Who is Swaminarayan? And the “Swaminarayan” mantra.

Swaminarayan is Purushottam Narayan Himself. All the Vedas sing his praises. He is the “Avatari” of all avatars.

Refer: Divine Darshan in many forms and manifestations

Swaminarayan is a Vedic religion which adopts Vishishtadwait philosophy originated by Ramanujacharya.

The above murti (idol) is Harikrishna Maharaj situated at Vadtal(Gujarat, India), which is the murti in which Lord Swaminarayan resides as He promised.Hence, this murti is Lord Swaminarayan Himself.

“Swaminarayan” mantra refers to “Purushottam Narayan”, that is the Supreme Lord. It has six syllables.

Every religion, every God believing institution/ cult/organization believes in one such supreme entity which governs, who is the origin and cause of everything, who is Supreme and there are no disputes about it.

In Vedas that God is called Narayan. Narayan refers to the eternal God(controller), but with time, it got various prefixes such as Surya-Narayan, Laxmi-Narayan, Nar-Narayan etc which referred various deities and various forms of that Supreme God, and it became designated to those forms instead of Purushottam Narayan.

Hence, Lord Swaminarayan added a prefix to the mantra Narayan as “Swaminarayan“, which redirected to the Purushottam Narayan eternal God, the Supreme God(Avatari) whose avatars incarnate on earth.

Here, Swami refers to the Lord, the owner, the creator and to apply this noun to any other human/demigod/avatar is falsifying and misleading to people. That is why, worshipping a person as a God is strictly unacceptable, no one comes equal to God, let alone being superior to Him.

Hence, various outgrowths from the original Swaminarayan Sect,(mainly BAPS, Sokhda Swaminarayan, SMVS etc. there are more than 30 such divisions in the name of Lord Swaminarayan) differ and falsify the true philosophy of Lord Swaminarayan, which makes these organization invalid and untrustworthy on the philosophical basis. Behind the pomp of the organization, if the philosophy is not upheld, then the purpose is not solved. Therefore it makes the whole sect pointless.*

Therefore, while chanting the “Swaminarayan” mantra one must be conscious in the back of his mind that one is chanting the mantra of the Supreme God, and hence no need to worry about various other mantras of demigods, tamasic demigods or goddess, etc.

While chanting meditate upon the above murti.

He Himself is the root of all avatars, he has explained with utmost perfection and ease the theories of creation, sustenance and destruction of the world, including parallel universes.And to know this, one must go through Vachanamrut daily so to understand Swaminarayan philosophy.

Refer to Swaminarayan Mahamantra.

Accomplishments On Earth

Established ekãntik dharma, and destroyed adharma.
Initiated over 2000 saints, of which 500 were initiated as Paramhansa – He remains on earth through these saints.(His saints are not Gods, they should not be worshipped/meditated as God Himself, None except God can be considered as God.Period.Although, due respect should be given.But, given a choice, choose God.)
Built mandirs, and installed murtis for bhaktas to always have the darshan of Bhagvãn’s murti.
Established two seats of leadership (gãdi), and two ãchãryas to protect and promote the sampradãy.
Revealed the philosophy of the Vedas in simple words through Vachanamrut.
Wrote shãstras, and authenticated ancient shãstras, and shãstras written by His saints.
Summarised the essence of all the shãstras in the Shikshãpatri.
Worked to assist the poor by distributing food and drinking water.
Opened charity-houses for the poor.
Organised food and water aid for people during times of drought.
Stopped the practice of Sati, as it was suicide/murder (some were forced) – human life is only given and taken by Bhagvãn.
Stopped female infanticide.
Encouraged the devotees to educate females, which meant they were able to give discourses about Bhagvãn.
Stopped the sacrifice of animals in yagnas.
Allowed members from all varnas (castes) into the Swãminãrãyan
Sampradãy; He instructed His paramhans to collect alms from all sections of society and appointed people from the lower varnas of society as His personal attendants; He ate along with members of lower varnas. However, taking food from members of lower varnas was not supported by Him.
Dispelled the myth that moksh was not attainable by everyone. He taught mumukshu devotees that the soul is neither male nor female and that everyone is equal in the eyes of Bhagvãn.
Had good relationships with the British Imperial Government, so they gifted Him with land to build a mandir in Amdãvãd.
Maintained good relationships with people of other religions; had followers from other religions(Muslims,Parsis,Jews,Sikhs,Jains); even though some of His attendants were Muslims, they wore a kanthi and followed the panch-vartmãn(the Vows of No meat, no adultery, No intoxication, No stealing, Not to prosetylize)
Gave the Governor of Bombay, Sir John Malcolm, a copy of the Shikshãpatri (is kept in Bodleian Library in Oxford).

The mantra (mahã-mantra) given by Swãminãrãyan Bhagvãn to His bhaktas in when Faneni, after He became head of the sampradãy. Eventually, people began to identify Shreeji Mahãrãj by this mantra and called Him Swãminãrãyan Bhagvãn. The mantra holds power greater than any other mantra.

“Swãminãrãyan” name burns the sins of those who chant it.
Bhagvãn’s names are in many shãstras, but this is considered the greatest
Saying “Swãminãrãyan” once is like saying other names thousands of times
No-one can describe the rewards we receive from saying “Swãminãrãyan”
The mantra is so great, that all your desires are fulfilled by it.
It brings happiness and destroys sorrows, and allows you to attain Akshardhãm
If it is heard at the end of life, even a sinner can attain moksh
Evil spirits run from the mantra
Wisdom awakens after hearing “Swãminãrãyan”
The yamduts(agents of death) fear those who say “Swãminãrãyan”
As water washes the body, “Swãminãrãyan” cleanses the soul

For more information on “Swaminarayan Mantra” watch the following Videos

Swaminarayan Mantrarth Part 1 (Watch)

*NOTE:

This part is added so that people be aware that never on their spiritual journey, they settle down worshipping a human being in the name of God, as a person attains that which is worshipped. Even in the original Sect, there are many loopholes in this matter, but we as seekers need to be cautious. That is why knowledge of scriptures is very important. Do read and pray to God that you understand exactly what He wants to convey and that one day you find a true spiritual guide to help understand His message.