Hinduism - What Is The Swaminarayan Sect?

 


The practice of Sahajananda Swami (1781–1830), who was born near the holy city of Ayodhya in eastern India but lived most of his life in the western Indian state of Gujarat, is based on the life and teachings of the deity Vishnu.

Sahajananda became a mahant, or ascetic leader, after undergoing ascetic initiation.

His devotees saw him as a religious instructor (guru) at first, and then as a partial manifestation of the divinity Krishna himself afterwards.

They thought that in times of great distress, avatars of the deity Vishnu, such as Krishna, are born on Earth.

He was given the name Swaminarayan ("Lord Narayan") in this later avatar, and his disciples thought he was the ultimate manifestation of God in human form.

There are many million lay followers (bhakta) in the Swaminarayan sect, the most of whom are rich Gujarati merchants.

However, in line with the community's austere beginnings, the ascetics who govern the organization and act as instructors and counselors to them are the most significant people.

Raymond Brady Williams, A New Face of Hinduism, 1984, is a good source of knowledge.

~Kiran Atma


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