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The first anniversary of the inauguration of the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir was celebrated on July 13, 2008 with prayers, classical devotional music, discourses and children’s programs. Here is the slide show of this event.

Pramukh Swami From where?

Place and Date : 11th January, 1988. Bombay.

Swamishri was reading a handwritten magazine produced by the children of Borivali. In it, a child had written to Swamishri asking for his address.

Narayancharan Swami on behalf of everyone present asked, "Tell us then."

"Maharaj has said so Himself; hasn't He?" Swamishri said.

"But what?" the sadhus urged.

Swamishri explained, "When Shreeji Maharaj wrote the letter to the Queen of Dharampur, He signed off with 'From Anirdesh (the 'unpointable')'. Anirdesh means Akshardham. That is Maharaj's address. And wherever Maharaj is, there we stay in His constant service."

Pathway To Akshardham

28th August, 1989. Atladra. As Swamishri made his way to the room after the assembly, Dharmacharan Swami asked on behalf of Haka Bapu, an old devotee from Shastriji Maharaj's time. "He is asking, 'Am I to come along with you?' "

Swamishri affirmed, "Yes of course. Now he is with us all the way."

Dharmacharan Swami conveyed back the message. "Bapu! Your're fixed all the way to Bombay."

Swamishri corrected, "Not just Bombay, but all the way to Akshardham. We'll have to return him to Shastriji Maharaj won't we!"

"Jena guru Akshar hoy te Akshardham ma lai jaay ne Purushottam ne melave"  --Gunatitanand Swami Ni Vaatu

Art of Tact

Once Swamishri was taking his lunch at the Amdavad temple. Swamishri placed a piece of amrutpaak, a milk sweetmeat, from Thakorji's thaal into his mouth. It tasted off, but Swamishri's face gave nothing away. He subtly asked his attendant Krishnavallabh Swami to taste it. He agreed with Swamishri. Sitting in front of Swamishri was the head of the Sankari temple, Prabhuswarup Swami. Swamishri gave some to him to taste as well.

He too found it odd. Then Swamishri called the bhandari, Tyagswarup Swami, and asked him taste the amrutpak. He realized there was something wrong as well. But what?

Swamishri explained polietly, "It has been made from used ghee, that's why it's tasting off. Be more careful in the future for Thakorji's thaal. Use fresh ghee every time."

It was fascinating that apart from Swamishri, not even the experienced cooks could detect the fault with the amrutpak. But more importantly, everyone learned a valuable lesson in tact. Swamishri knew straight away after tasting the amrutpak what was wrong. He could have spoken up then, but instead he suggested politely only after confirming with others.

Soft words can be hard arguments. Many times there is no need to shout - if only the right words are used. Discretion really does out-weight eloquence. The right thing, to the right person, in the right place, at the right time, in the right amount, and in the right manner, is the art of tact in Swamishri's speech.

Guru Purnima 2008

Guru Purnima - Overview

Introduction

The day of full moon, Purnima, in the month of Ashadh is traditionally celebrated as Guru Purnima by Hindus. Also known as Vyas Purnima, the day is celebrated in remembrance and veneration to sage Ved Vyas. He is the Adi (original) Guru of the Hindu Dharma, who classified the Vedas, wrote the eighteen Puranas and the Mahabharat. On this day, the Guru is offered Pujan (worship)by the disciples. First we shall consider the role of a Guru in life.

The Need of a Guru

The Sanskrit root "Gu" means darkness or ignorance. "Ru" denotes the remover of that darkness. Therefore one who removes darkness of our ignorance is a Guru. Only he who removes our ultimate darkness, known as Maya, and who inspires and guides us on to the path of God-realization is the true Guru. Students also refer to their school teacher or college lecturer as guru. The connotation of the word guru in this case is one who imparts temporal knowledge (Apara Vidya) and is thus accordingly offered respect.

Glory of the Guru
The Hindu shastras have hailed such a Guru immeasurably:

1. Gurubrahma Guruvishnu Gururdevo Maheshwaraha
   Guruhu sakshaat Parambrahman tasmai Shrigurave namaha
   
   Explanation: "The guru is Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh (Shiva), veneration to the Guru who is Parabrahman manifest."The second line of the couplet does not literally mean that the Guru becomes Parabrahman - God, rather he is venerated as if God is manifesting through him.


2. Guru Govind donu khade, kisko laagu paay,Balihari Gurudevaki jinhe Govind diyo bataay.
   
   Explanation: The Guru and Govind -God, are present before me, to whom shall I bow down first? Glory to the Guru since he showed me Govind.

Serving the Guru

Again the scriptures guide the aspirant:

(1) Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6/23) :Advocates worship to the Guru in the same manner as the deity - God, to attain all there is to attain on the path of God-realization:
Yasya deve para bhaktir yatha deve tatha gurau
Tasyaite kathitaa hi arthaaha prakashante mahatmanaha

(2) Bhagavad Gita (4/34) :The disciple should humbly pose questions to the Guru and please him by serving him. He will then impart the knowledge of God, so ordain the wise sages.

(3) Shrimad Bhagvatam :Bhagwan Rushabhdeva advocates his sons: Obeying the Anuvrutti - unvoiced wishes - of God and Guru is devotion.

(4 ) Vachanamrutam (Vadtal 5) :The aspirant should offer equal and intensely loving service to God and His sadhu. Then, despite being the lowest type of devotee who is destined to become a great-devotee after either two births or four births or ten births or even a hundred births, he can become a great devotee in this birth. Such is the fruit of serving God and His sadhu equally."

