Service as Spiritual Practice in the BAPS Swaminarayan Tradition

Abstract 

From its inception over two centuries ago, the Swaminarayan Sampradaya has emphasized the interdependence of spirituality and service. BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha’s engagement in humanitarian services is a 200-year-old theological position established by Bhagwan Swaminarayan to help his followers attain their soteriological goal of ultimate liberation. Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s own compassionate service to the needy, coupled with his teaching that service according to God’s command is liberating, has established a devotional foundation for humanitarian service in this Hindu tradition. Moreover, Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s scriptural injunctions to serve the needy also motivate devotees’ service efforts. For devotees, these injunctions make humanitarian service equivalent to service to God, which is seen as a type of devotion that can lead to liberation. In BAPS today, followers translate their desire to do service into various humanitarian projects, some of which are continuations of long-standing sites of Swaminarayan volunteer work and others of which are a reflection of needs arising in contemporary times.

Many ask, “How can you mix spirituality and social service?”

We ask, “How can you separate the two?”

Those who wish to sincerely serve society must be spiritually pure and only those who are spiritually pure can sincerely serve society. (http://www.swaminarayan.org/introduction/index.htm)

Introduction 

From its inception over two centuries ago, the Swaminarayan Sampradaya has emphasized the interdependence of spirituality and service,1 countering some of the colonial renderings and critiques of Hindu traditions as world-negating and disengaged from mundane affairs. For the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a Hindu denomination2 established in 1907 as an independent branch of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, there is an unambiguous complementarity of spirituality and service which it states on the introduction page of its website, as shared above.

The founder of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, Bhagwan Swaminarayan, taught and practiced an interpretation of Hinduism that harmonized the principles of spiritual realization with the practice of service to God, God’s devotees, and society. His spiritual successors continued his commitment to service, contributing to a rich history of service that stands as a backdrop to the 160 different humanitarian activities BAPS engages in today as a part of its members’ spiritual practice. As BAPS service efforts have gained prominence in the public eye for their organization and efficiency, a few scholars have raised questions about the motivations a purportedly conservative Hindu group might have for engaging in humanitarian service (Simpson, 2004; Zavos, 2011). Such analyses have typically privileged a narrow secular liberal perspective in drawing conclusions and ignored important aspects of BAPS’s history and theology regarding its stated and practiced spiritual motivations for service. An important corrective to these views requires attention to the religious subjectivities that motivate BAPS’s service. This essay presents a first step toward illuminating the spiritual tenets that motivate the BAPS community to engage in the ongoing practice of humanitarian service.

The essay begins with a brief history of Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s establishment of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya and its theology. It will become evident that BAPS’s orientation towards humanitarian services is not a recent development motivated by social or political ends but a 200-year-old theological position established by Bhagwan Swaminarayan to help his followers attain their soteriological goal of ultimate liberation. In order to understand the devotional foundations of service, we will first look at the personal example and teachings of Bhagwan Swaminarayan and his singular role in inspiring followers to engage in humanitarian service. This will be followed by a closer analysis of why followers wish to follow the model of Bhagwan Swaminarayan. Then, we will look at the range of ways in which followers translate their desire to do service into humanitarian projects, some of which are continuations of long-standing sites of Swaminarayan volunteer work and others of which are a reflection of needs arising in contemporary times.

The Swaminarayan Sampradaya: a Brief History

The founder of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya was born as Ghanshyam Pande in what is now Uttar Pradesh, on April 3, 1781. Accounts of his childhood indicate prodigious intelligence, extraordinary spiritual insight, and a deep study of Hindu scriptures. These accounts describe how at the age of eleven, he left home and adopted the lifestyle of a world-renouncing ascetic as he traveled through the Himalayas under the name Nilkanth. Over the next 7 years, he performed intense austerities, practiced ashtanga yoga (eight-fold path of yoga), and visited many places of pilgrimage that took him on a 7000-mile journey around the subcontinent. He ended his travels when he met Ramanand Swami, a Vaishnava guru in Gujarat, under whom he accepted initiation into the monastic order and the name Sahajanand Swami. Ramanand Swami appointed 21-year-old Sahajanand Swami the head of a fellowship that included at least fifty swamis and several thousand lay followers. Soon, the fellowship became known as the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, and Sahajanand Swami himself became known as Bhagwan Swaminarayan after the “Swaminarayan” mantra he instructed people to chant (Dave, 1974: 40–84; Mukundcharandas, 2007b: xviii-xxix).

Over the next 28 years, the Swaminarayan Sampradaya grew to become a major Hindu denomination in Western India. During this time, Bhagwan Swaminarayan initiated over 3000 swamis and hundreds of thousands of lay followers, built six major temples, inspired the creation of a large corpus of spiritual literature, and established a robust religious institution with administrative and spiritual successors (Williams, 2001: 5–68). Theologically, he defined the soteriological goal, or ultimate liberation, as realizing one’s true self as the pure atman, or soul, and remaining forever engaged in the loving service of Purushottam, or God (Swaminarayan [1831]1995: 58–59). To attain this blissful spiritual state, he emphasized moral living and the practice of bhakti, or devotional service, to a personal manifest God, Purushottam, and God’s ideal devotee, the ontological entity, Akshar (Swaminarayan [1831] 2001: 356–357). A broad swath of the local populace adopted his spiritual teachings, and both Swaminarayan and British accounts describe his influence as morally and spiritually transformational among many communities in early nineteenth-century Gujarat (Briggs, 1849: 235–243; Mukundcharandas, 2005). Furthermore, as G.N. Joshi notes, unlike his contemporary, Ram Mohan Roy (1772–1833), the changes Bhagwan Swaminarayan inspired were not reforms to Hinduism spurred by western-influenced critiques, but his own interpretations of the ancient traditions that were “purely of Hindu character being completely uninfluenced by the western ideas and modern ways of life and thought” (Joshi, 1981 cited in Sharma, 2007).

