Swaminarayan

Swaminarayan (IAST: Svāmīnārāyaṇa; 3 April 1781

– 1 June 1830), also known as Sahajanand Swami, Swaminarayan
was a yogi and ascetic believed by followers to be a
manifestation of Krishna[2][3][4] or the highest
manifestation of Purushottama,[5][6] around whom the
Swaminarayan Sampradaya developed.

In 1800, he was initiated into the Uddhava

sampradaya by his guru, Swami Ramanand, and was
given the name Sahajanand Swami. Despite
opposition, in 1802, Ramanand handed over the
leadership of the Uddhava Sampradaya to him before
his death.[7] According to the Swaminarayan tradition,
Sahajanand Swami became known as Swaminarayan,
and the Uddhava Sampradaya became known as the Illustration of Swaminarayan writing the
Swaminarayan Sampradaya, after a gathering in which Shikshapatri
he taught the Swaminarayan Mantra to his followers.
Personal
He emphasized "moral, personal, and social Born Ghanshyam Pande
betterment,"[8] and ahimsa.[9] He is also remembered 3 April 1781[1]
within the sect for undertaking reforms for women[10] Chhapaiya, Kingdom of Oudh
and the poor,[11] and performing large-scale non- (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India)
violent yajñas (fire sacrifices).[12] Died 1 June 1830 (aged 49)
Gadhada, Baroda State (present-
During his lifetime, Swaminarayan institutionalized his day Gujarat, India)
charisma and beliefs in various ways.[13] He built six
Religion Hinduism
mandirs to facilitate devotional worship of God by his
followers,[14][15][16] and encouraged the creation of a Organization
scriptural tradition,[13][17][18] including the Founder of Swaminarayan Sampradaya
Shikshapatri, which he wrote in 1826. [19] In 1826, Religious career
through a legal document titled the Lekh, Guru
Swami Ramanand
Swaminarayan created two dioceses, the Laxmi
Narayan Dev Gadi (Vadtal Gadi) and Nar Narayan Dev
Gadi (Ahmedabad Gadi), with a hereditary leadership of acharyas and their wives from his own extended
family,[web 1] who were authorized to install statues of deities in temples and to initiate ascetics.[13]

Biography

Childhood as Ghanshyam
Swaminarayan was born on 3 April 1781 (Chaitra Sud 9, Samvat
1837) in Chhapaiya, a village near Ayodhya, then under the
Nawab of Oudh, in present-day Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.[1]
Born into the Brahmin or priestly caste of Sarvariya,
Swaminarayan was named Ghanshyam Pande by his parents,
Hariprasad Pande (father, also known as Dharmadev) and
Premvati Pande (mother, also known as Bhaktimata and
Murtidevi).[1] The birth of Swaminarayan coincided with the
Hindu festival of Rama Navami, celebrating the birth of Rama.
The ninth lunar day in the fortnight of the waxing moon in the
month of Chaitra (March–April), is celebrated as both Rama Dharmadev teaching Ghanshyam
Navami and Swaminarayan Jayanti by Swaminarayan followers. from the scriptures
This celebration also marks the beginning of a ritual calendar for
the followers.[20]

Swaminarayan had an elder brother, Rampratap Pande, and a younger brother, Ichcharam Pande.[21] He is
said to have mastered the scriptures, including the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas, the Ramayana,
and the Mahabharata by the age of seven.[22]

Travels as Nilkanth Varni

After the death of his parents, Ghanshyam Pande left his home on
29 June 1792 (Ashadh Sud 10, Samvat 1849) at the age of 11.[23]
He took the name Nilkanth Varni while on his journey. Nilkanth
Varni travelled across India and parts of Nepal in search of an
ashram, or hermitage, that practiced what he considered a correct
understanding of Vedanta, Samkhya, Yoga, and Pancaratra.[24] To
find such an ashram, Nilkanth Varni asked the following five
questions on the basic Vaishnava Vedanta categories:[25]

What is Jiva?
What is Ishvara?
What is Maya?
What is Brahman?
What is Parabrahman?
While on his journey, Nilkanth Varni mastered Astanga yoga
Nilkanth Varni during his travels
(eightfold yoga) in a span of nine months under the guidance of an
aged yogic master named Gopal Yogi.[26] In Nepal, it is said that
he met King Rana Bahadur Shah and cured him of his stomach illness. As a result, the king freed all the
ascetics he had imprisoned.[27] Nilkanth Varni visited the Jagannath Temple in Puri as well as temples in
Badrinath, Rameswaram, Nashik, Dwarka, and Pandharpur.[23]

In 1799, after a seven-year journey, Nilkanth's travels as a yogi eventually concluded in Loj, a village in
the Junagadh district of Gujarat. In Loj, Nilkanth Varni met Muktanand Swami, a senior disciple of
Ramanand Swami. Muktanand Swami, who was 22 years older than Nilkanth, answered the five
questions to Nilkanth's satisfaction.[28] Nilkanth decided to stay for the opportunity to meet Ramanand
Swami, whom he met a few months after his arrival in Gujarat.[29] He later claimed in the Vachnamrut
that during this period, he took up a severe penance to eliminate his mother's flesh and blood from his
body so that the sign of his physical attachment to family, was completely removed.[24]

Leadership as Sahajanand Swami

According to the sect, Nilkanth's understanding of the metaphysical
and epistemological concepts of the pancha-tattvas (five eternal
elements), together with his mental and physical discipline, inspired
senior swamis of Ramanand Swami.[30]

Nilkanth Varni received sannyasa initiation from Ramanand Swami

on 20 October 1800, and with it was granted the names Sahajanand
Swami and Narayan Muni to signify his new status.[31]

At the age of 21, Sahajanand Swami was appointed successor to

Ramanand Swami as the leader of the Uddhava Sampradaya[31] by
Ramanand Swami, prior to his death. The Uddhava Sampradaya
henceforth came to be known as the Swaminarayan Sampradaya.[32]
According to sources he proclaimed the worship of one sole deity,
Krishna or Narayana.[33] Krishna was considered by him his own Traditional iconographical portrait
ishtadevata. In contrast with the Vaishnava sect known as the Radha- of Swaminarayan

vallabha Sampradaya,[34] he had a more puritanical approach, rather

than the theological views of Krishna that are strongly capricious in
character and imagery. While being a worshipper of Krishna, Swaminarayan rejected licentious elements
in Krishnology in favor of worship in the mood of majesty, alike to earlier Vaishnava teachers, Ramanuja
and Yamunacharya.[35]

