Gunatitanand Swami was instrumental in the early administration of the Swaminarayan fellowship after the death of Swaminarayan.
Devotees and swamis alike looked up to him for leadership and direction.
He encouraged Raghuvirji Maharaj to give up the pomp and splendor of his position and nurtured both his spiritual and administrative traits.
However, Gunatitanand Swami's most important contributions were in the propagation of the spiritual metaphysics revealed by Swaminarayan.
Williams explains that "Gunatitanand Swami established a line of spiritual authorities…who have continued in a line of succession from Gunatitanand Swami" himself.
While this identification of Akshar as having both a personal and impersonal form, and an incarnation on earth as specified by Swaminarayan in Vachanamruts Gadhada I-21 and Gadhada I-71 was not accepted by certain sections of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, it was this principle that would lead to the eventual formation of the BAPS branch of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya.
Similar to Swaminarayan before him, Gunatitanand Swami also instituted various social projects, from building wells and educating villagers to establishing guidelines for social behavior and preventing practices such as sati and infanticide.
In a hitherto unheard of practice, he installed Bhagatji Maharaj, a common householder of a so-called lower caste, as his spiritual successor and transcended the caste system that was prevalent during that time in India.
Inspired by the teachings of Swaminarayan and Gunatitanand Swami, Shastriji Maharaj reluctantly left the Vadtal diocese due to differences in philosophy to form BAPS as a separate entity and was later expelled by the Vadtal diocese after a hastily called meeting of temple trustees.
Gunatitanand Swami's murti is always seen in the central shrine alongside Swaminarayan in all BAPS mandirs, as they embody the central principle of Akshar and Purushottam.
Gunatitanand Swami was instrumental in the early administration of the Swaminarayan fellowship after the death of Swaminarayan. Devotees and swamis alike looked up to him for leadership and direction. He encouraged Raghuvirji Maharaj to give up the pomp and splendor of his position and nurtured both his spiritual and administrative traits. However, Gunatitanand Swami's most important contributions were in the propagation of the spiritual metaphysics revealed by Swaminarayan. Williams explains that "Gunatitanand Swami established a line of spiritual authorities…who have continued in a line of succession from Gunatitanand Swami" himself. While this identification of Akshar as having both a personal and impersonal form, and an incarnation on earth as specified by Swaminarayan in Vachanamruts Gadhada I-21 and Gadhada I-71 was not accepted by certain sections of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, it was this principle that would lead to the eventual formation of the BAPS branch of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. Similar to Swaminarayan before him, Gunatitanand Swami also instituted various social projects, from building wells and educating villagers to establishing guidelines for social behavior and preventing practices such as sati and infanticide. In a hitherto unheard of practice, he installed Bhagatji Maharaj, a common householder of a so-called lower caste, as his spiritual successor and transcended the caste system that was prevalent during that time in India. Inspired by the teachings of Swaminarayan and Gunatitanand Swami, Shastriji Maharaj reluctantly left the Vadtal diocese due to differences in philosophy to form BAPS as a separate entity and was later expelled by the Vadtal diocese after a hastily called meeting of temple trustees. Gunatitanand Swami's murti is always seen in the central shrine alongside Swaminarayan in all BAPS mandirs, as they embody the central principle of Akshar and Purushottam.
Gunatitanand Swami