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PERSONAL SATSANG DEVELOPMENT E-MAGAZINE | NATIONAL YUVAK-YUVATI MANDAL, UK & EUROPE | ISSUE THREE

Pushpadolotsav
Adarsh E-zine Issue Three 2018
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contents
3 Who is the cause of our achievements?

4 Infinite Ishwars and where to find them

6 Pushpadolotsav Celebration 2018

8 Key initiatives for 2018

Adarsh E-Zine © 2018 BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha. All Rights Reserved.


Published by: Personal Satsang Development Team – BAPS National Yuvak Mandal Office, UK & Europe
BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, 105-119 Brentfield Road, Neasden, London NW10 8LD
T: +44 (0)20 8965 2651 E: becomeadarsh@uk.baps.org W: becomeadarsh.org
Adarsh E-zine Issue Three 2018
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Who is the cause


of our achievements?
A famous wooden image of a deity was once carried through the streets of a city on a donkey to be placed
in one of the dedicated temples. As the donkey passed along, the crowd made prostration before the image.
The donkey, thinking that they bowed their heads in token of respect for himself, filled up with pride and
vanity and refused to move another step. The farmer, seeing him stubbornly stop, whipped the donkey and
said, “O you perverse dull-head! It is not you they bow to but the god you carry.”
The fable illustrates that one should not try to take the credit Gunatitanand Swami has said a devotee can become fearless
that is due to others. Think about how much of our lives are due only by seeking complete refuge in Purna Purushottam
to the divine grace of God. The veil of ignorance blinds us and Bhagwan Swãminãrãyan. If he is convinced that whatever
thus we are the donkey priding ourselves on our achievements happens in this world is God’s doing, he will not fear any
and on others adoration. It is God we carry in our hearts that demigod or goddess, mantra, tantra or jantra. Only such a
is the cause of all that happens or is accrued in our lives, the fearless state leads one to Brahman. By his steadfast conviction
Satpurush is the farmer who drives us and enlightens us with of God’s doer ship, a devotee remains unaffected by happiness
the ultimate truth that Parabrahman Paramãtman is sarva kartã or misery.
– the all-doer.
Maharaj has said in Vachanamrut Jetalpur 5: “Whatever I will in
Many argue that the efforts they exert in life alone are the cause my mind is fulfilled in this world. If I will ‘May he attain wealth’,
for their achievements. They have achieved success due to the ‘Let there be this much rainfall here’ or ‘May he bear a son’…
hard work they put into passing exams, the late hours they put when I will for something, it actually happens in that way.” He
in at work for a promotion and the time they devote to their further elaborates that when one does suffer misery despite
family to foster a happy home. working hard all his life it is in direct proportion to his slackness
in engaging in the worship of God.
But in a universe with billions of stars and comets perfectly
placed in the cosmos our Earth remains safe. Our planet with While one should not give up striving for higher achievements,
its unpredictable weather, wild beasts and man-made conflicts it is important to remember unless willed by God, nobody can
remains protected. In a community we rely on others to abide stir even a dry leaf. Our happiness and success in life relies on
by the common laws and personally we rely on our body’s health the will of God and to the extent to which we serve Him. When
to stay disease free so that we remain capable of carrying out we devote time to our professional and personal lives we should
our duties. When one reflects in this manner we face the fact: equally devote time to our spiritual lives. To all living beings,
how much of life do we really control? To whom do we really owe God rewards the fruits of their karmas thus we must accept the
the credit to what we have been able to achieve in our lives? truth that God is the ultimate cause of all causes.
Adarsh E-zine Issue Three 2018
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INFINITE ISHWARS
and where to find them
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There is a tendency for people to quote a figure of 330 million ‘gods’ that populate Hindu belief. This is often cited to
support the simplistic argument that Hinduism is polytheistic. However, it is crucial to understand that there is one
Supreme Being, who is the ultimate creator of the universe and the controller of our collective destinies. In this sense,
Hinduism is still monotheistic; we worship one Supreme God (Parameshwar), while still accepting many gods (ishwars).