Manifestation belief
According to Swaminarayan-tradition, Sahajanand Swami was later known as Swaminarayan after the
mantra he taught at a gathering, in Faneni, a fortnight after the death of Ramanand Swami.[36] He gave
his followers a new mantra, known as the Swaminarayan mantra, to repeat in their rituals:
Swaminarayan.[31] When chanting this mantra, some devotees went into samadhi,[37][note 1] and claimed
that they could see their personal gods.[26][38][39]

As early as 1804, Swaminarayan, who was reported to have performed miracles, was described as a
manifestation of God in the first work written by a disciple and paramahamsa, Nishkulanand
Swami.[31][40][note 2] This work, the Yama Danda, was the first piece of literature written within the
Swaminarayan sect.[42] Swaminarayan himself is said to have intimated that he was a manifestation of
God in a meeting with Reginald Heber, the Lord Bishop of Calcutta, in 1825.[43]: 81

Some of Swaminarayan's followers believe he was an incarnation of Krishna.[41] The images and stories
of Swaminarayan and Krishna have coincided in the liturgy of the sect. The story of the birth of
Swaminarayan parallels that of Krishna's birth from the scripture Bhagavata Purana.[44] Most of his
followers believe that Swaminarayan is the complete manifestation of Narayana or Purushottama
Narayana - the Supreme Being and superior to other avatars.[31]
The belief of many followers that their founder was the incarnation of the Supreme God has also drawn
criticism.[45] According to Professor Raymond B. Williams, Swaminarayan was criticized because he
received large gifts from his followers and dressed and traveled as a Maharaja even though he had taken
the vows of renunciation of the world. Swaminarayan responded that he accepts gifts for the
emancipation of his followers.[46]

Teaching
Swaminarayan encouraged his followers to combine devotion and dharma to lead a pious life. Using
Hindu texts and rituals to form the base of his organisation, Swaminarayan founded what in later
centuries would become a global organisation with strong Gujarati roots.[47] He was particularly strict on
the separation of sexes in temples.[48] Swaminarayan was against the consumption of meat, alcohol or
drugs, adultery, suicide, animal sacrifices, criminal activities and the appeasement of ghosts and tantric
rituals.[49][50][51][52] Alcohol consumption was forbidden by him even for medicinal purposes.[53] Many
of his followers took vows before becoming his disciple. He stated that four elements need to be
conquered for ultimate salvation: dharma, bhakti (devotion), gnana (knowledge) and vairagya
(detachment).[4] Doctrinally, Swaminarayan was close to eleventh century philosopher Ramanuja and
was critical of Adi Shankara's concept of Advaita, or monistic non-dualism. Swaminarayan's ontology
maintained that the supreme being is not formless and that God always has a divine form.[54]
Swaminarayan's philosophy asserts that Parabrahman and Aksharabrahman are two distinct eternal
realities.[55]

Relations with other religions and the British Government

Swaminarayan strived to maintain good relationships with people of
other religions, sometimes meeting prominent leaders. His followers
cut across religious boundaries, including people of Muslim and Parsi
backgrounds.[26][56] Swaminarayan's personal attendants included
Khoja Muslims.[26] In Kathiawad, many Muslims wore kanthi
necklaces given by Swaminarayan.[57] He also had a meeting with
Reginald Heber, Lord Bishop of Calcutta and a leader of Christians in
India at the time.[43] Bishop Heber mentions in his account of the
In 1822, The first Swaminarayan meeting that about two hundred disciples of Swaminarayan
Mandir was constructed on the accompanied him as his bodyguards mounted on horses and carrying
land granted by the British Matchlocks and swords. Bishop Heber himself had about a hundred
Imperial Government in
horse guards accompanying him (fifty horses and fifty muskets) and
Ahmedabad.
mentioned that it was humiliating for him to see two religious leaders
meeting at the head of two small armies, his being the smaller
contingent. [58][59] As a result of the meeting, both leaders gained mutual respect for one another.[59]

Swaminarayan enjoyed a good relationship with the government of the ruling East India Company. The
first temple he built, in Ahmedabad, was built on 5,000 acres (20 km2) of land given by the company
government. The company officers gave it a 101 gun salute when it was opened.[60][61] It was in an 1825
meeting with Reginald Heber that Swaminarayan is said to have intimated that he was a manifestation of
Krishna.[43] In 1830, Swaminarayan had a meeting with Sir John Malcolm, Governor of Bombay (1827
to 1830). According to Malcolm, Swaminarayan had helped bring some stability to a lawless region.[62]
During the meeting with Malcolm, Swaminarayan gave him a copy of the Shikshapatri. This copy of the
Shikshapatri is currently housed at the Bodleian Library at University of Oxford.[63]

Temples and ascetics

Swaminarayan ordered the construction of several Hindu
temples and he had built six huge temples by himself and
installed the idols of various deities such as Radha Krishna,
Nara-Narayana, Laksmi Narayana, Gopinath, Radha Ramana,
and Madanamohana. The images in the temples built by
Swaminarayan provide evidence of the priority of
Krishna.[43]: 81 [64] Disciples of Swaminarayan composed
devotional poems which are widely sung by the tradition
during festivals.[65][66] Swaminarayan introduced fasting and
Swaminarayan and the Paramahamsas
devotion among followers.[67] He conducted the festivals of
in Gadhada
Vasant Panchami, Holi, and Janmashtami with organization of
the traditional folk dance raas.[26]

The first temple Swaminarayan constructed was in Ahmedabad in 1822, with the land for construction
given by the Company Government.[68][60] Following a request of devotees from Bhuj, Swaminarayan
asked his follower Vaishnavananand to build a temple there. Construction commenced in 1822, and the
temple was built within a year.[68] A temple in Vadtal followed in 1824,[68] a temple in Dholera in
1826,[68] a temple in Junagadh in 1828[68] and a temple in Gadhada, also in 1828.[68] By the time of his
death, Swaminarayan had also ordered construction of temples in Muli, Dholka and Jetalpur.[61]

