1. Shastriji Maharaj, born Dungar Patel and ordained Shastri Yagnapurushdas, was a swami of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya and founder of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha.
21 Facts About Shastriji Maharaj
1. 2.
Shastriji Maharaj established BAPS after a doctrinal split from the Vadtal diocese of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya.
3.
Shastriji Maharaj is credited with establishing BAPS on 5 June 1907 CE in Bochasan, Gujarat to propagate the Akshar-Purushottam Upasana, which according to him had been revealed by Swaminarayan and was passed on to him from his own guru, Bhagatji Maharaj.
4.
Shastriji Maharaj first received formal education at the village school under the tutelage of Gangaram Mehta of Alindra.
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Soon, a large festival was held in Surat and prominent swamis and devotees, including Bhagatji Shastriji Maharaj, came to celebrate the occasion.
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Once, Bhagatji Shastriji Maharaj explained that only after understanding Swami Gunatitanand as Akshar and Shriji Shastriji Maharaj as Narayan could one be said to have complete faith in Swaminarayan.
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Thereafter, Bhagatji Shastriji Maharaj began explaining the Akshar-Purushottam Upasana to Shastri Yagnapurushdas.
8.
Bhagatji Shastriji Maharaj explained that Gunatitanand Swami was the ideal devotee of Swaminarayan and all devotees should aspire to become like him in order to develop firm conviction in Purushottam.
9.
Gordhanbhai Kothari's benevolent attitude towards Shastriji Maharaj led to further hostility from a section of the Vadtal swamis.
10.
Furthermore, the failure of some Vadtal swamis to strictly adhere to the monastic vows dictated by Swaminarayan and fear of some officials that Shastriji Maharaj would install an image of Gunatitanand Swami in the main shrine of the Vadtal temple led to increased harassment.
11.
However, Krishnaji Ada, a respected lay leader of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, met with Shastriji Maharaj and quoted a verse in the Shikshapatri in which Swaminarayan instructs his followers to leave any place where their life is in danger.
12.
Krishnaji Ada argued that, in light of the threats to his life in Vadtal, Shastriji Maharaj would be disobeying the commands of Swaminarayan if he did not leave.
13.
Unable to deny this argument, Shastriji Maharaj eventually decided to leave the Vadtal temple with five swamis and a select number of devotees.
14.
Soon, he began to plan and construct a temple in which Akshar-Purushottam Shastriji Maharaj would be installed in the central shrine.
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Shastriji Maharaj continued to propagate the Akshar-Purushottam doctrine and build mandirs, while the coterie of his detractors in the Vadtal diocese continued to attempt to validate his excommunication.
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An important meeting that would have a significant impact on the future of BAPS occurred on 12 August 1910 when Shastriji Maharaj met his eventual spiritual successor, Jhina Bhagat.
17.
Shastriji Maharaj continued to nurture the fledgling BAPS organization and facilitated its growth by consecrating the murtis of Swaminarayan and Gunatitanand Swami in four further mandirs in the towns of Sarangpur, Gondal, Atladra and Gadhada.
18.
Notable devotees of Shastriji Maharaj included Gulzarilal Nanda himself and Dolatram Kripashankar Pandya, a member of the Vadtal temple committee and famous Sanskrit scholar who started supporting Shastriji Maharaj after listening to a discourse on the Akshar-Purushottam upasana by him.
19.
Shastriji Maharaj's most enduring legacy is the founding of BAPS.
20.
Shastriji Maharaj's unwavering belief in the Akshar-Purushottam upasana was the chief reason for his departure from Vadtal and is an indication of his conviction towards this philosophy.
21.
In one such letter, Shastriji Maharaj emphasized his adherence to truth by stating a verse in the Gita-"Nasatyat Param Papam", Untruth is the greatest sin-as one of his important maxims and gave a succinct reasoning for his belief in the Akshar-Purushottam upasana.