Life and work
Shree Swamirayan, known in his early days as Ghanshyam and later on as Swami Sahajanand, was born on 3rd April, 1781, in a Brahmin family in Chhapaiya, near Ayodhya, in Northampton India. At the tender age of Sevan, he showed his precocity by winning in scriptural debate with scholars in Benares and asserting Ramanujacharya.
Among the scriptural lore in his own words 'Vachanamritam' and 'Shikashapatri' stand out as unique.
Shree Swamirayan, known in his early days as Ghanshyam and later on as Swami Sahajanand, was born on 3rd April, 1781, in a Brahmin family in Chhapaiya, near Ayodhya, in Northampton India. At the tender age of Sevan, he showed his precocity by winning in scriptural debate with scholars in Benares and asserting Ramanujacharya.
At the age of elevan, he renouned the world and toured all around India barefooted with but a single loin cloth around him, for Sevan years, visiting the various pilgrimage places and ashrams. At last he settled in Loj, Gujarat State, as a disciple of a Vaishnav Guru, Ramanand Swami.
At the age of twenty one, he was appointed the spiritual heir by Ramananda Swami. The compassion that filled his heart led him to ask for a boon from Ramananda Swami that a thousand fold miseries, if they be the lot of his disciple, may fall on him and the disciple be relived from them.
He ancipated women by abolishingthe social evils of Sati pratha, female infanticide, etc. To keep religious institutions free from corruption he introduced a stricinjunction of separate religious meetings for men and women. He created history by initiating five hundred Parsmhansas over night at Kalwani. Each one of these Paramhansa avoided eught-fold contact of women and wealth.
Among the scriptural lore in his own words 'Vachanamritam' and 'Shikashapatri' stand out as unique.
He build six temples in Ahmedabad, Dholera, Vertal, Bhuj, Junagadh and Gadhada. He, himself, installed his own idol in Vartal Temple, a feat unprecedented among any of the previous incarnations of God. At the time of his Mahaaamadhi, he had two million followers, who worshipped Him as the Supreme Godhead.
Thousands of people experienced samadhi by his mere glance. In trance, they had the vision of their choicest deities. Even the Muslims and Jains were graced with samadhi in which they could discern their Pegambers and Tirthankars, respectively. His followers had his visions at their death-bed. Even today the phenomenon is not uncommon. Such phenomena are altogether unique, and there is very little like them in any other religious movwment of the world. The supreme miracle was the social and spiritual renaissance briught about by him in Gujarat.
He preached that God should be worshipped with His choicest devotee. He was Purna Purushottam, the Supreme Godhead and Gunatitanand Swami was Akshar Brahman, His choisest devotee. One become eligible for the worship of the Lord Purushpttam only when one attains identity with Akshar-Brahman. Thus he taught the upasana of Akshar and Purushottam
He arranged to transmute, to divinise life here by providing channel and centre of manifestation of God through a God. realised saint.