So what does the number 330 million often quoted in the in turn will be destroyed as well. This is called nimitta-pralay,
Hindu shastras refer to? which is the duration of Brahmā’s day… Thirty days of Brahmā
make one month, 12 such months make one year, and a
It refers to the population of devas, i.e. celestial beings or hundred such years is the lifespan of Brahmā. When Brahmā
‘demigods’. Just like humans, the devas are perishable and dies, the brahmānd, consisting of the 14 realms, is destroyed.
bound by maya, but unlike us, they have superior powers, Then, all of the entities that have evolved out of Prakruti are
knowledge and God-endowed authority. And just like humans, assimilated back into Prakruti. This is called prākrut-pralay.”
the devas also have an immense population. There are 7 (Vachanamrut Bhugol-Khagol)
billion humans presently on earth and 330 million devas
resident elsewhere in the brahmānd. There are 14 realms in “In one day of Virāt-brahmā, Shudra-brahmā, Vishnu and
a brahmānd, which also includes Mrutyuloka (the realm of Shiva the three pass away… There are millions of brahmānds
humans), Swargaloka and Satyaloka. Beyond these realms are each caused by a distinct Virāt. In one day of Pradhān-
the abodes of the higher deities. Purush, Virāt passes away.”
(Swamini Vato 6.95)
Indra and other devas who reside in Swargaloka are jivas,
whereas the major devas, such as Brahmā who resides in Based on the above quotations we can now deduce that there
Satyaloka, are known as ishwars. However, do we really need are essentially ten ishwars responsible for each brahmand,
to know this distinction? Well, if one wants to have a deeper which in turn is a manifestation of an eleventh ishwar known
understanding of the five eternal entities expounded by as Virāt-brahmā. There are countless brahmands as part of
Bhagwan Swaminarayan then the answer is yes. creation, so effectively there are infinite ishwars just as there
are infinite jivas. The pralays refer to the cosmic time scales
The concept of ishwar requires the key understanding that (or epochs) for the function of the various ishwars.
whatever powers ishwars possess is gifted by Bhagwan
Swaminarayan, who is revered as sarvopari bhagwan and The given table summarises the various ishwars and their
honoured with the title of Parameshwar, the lord of all ishwars. abodes, life cycle and functions:
Ishwars are eternal entities, infinite in number. They are similar
to jiva with respect to being bound by maya but involved at Nimitta-Pralay Prākrut-Pralay
a macro level in the functioning of the brahmānds. We get a (8.64 million years) (36,000 nimitta-pralays)
sense of who the ishwars are, their time scales and what their Nirgun Nar-narayan Lakshmi-narayan
role is in governing the galaxies from the following quotes. (Badrikashram) (Vaikunth)
Vasudev-narayan Krishna-narayan (Golok)
“Each brahmānd has ten power bases of Brahmā, Vishnu, (Shwetdwip)
Shiva, Aniruddh, Pradyumna and Sankarshan who are the
six sagun, whereas Narnarayan, Vasudev-narayan, Lakshmi- Sagun Brahma = Shudra-brahma Pradyumna (Creation)
(Satyalok)
narayan and Krishna-narayan are the four nirgun.”
(Swamini Vato 5.177) Vishnu = Sheshayi-narayan Aniruddh (Sustenance)
(Shirsagar)
“When one night of Brahmā passes and Brahmā retires to sleep, Mahesh = Shiva (Kailash) Shankarshan (Destruction)
the ten realms inclusive of Swarg, Mrutyulok and Pātāl are Virat-brahma
destroyed. Brahmā’s night is as long as his day. Thus, one of = Virat-purush
Brahmā’s night and day together lasts for our 8,640,000,000 years. = Vairaj-purush
= Virat-narayan
The lower ten realms of the brahmānd are thus destroyed daily. = Bhuma-purush (Avyakrut
At the end of each day, a new set of realms is created, which Dham)
Adarsh E-zine Issue Three 2018
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ebration
tsav Cel
hpadolo
Pus Sydney,
Aus t ra l i a
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h padolots
av c e l e b ration

u n t o f t he histo
A perso nal acco

The day had finally arrived.


Through the grace of Param Pujya
Mahant Swami Maharaj, the nation
of Australia was making history
in BAPS by being the first country
in the world to host the traditional
fuldol utsav outside India in the
presence of the pragat satpurush.
Approximately 8,500 haribhaktos from all over
the world had descended in Sydney to be part
of this historic event. Devotees were fervent and
awaiting this event in great anticipation. The
grand stage and setting for this event was second
to none and equally matched the grandeur that we
are all accustomed to when visiting Sarangpur for
this grand celebration.

