Saturday 9 December 2023 | Kartik Vad 12, Samvat 2080

Sat 9 Dec 2023

The final day of the five-day Maninagar Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan North America Convention 2015 event was held at the Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Temple in Streamwood, Illinois, celebrating the fourth anniversary of the temple. Acharya Swamishree and sants performed the patotsav ceremony to the divine idols or Lord Shree Swaminarayanbapa Swamibapa, Shree Hanumanji, and Shree Ganpatiji in the morning. Swamibapa Pipe Band escorted Acharya Swamishree into the temple and performed various unique musical selections throughout the Patotsav celebrations. A grand annkut and cake were prepared for Lord Shree Swaminarayanbapa Swamibapa to celebrate the Patotsav. Acharya Swamishree gave His divine blessings during the event. He stated, “When God or His Satpurush rebuke a person for his inappropriate traits, if he does not take the advice badly and accepts the words of advice, he will progress within the Faith. One should pray, ‘Oh Lord! I am Your child. I have no abilities; You are the provider of strength, intelligence and wisdom. Have mercy and instill divine light into me.’ Just as a mother lovingly lifts up her crying, innocent child and embraces him, the true epitome of divine love, Lord Swaminarayanbapa Swamibapa will grab our arms and lift us to Him, and remove all our pain; but for that, we need to be true, sincere, dedicated and faithful to Him. If we remain humble and obey the commandments of the Lord, He Himself will remain as our protector and guardian, and impart divine bliss.”