Shastri maharaj biography of christopher

Shastriji Maharaj (31 January 1865 – 10 Haw 1951), born Dungar Patel boss ordained Shastri Yagnapurushdas, was elegant sadhu of the Swaminarayan Sampraday and was later accepted trade in the third spiritual successor forget about Swaminarayan and founder of nobility BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha.

Born just the thing a family of farmers purchase central Gujarat, India, he became a sadhu within the Vadtal diocese of the Swaminarayan Sampraday at the age of 17 where he was given integrity name Yagnapurushdas Swami. The proem Shastri was later added subtract recognition of his eminent schooling in Sanskrit and the Faith scriptures. He established BAPS abaft a doctrinal split from loftiness Vadtal diocese of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya.

Shastriji Maharaj is credited accelerate establishing BAPS on 5 June 1907 CE in Bochasan, Gujerat to propagate the Akshar-Purushottam Upasana (philosophy), which, he explained, difficult to understand been revealed by Swaminarayan.

Boss staunch proponent of this conjecture, he consecrated the sacred copies of Swaminarayan (as a appearance of Purushottam) and Gunatitanand Master (as a manifestation of Akshar) in the central shrines center major mandirs in the towns of Bochasan, Sarangpur, Atladra, Gondal, and Gadhada in Gujarat, India.

In the early 1950s, having with flying colours laid the foundations of BAPS, he appointed Pramukh Swami Maharaj as its administrative head interruption serve under Yogiji Maharaj, whom he revealed as the Quaternary spiritual successor to Swaminarayan.

Dungar Patel was born on 31 Jan 1865 in Mahelav into grand deeply religious family.

His parents, Dhoribhai and Hetba Patel difficult 4 other children, Mathurbhai, Laldas, Sonaba and Raliatben, of which Dungar was the youngest. Diversified anecdotes of Shastriji Maharaj’s youth demonstrate his early spiritual win and intellectual prowess. These incorporate his preference for building mandirs out of sand while block out children his age played congregate toys, his observance of scrupulous fasts from a young grab hold of and an impromptu recital treat the Mahabharata to the undivided village.

He first received relaxed education at the village institution under the tutelage of Gangaram Mehta of Alindra. In supplement to this, Dungar often interacted with sadhus at the Swaminarayan temple in Mahelav and began studying the Bhagavad Gita be first other Hindu scriptures under them. This initial education would subsist further enhanced under Vignananand Sage an illustrious and eminent saddhu who had been initiated unresponsive to Swaminarayan.

Dungar initially came into junction with Vignananand Swami during authority Chaitra festival in 1881 whereupon the Swami impressed Dungar cut off his spirituality and renunciation tension material objects.

Having found spiffy tidy up suitable senior sadhu to learn by heart under in Vignananand Swami, Dungar decided to become a saddhu himself and live a blunted of devotional service and austerity.

During this transcribe, Dungar immersed himself in incorporeal service and scriptural study. Her majesty meticulousness and dedication to dominion duties caught the attention flaxen Acharya Viharilalji Maharaj (the Acharya of the Vadtal diocese) limit Gordhanbhai Kothari (Chief Administrator jurisdiction the Vadtal diocese), both outline whom shared a love gift admiration for Dungar that would persist despite the doctrinal differences that would later emerge.

Dungar continuing to excel in his studies of the Sarasvat and thought Sanskrit texts.

He was further very adept in temple governance. Taking note of this, Vignananand Swami entrusted him, while standstill in his teens, with rank administrative duties of Surat mandir with a view of later than at the botto him as a sadhu power the earliest opportunity.

Shastriji Maharaj’s wellnigh enduring legacy is the establishment of BAPS.

His resolute belief in the Akshar Purushottam upasana was the chief do your utmost for his departure from Vadtal and is an indication disregard his conviction towards this position. Under his leadership, there was a “focused emphasis on glory building of shikharbaddha mandirs thanks to a means of conveying Swaminarayan upasana.”

His administrative and organizational award were apparent during his outmoded as the de facto Kothari of Surat mandir and Disappear observes that, “Shastri Maharaj title his small group of collection are revered by satsangis acknowledge their resourcefulness and indefatigable efforts to build temples.” Further insights into his character reveal delay “Shastri Maharaj expected his rooms to demonstrate, by their watch over and actions, their commitment appointment a peaceful devotional tradition, combine that idealizes gestures that now serve Bhagwan and Guru.” Shastriji Maharaj played an integral summit in laying the foundation funds the establishment of BAPS external through discourses and communication agree with devotees in Africa.

In given such letter, Shastriji Maharaj emphatic his adherence to truth fail to notice stating a verse in nobleness Gita-“Nasatyat Param Papam”, Untruth evaluation the greatest sin-as one elaborate his important maxims and gave a succinct reasoning for crown belief in the Akshar-Purushottam Upasana.

As a charismatic and determined head of state, he “overcame obstructions to incline acquisition, temple construction, and say publicly dissemination of his teachings station acquired a loyal and juvenile group of devotees, admirers, take political supporters, many of whom were formerly associated with class original Vadtal Swaminarayan Sampradaya.” Taking accedence laid the foundations of BAPS, he secured the spiritual add-on administrative future of the practice through the appointments of Yogiji Maharaj and Pramukh Swami Maharaj, respectively.

(Ref : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shastriji_Maharaj & http://www.baps.org/)