The Swaminarayan Faith

Celebration of 100 Years of Bochasan Mandir
Bochasan, India, 26-27 April 2007





In 1907 Brahmaswarup Shastriji Maharaj built the first BAPS Mandir in Bochasan. To commemorate the completion of 100 years, a grand patotsav celebration was held in the presence of Pramukh Swami Maharaj.
As stated in the Hindu Shastras, on completion of 100 years, the murtis of the mandir should be offered a special abhishek of 1001 kalashes using the extracts of special items. This ceremony is known as Sahastrakalash Abhishek.

So, on Thursday 26 April 2007 a grand Vedic yagna was held in the presence of Pramukh Swami Maharaj, in which over 1,500 devotees participated.

The patotsav was celebrated on Friday 27 April 2007. At 7.30 am, Pramukh Swami Maharaj performed the patotsav arti. Thereafter, over 1,500 devotees participated in the Vedic patotsav mahapuja ceremony. At the end of the mahapuja, Swamishri performed the special abhishek ritual of all the consecrated murtis: Bhagwan Swaminarayan, Aksharbrahma Gunatitanand Swami, Shri Harikrishna Maharaj, Shri Ghanshyam Maharaj and Shri Lakshami-Narayan Dev. The entire ceremony was relayed by CCTV to over 17,000 devotees seated in the mandir premises and assembly arena.

After these special Vedic rituals, Swamishri presided over the patotsav assembly. The assembly featured speeches by the senior sadhus and traditional dances by children and youths. Swamishri again performed the abhishek of Shri Harikrishna Maharaj on stage and then blessed the assembly, describing the glory of these Vedic rituals as well as the murtis of God. He also talked about the devotion and saintliness of the Guru Parampara as the reason for the growth of the BAPS over the past 100 years.

News of BAPS - Celebration of 100 years of Bochasan mandir

 

Celebration of 100 Years of Bochasan Mandir



http://www.swaminarayan.org/news/2007/04/bochasanpatotsav/photo1.htm

 

Tyagvallabh Swami and sadhus in UK/Europe
12 April to 28 April 2007




Through the grace of Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Sadguru Tyagvallabh Swami and 41 sadhus visited BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Neasden, London for Satsang programmes for two weeks in April 2007.

The sadhus arrived from India on Thursday 12 April. Prior to the Swagat Assembly on Saturday 14 April, Tyagvallabh Swami and sadhus participated in a grand Mahapooja organized by National Kishore-Kishori Mandal in which over 600 kishores and kishoris took part.

The following day, Tyagvallabh Swami and sadhus walked along with over 3,400 devotees across the country in the National Sponsored Walk on Sunday 15 April held across 10 centres in the UK.

From Monday 16 to Wednesday 18 April, the group visited Paris, where an amazing 450 people gathered for the Satsang Assembly on Tuesday 17 April.

From Friday 20 to Sunday 22 April, the group visited the various mandirs and centres for mandir darshan namely; Leicester, Ashton, Preston, Birmingham, Coventry, Loughborough, Nottingham, Wellingborough and Luton.

During the final week of the group’s stay, sabhas were held at London Mandir every evening where 500 devotees daily listened to the discourses.

Finally, before departing for an extended Satsang tour of the USA on Saturday 28 April, Tyagvallabh Swami and sadhus performed abhishek of Shri Nilkanth Varni on Friday 27 April with 75 different liquids to commemorate the 100th year anniversary of the image installation in Bochasan by Shastriji Maharaj. These events coupled with the knowledgeable discourses of the sadhus over the fortnight reinforced the satsang for the devotees in the UK.

http://www.swaminarayan.org/news/uk/2007/04/santovisit/index.htm

 

Q.9 What is the relationship between BAPS and the Swaminarayan Sampraday?

A. Just as there are different branches in most religions, Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) is an active socio-religious organization and the fastest growing branch of the Swaminarayan Sampraday.

Q10 How many followers does the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha have?

A. BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha has over one million followers, and 680 trained sadhus. Out of these devotees, more than 45,000 are registered as active volunteers. Generally, though, anyone that attends the weekly assemblies or daily arti at the nearest mandir and follows the precepts and codes of conduct prescribed by Bhagwan Swaminarayan is considered to be a follower of BAPS.

http://www.swaminarayan.org/faq/bapsgeneral.htm#9




Al Jazeera God's Business Swaminarayan Hinduism 1/3




Al Jazeera God's Business Swaminarayan Hinduism 2/3





Al Jazeera God's Business Swaminarayan Hinduism 3/3

 

Swaminarayan Mantras


Om Swaminarayanay Namaha




Sabahi Baran Me Vo Hi Bade

 

London Swaminarayan Mandir




Swaminarayan Aarti




Sant

 

BAPS Diwali Annakut Festival Worldwide 2006 1/2




BAPS Diwali Annakut Festival Worldwide 2006 2/2




BAPS Akshardham Temple Pics
Music by Amy Winehouse




Swamishri's Blessings
Music by Shivaree

 

wow! they are a regular sadhu production factory

 

Holy Shikshapatri Part ONE


Regular Recital

Read this Shikshapatri daily.
If that is not possible, ask someone to read it out to you,
and so listen to it with great reverence.
If that too is not possible, then adore and worship it daily
with great reverence.
Thus revere this Shikshapatri
as the very embodiment of My Divine Personality.
Shloka: 208, 209


Path of Righteousness

He who performs righteous deeds is happy. He who acts thoughtlessly or with a bad intention invites misery.
Shloka: 8

Perform duties appropriate to your station in life. Do not perform duties that are prescribed for others. Do not perform duties that are fictitious or imaginary.
Shloka: 24

Do not act thoughtlessly and without due deliberation. However, act promptly in matters pertaining to religious duties.
Shloka: 36

However beneficial or profitable it may be, do not perform unrighteous actions. Do not give up the path of righteousness out of greed or selfishness.
Shloka: 73

Follow only the righteous deeds of great men but do not follow examples of their unrighteous actions.
Shloka: 74


Ethical Life

Do not gamble.
Do not steal; not even for a religious or a benevolent cause. Do not take fuel, flowers, fruits and such things without the owner's permission - not even for a good cause, such as worship or making an offering to a deity.
Shloka: 17, 18

Do not use abusive language. For the sake of a selfish gain, do not lay a false accusation.
Shloka: 20

Do not accept bribes. Speak only the truth. But do not utter such words that may hurt others.
Shloka: 26

Do not trespass into prohibited areas belonging to others. Do not use the premises of others, without seeking the prior permission of its owners.
Shloka: 33

Do not commit a breach of trust.
Shloka: 37

Do not indulge in self-praise.
Shloka: 57


Non-Violence

Non-violence is the highest ethical code of behavior. Do not kill any living creature. Do not kill animals; not even for a sacrificial offering to a deity or to an ancestor.
Shloka: 11, 12

Do not kill a human being; not even for the acquisition of a woman, wealth or a kingdom.
Shloka: 13

Do not commit suicide; not even in a place of pilgrimage or a holy shrine. Whether in a fit of anger or out of guilt for a sinful act, do not commit suicide.
Shloka: 14

Do not mutilate any part of your body or that of others, either out of anger, excitement or as a punishment for misconduct.
Shloka: 16


Being Practical in Life

Keep away from the company of thieves, vicious persons, drug addicts, heretics, sex maniacs and deceivers.
Shloka: 27

When any serious trouble arises from natural calamities, fellow men or illness, act cautiously and carefully to protect your life and that of others.
Shloka: 119

In practical life, even with friends and relatives, do not carry out transactions of sale, purchase, transfer, borrowing, lending, payment, etc., without an appropriate document in writing, and the presence of witnesses.
Shloka: 143

Maintain a daily account of income and expenditure. Do not indulge in extravagant expenses. Let not your expenses exceed your income.
Shloka: 145, 146