Several institutional schisms arose in the century following his passing in 1830, leading to a number of sub-denominations within the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. Today, one of the largest and most dynamic of these denominations is the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, often referred to as the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha or simply BAPS (pronounced as an acronym “B.A.P.S.” rather than a word). BAPS is recognized as one of the fastest-growing religious movements in India (Williams, 2001: 64). According to its interpretation of Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s teachings, BAPS recognizes a lineage of spiritual successors to Bhagwan Swaminarayan, starting with Gunatitanand Swami (1785–1867), followed by Bhagatji Maharaj (1829–1897) and its founder Shastriji Maharaj (1865–1951), who was succeeded by Yogiji Maharaj (1892–1971) and Pramukh Swami Maharaj (1921–2016). Currently, BAPS is led by Mahant Swami Maharaj (b.1933).

BAPS is widely known in the West for its prominent temple complexes in the metropolitan areas of major cities such as London, Toronto, Atlanta, Houston, Chicago, and Los Angeles, as well as the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple complexes in New Delhi, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, and Robbinsville, New Jersey. BAPS has also become known as one of the major Hindu denominations engaged in large-scale organized humanitarian service around the world (Marshall & Van Saanen, 2007: 252; Paranjape, 2005: 129–132).

Two Centuries of Service as Spiritual Endeavor

BAPS’s humanitarian service work, while extensive, has not been unanimously well received in academic circles. Some scholars have questioned BAPS’s motivations, suggesting non-progressive ideals and less than selfless desires. For example, the 2001 earthquake relief efforts in Gujarat have been characterized as motivated by and promoting Hindu fundamentalist ideologies (Simpson, 2004). While this particular account has been contested due to its serious ethnographic errors (Mangalnidhidas, 2009), others have attributed BAPS’s social service to western influences or an attempt to generate social capital (Zavos, 2011). However, there appears little in the scholarly literature examining BAPS’s commitment to social service that considers the connection of its spiritual principles to its long history of service. Attention to BAPS’s history and theology will provide a more robust picture of its motivations for service.

While widespread recognition of BAPS’s humanitarian service may be fairly recent, the tradition’s commitment to service as a part of Hindu spirituality spans two centuries and is embodied in the lives of its founder, Bhagwan Swaminarayan, and his spiritual successors. Understanding the relationship between Bhagwan Swaminarayan, the lineage of successors, and the devotees will illuminate the devotional centrality of service that characterizes the BAPS community.

Service as Part of Spirituality: In Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s Life

Hindu traditions have sometimes been characterized as disengaged from the world, even to the point of being “world-negating” (Berry, 1996: 7–9). While not characteristic of all Hindu traditions, there is a stream of thought called nivrutti marg, the path of contemplative inaction, which emphasizes contemplation of the atman, or true self, and God, and promotes disregard for the physical body and related worldly endeavors. Some adherents of this path see it as the only sure way to transcend the bondage of karmas and thus attain liberation. The path of nivrutti is typified by the renouncer tradition within Hinduism, where one renounces the world, removes oneself from society, and engages in solitary spiritual pursuits. This approach typically stands in contrast to the path of action, or pravrutti marg, which emphasizes a lifestyle actively engaged in the affairs of the world, fulfilling one’s dharma, or one’s duty according to one’s obligations, social position, age, and gender. Critics of the path of action charge that karma, or actions, even good ones, lead to bondage and impede liberation. Critics of the path of inaction counter that complete inaction is impossible, and to exist on this earth necessitates karma, leading to bondage for all; moreover, adherence to the path of inaction prevents one from accruing any of the positive karma obtained through the good works done by those following the path of action. This tension between the nivrutti path of the renouncer tradition and the pravrutti path of the householder tradition can be seen throughout much of the history of Hinduism (Flood, 1996: 75–90).

Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s efforts to harmonize this tension can be seen through his life and teachings. He taught that both paths lead to liberation when approached with devotion to God. For himself and his swamis, he adopted and emphasized the need for a disciplined nivrutti lifestyle while also being fully engaged in the actions of service to God and society as a part of devotional practice.

In the Vachanamrut, a collection of Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s discourses that serves as the primary theological text of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, Bhagwan Swaminarayan describes his adoption of the ascetic nivrutti path in his teenage years as a wandering yogi: “During the winter, summer and monsoon, I stayed without any shelter whatsoever, wearing only a loincloth… I spent many months surviving merely on air” ([1831] 2001: 49–51, Gadhada I 29). Along with his ascetic lifestyle, his mental inclination was also towards the path of nivrutti, not just as a youth, but even after becoming the head of the fellowship. He explains this in Vachanamrut Gadhada III 13:

The natural inclination of my mind is such that I do not at all prefer to live in cities, in mansions or in royal palaces. On the contrary, I very much prefer to stay where there are forests, mountains, rivers, trees, or in some secluded place. I feel that it would be nice to sit alone in some secluded place and meditate upon God. This is what I prefer at all times. In fact, before I had had the darshan of Ramanand Swami, I had already decided with Muktanand Swami, “After you arrange for me to have the darshan of Ramanand Swami, the two of us will retire to the forest and constantly engage ourselves in the meditation of God, and never shall we return to stay amongst people.” Such was the resolution of my mind then; even now, I feel exactly the same. ([1831] 2001: 603-604)

However, even as a traveling teenage yogi, with his intense disengagement from worldly affairs, disregard for even his own body, and absorption in meditation and yoga, Bhagwan Swaminarayan still remained just as intensely engaged in service, even to total strangers. One of the most well-known examples of his service in this period, later recounted by Bhagwan Swaminarayan and recorded in Vachanamrut Gadhada I 10, was his two-month nursing back to health of an itinerant preacher, Sevakram, whom he had encountered in a secluded forest during his travels in southern India. Bhagwan Swaminarayan describes Sevakram’s situation and his response:

