Images

Acharya Swamishree, His sants and a large number of devotees departed from Nairobi on the 15th December 2004 and visited the port town of Mombasa.

In Mombasa, Acharya Swamishree accepted the humble requests of the devotees and visited their homes, workplaces and farms.

On 16th December, Acharya Swamishree visited the waterslides with His sants and the devotees. Our Gururaj Swamibapa has taught us never to forget the Lord, even whilst playing. All the devotees continuously chanted the name of our Supreme Lord Swaminarayan and also sang kirtans praising Him, while they had fun at the waterslides.

On 17th December, at the humble request of the resident devotees of Mombassa, Acharya Swamishree presided over the recital of 18 samuh parayans of Bapashree ni Vato. In conclusion to the scripture recitals, Acharya Swamishree showered His blessings upon the entire congregation. In the evening, after the sandhya aarti and prarthna ceremony, the local African acrobats came for Acharya Swamishree’s darshan and entertained everyone with their acrobatic displays. The santos and devotees played samuh raas and finally the santos held some games for the youngsters, such as skipping, musical chairs, tug of war and balloon bursting.

On 18th December, Acharya Swamishree mercifully gave darshan to the Indian Ocean. Everyone joined Acharya Swamishree and swam in the clear warm waters of the ocean. Everyone continuously sang kirtans to please the Lord as they swam.

On 19th December, Acharya Swamishree held a special assembly on the beach. After the discourses, He performed the panchamrut snan to Shree Harikrishna Maharaj. The sants and devotees also took the opportunity of performing abhishek of Acharya Swamishree with the five nectars. Acharya Swamishree then sprayed the consecrated coloured water over everyone present whilst the devotees danced and sang devotional songs and recited the supreme, divine mahamantra.

From 20th to 22nd December 2004, Acharya Swamishree performed 14 scripture recitals of Bapashree ni Vato. In conclusion to the recital ceremony, Acharya Swamishree blessed the congregation with His divine ashirwad, in which He said;

• The greatness of the supreme Lord Swaminarayan is infinite. Therefore it is difficult to fully comprehend His greatness. This greatness cannot be understood merely from studying the scriptures. Even by His grace, when the Lord explains His greatness, it is still difficult to fully comprehend.

• Human nature is such that one is lured into becoming entangled into worldly affairs and consequently forgets the Lord. You must relinquish human attributes within you and instead become Purshottam-roop. Once this great status has been attained, the Lord will be recalled within all of one’s actions. Those with such a status live a peaceful and happy life and remain closely attached to the Lord. These disciples have a complete faith in Him. Only such devotees understand the greatness of the supreme Lord Swaminarayanbapa Swamibapa.

• You should become a sincere devotee of this supreme Lord and strictly follow His commands as described in the Shikshapatri. You should never doubt the deeds of the Lord. At times it may seem as if something bad has happened, but this is because you judge the action from a worldly point of view. Someone who has total faith in the Lord will believe that whatever the Lord does, it is always for the best. This is the kind of understanding that you all must develop and nurture.