Shastriji Maharaj | |
|---|---|
 Shastriji Maharaj | |
| Preceded by | Bhagatji Maharaj |
| Succeeded by | Yogiji Maharaj |
| Personal | |
| Born | Dungar Patel 31 January 1865 |
| Died | 10 May 1951 (aged 86) |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Denomination | Swaminarayan Sampradaya, BAPS |
| Monastic name | Yagnapurushdas Swami |
| Organization | |
| Founder of | Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) |
| Philosophy | Akshar-Purushottam Darshan |
| Role | Spiritual head of BAPS (1907-1951) |
Shastriji Maharaj (31 January 1865 – 10 May 1951), born Dungar Patel[1]: 3 and ordained Shastri Yagnapurushdas, was a swami of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya and founder of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS).[2]: 22 Several branches accept him as the third spiritual successor of Swaminarayan in the lineage of Aksharbrahma Gurus through whom Swaminarayan manifests, which began with Gunatitanand Swami.[3]: 61–62 [4][5]: 329–330 Born in a family of farmers in central Gujarat, India, he became a swami within the Vadtal diocese of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya at the age of 17 where he was given the name Yagnapurushdas Swami.[1]: 35 The prefix Shastri was later added in recognition of his eminent scholarship in Sanskrit and the Hindu scriptures.[1]: 40 [2]: 22 He established BAPS after a doctrinal split from the Vadtal diocese of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya.[6]: 54
Shastriji Maharaj is credited with establishing BAPS on 5 June 1907 CE in Bochasan, Gujarat[6] to propagate the Akshar-Purushottam Upasana (worship of Akshar (guru) and Purushottama (Swaminarayan)), which according to him had been revealed by Swaminarayan and was passed on to him from his own guru, Bhagatji Maharaj. As staunch proponent of this mode of worship, he consecrated the sacred images of Swaminarayan (as a manifestation of Purushottam) and Gunatitanand Swami (as a manifestation of Akshar) in the central shrines of major mandirs in the towns of Bochasan, Sarangpur, Atladara (now an area of Vadodara), Gondal, and Gadhada in Gujarat, India.[7]: 365
In the early 1950s, having successfully laid the foundations of BAPS, he appointed Pramukh Swami Maharaj as its administrative head to serve under Yogiji Maharaj, whom he appointed as his spiritual successor.[6]: 60
- ^ a b c Amrutvijaydas, Sadhu (2006). Shastriji Maharaj Life and Work. Amdavad: Swaminarayan Aksharpith. ISBN 978-81-7526-305-5.
- ^ a b Paramtattvadas, Sadhu (17 August 2017). An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hindu theology. Cambridge, United Kingdom. ISBN 9781107158672. OCLC 964861190.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Williams, Raymond Brady (2018). An introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism (3rd ed.). Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-42114-0. OCLC 1038043717.
Gunatitanand Swami established a line of spiritual authorities [...] The theory is that Swaminarayan is always manifest in the perfect disciples who have continued a line of succession from Gunatitanand."
- ^ Raymond Williams (2017), Williams on South Asian Religions and Immigration: Collected Works: "A further development of the doctrine came with the teaching that akshar continually manifests on earth in the form of the perfect devotee. This implies a succession of persons who are the earthly manifestations of this divine principle. Gunatitanand Swami was the first in this spiritual lineage."
- ^ Musana, Paddy (2016). "Swaminarayan Hinduism in Uganda and the Kampala temple". In Williams, Raymond Williams; Trivedi, Yogi (eds.). Swaminarayan Hinduism: tradition, adaptation and identity (1st ed.). New Delhi, India: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-908657-3. OCLC 948338914.
- ^ a b c Williams, Raymond (2001). An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-65422-7.
- ^ Kim, Hanna (December 2009). "Public Engagement and Personal Desires: BAPS Swaminarayan Temples and their Contribution to the Discourses on Religion". International Journal of Hindu Studies. 13 (3). Springer: 357–390. doi:10.1007/s11407-010-9081-4. S2CID 4980801.