From early on, ascetics have played a major role in the Swaminarayan sect. They contribute towards
growth and development of the movement, encouraging people to follow a pious and religious life.[69]
Tradition maintains that Swaminarayan initiated 500 ascetics as paramahamsas in a single night.
Paramahamsa is a title of honour sometimes applied to Hindu spiritual teachers who are regarded as
having attained enlightenment. Paramahamsas were the highest order of sannyasi in the sect.[70]
Prominent paramahamsas included Muktanand Swami, Gopalanand Swami, Brahmanand Swami,
Gunatitanand Swami, Premanand Swami, Nishkulanand Swami, and Nityanand Swami.[71]

Ahmedabad and Vadtal Gadi

Prior to his death, Swaminarayan decided to establish a line of acharyas or preceptors, as his
successors.[72] He established two gadis (seats of leadership). One seat was established at Ahmedabad
(Nar Narayan Dev Gadi) and the other one at Vadtal (Laxmi Narayan Dev Gadi) on 21 November 1825.
Swaminarayan appointed an acharya to each of these gadis to pass on his message to others and to
preserve his fellowship, the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. These acharyas came from his immediate family
after sending representatives to search them out in Uttar Pradesh.[73] He formally adopted a son each
from his two brothers and appointed them to the office of acharya. Ayodhyaprasad, the son of
Swaminarayan's elder brother Rampratap, and Raghuvira, the son of his younger brother Ichcharam, were
appointed acharyas of the Ahmedabad Gadi and the Vadtal (Kheda district) Gadi respectively.[74]
Swaminarayan decreed that the office should be hereditary so that acharyas would maintain a direct line
of blood descent from his family.[75] The administrative division of his followers into two territorial
dioceses is set forth in minute detail in a document written by Swaminarayan called Desh Vibhag
Lekh.[25] Swaminarayan stated to all the devotees and saints to obey both the Acharyas and Gopalanand
Swami who was considered as the main pillar and chief ascetic[76] for the sampradaya.[77]

The current acharya of the Ahmedabad Gadi is Koshalendraprasad Pande and Ajendraprasad Pande, of
the Vadtal Gadi.[78][79][80]

Death
In 1830, Swaminarayan gathered his followers and announced his
departure. He later died on 1 June 1830 (Jeth sud 10, Samvat
1886),[61] and it is believed by followers that, at the time of his
death, Swaminarayan left Earth for Akshardham, his abode.[26][81]
He was cremated according to Hindu rites at Lakshmi Wadi in
Gadhada.[82]

Social views

Women
Madan Mohan and Radha (centre
Swaminarayan insisted that education was the inherent right of all and right) with Swaminarayan in the
people, including women, despite considerable criticism from form of Hari Krishna (left), installed
those in his own contemporary society who "loathed the uplift of by Swaminarayan on the central
lower caste women".[83] At that time, influential and wealthy altar in Dholera (1826)

individuals educated their girls through private and personal

tuition. Male followers of Swaminarayan made arrangements to educate their female family members.
The literacy rate among females began to increase during Swaminarayan's time, and they were able to
give discourses on spiritual subjects.[84] Members of the sect consider Swaminarayan a pioneer of
education of females in India.[85][86][87][88][89]

According to the author Raymond Brady Williams, "Swaminarayan is an early representative of the
practice of advocacy of women's rights without personal involvement with women".[90] To counter the
practice of sati (self-immolation by a widow on her husband's funeral pyre), Swaminarayan argued that,
as human life was given by God, it could be taken only by God, and that sati had no Vedic sanction. He
went to the extent to call sati nothing but suicide. Swaminarayan offered parents help with dowry
expenses to discourage female infanticide, calling infanticide a sin.[85][86] For calling a halt to these
prevailing practices, Swaminarayan's "contemporaries naturally saw in him a pioneer of a reformed and
purified Hinduism, and Swaminarayan Hinduism an 'ingrazi dharma' or British religion."[84]

Professor David Harman observed that Swaminarayan "criticized the popular shakta cults and 'gosai' and
'nath' ascetics for the contemptuous and instrumental way in which they viewed and treated women.
These cults were often responsible for gross sexual abuse of women."[91] Hardiman added that
Swaminarayan's view towards women was not in line with this type of misogyny and was rooted in his
desire to prevent ill-treatment of women along with promoting celibacy for ascetics.[91] Swaminarayan
"forbade all sadhus and sadhvis (that is, male and female ascetics) of his sect from having any contact
whatsoever with members of the opposite sex."[91] This strict precept was one he likely internalized "after
travelling as an ascetic throughout India [when] he was reported to vomit if approached by even the
shadow of a woman".[92] To help his male ascetic followers maintain their vow of celibacy,
Swaminarayan taught “the woman who attracts attention is made up of bones, blood vessels, spittle,
blood, mucus and feces; she is simply a collection of these things, and there is nothing to be
attractive.[91][93]

Members of the faith are defensive of the fact that some practices seem to restrict women and make
gender equality in leadership impossible.[94] They are only permitted to enter special sections of the
temple reserved for women or have to go to separate women's temples.[91] As with practices of niddah in
Orthodox Judaism, concepts of pollution associated with the menstrual cycle lead to the exclusion of
women from the temples and daily worship during the affected time.[95] Swaminarayan also directed
male devotees not to listen to religious discourses given by women.[87]

In the case of widows, Swaminarayan directed those who could not follow the path of chastity to remarry.
For those who could, he lay down strict rules which included them being under the control of male
members of the family. This may seem regressive, however, it gave them "a respected and secure place in
the social order" of the time.[96] Swaminarayan restricted widows "to live always under the control of
male members of their family and prohibited them from receiving instruction in any science from any
man excepting their nearest relations."[87]

Caste system and the poor

After assuming the leadership of the sampradaya, Swaminarayan worked
to assist the poor by distributing food and drinking water.[97] He
undertook several social service projects and opened almshouses for the
poor. Swaminarayan organized food and water relief to people during
times of drought.[98]

Some suggest that Swaminarayan worked towards ending the caste

system, allowing everyone into the Swaminarayan Sampradaya.
However partaking in the consumption food of lower castes and caste
pollution was not supported by him.[53] A political officer in Gujarat, Mr. Swaminarayan distributing
Williamson reported to Bishop Herber that Swaminarayan had food among the needy

