Ahmedabad :- His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj and several dignitaries paid homage to Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s selfless service to millions around the world as tens of thousands gathered to commemorate ‘Seva Day: Celebrating Selfless Service’ at Pramukh Swami Maharaj Nagar on 28 December 2022.
A glimpse into Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s relief work:
Gujarat Drought of 1987Opened cattle camps for 8 to 12 months Saved the lives of more than 10,000 cattle Over 3 months between March and May 1988:
Buttermilk distributed to over 12,757,000 people across 195 towns 223,800 kg of food grains disturbed across 13 districts 31,295,000 kg of hay distributed18,000 kg of sukhadi sweets distributed
Education assistance provided by distributing books and waiving fees at Gondal Gurukul Bhuj Earthquake of 2001
40,000 meals served daily for 45 consecutive days, 1.8 million meals served in disaster-affected areas
Construction and rehabilitation of 15 adopted villages, including a total of 4,190 homes constructed
Re-construction of 49 destroyed schools benefiting more than 15,000 students
Supplies freely distributed to 91,000 disaster-affected victims Relief materials provided to 409 villages2,500 people helped with employment COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020-21 Over 180,000 PPE kits distributed Over 200,000 villagers treated through mobile clinics Over 250 hospitals supported at various levels in India and abroad Over 1,000 hospital beds donated Over 5,000 litres sanitising solution donated Over 3,000,000 people benefited physically, mentally and spiritually from specially created online satsang platforms
Over 256,000 people provided with comfort and guidance through phone calls
Over 11,000 volunteers served at various levels in this relief work
Cryogenic tanks with 132 metric tons of liquid oxygen provided
Oxygen cylinders containing a total of over 7.8 million litres of oxygen distributed
Over 1,300 oxygen concentrators distributed at multiple areas
Evening Assembly
In an assembly of tens of thousands at Pramukh Swami Maharaj Nagar on 28 December, several leaders and dignitaries joined His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj to pay tribute to Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s tireless and selfless services to society around the world. Pramukh Swami personified his own universal teaching, ‘In the joy of others lies our own.’
Adarshjivandas Swami, the biographer of Pramukh Swami Maharaj, narrated episodes from the life of Pramukh Swami Maharaj in his series ‘Pramukh Charitam’. He explained, “The replica of New Delhi’s Akshardham at the heart of the Festival grounds is one of the most well-known Hindu temples in the world. Akshardham New Delhi reflects Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s tremendous design and management skills where the whole complex was completed and gifted to the nation in only five years. Renowned architect Satish Gujral said, ‘I am an artist, an architect and know about construction. This project should take at least fifty years, but seeing it completed in five years seems an impossibility. I am truly stunned.’ World-famous cartoonist R. K. Laxman visited Akshardham and said, ‘By nature, I am very critical and cynical, but there is not a single element in Akshardham which is not perfect.’
“But Pramukh Swami Maharaj was not just focused on Akshardham; at the same time he built many schools, colleges and completely rehabilitated 15 villages with thousands of new homes after the Bhuj earthquake. All this without working from an office or having a fixed residence. To successfully execute multiple projects simultaneously and across countries can only be implemented by an extraordinary person. Constantly creating, constructing and gifting to society is proof that Pramukh Swami really was a ‘master builder’.
“Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s way of life was filled with compassion for others. He dedicated his entire life towards the selfless service of society. Swamishri had immense compassion for every living being and would be deeply saddened by any problems faced by them. His grief for starving and dying cattle was the primary reason for the initiation of the massive cattle camps by BAPS as part of the drought relief work in 1987.”
A video presentation visually depicted Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s selfless, compassionate works both in India and abroad.
Many dignitaries joined His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj to pay tribute to Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s divine and selfless life.
Renowned director and producer Arvind Babbal shared, “In my first encounter with Mahant Swami Maharaj, I felt as in I was in the presence of my father. The loving way he held my hand was such that I did not need to say a single word. It was a profound moment that I will cherish as long as I live. I saw Mahant Swami Maharaj smilingly gently at me, then realised he bestows that loving and gentle smile to everyone. When he smiles at me, I feel as if he has hugged me. I feel I am his. I prostate to everyone who has offered their time, effort and service in creating this Nagar. It has been done through Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s blessings. The way everyone is working is a reflection of Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s impact on them.”
Dr. Afroz Ahmad, Member of the National Green Tribunal of India, said, “I was with the Narmada Control Authority for thirty years, and this was a big challenge for me as there was vehement opposition to allowing Narmada to enter Gujarat. I was stressed as to the outcome because politically and legally there was massive opposition – not just nationally, but internationally. When I came to Gujarat, I was told to meet Pramukh Swami Maharaj. On meeting him, he asked me the status of the project. On being informed that it was pending in the Supreme Court, he blessed me and said that Bhagwan Swaminarayan will take care of everything. I went to Delhi where we won in the Supreme Court. This was just the beginning. Every hurdle we faced was solved through Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s blessings. Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s words have led to the upliftment of society, helping eradicate poverty and further democracy. He blessed me that I would be a judge one day and today I am pleased to state that I have been appointed a judge at the National Green Tribunal.”
