12th February 2005

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On the first day of the festival, Acharya Swamishree presided over 111 scripture recitals of Shree Abji Bapashree ni Vato and 7 scripture recitals of Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Granth.

In His divine ashirwad, Acharya Swamishree said;

• There are many scriptures that provide spiritual enlightenment. The scripture, Shree Swaminarayan Gadi is one of the greatest because it contains the supremacy of the Lord and His divine successors. What is it about the Swaminarayan Gadi Granth that makes it special? It provides nourishment in the form of instilling faith and devotion into the hearts of all those who read it.

• The characteristics of jealousy, arrogance, envy and pride are annihilated in those who have a strong inclination towards religion and its principles. Through the divine episodes of Lord Swaminarayan and His successors, these principles are eloquently explained in the scripture, Shree Swaminarayan Gadi.

• Just as a mother and father stand by their children and a devoted wife supports her husband, the Lord remains dedicated to the welfare of His true devotees.

• As the children of the supreme Lord Swaminarayan, it is one’s duty to stand firm in the faith and remain dedicated to Him. By remaining in His divine shelter, at Shree Swaminarayan Gadi, one is blessed with the key to eternal salvation.

On this occasion, many local officials came to be part of the celebrations. These included the chief councillor of Mandal, Shree Pragji Vakil, President of the District Council, Shree Sureshbhai Patel, Kantibhai Popat and Sukhdevbhai Nanjibhai Vakil. In his speech, Shree Pragjibhai commended Acharya Swamishree for holding this festival. He was fortunate to be present at some of the magnificent festivals held by Jeevanpran Swamibapa. Shree Pragjibhai said that he was feeling the same wonderful emotions today that he did at Swamibapa’s festivals, many years previously. He was also very appreciative of the great charitable and humanitarian work of Acharya Swamishree and Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan.

Acharya Swamishree presented a cheque on behalf of Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan to the village school fund to provide much needed water coolers, provisions for cool, fresh drinking water for the students and fans for the classrooms.

During the afternoon session, the District Councillor for Saurashtra, Shree Somabhai Patel came for the darshan of Acharya Swamishree. In his speech, Shree Somabhai said that from amongst all the District Councillors, he was the only adherent to the Swaminarayan Faith. He expressed his great pride in this fact. He also talked about the all-embracing nature of the Swaminarayan Faith as actually he was from a very low caste, yet the Swaminarayan faith did not discriminate against him, and accepted him. He talked about the blessings from Acharya Swamishree that he continues to receive, a result of which, he has attained such a high position in society.

At the start of the evening session, a special event in the history of Joshipura was enacted. On one occasion, Sadguru Shree Ishwar Bapa, Jeevanpran Swamibapa and other sants visited Joshipura. The villagers decorated a carriage, to be pulled by bullocks for Sadguru Bapa and Swamibapa to preside on. However, as soon as the bullocks saw the saffron colour of Sadguru Bapa’s clothing, they became frightened and ran away. The villagers then took great pride in pulling the carriage themselves. In this manner, they ceremonially led Sadguru Bapa and Swamibapa into the village and made the occasion an unforgettable moment in their lives.

Today, the devotees of Joshipura created a carriage on which Sadguru Bapa and Swamibapa stood, lovingly embracing each other; and pulled the carriage to the front of the assembly. Acharya Swamishree too accepted the humble requests of the devotees and presided on the carriage.

The sants, parshads and young devotees of Maninagar, Surat and Bavla then performed devotional dances to the following kirtans;

1. Teri sharan me aayke fir aash kiski kiji e – Sants

2. Jeeyaa joole jeevan me, aavo rakhe Shreeji angan me – Devotees of Surat

3. Swaminarayan kaho man meraa, yahi hay mahamantra saar – Sants

4. Murti Shreeji ni pyaari pyaari re, yaado eni chhe nyaari nyaari re – Devotees of Maninagar

5. Lyo Murti, lyo Murti, piyaa ham pritam he – Sants

6. Hari charan ma naachoo aaj, tak thayaa thayaa – Parshads

7. O mere Shreejibapa, o mere Swamibapa – Sants

8. Shreeji maryaa Bapa maryaa, have anya ni parvaa nathi – Devotees of Bavla

9. Swamin Swamin, aapkaa darshan jab payaa – Devotees of Maninagar

10. Maaraa chogaaraa chhelaaji, hoo to chhoo tamaari re - Sants