Even if it be your native place or usual place of residence, leave it and migrate to a better place, especially when your prestige, property or life is in danger on account of acute famine, harassment from the wicked or the tyranny of the state authority.
Shloka: 153, 154


Diet and Ecology

Do not eat meat.
Shloka: 15

Do not consume tobacco, hemp or hashish nor consume wines, liquors, opium and other such alcoholic drinks and drugs.
Shloka: 18

Do not drink unfiltered water nor use water which contains germs; not even for bathing purposes.
Shloka: 30

Do not consume food, drink and medicine given by a doctor whose conduct and credentials are unknown to you.
Shloka: 31

Do not dirty public places such as mandir premises, holy shrines, lakes or river banks, highways, the ground around trees, farms with standing crops, by spitting, urinating, defecating and throwing garbage.
Shloka: 32


Social Ethics

Entrust tasks to a man for which he is best suited. Do not entrust him duties for which he is unfit.
Shloka: 66

Take good care of your servants in respect of their food, clothing and shelter, according to your means of subsistence.
Shloka: 67

Address honorably and deal respectfully with people in accordance with their social status
and prevalent social customs.
Shloka: 68

Spreading of knowledge and education is a great meritorious deed. If possible, either aid or establish an educational institution and appoint pious scholars as teachers therein to spread
the right knowledge on the earth.
Shloka: 132

Serve fellow beings in their illness and distress. Serve your parents in their old age and take good care of them, especially in their illness.
Shloka: 139

Pay the correct wages in cash or kind, according to the contract to the workers employed by you.
Shloka: 152

If you happen to be in power as the head of a state, then: live a righteous and religious life; treat your subjects like members of your own family; take good care of them; and make an honest attempt to consolidate morality and religion in your kingdom.
Shloka: 157


Continence

Do not commit adultery. Do not indulge in pre-marital, extra-marital or illicit sex relations.
Shloka: 18

But for sheer emergencies, avoid the company of the opposite sex in solitary places.
Shloka: 136

http://www.swaminarayan.org/scriptures/shikshapatri/gems.htm#continence

 

Holy Shikshapatri Part TWO


Householders

Do not indulge in extra-marital relations.
Shloka: 18

Married men and women, should be loving, loyal and faithful to one another. Do not be harsh to one another.
Shloka: 159

Do not keep the company of licentious, lustful and loose persons.
Shloka: 161

Do not have an abortion and do not keep the company of those who encourage or assist in abortion.
Shloka: 170 :tu:


Respect for All

Do not vilify deities, places of pilgrimage, priests, sadhus, chaste women and holy scriptures. Always see good in others.
Shloka: 21

Offer your salutations with respect to the deities in mandirs you happen to pass by on your way.
Shloka: 23

Be courteous and hospitable in the mandir. Welcome all visitors. Serve them food if they happen to be hungry. Take care of them in accordance with your means of subsistence.
Shloka: 131


Religious Life

Keep the company of sadhus and pious priests.
Shloka: 36

Be honest and regular in daily life. Wake up early in the morning. Remember God and offer your daily worship to the Lord.
Shloka: 49, 50, 51

Remember God, recite His name, sing His glory, say prayers, offer prostrations with reverence, and study scriptural texts daily.
Shloka: 54 - 58

Remember God in all your activities. Visit the mandir daily. Listen to religious discourses with great reverence.
Shloka: 63, 64

In the pilgrim places and the holy shrines, be charitable and serve food to the priests, sadhus and poor worshipers, according to your means of subsistence.
Shloka: 83

Do not believe in superstitions and black magic.
Shloka: 85

As per your capacity, donate 10% or 5% of your total income as an offering to God.
Shloka: 147


Celibate Sadhus

Observe the vow of celibacy strictly and sincerely.
Shloka: 178

Do not accept the command even of your Guru, if it happens to distract you from your vow of practising celibacy.
Shloka: 180