P.K. Laheri (IAS), Former Chief Secretary of Government of Gujarat, added, “For over forty years, I have had many opportunities to meet, travel with and learn from Pramukh Swami Maharaj. Words fall short of describing his true greatness. The key thing that touched me from his life was that in all situations, he calmly accepted God’s will and saw himself only as God’s instrument. Pramukh Swami Maharaj had absolutely no attraction towards worldly things, and yet he helped every person who came to him with their worldly concerns or problems because, like the famous verse of Narsinh Mehta’s ‘Vaishnav Jan’, Pramukh Swami Maharaj empathized with the suffering of others. But his heights of spirituality were such that despite fully engaging in solving the problems of the hundreds of thousands of people who came to him, he was ever calm and blissful because he was absorbed in God.
“He devoted himself to accomplishing the Narmada Dam project. He would proactively help in the coordination work and on other fronts. The deaddiction campaigns he inspired were another exemplary social contribution of Pramukh Swami Maharaj. He always looked to uplift others during the course of his entire life.”
Sudhanshu Trivedi, Member of Parliament and Senior National Spokesperson for BJP, said, “What do we gain from serving others? There is a constant give and take in the world. Focusing on how to take more from others engenders negative vibrations. But when we serve others without expectation, we emanate pure, positive vibrations that not only help others, but also purify one’s inner self. Tulsidas has said that the hardest thing to do is serve with the purest intentions, but serving like this was natural for Pramukh Swami Maharaj. I feel that his ideals of service, his pure thoughts and sentiments are still alive. Pramukh Swami Maharaj had immense compassion for all of society, and so he worked his entire life to nurture family unity. His inspiration to countless people led them to live with love with their family, which was not just beneficial for the family but for the prosperity of the nation. Pramukh Swami Maharaj inspired the entire world to imbibe Hindu values and perform selfless service. I’m confident that due to his inspiration, India will rise in the 21st century, not to dominate the world, but to motivate the world.”
Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Member of Parliament and President of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, shared, “Pramukh Swami Maharaj Nagar seems to be a dream constructed by the gods. Thousands of people like me take inspiration from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but today at Pramukh Swami Maharaj Nagar, I have come to the source of inspiration for great leaders like him.
“Some time ago, upon visiting the seminary for the training of swamis in Sarangpur, I realized that BAPS was fostering a revolution of service, virtues and spirituality. Today, I have seen so many successful professionals who are serving here as volunteers. I saw doctors, CEOs, engineers are offering their service, which is an indication of the messages taught by BAPS in India and across the world. I was impressed by their enthusiasm as well as their discipline and commitment. The art of developing civil societies on the foundation of strong values should be learnt from BAPS.”
In his blessings, His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj said, “Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s entire life was dedicated to the service of others. He did not spend a second of his life devoid of service. He even served others mentally. He might appear to be sitting calmly, but his thoughts were always focused on how to serve others and help them progress.
“Pramukh Swami Maharaj served with the purest of intentions. He said, ‘We must not serve with the expectation of public acclaim, but to do concrete work that positively impacts society. We should not limit our service to our own circle, but we must expand it to encompass everyone, such that our entire life is immersed in service.’ In this way, Pramukh Swami Maharaj served society sincerely and without distinction.
“He also taught that we should never denigrate other organizations that are serving society. For example, when many organizations had organized cattle camps during the drought of 1987, Pramukh Swami Maharaj insisted that we should never say that we are the best and others are lesser, but we should understand that everyone is serving according to their own capacity. He taught that instead of engaging in comparison with others, we should continually improve our own service and strive to serve the best we possibly can. However, we should never nurture even the thought that others are lesser than us and we are better.
“Pramukh Swami Maharaj said that we should be happy to bear hardships in service, but we should never try to show something that we are not. Pramukh Swami Maharaj disliked pretence, and in his own life, he served with the sole thought that God may be pleased.
“Pramukh Swami Maharaj saw service as devotion to God and his gurus. This is an element of service that is forgotten. We should serve with the intention to please God, not to gain accolades. Pramukh Swami Maharaj often said, ‘God recognizes our service, so whether others recognize it or not does not matter. We must serve with the firm conviction that God sees our service. We should not just superficially serve to show others. Pramukh Swami Maharaj embodied these ideals of pure and true service, without any thought of public acclaim.”
