 A few of the questions in this Pre-Test Paper will be asked in the Final Examination to be held on Sunday, 5 March 2017. Use the latest editions of the exam books.

BOCHASANWASI SHRI AKSHAR PURUSHOTTAM SANSTHA SATSANG EXAMINATIONS PRE-TEST: SATSANG PRAVESH : PAPER - 1

JANUARY 2017 Time: 9.00 to 11.15 a.m. Total Marks: 75

For Question Marks Moderation No. Dept. (Marks) Obtained 1 (9) 2 (6) 3 (5) 4 (5) 5 (4) For absent examinees, please return this sheet only. 6 (4) ☞ Please do not damage in any way the ‘bar code’ printed above. Section-1, Total Marks (33)

☞ Compulsory: To be filled by Examinee only ☞ For Question Marks Moderation No. Answer books without the signature of the Class Dept. (Marks) Obtained Supervisor will not be considered valid. 7 (9) D D M M Y Y Y Y Birthdate of Examinee 8 (4) 9 (5) Education of Examinee ...... 10 (4) Class Supervisor should only sign after checking the printed personal details and the compulsory written details above. 11 (6)

Signature of Class Supervisor ...... 12 (4)

☞Please follow the instructions written on the back side. Section-2, Total Marks (32) Cut only this front page with the 'bar code' from answer book and return form A B.

For Question Marks Moderation No. Obtained Paper Checker's Signature ...... Dept. (Marks) Paper Checker's Note: Section-3, Total Marks 13 (10)

‹˘ÕflıÂfi ω¤Î√ ‹ÎÀı … √HÎ ±Î_¿Õ΋Î_ ÂOÿ˘‹Î_ ...... «ı¿flfi_ fi΋  Only for absent examinees: - 2 -

☞ Important Instructions For Satsang Exam Students ☞

1. Students can appear for the Satsang Exams from Prarambh to Pragna - 3 after passing each exam. 2. Satsang exam is only valid for use by the candidate identified on the top sheet, and only at the designated center, in the specified medium (Gujarati, Hindi, English) and for the exam level (e.g. Prarambha, Pravesh, Parichay, etc.) indicated. Any difference will not be allowed and considered as disqualify. 3. The medium (Gujarati, English, Hindi) and the exam level in which candidates take the Pre-Test will be the medium in which they must take the Final Exam. Answer books bearing details of candidates different from the Final List will not be accepted for marking. 4. On the day of the Final Satsang Examinations, all examinees should obtain the signature of the class supervisor on the top sheet of answer book bearing their own personal details only. Answer books without the signature of the Class Supervisor will not be accepted for marking. 5. Write your answers with either a blue or black pen only. Answers written in pencil, or with a red, green or any other coloured pen will not be considered valid. Answers written in more than one coloured ink will not be considered valid. 6. Follow the instructions while answering. Answers crossed out will not be considered valid. Answers will not be considered valid if they are not written in legible handwriting. Please write clearly and legibly. Answer papers with more than one type of handwriting will not be accepted and considered as disqualify. 7. Examinations taken at unauthorized locations or in which the exam rules have been violated will not be considered valid. 8. Without the prior permission of the Satsang Exam Division in , answer papers written by substitute writers in place of the original candidate will not be accepted for marking. 9. Candidates who wish to change the center at which they will sit the Final Exam must inform and take prior permission of the Satsang Exam Division in India. Otherwise there answer sheet not be accepted for marking. 10. Candidates who have registered for both papers of Satsang Pragna Exam and candidates sitting the Satsang Pravesh, Parichay and Pravin exams should give both papers. Presence in only one paper will not be accepted for marking. 11. In the Final Examination answers written on extra pages will not be accepted for marking. 12. Candidates will not be allowed to keep any electronic items, such as, mobile phones, tablets, laptops, etc. in the examination room. 13. Before filling the Application Form for the Pragna Exam, Please note the following points: ● Students according to their choice can appear for both the Question Papers in the same year or appear for the 1st paper in the first and the 2nd paper in the following year for any of the Pragna Exams. One can only appear for the 2nd Paper after passing the 1st Paper. Candidates opting to sit only one of the two papers for any of the Pragna examinations must score 45 Marks to pass. ● Student should make his/her choice while registration. Pragna candidate can choice first paper or Both papers. Select the first paper if the student wishes to appear for the first paper and if he/she wishes to appear for both papers select both papers. Candidates who have registered for both papers of Satsang Pragna Exam should give both papers. Presence in only one paper will considered as disqualify. Candidates who appear for both papers in the same year must score a combined minimum of 90 Marks to pass. ● After passing the 1st paper, one can postpone appearing for the 2nd paper for a maximum of 1 Year. ● If two students are eligible for a prize then the one who has appeared for both exams together will be rewarded with 10% marks and thus become a candidate for the prize. ● Note : Now all students who have passed the India Pravin Exams can appear for the Pragna - 1 Exam. 14. No valid registration!!! No result. - 3 -