"destroyed the yoke of caste."[90] He instructed his paramahamsas to

collect alms from all sections of society and appointed people from the lower strata of society as his
personal attendants. Members of the lower castes were attracted to the movement as it improved their
social status.[49][87] Swaminarayan would eat along with the lower Rajput and Khati castes but not any
lower.[99] He allowed dalits and lower caste people to visit places of worship .[100] However, Dalits -
those outside of the caste system - were formally excluded from Swaminarayan temples.[101] Members of
a lower caste are prohibited from wearing a full sect mark (tilak chandlo) on their forehead.[102] Even
now, however, for the vast majority of Gujarat's lower-caste, Untouchable and tribal population, the sect
is out of bounds.[103]

Reginald Heber, the Lord Bishop of Calcutta, noted that disciples of Swaminarayan cut across all castes,
and even included Muslims. He writes "they all pray to one God with no difference of castes. They live as
if they were brothers."[104] Furthermore, in a meeting with Swaminarayan, he noted that "
[Swaminarayan] did not regard the subject as of much importance, but that he wished not to give offense
(to ancient Hindu system); that people might eat separately or together in this world, but that above
"oopur" pointing to heaven, those distinctions would cease."[104] Swaminarayan worked thus to dispel the
myth that moksha (salvation) was not attainable by everyone.[105] He taught that the soul is neither male
nor female, nor yoked to any specific caste.[49][106]

Animal sacrifices and yajnas

Swaminarayan was against animal sacrifices.[107] To solve this problem, Swaminarayan conducted
several large-scale yajnas involving priests from Varanasi. Swaminarayan was successful in reinstating
ahimsa through several such large-scale yajnas. Swaminarayan stressed lacto vegetarianism among his
followers and forbade meat consumption, codifying the conduct in the Shikshapatri.[53][87][108][109]

Scriptures
Swaminarayan propagated general Hindu texts.[47] He held the Bhagavata
Purana in high authority.[110] However, there are many texts that were written
by Swaminarayan or his followers that are regarded as shastras or scriptures
within the Swaminarayan sect. Notable scriptures throughout the sect include
the Shikshapatri and the Vachanamrut. Other important works and scriptures
include the Satsangi Jeevan, Swaminarayan's authorized biography, the
Muktanand Kavya, the Nishkulanand Kavya and the Bhakta Chintamani.[111]

Shikshapatri
Swaminarayan wrote the Shikshapatri on 11 February 1826.[112] While the Swaminarayan under a
original Sanskrit manuscript is not available, it was translated into Gujarati Neem tree in Gadhada

by Nityanand Swami under the direction of Swaminarayan and is revered in

the sect.[53][113] The Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency summarised it as a
book of social laws that his followers should follow.[114] A commentary on the practice and
understanding of dharma, it is a small booklet containing 212 Sanskrit verses, outlining the basic tenets
that Swaminarayan believed his followers should uphold in order to live a well-disciplined and moral
life.[111] The oldest copy of this text is preserved at the Bodleian Library of Oxford University and it is
one of the very few presented by Sahajanand Swami himself. Acharya Tejendraprasad of Ahmedabad has
indicated in a letter that he is not aware of any copy from the hand of Sahajanand older than this text.[113]
Swaminarayan in various places of Shikshapatri describes Krishna as the greatest entity.[115][116]

Vachanamrut
The Vachanamrut (IAST: Vacanāmṛta, lit. "immortalising ambrosia in the form of words") is a sacred
Hindu text consisting of 273 religious discourses delivered by Swaminarayan from 1819 to 1829 CE and
is considered the principal theological text within the Swaminarayan Sampradaya.[117]: 6 Compiled by
four of his senior disciples, Swaminarayan edited and approved the scripture. As followers believe
Swaminarayan to be Parabrahman, or God, the Vachanamrut is considered a direct revelation from God
and thus the most precise interpretation of the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, and other important Hindu
scriptures.[117]: 13–14, 45 [118]: 173 This scripture is read by followers regularly and discourses are conducted
daily in Swaminarayan temples around the world.[119]: 21–27

Satsangi Jeevan
Satsangi Jeevan is the authorised biography of Swaminarayan.[117] The book contains information on the
life and teachings of Swaminarayan.[120] It is written by Shatanand Swami and completed in Vikram
Samvat 1885.[117] Swaminarayan decided to make Gadhada his permanent residence on the insistence of
Dada Khachar and his sisters.[121] Swaminarayan instructed Shatanand Swami to write a book on his life
and pastimes.[118]

To enable Shatanand Swami to write from His childhood, Swaminarayan had blessed Shatanand Swami
with Sanjay Drishti - special power to see the entire past right from His childhood.[118]

Once written by Shatanand Swami, this book was verified and authenticated by Swaminarayan. He was
much pleased to read the book. Swaminarayan then asked his disciples to do Katha of Satsangi
Jeevan.[118]

Legacy

Schisms
Decades after his death, several divisions occurred with different understandings of succession. This
included the establishment of Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS),
the founder of which left the Vadtal Gadi in 1905, and Maninagar Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan, the
founder of which left the Ahmedabad Gadi in the 1940s. The followers of BAPS hold Gunatitanand
Swami as the spiritual successor to Swaminarayan, asserting that on several occasions Swaminarayan
revealed to devotees that Gunatitanand Swami was Aksharbrahm manifest. Followers of BAPS believe
that the acharyas were given administrative leadership of the sect while Gunatitanand Swami was given
spiritual leadership by Swaminarayan.[122] The current spiritual and administrative leader of BAPS is
Mahant Swami Maharaj. The followers of the Maninagar Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan hold Gopalanand
Swami as the successor to Swaminarayan.[123][124] The current leader of this sect is
Purushottampriyadasji Maharaj.[125]

Growth
According to the biographer Raymond Williams, when Swaminarayan died, he had a following of 1.8
million people. In 2001, Swaminarayan centres existed on four continents, and the congregation was
recorded to be five million, the majority in the homeland of Gujarat.[126][127][128] The newspaper Indian
Express estimated members of the Swaminarayan sect of Hinduism to number over 20 million (2 crore)
worldwide in 2007.[129]

