Gunatitanand Swami
Encyclopedia
Swaminarayan Sampraday
Swaminarayan Sampraday , known previously as the Uddhav Sampraday, is a Hindu sect established by Swaminarayan...
. Gunatitanand Swami was a prominent paramhansa who gave valuable contribution for spreading of the Swaminarayan Sampraday.
Gunatitanand Swami is believed to be the successor of Swaminarayan in factions such as BAPS
BAPS
Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha , often abbreviated as BAPS , is a major organization within the Swaminarayan sect of Hinduism...
, a fact that is disputed by the Swaminarayan Sampraday
Swaminarayan Sampraday
Swaminarayan Sampraday , known previously as the Uddhav Sampraday, is a Hindu sect established by Swaminarayan...
and several other organizations.
Biography
Named Mulji as a child, Gunatitanand Swami was born in BhadraBhadra
In Hinduism, Bhadra is a goddess of the hunt and one of Shiva's servants....
, Gujarat. It is said that from his childhood days he had such a vision that he could see with his inner eyes, what Ghanshyam Pande (Swaminarayan) was doing in his childhood at Chhapaiya
Chhapaiya
Chhapaiya is a village in Gonda District in the state of Uttar Pradesh about 50 km from district headquarter Gonda and 40 kilometers from the major city of Ayodhya.-Geography:Chhapaiya is located at .-Points of interest:...
, far away in Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
. Further, it is also said that he could see the thread ceremony of Ghanshyam Pande on the very day and he described the same to his family.
In Dabhan, during a sacrificial charity, Gunatitanand Swami was given diksha
Diksha
Diksa also spelled deeksha or deeksa in common usage, translated as a "preparation or consecration for a religious ceremony", is giving of a mantra or an initiation by the guru in Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism...
by Swaminarayan. Later on, he was appointed the head of the Junagadh Temple where he spent about 40 years propagating satsang
Satsang
Satsang in Indian philosophy means the company of the "highest truth," the company of a guru, or company with an assembly of persons who listen to, talk about, and assimilate the truth...
in that region.
In 1867 he died, in Gondal
Gondal
Gondal is a city and a municipality in Rajkot district in the Indian state Gujarat. Gondal state was one of the eight first class princely states of Kathiawar Agency during Bombay Presidency...
. He left his corporeal body, independently, sitting in the Padmasan pose.
Gunatitanand Swami was also one of Bhagwan Swaminarayan's 500 paramahansas.
Members of BAPS
BAPS
Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha , often abbreviated as BAPS , is a major organization within the Swaminarayan sect of Hinduism...
believe that Gunatitanand Swami is the spiritual heir of Bhagwan Swaminarayan
Bhagwan Swaminarayan
Swaminarayan , also known as Sahajanand Swami, is the central figure in a modern sect of Hinduism known as the Swaminarayan Faith, a form of Vaishnavism...
.
Works
The Swamini Vato is a set of quotes and sayings written by Gunatitanand Swami. It is regarded as a highly important scripture in the Swaminarayan denomination of the HinduHindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
religion. It was documented in the mid 19th century, while Gunatitanand Swami was respectively known as the Mahant of Junagadh Mandir.
The Original set of Vatos were written by Balmukund Dasji Swami and Vignandasji Swami who were the disciple of Gunatitanand Swami. This was in total 5 Prakrans (chapters). Two more chapters were later added in the years by Krishnaji Ada.Then more prakrans were added by the BAPS
BAPS
Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha , often abbreviated as BAPS , is a major organization within the Swaminarayan sect of Hinduism...
sect in the coming years giving the talks well over ten chapters in total. The Swaminarayan Sampraday
Swaminarayan Sampraday
Swaminarayan Sampraday , known previously as the Uddhav Sampraday, is a Hindu sect established by Swaminarayan...
consisting of Vadtal Gadi and Ahmedabad Gadi only accept the first five chapters as original and genuine as the later works are considered questionable and open to being biased to its creators.