SECTION 1: NILKANTH CHARITRA - 6th Edition, December 2010 Q.1. In the sentences below, state who is speaking to whom and when. [9] 1. “I may retain my vow of naishtik brahmacharya.” Who is speaking? ...... To whom? ...... When? ...... 2. “Where is that ascetic with whom you were talking?” 3. “You recite the Ramayan, but why don’t you follow dharma?” Q.2. Give reasons for the following (two to three lines each). [6] 1. The bear will attain Akshardham...... 2. Bawas in Butolnagar became extremely jealous. 3. The telangi Brahmin’s whole body turned black and ugly. Q.3. Write short notes on any ONE of the following. (In 15 lines.) [5] 1. Meeting Ramanand . 2. Destruction of ghosts and deliverance of yogis. 3. The glory of Nilkanth......

...... - 4 -

Q.4. Answer ALL of the following, using one sentence (not just one word) for each answer. [5] 1. Who was the successor of the gadi of Ramanujacharya? ...... 2. Whom did Nilkanth Varni see before him when he opened his eyes from meditation? 3. What did Amichand say to Nilkanth Varni on hearing about the future? 4. Which questions did Nilkanth Varni ask in every pilgrim place, ashram and religion he visited? 5. Who told King Satradharma about the greatness of Nilkanth Varni? Q.5. From the given options, place a tick (✔) in the box next to the correct ones. [4] Note: One or more of the options may be correct. Full marks will be awarded only if all the correct options are chosen, otherwise no marks will be awarded. 1. Uplift of nine hundred thousand yogis. (1) Kept Nilkanth Varni with them for three days. (2) ‘Please do not leave me.’ (3) Stayed for two days. (4) ‘Your does not disappear from our hearts.’ 2. Nilkanth Varni meeting Gopal Yogi. (1) From the worldly viewpoint, I am the son of a Vanik. (2) “Bhagwan! You kept me waiting for a long time.” (3) ‘I have propitiated Lakshminarayan.’ (4) “My mind has never been drawn to anyone.” Q.6. Fill in the blanks. [4] 1. For ...... months Nilkanth Varni perceived the devotion and deception of the ...... of mandir. 2. Sage ...... used to sit on a high seat, while Bhagwan ...... sat down beside him. 3. Mulji Sharma had offered respects to Sahajanand Swami by performing ...... and donating ...... 4. In ...... , Nilkanth Varni asked Nanibai to first bring ...... SECTION 2: SATSANG READER 1 - 6th Edition, April 2011 Q.7. In the sentences below, state who is speaking to whom and when. [9] 1. “You’re still here talking?” Who is speaking? ...... To whom? ...... When? ...... 2. “He is God, the very form of Parabrahman.” 3. “The Brahmin from Dabhan wants to become a sadhu.” Q.8. Give reasons for the following (two to three lines each). [4] 1. Shriji Maharaj himself lifted Jhinabhai’s bier...... - 5 -

