Annual Subscription Rs. 60 February 2010 DISTINGUISHED VISITORS TO SWAMINARAYAN AKSHARDHAM, NEW DELHI (L to R): India’s Minister for Urban Development, S. Jaipal Reddy; Chairman of UNESCO’s Executive Board, Shri Olabiyi Yai; and India’s Minister for External Affairs, Shri Shashi Tharoor. Their opinions noted in the Visitors’ Book, together with those of other notable visitors, are given below. I have been overwhelmed by the mag- What an astonishing privilege it has tion to God. nificent aesthetic achievement that the been for me to make my first visit to Ak- Since Vedic times, Hinduism is temple represents. The modern technolog- shardham! It is a place of great beauty, deeply rooted in the hearts and minds of ical devices and ancient skills have been informative architecture and thoughtful the people of India. I pay my fullest re- combined in a rare measure. In one word, design. Also, the exhibitions and shows spect to Hinduism. it is a marvel created in a modern age. are magnificent creations of our culture, Vice Senior General Maung Aye S. Jaipal Reddy spirituality and humanity. Akshardham is Vice-Chairman of the State Peace and India’s Minister for Urban Development truly a Hindu temple of which every In- Development Council, dian can be proud of. I shall be back Union of Myanmar I was highly impressed by this noble again and again! place of Indian spirituality, more simply, Shashi Tharoor My family was very moved and in- this noble place of universal spirituality. India’s Minister of State for spired by our visit. We all felt the spiri- What has been done and is being done External Affairs tual emphasis on harmony and grace. here gives evidence that hope of a recon- We will never forget it – especially the ciliation of Man with himself, with nature, lesson of iron and wood. with his ancestors and Gods is not lost. I am very pleased to observe the Timothy Roemer, I wish that this work and the spirit magnificent Akshardham – a Hindu United States of America US Ambassador to India that lives here are known better and may Temple complex – the centre of which become more widespread. is a monument to Bhagwan Swami- Olabiyi Yai narayan. It is interesting to learn the in- Chairman, Executive Board, UNESCO, cidents from his life, portraying messages Ambassador of Benin to UNESCO of peace, harmony, humility and devo- February 2010, Vol. 33 No. 2 CONTENTS FIRST WORD
4 Guru Parampara A recent study revealed that the number of Bhagatji Maharaj and the words our eyes and ears receive is 2.3 words Akshar-Purushottam Upasana per second, or about 100,000 words a day! It is Proclaiming Shriji Maharaj’s philosophy... astonishing, but it is true. With all the increasing 7 Guru time we spend on our mobile phone, computer Guru-Shishya Relationship in BAPS Extracts from a PhD thesis... and net, and other activities, we are exposed to 34 gigabytes of information each day. Our 9 Guru The Guru Leads One to God... info age is overwhelming and flooding us. The Devotees inspired by alarming repercussion of this is the massive Pramukh Swami Maharaj... negative impact on our lives. Our attention spans 19 Philosophy – Swaminarayan Vedant have decreased. The tendency to think creatively The Chãndogya Upanishad: and feel deeply have taken a toll. The overdose Simple Conversations on has made us stressful, irritable and less connected Highly Spiritual Matters, Part 1 Acquiring brahmavidya... with our innerselves. Whatever we accomplish is sometimes superficial and personally unsatisfying. 23 BAPS News Aksharbrahman Gunatitanand Relationships turn sour rapidly because of our Swami Diksha Bicentenary growing impatience and intolerance. The over Celebration, Dabhan, Gujarat exposure also saturates our mind and disables us