The phrase "great devotee" signifies moksha-salvation.

Therefore on the day of Guru Purnima, disciples introspect, and resolve to offer pujan and reverence to the Guru in mind, action and speech; implicitly obey his unvoiced wishes, commands, serving him as one would God and lauding his glory and redemptive attributes.

Every year, the Guru Purnima Festival, in the presence of Pramukh Swami Maharaj is celebrated with devotion and enthusiasm at Bochasan Mandir. An assembly from 8.30 am to 12.00 noon is held wherein bhajans and discourses by senior sadhus emphasize and sing the glory of the Guru. The festival is finally crowned with Swamishri's blessings and darshan - where thousands offer their reverence by filing past Swamishri.

Jeva main Nirakhya re - Sadhu Prabhuswarupdas

In 1986, Swamishri stayed in Sankari for eight days. On the second day he called me and said, "I was thinking about feeding the poor backward class people from the village. How many are there exactly?"

However, neither Ramanbhai, the sadhus nor myself were too keen about this idea as these people regularly got drunk and caused trouble, so why should we give food to people like that?

One day Swamishri went to an evening sabha in a neighbouring village. That night, a group of trouble makers came to the temple gate and asked for food. They had obviously been drinking. There was no food left and so the sadhus refused. Feeling insulted, they began to shout and caused a commotion. We heard about the incident when we returned late that night. The next morning we informed Swamishri and justified our argument not to serve them food. A disappointed Swamishri said, "Very well, we won't feed them after all."

A speciality about Swamishri is that once he makes his mind up about a something, he does it.

On Jeth Sud 10 (the anniversary of Shreeji Maharaj's passing away) a devotee from Sankari, Somabhai, told Swamishri during his puja, "Today is my birthday so I want to give lunch to everyone, the sadhus, the devotees, the poor people from the village, everyone!" Swamishri was overjoyed. There and then he called me and informed me, "Today is Somabhai's birthday and he's going to feed everyone. Even the poor people from the village!"

In the end he got his way!

-Sadhu Prabhuswarupdas

Rathyatra Celebration Video

Lets look at the video of Rathyatra celebration.

Rath Yatra Celebration with Pramukh Swami

The ancient festival of Rath Yatra was celebrated in the presence of Pramukh Swami Maharaj in Sarangpur on 4 July 2008.

Thousands of devotees were present as Swamishri performed pujan and abhishek of the murti of Shri Nilkanth Varni to be consecrated in the Abhishek Mandapam in Bhavnagar mandir.

After his morning puja, Swamishri blessed the assembly, "If we give the reins of our life's chariot to God and his holy Sadhu, they will take us to Akshardham. just as Arjun discarded all his wishes and obeyed the Lord, we, too must obey the commands of God and make our life worthwhile."

Then Swamishri sat in a decorated chariot with Shri Harikrishna Maharaj. Senior sadhus performed pujan and arti of Shri Harikrishna Maharaj and the the rath yatra was celebrated by circumambulating the mandir,.

At the end, prasad was distributed to all.

This article is taken from www.baps.org.

London Satsang Video: Param Pujya Yogiji Maharaj and Pramukh Swami Maharaj

This video is compilation of Pu. Yogiji Maharaj's last trip to London in 1970 and then Pu. Pramukh Swami Maharaj's subsequent trips to London and other places.

Environment Awareness Rally By BAPS

SURAT: In recognition of World Environment Day, BAPS Charities organized a children's Environmental Awareness cycle rally to highlight some of the environmental issues and concerns that countries and communities face across the world.

The rally was held in southern Gujarat in Surat. It saw over 2500 young participants reach out far and wide to draw attention to climate change, conservation, pollution, toxins and waste management. Braving the sweltering heat, the participants weaved their way through the streets of the city.

The rally also had cycles equipped with microphones and speakers which broadcasted messages about environmental protection and what steps everyone can take to help tackle the issues. The volunteers of the organization have launched many environmental projects, including "Plant a Tree", an initiative that planted over 1.5 million trees.

Other environmental projects include initiatives on paper and aluminum recycling, with over 91 tons of foil collected for the latter. Its water conversation projects have also benefited various communities through the installation of trickle/drip irrigation systems. Most recently during "Earth Day", BAPS Charities participated in the Annual Earth Day festivities in Chino Hills, CA.

Over 30 volunteers planted and watered a total of 134 trees. Beyond its environmental projects, BAPS Charities community centers are constructed using environment friendly materials. The buildings utilize power saving LED lighting and employ management practices to ensure energy consumption is kept optimal and efficient.

On World Environment Day, BAPS Charities pledged to continue to highlight and bring awareness about environmental issues through community based projects, education and healthy construction practices.

Dar es Salaam's Kisutu Street is now Pramukh Swami Street

Famous Kisutu Street in the Dar es Salaam city centre, now apparently going by the name of ’PRAMUKH SWAMI’, Yakoub (The Deputy Mayor of llala Municipality) said his office received requests and suggestions for the new name from the Kisutu Ward development committee early last year, and in December the municipal council permitted the change of name. 

He conceded that many people are wondering how come the old ’Kiswahili’ name of Kisutu had been changed to the predominantly Indian name of ’PRAMUKH SWAMI’, but reiterated that all procedures were followed before the municipal council gave its approval. 

’’Since most of the people dwelling in ’PRAMUKH SWAMI’ (formerly Kisutu Street) are of Indian origin but still Tanzanian citizens, they have every right to bring their request for such a street name change, and if the request is sensible then the municipal council may grant it,’’ said Yakoub.