[S]ince he [Sevakram] had no one to nurse him, he began to cry. I consoled him, saying, “Do not worry about anything; I shall serve you…” Because that sadhu had become extremely ill and was unable to walk any further, I felt extreme pity for him. I prepared a bed of banana leaves one-and-a-half feet high under that banyan tree. As the sadhu was suffering from dysentery and was passing blood, I would wash him and attend to him. The sadhu would give me enough of his money to buy sugar… ghee and grains for himself. I would bring the ingredients, cook them, and then feed him. As for myself, I would go to the village [to beg for alms] for my meals. On some days, when I did not receive any food from the village, I had to fast…. After serving the sadhu for two months in this way, he began to recover. ( [1831] 2001: 9-10)

After Sevakram recovered enough to begin traveling, Bhagwan Swaminarayan continued to assist him, stating, “In actual fact, my nature was such that I would not keep even a handkerchief with me, but… I walked carrying his belongings weighing 20 kg” ([1831] 2001: 10). This account, with its stark contrast between Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s detached attitude towards his own meals, possessions, and personal comforts, and his meticulous care to the needs of the suffering preacher, is illustrative of his disengagement from worldly effects for his own sake, and his engagement in worldly affairs in the service of the needy. Within the Swaminarayan tradition, this incident is remembered as emblematic of the numerous occasions where Bhagwan Swaminarayan personally served those in need.

Another example that illustrates the centrality of Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s service to others is when he arrived in Ramanand Swami’s monastery in 1799. There he served its residents, begging for alms, cooking for the swamis, collecting dung for fuel, and washing the clothes of ill swamis (Dave, 1974: 69). His commitment to service continued in his later life when, during the famine of 1812–1813, he traveled around the region providing assistance to those suffering from want of food (Dave, 2009: 239–273).3 These few examples are indicative of a vast recorded history of Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s personal engagement in service.

Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s personal commitment to service was likely an important factor in his success in inspiring his swamis and devotees to engage in humanitarian service activities. In a time when starvation was not uncommon among the poor, Bhagwan Swaminarayan ran free food distribution centers in eighteen villages (BAPS, 2005b: 1286). In these centers, he directed his swamis to beg for alms and distribute food to the needy. He also encouraged devotees to donate to these food distribution centers (Rugnathcharandas [1925] 2000:118). Many devotees responded by donating a portion of their own grain stock, while some donated everything they had (Rugnathcharandas [1925] 2000:149). Bhagwan Swaminarayan also engaged his ascetic followers and lay devotees in digging wells and ponds to allay the chronic water shortages that often affected the villages of Gujarat. In places like Mangrol and Vartal, together with his monastic and lay followers, he engaged in the physical labor of digging wells and ponds for the use of the entire village (Achintyanand[, 1864] 2001: 255–258), teaching them that “to labor for the good of others is also devotion” (Adharanand, [1862] 1995: 205).

Bhagwan Swaminarayan had not rejected the path of renunciation and contemplative inaction (nivrutti) traditionally enjoined for the ascetic life. In fact, he directed his swamis to uphold the vows of the nivrutti path, having them completely abstain from keeping personal wealth or even touching money, and follow the eight-fold path of brahmacharya, or celibacy, including eschewing contact with women. But while observing the vows of the nivrutti path, Bhagwan Swaminarayan encouraged swamis to engage in pravrutti, or action, in the form of service to God and his devotees. He stated:

[T]he renunciant who has adopted nivrutti dharma but also offers bhakti [devotion] to God should vigilantly adopt the path of pravrutti related to God and His devotees while staying within the [vows] prescribed by God. In fact, adopting the path of pravrutti in order to serve God and His devotees is the very definition of bhakti [devotion]. ([1831] 2001: 558, Vachanamrut Vartal 17)

He further asserted that compared to the renunciant who adopted the path of absolute nivrutti, the renunciant who “engages in pravrutti for the purpose of being able to serve God and His devotees… is far superior, and it is he who earns the grace of God” ([1831] 2001: 558–559).

Thus, Bhagwan Swaminarayan encouraged his swamis to remain engaged in service within society where they might help people, while also observing the stringent religious vows of the path of nivrutti which insulated them from worldly temptations and allowed them to focus on God, which is the goal of the nivrutti path. In this manner, Bhagwan Swaminarayan redefined the role of the swami, emphasizing the importance of service in the spiritual path and deeming service to be synonymous with bhakti, or devotion. In this, Bhagwan Swaminarayan preceded Swami Vivekananda and the Ramakrishna movement by almost a century. In fact, some scholars have raised the possibility that Swami Vivekananda’s exposure to the practice of service by Swaminarayan swamis influenced him to adopt similar ideas in the Ramakrishna movement (Beckerlegge, 2006: 189–192).

Service as Part of Spirituality: Examining Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s Motivations

What motivated Bhagwan Swaminarayan, so inclined towards the path of contemplative inaction, to engage himself and his swamis so wholeheartedly in the worldly aspects of improving the welfare of others? A comprehensive answer would be too large for this essay, but it appears at least partly to be a mix of his own inherent compassion, a pragmatic understanding of the prerequisites needed to fulfill his spiritual mission, and his particular interpretation of the concepts of nivrutti and pravrutti and their relation to service as an important element of spiritual practice.

Compassion

In Vachanamrut Gadhada II 60, Bhagwan Swaminarayan states ([1831] 2001: 501), “I am very compassionate––like Dattatreya, Jadbharat, Narad and Shukji.”4 Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s compassionate nature is apparent from his service to Sevakram described above. It was also demonstrated in 1801, when, upon his appointment as the head of the fellowship, he requested two boons from his guru, namely, that any scarcities of food or clothing or other miseries destined for members of the community should be borne by himself, so that they would not have to undergo such misery (Dave, 1974: 70). This was not a mere gesture, but a deeply held sentiment that was demonstrated throughout his life. Premanand Swami, one of his contemporary swami-poets, described Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s compassionate nature in a hymn that is daily sung by followers:

The master’s nature is extremely compassionate,

He is deeply moved by the suffering of others.