When your life, or that of a woman, is in danger, protect it by speaking to her or if necessary, by physically touching her.
Shloka: 182

Control your sense of taste. Neither hoard nor deposit money or property in any form.
Shloka: 189, 190

But for sheer exigency, do not travel alone, without the company of a fellow sadhu with you.
Shloka: 191

Do not waste your time in fruitless talks and activities. In all your activities and service unto humanity, keep your mind fixed on God devoutly.
Shloka: 193

Control anger and be compassionate and give up concern and attachment for your body and its relations.
Shloka: 201, 202

Even if someone attacks you with abuses, insults and beatings for no reason, do not be harsh to him. Bear and endure the insults. Forgive and bless your tormentors.
Shloka: 201


Expiation

In normal times, do not fall back upon the exemptions and relaxations in duties which are sanctioned for sheer exigencies.
Shloka: 48

Regulate and adjust conduct, dealings in life, and expiation for purification, as per your age, ability, wealth, time, place and community norms.
Shloka: 120


Worship and Devotion

Worship the Supreme Lord, while living a moral and pious life.
Shloka: 39

Do not give up faith and devotion to the Lord out of fear of slander by the unscrupulous and the ignorant.
Shloka: 39

One who keeps his mind fixed on God whilst doing all activities, divinizes all his actions.
Shloka: 59

Worship with devotion unto the Lord who alone is the redeemer from the bondage of Maya. Therefore, worship the Lord with undivided devotion.
Shloka: 113

http://www.swaminarayan.org/scriptures/shikshapatri/gems.htm#worship

 

Holy Shikshapatri Part THREE


Philosophy

Comprehension of the essential nature of individual self (Jiva), cosmic self (Ishwar), matter nescience (Maya), Akshar (Brahman) and the Supreme God (Parabrahman), is called Jnan -right knowledge.
Shloka: 104

Jiva means an individual soul. It is a spiritual substance. It is atomic in size. It is very subtle and imperceptible. It is indivisible and imperishable. It resides in every living being. It has knowability. Its consciousness pervades the whole body. Knowledge is its essential quality. Therefore, the Jiva is the real knower. Jivas are innumerable.
Shloka: 105

Maya means prakriti, the primary matter. It is the basic substance and the cause of all bondage. Its nature is of darkness and ignorance. Its constituents are the three gunas, namely, sattva, rajas and tamas. It is the inseparable power of the Supreme Lord. It is the cause of ego and attachment to the body and its relations.
Shloka: 106

Parmeshwar or Parabrahman means the Supreme God.
He resides in the heart of every Jiva.
He is the inner controller and the Supreme Ruler, and hence, is called Antaryami. He is immanent in everything, and yet beyond everything. He alone is the independent Supreme Being. He is the Moral Governor, for He rewards and punishes the Jivas according to their good and bad karmas.
Shloka: 107

When Lord Krishna is accompanied by Radha, know them as Radha-Krishna. When Lord Narayan is accompanied by Laxmi, know them as Laxmi-Narayan. When Lord Narayan is accompanied by Arjun, know them as Nar-Narayan. In the like manner, you should know and name the Lord with reference to the ideal devotee who is accompanying Him.
Shloka: 109, 110

Identify oneself with Brahman, separate from the three bodies, and eternally offer devotion to God.
Shloka: 116


Concluding Prayer

The Supreme Lord is the redeemer of all.
He alone is the destroyer of all pains and sufferings.
He is the protector and upholder of morality, religion and devotion on the earth. He is the Moral Governor, and the bestower of all desired happiness. O, Lord! Bless mankind with universal good and an auspicious life.
Shloka: 212

http://www.swaminarayan.org/scriptures/shikshapatri/gems.htm#prayer

 

Wow thank you so much, this is an excellent prayer!!!

