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16th August 2003
The evening's events began with His Divine Holiness Acharya Swamishree performing
Sandhya aarti followed by the sants performing kirtan bhakti. This was the fourth
day of the Rahasyarth Pradipika Tika sah Vachanamrit parayan and the recital
of this granth was done following the evening niyams. Acharya Swamishree then
showered His divine blessings on all by giving ashirwad.
To celebrate the Shravan month and as a prelude to the patotsav celebrations
the following day, His Divine Holiness Acharya Swamishree inspired a samoh raas.
The Shravan month traditionally marks the commencement of the monsoon season
in India, during which time the evenings are dark and clouded over. In times
of darkness, Acharya Swamishree is our divine guiding light and on this auspicious
evening He gave darshan dressed in regalia made of lights and LEDs, meticulously
prepared by the devotees of Bolton. His Divine Holiness Acharya Swamishree encouraged
and inspired everyone to dance in the raas as the immensely talented sants performed
kirtan bhakti. The evening ended with everyone receiving prasad of ice cream.
17th August 2003
Today was the third anniversary of the installation of the murtis of Shree
Ghanshyam Maharaj, Shree Jeevanpran Abji Bapashree and our Gurudev, Shree Muktajeevan
Swamibapa by our beloved Acharya Swamishree. The Patotsav vidhi began at 8am
followed by devotees performing aartis and ankoot darshan. The proceedings then
moved to the sabha where the Rahasyarth Pradipika Tika sah Vachnamrit parayan
was concluded
The invited guest Shree Jasvantlal Chhotubhai Patel was then honoured by Acharya
Swamishree who gave him a prasad paag and a memento of this occasion. Shree
Jasvantlal Chhotubhai Patel is of Gujarati origins and has been the UK representative
of many eminent Indian political leaders. He took a few moments to express his
delight and honour at being invited to this auspicious event:
"I have had the honour of serving many political leaders in my career,
but none have been as influential and inspirational Acharya Swamishree.
"It is the ambition of every Indian political leader to unite the many
ethnic groups of India to live in peace with one another. No politician has
so far achieved this. Acharya Swamishree is the only person in my experience
with the power and divinity to unify people in this way.
"I pray to Acharya Swamishree to continue with His selfless efforts to
spread peace throughout the world and to carry on serving as an example and
inspiration to leaders all over the world."
His Divine Holiness Acharya Swamishree then gave divine ashirwad to everyone.
During the ashirwad, numbered tickets were handed out to everyone present and
Acharya Swamishree spoke of a surprise to take place in a few minutes. It was
later explained that 20 lucky winners would each receive a special gold coated
sweet from the ankoot. Acharya Swamishree Himself picked the 20 tickets as everyone
watched in anticipation. The day's celebrations ended with everyone receiving
prasad lunch.
Later that evening, a magnificent fireworks display was inspired by Acharya
Swamishree and organised by the Bolton devotees. Acharya Swamishree gave darshan
to everyone as the afternoon's rain cleared and the clear night sky was filled
with a dazzling array of fireworks.
18th August 2003
His Divine Holiness Acharya Swamishree and the sant mandal departed from the
Bolton mandir this morning to arrive in Windermere at approximately 10am. Our
beloved Gurudev Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa held His final sabha on the Hill
here shortly before concluding His divine leela on this Earth, and so Windermere
has become a significant pilgrimage site for devotees of Shree Swaminarayan
Gadi Sansthan.
The morning heavy rain cleared, contradictory to weather reports, to reveal
bright sunshine as Acharya Swamishree arrived in Windermere to salutations from
Shree Muktajeevan Pipe Band. His Divine Holiness Acharya Swamishree then graced
a golden palkhi as the Pipe Band led a procession to the pier of Lake Windermere.
Hundreds of residents and visitors to the town gathered to have the divine darshan
of Acharya Swamishree and the sant mandal. The captain of the Lady Lakeland,
having become infatuated with the magnificent procession, requested Acharya
Swamishree to grace his vessel. Acharya Swamishree answered the prayers of the
captain who then ordered two other liners to be especially reserved for Acharya
Swamishree, the sants and gathered devotees. Acharya Swamishree then boarded
the Lady Lakeland, led by Shree Muktajeevan Pipe Band, and the three boats set-off
for a one-hour tour of Lake Windermere. It is on this lake that Shree Muktajeevan
Swamibapa lovingly embraced Acharya Swamishree – the moment that was captured
in the "bhet na murti" that is now commonplace in homes and mandirs
throughout the world.
After the Lake tour, a special sabha was held at the exact location of Shree
Muktajeevan Swamibapa's final sabha, which commenced with Acharya Swamishree
and the sants performing poojan and aarti to Lord SwaminarayanBapa Swamibapa.
Extracts of the Vachanamrit were recited after which His Divine Holiness Acharya
Swamishree gave ashirwad in which He said:
"It is stated in the Vachanamrit that true devotion is to have a constant
inclination of ones thoughts towards Lord SwaminarayanBapa Swamibapa. That is
why we are gathered here today, at the exact location of our Gurudev Shree Muktajeevan
Swamibapa's final sabha, to recollect His divine leela.
"The supreme Lord is capable of giving absolute salvation from His divine
abode, Akshardham. So what is the reason for Him coming onto this Earth? The
only reason for His manifestation is to fulfil the wishes of His true devotees.
The supreme Lord always answers the prayers of His loving devotees.
"We must always remember how privileged we are to be under the shelter
of such a merciful supreme Lord. There have been infinitely many lords but our
Lord SwaminarayanBapa Swamibapa is the supreme Lord of all these others.
After Acharya Swamishree's ashirwad, devotees performed aarti to Lord SwaminarayanBapa
Swamibapa and His Divine Holiness Acharya Swamishree before taking lunch. Acharya
Swamishree and the sant mandal departed from Windermere for London in the late
afternoon.
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