If he sees anyone in distress, he cannot bear it,

Overwhelmed by compassion, he becomes agitated

And giving them food, money, or clothes, relieves their suffering,

Looking upon them with a compassionate gaze.5

(Swaminarayan Aksharpith [1980] 2003: 99)

Complementary to Spiritual Mission

Another of Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s motivations for humanitarian service was that he saw it as complementary to his declared primary mission of working for the spiritual benefit of society. Bhagwan Swaminarayan believed that “an empty stomach would never relish the problems of theology. So the necessities of life should be met first and then only could the spiritual needs be catered for” (Dave, 1974: 70). Explaining this from a psycho-spiritual perspective in Vachanamrut Gadhada II 23, Bhagwan Swaminarayan says that when the sense organs are confronted with misery-inducing objects or circumstances, the mind succumbs to the psycho-spiritual equivalent of heatstroke and “it makes the person extremely miserable and forces him to fall from the path of liberation” ([1831] 2001): 432). Thus, Bhagwan Swaminarayan promoted the fulfillment of basic human necessities in the service of his ultimate goal of helping people progress along the path of spiritual liberation.

Service as Nivrutti––Non-binding and Liberating

A third aspect of Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s emphasis on service is the scriptural justification for the reconciliation of the path of nivrutti with engagement in service. This reconciliation is partly achieved by Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s assertion in Vachanamrut Gadhada III 21 that pravrutti, or action, in the service of God and the devotee of God is itself nivrutti, i.e., inaction, in the sense that it is not binding ([1831] 2001: 621). In other words, if a particular type of action, or karma, is non-binding, it is not only appropriate for those who have renounced and adopted the path of nivrutti, but it is important for all spiritual aspirants who wish to transcend the bondage of karma and attain liberation. In Vachanamrut Gadhada II 11, Bhagwan Swaminarayan clarifies how this is possible by referencing verses 1.5.33–34 of the Shrimad Bhagavata Purana:

O Observer of Pious Vows [Vyās]! Does not that same [food, e.g., ghee] which causes illness in beings––if purified and prescribed by a qualified doctor––cure that illness? Similarly, then, if all of one’s karmas––which [normally] cause one to pass through births and deaths––are offered to God instead, those same karmas are destroyed [i.e., are no longer capable of causing births and deaths, but instead, lead to one’s liberation] ([1831] 2001: 396-397).6

Bhagwan Swaminarayan explains that these verses express the principle that “if one abandons the desire for the fruits related to dharma, arth [material wealth] and kam [material desires], and if one performs pious karmas only to please God, then those pious karmas become a form of bhakti [devotion] and aid in the attainment of liberation.” Thus, all pious actions, including service, performed with the sole purpose of pleasing God (i.e., “offered to God”), become a form of bhakti, which, like nivrutti, is not only non-binding but positively liberative.

At the end of this Vachanamrut, Bhagwan Swaminarayan emphasizes his point with his interpretation of verse 4.18 in the Bhagavad Gita7 stating that actions or “karmas performed by the devotees of God for the purpose of pleasing God” are seen by the spiritually intelligent as “non-karma”, or non-binding karmas ([1831] 2001: 397–398).

In examining the motivations for Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s own commitment to service as well as his promotion of service amongst his disciples, it is easy to identify an expression of compassion, but more importantly, a view that service is an important component of spirituality, for when it is done solely to please God, it becomes a tool with which to secure liberation from karmic bondage.

Service as Part of Spirituality: Motivations of Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s Followers

After the passing of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, the Swaminarayan community continued to remain engaged in service, motivated, in part, by the example of Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s own engagement in service, but also by the examples of his successors and the teachings and injunctions in which Bhagwan Swaminarayan enjoined his followers to engage in service as a spiritual endeavor.

In a society where menial service was sometimes stigmatized as the domain of the lower classes, Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s exhortation for his swamis to engage in such service exalted the stature of service amongst his followers. In fact, while there is a rich textual corpus highlighting the theological motivations for service in the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, Pramukh Swami Maharaj explains that an important practical aspect that motivates followers of the movement to serve has been the commitment to service of the tradition’s past spiritual leadership (Paramananddas, 1995:145). The ethos of servant-leadership as a model behavior is evident in the biographical literature of the tradition’s gurus, and the many extraordinary examples of service in the lives of Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s successors are recounted in religious sermons to serve as models for devotees.

Gunatitanand Swami, the first spiritual successor to Bhagwan Swaminarayan, served the swamis and devotees in various capacities from his time as a young swami until the end of his life. In his later years, as head of the large Swaminarayan temple in Junagadh, he would assign various service activities every morning to the devotees and swamis in the temple. Once, the head of another sect’s temple based out of Tarnetar, a village 100 miles away, sought a meeting with the head of the famed Junagadh temple. As he entered the Junagadh temple compound, he asked a septuagenarian swami sweeping the grounds where he might find the head of the temple. The elderly swami directed him to the assembly hall and assured him that the head swami would soon be there. Several minutes later, that same elderly swami, who it turned out was Gunatitanand Swami, entered the assembly hall and sat down on the seat reserved for the head swami. Astonished, the head of the Tarnetar temple asked how, as leader of the entire mandir, he had just been sweeping the mandir grounds. Gunatitanand Swami replied, “Here, one who serves is the leader” (Dave, 2006: 20).

Such examples of service are strikingly routine in the lives of each of Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s spiritual successors. For example, on the day that Pramukh Swami Maharaj was appointed the president of the organization at the age of 28, a group of about 100 lay leaders had a dinner in honor of his appointment. After everyone had left, Pramukh Swami Maharaj noticed their stack of dirty dishes and immediately washed them and cleaned everything up himself (Adarshjivandas, 2018:143). Half a century later, after the devastating 2001 Gujarat earthquake, Pramukh Swami Maharaj upheld the same level of personal responsibility in service as he coordinated BAPS relief work at the age of 80. Just hours after the quake, he had mobilized swamis and lay volunteers to start relief operations. The next morning, he was on the phone directing relief efforts as soon as he woke up––from instructions on maintaining food quality in the relief kitchens to inspections of meal preparation sites. He soon visited Kutch to offer solace, hope, and guidance for renewal. His commitment to service was lasting, with his nightly calls, between 11 PM and midnight, to get updates and to give guidance to the BAPS’s relief operations center in Bhuj continuing like clockwork for an entire year (Aksharvatsaldas, 2008: 38–39). These incidents were emblematic of his lifelong approach to the position of leadership he had been given––he saw it as an opportunity to serve––and this attitude inspired his followers to serve with the same dedication.