 

Regular Recital
Read this Shikshapatri daily.
If that is not possible, ask someone to read it out to you,
and so listen to it with great reverence.
If that too is not possible, then adore and worship it daily
with great reverence.
Thus revere this Shikshapatri
as the very embodiment of My Divine Personality.
Shloka: 208, 209
top


Path of Righteousness
He who performs righteous deeds is happy. He who acts thoughtlessly or with a bad intention invites misery.
Shloka: 8

Perform duties appropriate to your station in life. Do not perform duties that are prescribed for others. Do not perform duties that are fictitious or imaginary.
Shloka: 24

Do not act thoughtlessly and without due deliberation. However, act promptly in matters pertaining to religious duties.
Shloka: 36

However beneficial or profitable it may be, do not perform unrighteous actions. Do not give up the path of righteousness out of greed or selfishness.
Shloka: 73

Follow only the righteous deeds of great men but do not follow examples of their unrighteous actions.
Shloka: 74
top


Ethical Life
Do not gamble.
Do not steal; not even for a religious or a benevolent cause. Do not take fuel, flowers, fruits and such things without the owner's permission - not even for a good cause, such as worship or making an offering to a deity.
Shloka: 17, 18

Do not use abusive language. For the sake of a selfish gain, do not lay a false accusation.
Shloka: 20

Do not accept bribes. Speak only the truth. But do not utter such words that may hurt others.
Shloka: 26

Do not trespass into prohibited areas belonging to others. Do not use the premises of others, without seeking the prior permission of its owners.
Shloka: 33

Do not commit a breach of trust.
Shloka: 37

Do not indulge in self-praise.
Shloka: 57
top


Non-Violence
Non-violence is the highest ethical code of behavior. Do not kill any living creature. Do not kill animals; not even for a sacrificial offering to a deity or to an ancestor.
Shloka: 11, 12

Do not kill a human being; not even for the acquisition of a woman, wealth or a kingdom.
Shloka: 13

Do not commit suicide; not even in a place of pilgrimage or a holy shrine. Whether in a fit of anger or out of guilt for a sinful act, do not commit suicide.
Shloka: 14

Do not mutilate any part of your body or that of others, either out of anger, excitement or as a punishment for misconduct.
Shloka: 16
top


Being Practical in Life
Keep away from the company of thieves, vicious persons, drug addicts, heretics, sex maniacs and deceivers.
Shloka: 27

When any serious trouble arises from natural calamities, fellow men or illness, act cautiously and carefully to protect your life and that of others.
Shloka: 119

In practical life, even with friends and relatives, do not carry out transactions of sale, purchase, transfer, borrowing, lending, payment, etc., without an appropriate document in writing, and the presence of witnesses.
Shloka: 143

Maintain a daily account of income and expenditure. Do not indulge in extravagant expenses. Let not your expenses exceed your income.
Shloka: 145, 146

Even if it be your native place or usual place of residence, leave it and migrate to a better place, especially when your prestige, property or life is in danger on account of acute famine, harassment from the wicked or the tyranny of the state authority.
Shloka: 153, 154

 

Needed.

 

BAPS Swaminarayan Vids


Vandu


TARI MURTI

 

http://www.swaminarayan.org/news/usa/2007/...ville/index.htm

UPDATE

Jacksonville, FL
Friday, July 13, 2007
National Yuvak - Yuvati Convention

 

Hello Celina.

Seeding the universe with your young thoughts again, I see.


x

 

Pramukh Swami Maharaj's North America Visit 2007


BAPS Houston pic

 

BAPS Chicago Visit Portal

Pramukh Swami Maharaj's Chicago Visit 2007 1/2


Pramukh Swami Maharaj's Chicago Visit 2007 2/2


BAPS Houston Visit Portal

Pramukh Swami Maharaj's Houston Visit 2007 1/1

 

BAPS Jacksonville Visit Portal

Pramukh Swami Maharaj's Jacksonville Visit 2007 1/3


Pramukh Swami Maharaj's Jacksonville Visit 2007 2/3


Pramukh Swami Maharaj's Jacksonville Visit 2007 3/3