Shatabdi Mahotsav

Day three of Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa Shatabdi Mahotsav, USA started off with the traditional morning swagat parade led by Swamibapa Pipe Band and scripture recitals performed by eminent sants. His Divine Holiness Acharya Swamishree then showered His divine ashirwad.

During His divine blessings, Acharya Swamishree said that it is never enough to understand and know the true form and knowledge of Lord Shree Swaminarayan. Even Lord Himself cannot describe His true form. A disciple is always God’s servant, no matter how knowledgeable he is. He should do deeds to please the Lord from the heart, not for pride. Sometimes the commands from the Lord and His saints hit the heart like an arrow because our heart does not desire the command. While serving the Lord, we should not be overly proud of our position or power. Once the pride takes over, jealousy and anger accompanies the pride to pollute our minds.

Opportunity to serve the Lord and His saints only falls in the hands of fortunate souls. That opportunity is upon us under Shree Swaminarayan Gadi. As one pleases the Lord time after time continuously, the bond of master (Lord) and servant (soul) should get stronger and stronger.

We should not have the Lord and His Mahapurush to do what we desire; instead, we should always do what they command.

After Acharya Swamishree’s ashirwad, He was escorted out of the sabha mandap to consecrate a 100-footlong sandwich arranged by disciples for the many children in the temple.

In the afternoon, disciples from all over the country gathered in Swamibapa Hall for the incredible darshan of panchamrut snan on His Divine Holiness Acharya Swamishree. Swamibapa’s sants and all of the disciples were truly blessed to bathe Acharya Swamishree in the five nectars: milk, yogurt, honey, sugar, and saffron water. The beautiful event was a joyous and truly memorable occasion.

That evening, the young disciples of the temple had arranged another night of devotion for Acharya Swamishree. Disciples performed devotional dances and also kirtan-bhakti with live music to please Lord Swaminarayan and Acharya Swamishree. Then, a comical religious drama titled “Sang Tevo Rang” was presented to teach everyone to stay away from the vices and the wrong types of people. We must remember our actions are highly influenced by the people around us. If the people we associate with carry out bad and careless deeds that contradict our vartmaans given by the Lord, we must break away from them or else we too will become like them. It is imperative in this day and age that the disciples of Lord Swaminarayan continue to live by the values taught by our religion.