Another strong motivation for followers of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya to engage in service comes from the scriptural explanations of the spiritual benefit of service. The goal of Swaminarayan followers is to transcend one’s false identification with the body and mind and to realize oneself as the pure atman or soul. While body consciousness is recognized to be notoriously difficult to transcend, engagement of the body in service is understood to help purify one’s consciousness, leading to a greater understanding of oneself as the atman. Bhagwan Swaminarayan explains in Vachanamrut Gadhada I 8 that if one physically engages in the service of God and the guru, then “the antahkaran [mind] is purified and the sins that have been attached to the jiva [soul] since time immemorial are destroyed” ([1831] 2001: 8). This concept is reiterated in Vachanamrut Gadhada II 25, in which Bhagwan Swaminarayan states that “if one becomes addicted to serving God and His Sant [living guru] to the extent that one would not be able to stay for even a moment without serving them, then all of the impure desires in one’s antahkaran [mind] will be destroyed” ([1831] 2001: 435). The purification of the mind implies a reduction in thoughts and desires that cause false identification with the body. In Vachanamrut Gadhada II 63, Bhagwan Swaminarayan further explains, “If one wishes to make one’s jiva [soul] powerful, then one should sincerely serve God and His devotees by thought, word and deed” ([1831] 2001: 510). Here, making one’s soul powerful indicates increased identification with the atman.

According to Bhagwan Swaminarayan, service to God and his devotees not only eradicates one’s vices, leading to greater identification with the atman, but it also helps one cultivate spiritual virtues such as devotion towards God. In Vachanamrut Sarangpur 2, Bhagwan Swaminarayan explains that “one should physically serve God and his devotees” whereby one “develops affection for God” ([1831] 2001: 181). In Vachanamrut Gadhada II 29, he explains that “by serving and thus pleasing the Sant [guru] who has such firm attachment with God… [one develops] deep attachment towards God” ([1831] 2001: 444). In Vachanamrut Vartal 3, Bhagwan Swaminarayan adds that if a person serves an eminently great spiritual being “by thought, word and deed, while staying within the tenets of one’s dharma, then bhakti coupled with the knowledge of God’s greatness develops in that person” ([1831] 2001: 531).

Bhagwan Swaminarayan thus makes it clear in the Vachanamrut that service is an important tool for spiritual progress, specifically helping one attain the ultimate goal of realization of the atman and perfect devotion to God. The repeated emphasis of this point in the Vachanamrut highlights the extent to which spiritual motivations underlie the service activities that followers of BAPS undertake.

Narayanmuni Swami, one of the heads of the seminary for BAPS swamis, provides another perspective on the motivation of BAPS devotees to engage in service. He explains that, in the Swaminarayan tradition, service helps the aspirant cultivate spiritual principles in actual practice.

Scriptural study, spiritual discourses, and contemplation provide theoretical clarity about spiritual principles; engaging in service provides opportunities to practice these spiritual principles in one’s life. Devoid of the chance to put spiritual principles into practice through the crucible of service, one’s spiritual progress would be akin to a person trying to learn horse-riding solely by reading a library book––with only theory and no practice, the rider would instantly be thrown off upon mounting a real horse (2011).

He also explains that service and spiritual discourses, or more broadly, the two paths of action and contemplation, are like two wings of a bird––both are needed for spiritual progress, and without either one, a spiritual aspirant would end up going in circles.

Service to God Is Service to Society

Several Hindu leaders have considered social service to be a part of spirituality by explaining that since God resides in every being in society, service to society is service to God. While Bhagwan Swaminarayan has also taught followers to serve humanity, his statements in the Vachanamruts presented above seem to suggest that spiritual benefits result from serving God and his devotees. The missing link that connects Swaminarayan followers to their intense desires to serve humanity rests on the component of devotion, or bhakti, to God.

According to the Swaminarayan tradition, one who engages in an action at God’s command is considered to have served God in line with the principle of das bhakti, or the devotion of service, one of the nine types of bhakti according to the Shrimad Bhagavata Purana (Mukundcharandas, 2007a: 93). Thus, due to scriptural injunctions in which Bhagwan Swaminarayan commands his devotees to serve society, serving society is considered to be service to God with all of its concomitant spiritual benefits. Incidents where Bhagwan Swaminarayan commands his swamis and devotees to dig wells, run food distribution centers, and engage in other humanitarian services as discussed above, serve as scriptural precedents for God’s command to engage in social service. Moreover, Bhagwan Swaminarayan specifically enjoins his followers to serve society in the Shikshapatri, a small scripture written by him outlining injunctions that create a “code of conduct” for his followers (Swaminarayan, [1831]1995:11–13).

In an overarching directive to serve the needy, in Shikshapatri verse 83, Bhagwan Swaminarayan commands followers to “be benevolent and charitable towards the poor according to their means” ([1831]1995: 43). More specifically, Bhagwan Swaminarayan prescribes followers to offer charitable medical services in verse 139, stating, “My disciples should serve… ailing persons throughout their lives according to their abilities” ([1831]1995: 66). Regarding educational service, in verse 26, Bhagwan Swaminarayan states, generally, that “the learned should impart their knowledge to others” ([1831]1995: 20–21), while in verse 132 he specifically instructs the temple administrators to “establish educational institutions and appoint learned Brahmin scholars to impart true knowledge, for the propagation of such teachings in this world is an act of great benediction” ([1831]1995: 63). With regard to disaster relief, Bhagwan Swaminarayan, in verse 119, states: “In times of calamity caused by nature, human beings, or disease, one should try to save and protect themselves and others…” ([1831]1995: 58). These scriptural injunctions help explain the motivations for BAPS as an organization to engage in educational, medical, disaster relief and humanitarian services for the needy, as well as the motivation of the individual followers to contribute to these efforts of social service as an element of their devotion towards God by following his command. Thus, following these direct commands to serve the needy becomes, for Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s devotees, service to God that is service to society.

Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s example and his injunctions to serve society motivate BAPS’s followers to humanitarian service, which is seen as service to God that is facilitative of soteriological goals. Today, BAPS followers translate their desire to do service into numerous humanitarian projects, some of which are continuations of long-standing sites of Swaminarayan volunteer work and others of which are developed to meet contemporary needs (Brahmbhatt, 2014: 112–116).

“In the Joy of Others Lies Our Own”

In his study of social service in the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, Makarand Paranjape concludes that of the various branches of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, “the most active sect [is] that of Pramukh [Swami]…[who] has turned the sect into a sort of ever-expanding service empire, almost along the lines of a corporate system of efficient management” (2005:129). Paranjape observes that even the many temples of BAPS serve “not just as a spiritual centre or a place of worship, but also as the nodal point” where “devotees perform seva or service” and which are used “as a base for their social service activities” (2005:129).

Paranjape’s characterization of BAPS as having been transformed into an “ever-expanding service empire” is a partial picture––one that misses the concomitant growth of and emphasis on the core religious activities of the group. Nonetheless, his observation of BAPS’s efficiency and effectiveness in the management of its humanitarian services has been shared by many scholars, government officials, and social service professionals. Much of the credit for this goes to Pramukh Swami Maharaj, BAPS’s guru from 1971 to 2016, and its president and administrative head from 1951. Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s motto, “In the joy of others lies our own,” is often quoted by followers to explain what inspires them to be so engaged in service (BAPS Charities, 2007: 2). Under Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s guidance, BAPS has undertaken over 160 humanitarian service activities (BAPS Charities, 2011a). Overall, the movement counts 55,000 volunteers engaged in humanitarian service activities contributing 15 million hours of service annually. In 2000, BAPS created BAPS Care International, later changing the name to BAPS Charities, as an independent nonsectarian social services arm of the parent organization to facilitate a greater organizational focus on these humanitarian service efforts.

While a comprehensive account of BAPS’s current service activities is beyond the scope of this short essay, we will examine the broader outlines of some of BAPS’s service work, which it organizes into five key areas, including health care, education, environment, community empowerment, and humanitarian relief. The activities are organized primarily through the volunteer service of Swaminarayan devotees.

Health Care Service

BAPS has a strong and expanding presence in one of the traditional mainstays of social service work in India––health care. Despite its recent economic growth, India still retains the healthcare infrastructure of a developing nation, ranking a lowly 119 out of the 169 countries evaluated in the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Index (Klugmen, 2010: 145). Astoundingly, 70% of people in India have never seen a doctor (Pandya, 2008). To help mitigate these problems, some of BAPS’s largest investments in humanitarian services have been in improving healthcare infrastructure to increase adequate healthcare access for all.

BAPS runs seven charitable hospitals in Gujarat and Maharashtra, which treat approximately 365,000 patients annually and have treated over 8,100,000 people to date (Bajadia, 2022). Moreover, BAPS operates 12 mobile medical units with physicians who travel continuously through the underserved areas of Gujarat, providing free medical care to roughly 300,000 people a year, particularly those of scheduled castes and tribes living in areas with inadequate health care infrastructure. These mobile medical units, along with four BAPS free health clinics for underserved patients, have provided free medical care to over 6,400,000 people to date (Bajadia, 2022).

BAPS also works to provide healthcare access to underserved or economically depressed populations outside of India. For example, in North America, most BAPS temples organize an annual health fair in which physicians and health professionals affiliated with BAPS volunteer to provide a charitable 1-day diagnostic and consultation clinic to benefit the needy in the local community. From 2006 to 2019, 21,681 health care professionals volunteered at 551 health fairs in BAPS North American temples, benefitting over 140,500 participants (Adroja, 2022).

During the COVID-19 pandemic, BAPS volunteers worldwide engaged in a variety of support activities, including 8.7 million food and care packages provided to the needy, almost 1 million hot meals delivered to the needy and front-line workers, and over 200,000 PPE donated to health care workers, in addition to the donation and distribution of oxygen concentrators, ventilators, and other medical equipment. In the US, $400,000 were donated to 80 community organizations to assist them in their own aid efforts. A 500-bed field hospital was also set up in the BAPS Mandir in Atladara, Gujarat to accommodate overflow COVID patients during a surge. These and many other COVID aid efforts were organized and executed by over 12,000 volunteers (Vivekjivandas, 2020; BAPS Charities, 2021).

BAPS also organizes regular blood donation and bone marrow drives at its temples around the world. Between 2006 and 2019, BAPS temples in North America organized 362 blood drives, donating 14,886 pints of blood, and 125 bone marrow drives resulting in 6497 people joining the national bone marrow registry (Adroja, 2022). Such events have been regular occurrences for the last several decades in BAPS temples and centers worldwide, in which over 150,000 people benefit from health fairs, and 7000 pints of blood are donated annually (Joshi, 2011). Other health care initiatives include preventative care efforts such as health care seminars and workshops, physical fitness courses, exhibitions on health care topics and health care awareness lectures aimed at a broad audience worldwide.

Educational Service

Another major area of BAPS social service is the field of education. A large body of evidence has established that improvements in educational access and quality are key factors in poverty reduction (Palmer, et al., 2007: 43–65). In India, where 4.4 years of schooling is the mean educational attainment (Klugmen, 2010:145), investment in education is a dire social need. Currently, BAPS operates thirteen schools in the Indian states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra, educating over 21,100 students from Kindergarten to 12th grade. The schools follow the curriculum of either their respective state Board of Education or the Central Board of Education, with half of the schools using English as a medium of instruction and the other half using Gujarati. In addition to nine residential hostels associated with its schools, BAPS has twelve other student hostels in Gujarat and Maharashtra focused on providing an environment conducive to educational achievement and personal development for almost 10,000 primary, secondary, and postsecondary students (Pithwa, 2022a).