The moment that everyone was eagerly waiting


for finally arrived. The traditional fuldol bhajans
started blasting from the speakers and there were
continuous cheers and screams all around. You could
see the excitement on everyone’s faces from young
balaks that were sitting at the very front, to vadils
that were sitting on chairs on the side.

Mahant Swami Maharaj started off the celebrations


by spraying Harikrishna Maharaj. There was a huge
roar from the crowd and the moment that everyone
had been waiting for was getting closer and closer. One
by one, Santos went up on stage and Mahant Swami
Maharaj turned to the left of the stage and started
spraying each sadhu, one after the other with the same
pichkari that he used for spraying Harikrishna Maharaj.

Mahant Swami Maharaj’s seat was then moved to the


front of the stage where the large spraying machines were
already set up. Once he sat down and was ready, everyone
unanimously got up from their seats. We couldn’t wait any
longer and started edging forward and were ready to be
soaked in divine bliss.

I was fortunate enough to be part in the first batch of


people to go through and get sprayed. I could see Mahant
Swami Maharaj directly in front of me. He had a smile on his
face as he controlled the centre jet spray that was gushing
out coloured water in immense force.
Adarsh E-zine Issue Three 2018
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I immediately positioned myself in the middle


and directly in front of Mahant Swami Maharaj. I
remember spreading both my hands out just before
immersing myself into what felt like a waterfall of
divine amrut that came thundering down on me. I
got completely soaked from top to bottom in a few
seconds. I closed my eyes but still saw the murti of
Swamishri sitting in front of me, showering everyone
with divine bliss. Time stood still at this point as I just
stood there absorbing the divinity that was touching
every ounce of my body. I could hear cheering, screaming
and laughter all around me.

Before I knew it, I found myself dancing right in front of


Swamishri. I opened my eyes and kept them open hoping
and praying that Swamishri’s drashti falls upon me. It didn’t
take long for my prayers to be answered. He looked at me
with a grin on his face and before I knew it, he directed the
jet spray towards me. I was not prepared for this at all and
remember drinking a mouthful of this amrut that he was
showering upon us all.

I folded my hands, bowed down and continued dancing. I didn’t


want this divine feeling to end. In true spirit of unity, everyone
danced together in front of their beloved Guru. The feeling
was simply incredible... it was no different to the feeling that I
had experienced in past fuldol celebrations when Param Pujya
Pramukh Swami had unleashed the same divine bliss upon us all.

This was my first ever fuldol celebration with my beloved Guru


Mahant Swami Maharaj who had unequivocally showered me
with the same amount of love, bliss and divinity that our previous
Guru had given. This is yet another testament that Pramukh Swami
Maharaj and Mahant Swami Maharaj are by no means any different,
they are in fact one and the same.
Adarsh E-zine Issue Three 2018
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Key initiatives for 2018


Ghar Sabha
Guruhari Mahant Swami Maharaj graced the UK on two separate occasions in 2017.
In both phases of his visit, he emphasised the need for Satsangi families to conduct
Ghar Sabhas regularly at home.
At the Satsang Shibir in June 217, Swamishri explained (whilst walking off the stage
and coming back to speak at the rostrum): “Ghar Sabha is most effective, and at large.”
This is a key initiative for 2018 and has been launched nationally. All devotees are
encourage to start doing Ghar Sabha.

One to One – CARE & CARE & CARE &

Heart to Heart
CONNECT CONNECT CONNECT
Serving the Community Serving the Community Serving the Community

Guruhari Mahant Swami Maharaj in his pravachan in


London on 28 September 2017 emphasised that we
are extremely fortunate to have attained satsang. He
asked devotees to encourage their family and friends
to come to satsang. Mahant Swami Maharaj explained
that to direct one jiva towards God will earn merits
equivalent to uplifting an entire universe. And he
stressed that anyone who does this will be at benefit,
benefit, and benefit.

He gave the example of Maganbhai of Africa who


had firm conviction in satsang and passed this on to
others. Mahant Swami Maharaj explained that we give
material gifts to our family and friends but if we give
them satsang, then this will be the biggest gift we
can give them. If we give them satsang then they will
become happy and whoever comes in their association
will be happy – as such the line will continue. This is
a key initiative for 2018. We should mentor, care and
connect with our friends and family and inspire them
to engage regularly in satang activities.
Adarsh E-zine Issue Three 2018

What’s On 2018
Important dates for your diary

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