...... 2. Shriji Maharaj appeared before Nirgundas Swami seated on his Manki. Q. 9. Write short notes on ‘Nirgun Swami’s interest and involvement in devotees’ lives’ (In 15 lines). [5] ...... Q.10. Answer ALL of the following, using one sentence (not just one word) for each answer. [4] 1. Why did Ashabhai obey Swamishri’s wish not to go to Chhota Udepur? ...... 2. Write the name of Joban Pagi’s brother. 3. When did pass away to Akshardham? (samvat, month, tithi) 4. Pleased by Dalpatram’s poetic skills, what did Devanand Swami use to say? Q.11 Select the SIX correct sentences from below and write them in the correct story sequence in the boxes. [6] Topic: Ladudanji’s four wishes 1. The body appears charming because of the deeds done. 2. The Rao of Jamnagar rewarded Ladudanji handsomely and conferred on him the titles of Rajkaviratna, Pingal-vidyacharya, Mahamahopadhyaya, Mahakavishvar and others. 3. ‘The Kathis believe him to be God.’ 4. The poet’s mother, Laduba and father, Shambhudanji agreed with the Maharaja’s idea. 5. Ladudanji decided to test Swaminarayan with four wishes. 6. Ladudanji had earned the respect and pleasure of Abhayanandji. 7. The poet saw a distinctive tilak mark and a large round chandlo of vermilion on the goldsmith’s forehead at the royal court in Bhavnagar. 8. Ladudanji bade the Rao of Jamnagar farewell, forever remembering his debt. 9. ‘I have a dilemma that you have to solve.’ 10. The young poet Devidanji began to recite several poems he had created himself. 11. Ladudanji’s heart swelled with joy, he spontaneously composed and sang a kirtan, ‘Dhanya ajni ghadi re…’ 12. Let him be reading from the Bhagavat wrapped in a black cloth. Write the correct Note: (1) 3 marks will be awarded in the (1) correct sentence number only if all the sentence numbers six sentence numbers are correct and (2) Correct sequence (2) 3 marks will be awarded only if all the of sentence sequence of sentence numbers is cor- rect. Otherwise no marks will be given. - 6 - Q.12.Rewrite the incorrect sentences below in relation to the sentence heading. [4] Note: Marks will be awarded only if a completely correct sentence is written. Otherwise no marks will be awarded. Example: Swami Yagnapriyadasji: While wandering on the farm, Motibhai’s son, Jethabhai, was bit by a scorpion and Jethabhai soon passed away. Then he came with Shriji Maharaj and said “Narayan” to Motibhai. Ans. Swami Yagnapriyadasji: While working in the pasture, Ashabhai’s son, Desaibhai, was bit by a snake and Desaibhai soon passed away. Then he came with Bhagatji Maharaj and said “Jai Swaminarayan” to Ashabhai. 1. Bhaktaraj Joban Pagi: In the afternoon, as the village awakened, sadhus began coming to Khodabhai’s house for Maharaj’s darshan. “Maharaj is asleep because he is ill,” he told them, not knowing that Maharaj had really gone. One hour before he checked the room. Maharaj’s bed was empty and he could not be found anywhere. A...... 2. Bhaktaraj Jivuba: Raibai happened to have a metal pot and some extra clothes with her. Thinking quickly, she had Ladudanji dress as a princess and gave him her clothes to complete the costume. Amongst a group of similarly dressed women, Ladudanji entered the Gadhada, unnoticed. 3. Bhaktaraj Shri Jhinabhai Darbar: Jhinabhai had a great disliking for life. Though being born and brought up admist the luxury of a rajwadi family, he had a deep liking for material pleasures. In fact, he saw nothing other than misery even in the worst of sense pleasures. 4. Sadguru Devanand Swami: Born in Barwala, near Pahelarpur, on Magshari amas, Samvat 1759, his mother name was Laluba. SECTION 3: ESSAY Q.13. Write an essay on any ONE of the following. (In approximately 30 lines.) [10] 1. Divine resolution of building grand mandir in Sarangpur: Shri Hari and Shastriji Maharaj. (Swaminarayan Prakash (Gujarati) June 2016, pp. 10 to 11) 2. Unforgettable golden memories from ’s divine life. (Swaminarayan Prakash (Gujarati) September-October 2016, pp. 18 to 27) 3. Unique gift from Pramukh Swami Maharaj: His Divine Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj. (Swaminarayan Prakash (Gujarati) September-October 2016, pp. 160 to 162) ( ) ...... ☞ Matter of above three essays are shown in the following pages ...... (One essay from the list of essays will be asked in the Final Examination ...... of March-2017.) ...... ✼ ✼ ✼ ☞ Important Note: Past Papers and their solutions can be downloaded and printed free from the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha’s website - link : http://www.baps.org/Satsang-Exams.aspx Pravesh

Essay 1: Divine resolution of building grand mandir in Sarangpur: Shri Hari and Shastriji Maharaj.