Reception
The manifestation belief and Swaminarayan's teachings were
criticized by Hindu reformist leader Dayananda Saraswati (1824–
1883). He questioned the acceptance of Swaminarayan as the
Supreme Being and was disapproving towards the idea that
visions of Swaminarayan could form a path to attaining perfection.
Accused of deviating from the Vedas, his followers were criticised
for the illegal collection of wealth and the "practice of frauds and
tricks."[130] In the views of Dayananda, published as early as
1875, it was a "historical fact" that Swaminarayan decorated
himself as Narayana in order to gain followers.[131]

In 1918, Mahatma Gandhi in the letter to his nephew, expressed

that Swaminarayan's values didn't align perfectly with his
interpretation of Vaishnavism and the love taught by
Swaminarayana was all about sentimentalism. According to Nara Narayana installed by
Gandhi, Swaminarayan had not grasped the essence of non- Swaminarayan in the first
violence.[40][100] In 1924, Gandhi applauded efforts of Swaminarayan Temple,
Swaminaryan and added that "what was accomplished in Gujarat Ahmedabad.
by one person, Sahajanand [Swaminarayan], could not be
accomplished by the power of the State".[132]

See also
Akshar-Purushottam Darshan

Notes
1. The word samadhi has different meanings in Hinduism. It may refer to a form yogic deep
meditation. As a cause of death, it refers to the act of consciously and intentionally leaving
one's body at the time of death.[32]
2. In his discourses recorded in the Vachanamrut, Swaminarayan mentions that humans would
not be able to withstand meeting god in his divine form, hence God takes human form
(simultaneously living in his abode) so people can approach, understand and love him in the
form of an Avatar.[41]