All BAPS educational institutes and hostels stress a commitment to educational achievement and a moral lifestyle, which BAPS asserts go hand-in-hand. Based on data collected, BAPS reports widespread success among its students in the arenas of academic achievement and moral living. The educational achievement, being somewhat more easily measurable, is certainly clear, with students from BAPS educational institutes routinely ranking near the top in the Gujarat state higher secondary board exams. In addition to high individual achievement, many of BAPS’s schools have remarkable results in raising collective achievement. For example, the Pramukh Swami Vidya Mandir residential school in the village of Sarangpur, Gujarat, serves a rural population, and many of its 2450 students come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The inadequate educational infrastructure and economic challenges of the surrounding areas result in 12th-grade passing rates of around 35% in that administrative district. Pramukh Swami Vidya Mandir in Sarangpur takes students from the surrounding area in 5th grade, many of whom have 2nd-grade reading levels. However, by the 12th grade, the school’s passing rate hovers around 99%, ranking it first in its rural district. BAPS officials attribute their success to a balanced emphasis on education and activities that foster overall personal development, in which moral living and spirituality play an important role (Pithwa, 2022b).

In addition to their creation and management of educational institutes, BAPS has funded and built 49 schools and donated them to the public sector in Gujarat, funded seven institutes of advanced information technology and a further five accredited colleges in Gujarat (BAPS Charities, 2007: 7). Explaining how BAPS is able to fund such large projects, Paranjape (2005:131) notes, “The spirit of volunteerism and service was as remarkable as the extraordinary philanthropy of the members of the sect. Most of them offered 10% of their income to the sect with the result that large volumes of funds could be mobilised for the common good of the people.” BAPS devotees donate for specific service projects or, in some cases, provide unrestricted donations, which are used to fund such educational and other service projects. In one case, in 1985, BAPS devotees in the UK offered Pramukh Swami Maharaj his weight in gold in a traditional Hindu ritual of veneration called a suvarna tula. Pramukh Swami accepted their offering and donated the full amount to a new medical college that was being set up in a region of central Gujarat where adequate medical education facilities were lacking. The organization managing the project, the Charotar Arogya Mandal, named the completed institution, “Pramukh Swami Medical College” in honor of its donor.

BAPS also funds an annual scholarship program for needy students in India that awards about 2500 scholarships each year (Pithwa, 2022a). Moreover, it has organized a number of literacy campaigns in rural India, where in one initiative in Gujarat in 1993, 1500 volunteers taught 8162 people to read and write. On a global scale, their educational service includes regular coaching classes, vocational guidance, and parents’ and students’ seminars (BAPS, 2011a).

Environmental Service

In a brochure titled, “BAPS Charities: The Spirit of Service,” BAPS Charities explains its environmental commitment through the story of an 11-year-old Indian village girl who is forced to walk three hours round trip to the nearest well every morning to carry drinking water to her house (2007:16). For BAPS, the detrimental impact of environmental degradation is not just a problem for the future, but an immediate and tragic burden borne disproportionately by some of society’s weakest members. BAPS views its environmental work as a service to humanity, providing, in the long-term, preservation of our planet and natural resources and offering, in the immediate sense, the alleviation of water and energy shortages that diminish standards of living.

In India, BAPS has undertaken large water conservation projects in semiarid regions of Gujarat. In many areas of Gujarat where overuse of groundwater has depleted water tables and led to increased salination and scarcity of potable water, the organization has instituted major well-recharging projects to raise the water table. Partnering with local communities, BAPS constructs pooling tanks to pipe surface water back into nearby wells. In this way, BAPS has recharged 5475 wells in 338 villages, donating materials and technical expertise (BAPS Charities, 2007:16). BAPS has also organized dam de-silting projects, such as the de-silting of Veri Dam in Gondal, in which BAPS excavated 125,000 tractor-loads of silt, creating 170,000,000 L of stored water capacity (BAPS Charities, 2011c). The organization has completed almost 500 rainwater harvesting projects including dozens of check dams, percolation tanks, farm ponds, underground tanks, and other projects to increase rainwater storage. In Paranjape’s examination of the impact of some of these rainwater harvesting projects in the Bhavnagar district of Gujarat, he records villagers explaining that “BAPS had taken the initiative to transform their lives” (2005: 122). Explaining the impact on his life, one villager declared,

Earlier, we used to enjoy a good life as long as it rained. Then we were back to misery. Now we have learned to save water, to build check dams, to recharge wells. And look at all these benefits. We have water to drink all the year round and also some for irrigation. Earlier we had to buy water, but now we have our own (Paranjape, 2005: 122).

BAPS is also engaged in numerous energy conservation campaigns, including installing solar panels to heat water at many of its centers around Gujarat (BAPS, 2011b). It has also installed biogas units to create natural gas from cattle manure to be used as an environmentally friendly energy source (BAPS, 2011c). Another environmentally noteworthy action is BAPS’s initiative in the US to power some of its temples with solar energy. In 2011, the large BAPS temple in Chino Hills, California, installed solar panels that produce an estimated 915,333 kWh of electricity per year, making the facility perhaps the first contemporary Hindu temple to operate solely on solar energy (Kaivalyamurtidas, 2011). Following this, the large BAPS temple (Swaminarayan Akshardham) in Robbinsville, New Jersey, installed 6 acres of solar panels that produce an estimated 1,313,595 kWh of electricity per year, making it the second BAPS temple to operate solely on solar energy. Other BAPS temples to follow suit include those in Milpitas, California, Irving, Texas, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Parsippany, New Jersey, and North Bergen, New Jersey. Together, these seven BAPS temples generate an estimated 3.45 million kWh of solar electricity annually, reducing greenhouse gas emissions over their life by 59,000 tons of carbon dioxide, which is the environmental equivalent of planting 2,359,000 trees (Adarshnayandas, 2022).

Over the last several decades, BAPS centers around the world have been engaged in tree planting campaigns in which devotees have collectively planted 1,500,000 trees in over 2000 towns and villages (BAPS Charities, 2007:16). Moreover, BAPS recycling campaigns around the globe have recycled 5000 tons of paper and 91 tons of aluminum (BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, 2007: 21).