I. Paragraph 1: A. Bhagwan Swaminarayan was staying in Sarangpur at the time. After bidding farewell to the villagers by riding a horse to the outskirts of the village, Maharaj was about to send the horse back when it started to behave wildly. Even the horse keepers weren’t able to bring it under control. B. Shriji Maharaj pulled the whips back and the horse started to run ahead at lightning speed. Everybody was shocked by the horse’s abilities. Shriji Maharaj used his expertise and bowed his head down into stance, proceeding that he took the horse to gallop in an open area. C. Everybody astoundingly watched Maharaj and the horse galloping. Shriji Maharaj was able to control the horse completely. After galloping 5 laps the horse started to calm down and behaved with normally again. Following that, Shriji Maharaj stepped off of the horse. D. JivaKhachar, a resident of Sarangpur asked, what happened in this short span of time? Shriji Maharaj said with laughter, that the horse had become wild so he threw him into the arena to control his wild behavior. Shriji Maharaj then proceeded to hint that where the horse galloped, would be the site of a divine Mandir. “I have just completed the groundbreaking ceremony of the Mandir, and I will come with my Aksharmuktas to this mandir.” E. This desire was very divine and confirmed. Because of this reasoning Shriji Maharaj had completed the groundbreaking ceremony with such assurance. Today, at that very site stands a divine Mandir.

II. The divine desire resurfaced: A. It was around the time of 1902-1903 when Shastriji Maharaj, in his young age, was giving seva as a head of KashtabhanjandevMandir. He was serving as the mahant of the Mandir. Every day he took a bath at the holy site of Narayan Kund. While he strolled the land every day he used to inspect it very carefully. He then went on to say that he visualized a three shikharmandir on top of this land. B. One day, while he was going to bathe in a holy site with Motibhai from Anand, he told him that Maharaj had already presented a desire that a Mandir would be built here after throwing the horse in the arena to mark his wishes. Shastriji Maharaj said that because of this marking there would definitely be a mandir built here. BochasanMandir hadn’t even been completed yet. By hearing the words of Shastriji Maharaj he was astounded. C. After Bathing at the holy site, he requested Motibhai to compose a kirtan based on the desire of building a mandir in sarangpur. Moti Bhai thought to himself, there is no tangible mandir that has been built yet, how will I compose a kirtan based on an ideal? Shastriji Maharaj divinely glanced at Motibhai diminishing all of his doubts. At the same time, Shastriji instilled a vision of the ideal shikarbadhmandir for self-realization purposes. Motibhai felt as if he was hypnotized by this vision and wasn’t able to differentiate between illusion or reality, He then composed the kirtan“Shri Sarangpur niShobhaati Sari Joi AlaukikAdhbuddhaDhamAvikari…” D. Swami has the ability to foreshadow the future. Though others weren’t able to see that far into the vision, Shastriji Maharaj was confident in the wishes of Maharaj and his vision of the mandir.

Essay 2: Unforgettable golden memories from Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s divine life.

Bliss Article: Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s Divine Life: A Brief Timeline

I. Introduction: A. Great beings such as Pramukh Swami Maharaj manifest on this earth to liberate countless souls. He was the fifth successor of Bhagwan Swaminarayan and spent his whole life in the selfless service of others. He travelled across the world through numerous countries, wrote thousands of letters, built over 1,100 mandirs, and counseled the lives of thousands. The incidents portrayed in the article will reflect on glimpses of the many divine memories throughout the 95 years of his life.

II. Bliss Article: A. Please refer to the Bliss Article (September-October 2016) for more information and a translated version of this essay. It can found on pages 13-21. B. This article will be available soon at the following link: http://www.baps.org/Publications/Magazines/Swaminarayan-Bliss-38.aspx

Essay 3: Unique gift from Pramukh Swami Maharaj: His Divine Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj.

Bliss Article: His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj (Swami Keshavjivandasji)

I. Summary: A. This article gives a brief look into the life of ParamPujyaMahant Swami Maharaj from childhood to present day. In 2012, Pramukh Swami revealed that Mahant Swami would be the spiritual successor, after the earthly departure of Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Mahant Swami was declared as the sixth spiritual head of BAPS. Mahant Swami Maharaj, who is our present guru, has and will continue to carry out the deep rooted traditions of our sanstha.

II. Bliss Article: A. Please refer to the Bliss Article (September-October 2016) for more information and a translated version of some of the tributes. They can be found on pages 144-146. B. This article will be available soon at the following link: http://www.baps.org/Publications/Magazines/Swaminarayan-Bliss-38.aspx