References
1. Williams (2001), p. 13.
2. Kim (2010).
3. Jones (2005), p. 8890.
4. Olson (2007), p. 336.
5. Williams (2018), p. 81.
6. Singleton, Mark; Goldberg, Ellen (2013). Gurus of modern yoga (https://www.worldcat.org/o
clc/861692270). New York, NY. ISBN 978-0-19-993871-1. OCLC 861692270 (https://search.
worldcat.org/oclc/861692270).
 7. Williams (2018), p. 17.
8. Jones (2005), p. 8889.
9. Williams (2018), p. 27.
10. Raval (2012).
11. Mangalnidhidas (2016).
12. Paramtattvadas, Williams & Amrutvijaydas (2016).
13. Schreiner (2001).
14. S.Patel (2017), p. 65.
15. Trivedi (2015), p. 353.
16. Hatcher (2020).
17. Paramtattvadas (2017), p. 64.
18. Williams (2018), p. 200.
19. Parikh (2016).
20. Williams (2001), p. 141
21. Makarand R. Paranjape (2005). Dharma and development: the future of survival (https://boo
ks.google.com/books?id=SorXAAAAMAAJ). Samvad India. p. 111. ISBN 978-81-901318-3-
4. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
22. M. Gupta (2004). Let's Know Hindu Gods and Goddesses (https://books.google.com/books?
id=uscjONr3_MUC&q=poor+sahajanand+swami&pg=PT26). Star Publications. p. 33.
ISBN 978-81-7650-091-3. Retrieved 15 May 2009.
23. "Sampradat history: Nilkanth Varni" (https://web.archive.org/web/20090630090513/http://ww
w.sksst.org/sampraday/index.asp). Harrow, England: Shree Kutch Satsang Swaminarayan
Temple. Archived from the original (http://www.sksst.org/sampraday/index.asp) on 30 June
2009. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
24. Williams (2001), p. 15
25. Williams (2001), p. 36
26. Dinkar Joshi; Yogesh Patel (2005). Glimpses of Indian Culture (https://books.google.com/bo
oks?id=-fw-0iBvmMAC&q=satsangi+jivan&pg=PA93). Star Publications. pp. 92–93.
ISBN 978-81-7650-190-3. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
27. Gujarat (India) (1969). Gujarat State Gazetteers: Bhavnagar (https://books.google.com/book
s?id=ySkbAAAAIAAJ&q=nepal+king+swaminarayan). Directorate of Govt. Print., Stationery
and Publications, Gujarat State. p. 577. Retrieved 15 May 2009.
28. Williams (2001), p. 75
29. Williams (2001), pp. 16, 17
30. "Swaminarayan: Life" (http://www.vadtaldhamnj.info/My_Final_Webdesign/PDF%27s/Article
s/Bhagwan%20Swaminarayan.pdf) (PDF). Shri Swaminarayan Mandir - Somerset, NJ
(Vadtaldham). Retrieved 6 July 2009.
31. Williams (2001), p. 17
32. Williams (2001), p. 240
33. Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India (https://books.google.com/books?id=P_t
3zmwNQVwC&q=%22Krishna%22++%22Swami+Narayan%22&pg=PA326). Vol. 1. Asian
Educational Services, India. 1995. p. 326. ISBN 978-81-206-0833-7.
34. Guy L. Beck (24 March 2005). Alternative Krishnas: Regional and Vernacular Variations on
a Hindu Deity (https://books.google.com/books?id=0SJ73GHSCF8C&pg=PA65). SUNY
Press. pp. 65–. ISBN 978-0-7914-6415-1.
35. Aldwinckle, Russell Foster (1976). More than man: a study in christology (https://archive.or
g/details/morethanmanstudy0000aldw). Grand Rapids, Mich: Eerdmans. p. 223 (https://archi
ve.org/details/morethanmanstudy0000aldw/page/223). ISBN 978-0-8028-3456-0.
36. Anil Kumar Sarkar (1997). Yoga, mathematics, and computer sciences: in change
confronting the dawn of the twenty-first century (https://books.google.com/books?id=NNXW
AAAAMAAJ). South Asian Publishers. p. 53. ISBN 978-81-7003-204-5. Retrieved
12 September 2009.
37. Williams (2001), pp. 21, 240
38. Kirin Narayan (1992). Storytellers, Saints and Scoundrels (https://books.google.com/books?i
d=rmfR4nQvbSsC&q=sahajanand+samadhi&pg=PA141). Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 141.
ISBN 978-81-208-1002-0. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
39. Williams (2001), p. 21
40. Takashi Shinoda (2002). The other Gujarat (https://books.google.com/books?id=KZNfS7mik
MoC). Popular Prakashan. p. 9. ISBN 978-81-7154-874-3. Retrieved 27 June 2009.
41. Carl Olson (2007). The many colors of Hinduism: a thematic-historical introduction (https://b
ooks.google.com/books?id=RVWKClYq4TUC). Rutgers University Press. p. 336. ISBN 978-
0-8135-4068-9. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
42. Williams (2001), pp. 17, 76, 189
43. Raymond Brady Williams (2004). Williams on South Asian religions and immigration (https://
books.google.com/books?id=nkVBOfE1KkAC). Ashgate. ISBN 978-0-7546-3856-8.
OL 9414082M (https://openlibrary.org/books/OL9414082M). Retrieved 7 May 2009.
44. Williams (2001), p. 77
45. Schmidt, Richard M. (2015). Sages, Saints, and Seers: A Breviary of Spiritual Masters.
Morehouse Publishing. p. 114. ISBN 9780819229267.
46. Williams (2001), p. 81
47. Cybelle Shattuck; Nancy D. Lewis (2003). The pocket idiot's guide to Hinduism (https://book
s.google.com/books?id=73DZBQLjgn0C). Alpha Books. pp. 163–165. ISBN 978-0-02-
864482-0. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
48. Robert Vane Russell (2009) [1916]. The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India
(https://books.google.com/books?id=AHIk_afStI0C). BiblioBazaar. p. 404. ISBN 978-0-559-
11371-0. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
49. Rohit Barrot (1987). Richard Burghart (ed.). Caste and sect in Swaminaran Movement (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=nUsOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA67). Vol. Hinduism in Great
Britain. Routledge. pp. 67–70. ISBN 978-0-422-60910-4. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
50. Williams (2001), pp. 162
51. David Gordon White (2001). Tantra in practice (https://books.google.com/books?id=hayV4o
50eUEC). Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 269. ISBN 978-81-208-1778-4. Retrieved
12 September 2009.
52. Williams (2001), pp. 77, 165
53. M. G. Chitkara (1997). "Swaminarayan, Pramod Mahajan, Bal Thackeray". Hindutva. APH
Pub. Corp. pp. 227–228. ISBN 978-81-7024-798-2.
54. Williams (2001), p. 79
55. Williams 2018, pp. 82–91.
56. J. J. Roy Burman (2005). Gujarat Unknown (https://books.google.com/books?id=VemsIky3Q
zEC). Mittal Publications. p. 18. ISBN 978-81-8324-052-9. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
57. Behramji Merwanji Malabari; Krishnalal M. Jhaveri; Malabari M. B (1997). Gujarat and the
Gujaratis (https://books.google.com/books?id=Lyd8jPbN218C&q=muktanand+swami). Asian
Educational Services. pp. 263–269. ISBN 978-81-206-0651-7. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
58. R.V. Russell; R.B.H. Lai (1916). Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India (https://
books.google.com/books?id=P_t3zmwNQVwC&q=swami+meeting+with+heber). Asian
Educational Services. pp. 328, 329. ISBN 978-81-206-0833-7. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
59. Williams (2001), p. 69
60. "The foundations of devotion" (http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-2259
8178_ITM). Asia Africa Intelligence Wire, Financial Times. 4 March 2003. Retrieved
12 March 2009.
61. Williams (2001), p. 29
62. Williams (2001), p. 7
63. Williams (2001), p. 57
64. Williams (2001), p. 96
65. Williams (2001), p. 189
66. Mohan Lal (1992). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature (https://books.google.com/books?id=K
nPoYxrRfc0C). Sahitya Akademi. p. 4255. ISBN 978-81-260-1221-3.
67. Williams (2004), p. 162
68. "Swaminarayan temples" (https://web.archive.org/web/20090524025055/http://www.shriswa
minarayan.org/Temples.php). Shri Swaminarayan Temple (ISSO OF CHICAGO). Archived
from the original (http://www.shriswaminarayan.org/Temples.php) on 24 May 2009.
Retrieved 6 July 2009.
69. Williams (2001), p. 107
70. Williams (2001), p. 22
71. Williams (2001), pp. 187, 189
72. Williams (2001), p. 34
73. Brady Williams, Raymond (2001). An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism (https://archiv
e.org/details/introductiontosw0000will). Cambridge University Press. pp. 173 (https://archiv
e.org/details/introductiontosw0000will/page/173). ISBN 9780521654227.
74. Williams (2001), pp. 35–37
75. Williams (2001), p. 35
76. Williams (2001), pp. 59
77. Dave, Ramesh (1978). Sahajanand charitra. University of California: BAPS. pp. 199–200.
ISBN 978-8175261525.
78. "Narnarayan Devgadi DevGadi Acharyas" (https://web.archive.org/web/20090331115229/htt
p://www.swaminarayan.info/AcharyaShri.aspx). Ahmedabad Gadi Official site. 2008.
Archived from the original (http://www.swaminarayan.info/AcharyaShri.aspx) on 31 March
2009. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
79. "Acharya Maharajshree Janmotsav Celebration – Junagadh" (http://www.swaminarayanvadt
algadi.org/acharya). 9 April 2015.
80. NewsGram (18 April 2016). "Spread of Swaminarayan Sampraday across Globe" (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20190715224921/https://www.newsgram.com/spread-swaminarayan-sam
praday-across-globe/). NewsGram. Archived from the original (https://www.newsgram.com/s
pread-swaminarayan-sampraday-across-globe/) on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