Community Service

In addition to their focused volunteer efforts in health care, educational, and environmental service, BAPS followers engage in a variety of service activities that meet the specific needs of their local communities. In some areas, this community-specific service can take the form of prison visits focusing on motivation and rehabilitation or anti-dowry campaigns in communities where the pressures of providing dowry result in violence against women. In addition, this community service can manifest in the form of organized visits to elderly care homes by schoolchildren in London, an annual children’s fun fair for 1000 HIV-positive orphans in Lenasia, South Africa, seminars on cyber-bullying, food drives, soup kitchens, and other humanitarian service activities deemed beneficial to the community by the respective local BAPS temple membership (BAPS, 2011f).

Every year, dozens of BAPS centers in North America, the UK, and other places organize sponsored walks to raise money for local community charities. Thousands of BAPS members participate in these efforts and raise millions of dollars for hundreds of local charities including the Sick Kids Foundation in Toronto, the Shriner’s Hospital in Houston, Habitat for Humanity, and the British Heart Foundation (BAPS Charities, 2011b; BAPS Charities, 2019).

Another community service initiative of BAPS is its involvement in peace-building activities such as interfaith dialogues. For example, in 2009, the BAPS temple in London participated in National Inter Faith Week. This included an event at Lambeth Palace with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, and an event at the BAPS temple in London with the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, Most Reverend Vincent Nichols (BAPS, 2009). Another significant event occurred a decade earlier when Pramukh Swami Maharaj delivered an inaugural address representing Hinduism in the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Pramukh Swami Maharaj offered his thoughts on dialogue as an instrument of interfaith harmony and asserted that to obtain peace, “We must not progress at the cost of others, but sacrifice a part of ourselves for the good of others. For true religion is that which inspires love for one another” (BAPS, 2000).

Disaster Relief Services

Since they began to keep such records in 1974, BAPS has organized disaster relief services in dozens of catastrophes in India and worldwide. These services included raising funds worldwide that were distributed to affected areas for relief aid, including earthquake, tsunami, flood, and drought relief efforts. In many other cases, in the USA, India, and Africa, BAPS volunteers initiated disaster relief efforts in disaster areas soon after they struck and continued with rehabilitation efforts on the ground for months and years afterward (BAPS, 2011d).

For example, after the Asian tsunami of 2004, 150 swamis and BAPS volunteers offered immediate relief aid in 51 villages and 26 relief camps throughout Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. Daily, thousands of hot meals were served to the affected, and thousands were provided essential household goods. During the rehabilitation phase of their aid efforts, BAPS reconstructed two entire villages that had been demolished by the tsunami, building 245 new homes for villagers in Pattipulam and Mahabalipuram (BAPS, 2005c).

BAPS’s largest disaster relief and rehabilitation project was after the Gujarat earthquake of 2001. Over 180 swamis and 6500 BAPS volunteers helped in the relief and rehabilitation efforts. Starting from the day of the earthquake and lasting for 45 days, BAPS set up 11 relief kitchens that served a total of 1.8 million hot meals and distributed more than 878,000 food packets in the affected areas. Thousands of tons of food supplies were also distributed by BAPS volunteers. Approximately 2300 people were accommodated in temporary shelters immediately following the quake. BAPS volunteer-physicians set up mobile and stationary medical clinics that treated over 91,000 earthquake victims. In addition to the immediate relief aid, BAPS entirely reconstructed 11 villages and four neighborhoods within Bhuj, providing 1692 new homes as well as roads, schools, community centers, and other amenities of village life. Furthermore, BAPS repaired and renovated over 2500 homes damaged by the earthquake (BAPS, 2004).

The dedication and effectiveness of BAPS’s volunteers were widely appreciated. After his study of the BAPS relief efforts on a visit to India to raise awareness for the victims, President Bill Clinton remarked, “BAPS volunteers are the real heroes. In his heart, Pramukh Swami has no distinctions. Thank you for helping the people hurt by the earthquake, for working for peace and reconciliation” (BAPS, 2005a).8

Conclusion

BAPS’s engagement in social service has a long and rich history that starts with Bhagwan Swaminarayan and continues to the present with a variety of humanitarian projects. BAPS’s many projects cannot be appreciated without recalling that the critical motivating basis for the service offered by BAPS’s followers is their devotion to God and guru. Bhagwan Swaminarayan, through personal example as well as scriptural injunction, encouraged his ascetic and lay followers to serve humanity. For his devotees, following his call to serve humanity is their devotional service to God, which they understand to facilitate their soteriological goal of ultimate liberation.

Ishwarcharan Swami, one of the most senior BAPS swamis, explains that in BAPS, efforts to promote moral and spiritual values in society are also considered an important service to society. He explains,

In May 2000 and 2007, 35,000 BAPS children [in India] spent their summer vacation on the streets convincing over 900,000 people to renounce their addiction to alcohol, tobacco, and other harmful intoxicants. While non-addiction is a moral and spiritual value, its propagation will have an immense social benefit in terms of health, family welfare, and personal savings. Similarly, our spiritual messages of peace, harmony, and renouncing anger, greed, jealousy, arrogance, and other destructive emotions help solve many of society’s underlying problems. So, spirituality is also a great social service (2011).

Thus, according to BAPS, not only is their service to society a part of their spirituality, but their spirituality is also a part of their service to society. This integrated conception of service and spirituality, as stated in the introduction to the BAPS website and in the epigraph opening this essay, is an important driving force for what has become a very active and organized service effort in a global Hindu community.

Data Availability

The datasets analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Declarations

Research Involving Human Participants or Animals

This research did not involve any human participants or animals. As such, there is no need to have consent to participate or publish or ethical approval.

Conflict of Interest

The author is an ordained monk, or swami, of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, who has been involved in a number of BAPS humanitarian service projects described in the essay. The first-hand experiences of service, exposure to its theological rationale, and access to organizational information contribute to the argument presented.