objects” and would exhibit a perspicacity that was rare for a child of his age, often claiming while playing with his younger brother Sundarji that he would become a sadhu and inspire Sundarji to become one. Various accounts indicate a close association between Mulji and Swaminarayan, who was born four years before Mulji. One such incident details how a thin line of milk appeared on the lips of a murti of “Thakorji,” a small metal idol of Swaminarayan, while Mulji was himself drinking a glass of milk. In response to his mother’s surprise at this, Mulji had explained, “Mother! Thakorji is always present in my heart. When I eat, Thakorji eats with me.”
As Mulji approached adolescence, his sacred thread ceremony was performed on 13 June 1793 in anticipation of his pursuit of a religious education. After this event, Mulji immersed himself in learning about the various religious beliefs that were prevalent in Gujarat at the time. He openly told others that Narayan (God) would eventually visit his village and hence he had no reason to travel to Kashi, as was traditionally done for one who wished to pursue a serious religious education. Mulji began visiting prominent religious personalities and learnt from them the various religious and social nuances associated with each sect. By the time he was in his early teens, he had grasped the principles of Shuddhadvaita from Acharya Gosai Narsinhlalji of the Vaishnav Sampraday and learnt about the Pranami sect. Ramanand Swami’s Bhagvat Dharma appealed to him the most due to its teachings and practices and he accepted him as his first guru.
Mulji would often travel to the village of Shekhpat to visit Ramanand Swami and listen to his religious discourses. He formed a lasting friendship with Lalji Suthar, a native of Shekhpat who shared Mulji’s zeal for Ramanand Swami’s philosophies and who would later become Nishkulanand Swami, one of Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s prominent sadhu disciples. For a period, they would meet every evening at a small shrine to Shiva on a stepwell in the village of Kiri between their respective villages and discuss various religious matters.
Gunatitanand Swami (17 October 1785 – 11 October 1867; born Mulji Sharma) was one of the most prominent of the 500 paramhansas of the Swaminarayan Sampraday who were ordained by Swaminarayan and is accepted as the first spiritual successor of Swaminarayan by the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) sect.[4] Born into a religious family in Bhadra, a small farming community in the state of Gujarat, India, he first received religious education under his father’s guru, Ramanand Swami before encountering Bhagwan Swaminarayan and becoming a sadhu under him at the age of 25. Revered for his spiritual discourses and divine service, he embodies an essential element of the doctrine of Akshar and Purushottam. Devotees of BAPS believe based on interpretation from the Vachanamrut (scripture containing discourses by Swaminarayan) that “Akshar is an eternally-existing spiritual reality having two forms, the impersonal and the personal.” Furthermore BAPS claims that Gunatitanand Swami was believed to be the first personal manifestation of Akshar in the Guru Parampara, an unbroken line of “perfect devotees” who provide “authentication of office through Gunatitanand Swami and back to Swaminarayan himself.” The Vadtal and Ahmedabad dioceses of the Swaminarayan Sampraday do not subscribe to this theory. Gunatitanand Swami held various administrative roles, most notably as the Mahant of Junagadh mandir, a position he held for forty years. In addition to this, he was a prominent speaker and was held in high regard as an authority on religious matters in general. A collection of his most important teachings on swadharma (one’s duty), atmagnan (knowledge of the soul), detachment, devotion to God and various other matters relating to the Swaminarayan sect has been published under the name Swamini Vato. Gunatitanand Swami died on 11 October 1867 at 12:45am while resting his back against a pillar inside Gondal Mandir. His obsequies were performed on the banks of the river Gondali and a famous shrine known as the Akshar Deri was built upon the spot.
Early life
Gunatitanand Swami was born on 17 October 1785 (Aso Sud Punam, Vikram Samvat 1841) to Bholanath and Sakarba Jani in the village of Bhadra, situated near the river Und in what is now Gujarat, India. His father’s guru, Ramanand Swami, named him Mulji. Even from a young age, it was evident that Mulji had a “disinclination towards material objects” and would exhibit a perspicacity that was rare for a child of his age, often claiming while playing with his younger brother Sundarji that he would become a sadhu and inspire Sundarji to become one. Various accounts indicate a close association between Mulji and Swaminarayan, who was born four years before Mulji. One such incident details how a thin line of milk appeared on the lips of a murti of “Thakorji,” a small metal idol of Swaminarayan, while Mulji was himself drinking a glass of milk. In response to his mother’s surprise at this, Mulji had explained, “Mother! Thakorji is always present in my heart. When I eat, Thakorji eats with me.”
As Mulji approached adolescence, his sacred thread ceremony was performed on 13 June 1793 in anticipation of his pursuit of a religious education. After this event, Mulji immersed himself in learning about the various religious beliefs that were prevalent in Gujarat at the time. He openly told others that Narayan (God) would eventually visit his village and hence he had no reason to travel to Kashi, as was traditionally done for one who wished to pursue a serious religious education. Mulji began visiting prominent religious personalities and learnt from them the various religious and social nuances associated with each sect. By the time he was in his early teens, he had grasped the principles of Shuddhadvaita from Acharya Gosai Narsinhlalji of the Vaishnav Sampraday and learnt about the Pranami sect. Ramanand Swami’s Bhagvat Dharma appealed to him the most due to its teachings and practices and he accepted him as his first guru.
Mulji would often travel to the village of Shekhpat to visit Ramanand Swami and listen to his religious discourses. He formed a lasting friendship with Lalji Suthar, a native of Shekhpat who shared Mulji’s zeal for Ramanand Swami’s philosophies and who would later become Nishkulanand Swami, one of Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s prominent sadhu disciples. For a period, they would meet every evening at a small shrine to Shiva on a stepwell in the village of Kiri between their respective villages and discuss various religious matters.
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