81. Williams (2001), p. 93
82. Williams (2001), pp. 34–36
83. Rudert, A. (2004). "1" (http://ecommons.library.cornell.edu/bitstream/1813/106/2/thesis.pdf)
(PDF). Inherent Faith and Negotiated Power: Swaminarayan Women in the United States (h
ttp://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/106). Cornell University. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
84. Mallison, Françoise (April 2016). "Gujarati Socio-religious Context of Swaminarayan
Devotion and Doctrine" (http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/978019
9463749.001.0001/acprof-9780199463749-chapter-4). Swaminarayan Hinduism. Oxford
University Press. pp. 49–57. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199463749.003.0004 (https://doi.o
rg/10.1093%2Facprof%3Aoso%2F9780199463749.003.0004). ISBN 9780199086573.
85. Williams (2001), pp. 165, 167
 86. Martha Craven Nussbaum (2007). The clash within (https://books.google.com/books?id=JL
MQh4oc38gC&q=swaminarayan+malcolm+law). Boston: Harvard University Press. pp. 322,
323. ISBN 978-0-674-02482-3. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
87. M M Rahman (2006). Encyclopaedia of Historiography (https://books.google.com/books?id=
RZCv3d2XUeUC). Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd. pp. 145, 146. ISBN 978-81-261-2305-6.
Retrieved 10 June 2009.
88. "education of females" (https://web.archive.org/web/20090501010011/http://www.vadtal.co
m/lord-swaminarayan.html#12). Shree Swaminarayan Temple: Sansthan Vadtal. Archived
from the original (http://vadtal.com/lord-swaminarayan.html#12) on 1 May 2009. Retrieved
6 July 2009.
89. "Swaminarayan's Life - Biography: Uplift of Women" (http://www.swaminarayan.org/lordswa
minarayan/biography/4.htm). www.swaminarayan.org. Retrieved 7 June 2008.
90. Williams (2001), p. 169
91. Hardiman, David (10 September 1988). "Class Base of Swaminarayan Sect". Economic and
Political Weekly. 23 (37): 1907–1912. JSTOR 4379024 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/437902
4).
92. McKean, Lisa (1996). Divine Enterprise: Gurus and the Hindu Nationalist Movement.
University Of Chicago Press; New edition. p. 18. ISBN 9780226560106.
93. Williams (2001), p. 152
94. Williams (2001), p. 165
95. Kurien, Prema (2007). A Place at the Multicultural Table: The Development of an American
Hinduism. University Of Chicago Press; New edition. p. 102. ISBN 9780813540566.
96. Williams (2001), p. 167
97. "Times Music cassette on Swaminarayan serial launched" (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.co
m/articleshow/1742150037.cms). Times of India. 19 January 2006. Retrieved 30 March
2009.
98. "Food and Water for the Needy" (https://web.archive.org/web/20090501010011/http://www.v
adtal.com/lord-swaminarayan.html#9). Shree Swaminarayan Temple: Sansthan Vadtal.
Archived from the original (http://www.vadtal.com/lord-swaminarayan.html#9) on 1 May
2009. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
99. Williams 2001, p. 170
100. Hardiman, David (1988). "Class Base of Swaminarayan Sect". Economic and Political
Weekly. 23 (37): 1907–1912. JSTOR 4379024 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/4379024).
101. The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism and Society in India Christopher John Fuller P. 173
102. Williams (2001), pp. 170–171
103. Shah, A.M. (2010). The Structure of Indian Society: Then and Now. India: Routledge India.
p. 103. ISBN 9780415586221.
104. Heber, Reginald (1828). Narrative of a Journey Through the Upper Provinces of India (http
s://archive.org/details/narrativeajourn21hebegoog). Boston: Carey, Lea, and Carey. pp. 109
(https://archive.org/details/narrativeajourn21hebegoog/page/n119).
105. Williams (2001), p. 162
106. Williams (2001), pp. 57, 77
107. Christopher John Fuller (2004). The camphor flame (https://books.google.com/books?id=To
6XSeBUW3oC&q=incarnation+of+swaminarayan&pg=PA171). Princeton University Press.
p. 171. ISBN 978-0-691-12048-5. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
108. Williams (2001), pp. 24, 159
109. Prema A. Kurien (2007). A place at the multicultural table: the development of an American
Hinduism (https://books.google.com/books?id=ONMxZc5_saYC&pg=PA105). Rutgers
University Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-8135-4056-6. Retrieved 8 May 2009. Page 105
110. Julius Lipner (1998). Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices (https://books.google.co
m/books?id=I5iVWq7WJ5gC). Routledge. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-415-05182-8. Retrieved
12 September 2009.
111. Williams (2001), pp. 187–190
112. "Shikshapatri" (http://www.swaminarayan.org/scriptures/shikshapatri/index.htm). BAPS
Swamiranayan Sanstha. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
113. Digital Shikshapatri Project. "The Digital Shikshapatri" (https://web.archive.org/web/2012020
7021200/http://www.shikshapatri.org.uk/~imagedb/content.php/psjm). Archived from the
original (http://www.shikshapatri.org.uk/~imagedb/content.php/psjm) on 7 February 2012.
Retrieved 21 June 2013.
114. M. G. Chitkara (1997). Hindutva (https://books.google.com/books?id=zqkBNr4U7cwC&q=sw
aminarayan+ahmedabad). APH. p. 230. ISBN 978-81-7024-798-2. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
115. "Swaminarayan message" (https://web.archive.org/web/20180903230816/https://standagain
stswaminarayan.today/2016/06/03/is-swaminarayan-god-no-swaminarayan-is-not-the-god/).
www.standagainstswaminarayan.today. 3 June 2016. Archived from the original (https://stan
dagainstswaminarayan.today/2016/06/03/is-swaminarayan-god-no-swaminarayan-is-not-the
-god/) on 3 September 2018.
116. "The Digital Shiksapatri" (https://web.archive.org/web/20170521092427/http://www.shikshap
atri.org.uk/~imagedb/hms/mss_browse.php?reset=1&expand=638,639). Archived from the
original (http://www.shikshapatri.org.uk/~imagedb/hms/mss_browse.php?reset=1&expand=6
38,639) on 21 May 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
117. "Shree Swaminarayanw Temple Cardiff – Scriptures" (https://web.archive.org/web/20080915
161142/http://www.swaminarayanwales.org.uk/Scriptures/scriptures.asp). Archived from the
original (http://www.swaminarayanwales.org.uk/Scriptures/scriptures.asp) on 15 September
2008.
118. "The resource cannot be found" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110527183603/http://www.s
waminarayan.info/ShastraDetails.aspx?ID=JgBTAGgAYQBzAHQAcgBhAEkARAA9ADIANA
A%3d-cmJRLAFZpY0%3d). Archived from the original (http://www.swaminarayan.info/Shast
raDetails.aspx?ID=JgBTAGgAYQBzAHQAcgBhAEkARAA9ADIANAA%3d-cmJRLAFZpY0%
3d) on 27 May 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
119. Brear, Douglas (1996). Williams, Raymond Brady (ed.). Transmission of a Swaminarayan
Hindu scripture in the British East Midlands (Columbia University Press ed.). New York:
Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-10779-X. OCLC 34984234 (https://search.worldcat.
org/oclc/34984234).
120. Chitkara, M. G. (1997). Hindutva. APH. p. 228.
121. "Six Temples" (http://www.swaminarayan.nu/mandirs/index.shtml). www.swaminarayan.nu.
Retrieved 27 July 2016.
122. "Swaminarayan" (https://web.archive.org/web/20100603195126/http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/en
cyclopedia/hindu/devot/swamin.html). Archived from the original (http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/en
cyclopedia/hindu/devot/swamin.html) on 3 June 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
123. The camphor flame: popular Hinduism and society in India. Princeton, New Jersey:
Princeton University Press. 2004. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-691-12048-5.
124. Williams (2001), p. 52
125. "Guruparampara" (http://www.swaminarayangadi.com/guruparampara/swamishree/swamish
ree.php). Swaminarayangadi.com.
126. Williams (2001), p. 68
127. Rinehart, Robin (2004). Contemporary Hinduism (https://books.google.com/books?id=hMPY
nfS_R90C&q=Contemporary+Hinduism&pg=PP1). ABC-CLIO. p. 215. ISBN 978-1-57607-
905-8. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
128. Marcus J. Banks (1985). Review: A New Face of Hinduism: The Swaminarayan Religion. By
Raymond Brady Williams. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1984. Pp. xiv, 217.
Modern Asian Studies 19 pp 872-874
129. "Niche Faiths" (http://www.indianexpress.com/news/niche-faiths/31939/4). Indian Express.
26 May 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
130. Narayan, Kirin (1992). Storytellers, Saints and Scoundrels. Motilal Banarsidass, India.
pp. 141–143. ISBN 81-208-1002-3.
131. Narayan, Kirin (1992). Storytellers, Saints and Scoundrels. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 143.
ISBN 81-208-1002-3.
132. Mahatma Gandhi (1967). The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi: Mar. 1922-May 1924 (h
ttps://books.google.com/books?id=EIKGAAAAIAAJ). p. 469.

Sources
Printed sources

Hatcher, Brian (2020). Hinduism before reform (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1138500516).

Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-24713-0.
OCLC 1138500516 (https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/1138500516).
Jones, Lindsay (2005). Encyclopedia of Religion. Farmington Hills: Thomson Gale.
ISBN 978-0-02-865984-8.
Kim, Hanna (19 February 2010). "Public Engagement and Personal Desires: BAPS
Swaminarayan Temples and their Contribution to the Discourses on Religion". International
Journal of Hindu Studies. 13 (3): 357–390. doi:10.1007/s11407-010-9081-4 (https://doi.org/1
0.1007%2Fs11407-010-9081-4). ISSN 1022-4556 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1022-45
56). S2CID 4980801 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:4980801).
Mangalnidhidas, Sadhu (April 2016). Sahajanand Swami's Approach to Caste (http://www.o
xfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199463749.001.0001/acprof-97801994
63749-chapter-7). Oxford University Press. pp. 115–128.
doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199463749.003.0007 (https://doi.org/10.1093%2Facprof%3Aos
o%2F9780199463749.003.0007). ISBN 9780199086573.
Olson, Carl Olson (2007). The many colors of Hinduism: a thematic-historical introduction (h
ttps://books.google.com/books?id=RVWKClYq4TUC). Rutgers University Press. p. 336.
ISBN 978-0-8135-4068-9. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
Paramtattvadas, Sadhu; Williams, Raymond Brady; Amrutvijaydas, Sadhu (April 2016).
Swaminarayan and British Contacts in Gujarat in the 1820s. Oxford University Press.
pp. 58–93. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199463749.003.0005 (https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fac
prof%3Aoso%2F9780199463749.003.0005). ISBN 9780199086573.
Paramtattvadas, Swami (2017). An introduction to Swaminarayan Hindu theology (https://w
ww.worldcat.org/oclc/964861190). Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University
Press. ISBN 978-1-107-15867-2. OCLC 964861190 (https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/96486
1190).
Parikh, Vibhuti (April 2016). "The Swaminarayan Ideology and Kolis in Gujarat" (http://www.
oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199463749.001.0001/acprof-9780199
463749-chapter-6). Swaminarayan Hinduism. Oxford University Press. pp. 94–114.
doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199463749.003.0006 (https://doi.org/10.1093%2Facprof%3Aos
o%2F9780199463749.003.0006). ISBN 9780199086573.
Patel, Shruti (2017). "Beyond the Lens of Reform: Religious Culture in Modern Gujarat" (http
s://www.academia.edu/33003837). The Journal of Hindu Studies. 10: 47–85.
doi:10.1093/jhs/hix005 (https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fjhs%2Fhix005).
 Raval, Suresh (2012). Renunciation, Reform and Women in Swaminarayan Hinduism.
Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India: Shahibaug Swaminarayan Aksharpith.
Schreiner, Peter (2001), "Institutionalization of Charisma: The Case of Sahajananda", in
Dalmia, Vasudha; Malinar, Angelika; Christof, Martin (eds.), Charisma and canon : Essays
on the Religious History of the Indian Subcontinent, Oxford University Press
Trivedi (2015). Bhagwan Swaminarayan: the story of his life (2nd ed.). Ahmedabad:
Swaminarayan Aksharpith. ISBN 978-81-7526-594-3. OCLC 957581656 (https://search.worl
dcat.org/oclc/957581656).
Williams, Raymond (2001). Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism (https://archive.org/deta
ils/introductiontosw0000will). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-65422-7.
Williams, Raymond (2004). Williams on South Asian Religions and Immigration: Collected
Works. Ashgate Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7546-3856-8.
Williams, Raymond Brady (2018). An introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism (Third ed.).
Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-42114-0.
OCLC 1038043717 (https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/1038043717).

Web-sources

1. "When One Million People Believe Your Husband Is a God" (https://www.vice.com/en/article/

yw3xgm/when-one-million-people-believe-your-husband-is-a-god). www.vice.com. 3
October 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2021.

Further reading
Heber, Reginald (1828), Narrative of a Journey Through the Upper Provinces of India, from
Calcutta To Bombay, Volume 2 (https://books.google.com/books?id=ANU7AAAAcAAJ&q=s
waamee+Reginald+Heber+Lord+Bishop+of+Calcutta)
Killingley, Dermot (2003). "Hinduism". In Ridgeon, Lloyd V. J. (ed.). Major world religions:
from their origins to the present. London: RoutledgeCurzon. ISBN 978-0-415-29796-7.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Swaminarayan&oldid=1259809858"