Swaminarayan Sampradaya


The Swaminarayan Sampradaya is a Hindu sampradaya founded in 1801 by Swaminarayan, also known as Sahajanand Swami, who was worshipped as God by thousands of followers. Under Swaminarayan’s leadership, the sampradaya grew to more than 100,000 followers and 3,000 swamis by the time of his death in 1830.
Early in his leadership of the group, Sahajanand Swami directed his devotees to chant the Swaminarayan mantra, which is a compound of two Sanskrit words: Swami and Narayan. ‘Swami’ denotes Aksharbrahman and ‘Narayan' denotes Parabrahman. Both the religious group and its leader then became popularly known by the mantra they chanted, Swaminarayan.
In the Vachanamrut, the principal theological text of the sampradaya, Swaminarayan identifies five eternal and distinct entities: Parabrahman, Aksharbrahman, maya, ishwar, and jiva. He further explains that the ultimate goal of life is moksha, a spiritual state of ultimate liberation from the cycle of births and deaths that is characterized by eternal bliss and devotion to God. Moksha can be achieved during one’s human life under the guidance of the manifest form of God, the Aksharbrahman Guru, who helps the follower practice and master ekantik dharma, which consists of dharma, gnan, vairagya, and bhakti
Swaminarayan instituted the sampradaya’s mandir tradition to facilitate followers’ devotional worship of God. During his lifetime, Swaminarayan constructed six mandirs: Ahmedabad, Bhuj, Vadtal, Dholera, Junagadh, and Gadhada. Swaminarayan’s successors have continued the tradition of installing images of God and his ideal devotee to help devotees in their ultimate aim of moksha.
Socially, Swaminarayan’s doctrine that everyone’s true self is the atman within which God resides, led him to reject caste-based discrimination within the religious community. Swaminarayan also inspired followers to engage in humanitarian service activities, leading various denominations of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya to currently provide humanitarian service globally.
Before his death in June 1830, Swaminarayan established two modes of succession: a hereditary administrative mode through a document titled the ‘Lekh’ and a spiritual mode established in the Vachanamrut, in which Swaminarayan conveyed his theological doctrines. After Swaminarayan’s death, different interpretations of successorship have emerged resulting in numerous groups within the Swaminarayan Sampradaya that regard Swaminarayan as God but differ in their theology and the religious leadership they accept.

History

Sahajanand Swami

The Swaminarayan Sampradaya, founded in 1801, takes its name from its founder, Swaminarayan, also known as Sahajanand Swami. Swaminarayan was born on 3 April 1781 in the village of Chhapaiya in present-day Uttar Pradesh, India.After his parents’ death, he renounced his home at the age of 11 and traveled for 7 years as a child yogi around India before settling in the hermitage of Ramanand Swami, a Vaishnava religious leader in present-day Gujarat. Ramanand Swami initiated him as Sahajanand Swami on 28 October 1800 and appointed him to be his successor and the leader of the sampradaya in 1801.Ramanand Swami died on 17 December 1801. Upon the conclusion of his funeral rites, Sahajanand Swami directed devotees to chant a new mantra: Swaminarayan. The word Swaminarayan is a compound of two Sanskrit words: Swami and Narayan. Swami denotes Aksharbrahman, namely Gunatitanand Swami, as identified by Sahajanand Swami, and Narayan denotes Parabrahman, a reference to Sahajanand Swami himself. This understanding recalls an earlier Vaishnava tradition of the divine companionship between the perfect devotee and God.
Both the religious group and its leader, Sahajanand Swami, then became popularly known by the mantra they chanted, Swaminarayan. As followers accepted this name, some began to consider the Swaminarayan mantra to refer to Sahajanand Swami as Purushottam.
During Swaminarayan’s life, he was worshiped as God by thousands of followers. The sampradaya grew quickly over the 30 years under Swaminarayan’s leadership, with British sources estimating at least 100,000 followers by the 1820s. It continued to grow after Swaminarayan’s death, with an estimated 288,000 followers by 1872.

Early monasticism

Challenged by the growth of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, some religious and political leaders persecuted Swaminarayan and his followers, particularly his swamis. Swaminarayan had instructed the swamis to maintain an austere code of conduct as part of their spiritual practice. This code of conduct included refraining from retaliation when harassed by others, which left them vulnerable to physical assault. To help them escape such harassment, Swaminarayan ordained 500 swamis into the highest monastic order as paramhansas, thereby allowing them to temporarily suspend certain practices, like applying sacred marks, that allowed opponents to identify them as one of his followers. Altogether, Swaminarayan ordained 3,000 swamis over the span of his leadership.
The swamis expressed their devotion to Swaminarayan in various ways, ranging from composing bhakti poetry to authoring scriptural commentaries. Swaminarayan also encouraged his swamis to serve others. During the devastating famine of 1813-14 in Kathiawar, for example, the swamis collected alms in unaffected regions of Gujarat to distribute among the afflicted.

Beliefs

Swaminarayan’s teachings are found in the Vachanamrut, the principal theological text of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. As followers believe Swaminarayan to be Parabrahman, his teachings are considered a direct revelation of God. In the Vachanamrut, Swaminarayan describes that the ultimate goal of life is moksha, a spiritual state of ultimate liberation from the cycle of births and deaths and characterized by eternal bliss and devotion to God.

Metaphysics

While his preference for Ramunaja’s theology is stated in the sacred text, the Shikshapatri, Swaminarayan actually teaches a significantly different system of metaphysics in the Vachanamrut. In Ramunaja’s system, there are three entities: Parabrahman, maya, and jiva. Throughout the Vachanamrut, Swaminarayan identifies five eternal and distinct entities: Parabrahman, Aksharbrahman, maya, ishwar, and jiva.
Parabrahman is God, who is sarvopari, karta, sakar, and pragat. Swaminarayan identified himself as Parabrahman.
Aksharbrahman, is the second highest entity and has four forms: 1) Parabrahman’s divine abode, 2) the ideal devotee of Parabrahman eternally residing in that divine abode, 3) the sentient substratum pervading and supporting the cosmos the Aksharbrahman Guru, who serves as the manifest form of God on earth through whom God guides aspirants to moksha. This understanding of Akshar having four forms is one of the features that distinguishes Swaminarayan’s theology from others. In Vachanamrut Gadhada I-63, Swaminarayan emphasizes the need to understand Akshar in order to understand God perfectly and completely.
Maya refers to the universal material source used by Parabrahman to create the world. Maya has three gunas which are found to varying degrees in everything formed of it: serenity, passion, and darkness. Maya also refers to the ignorance which enshrouds both ishwars and jivas, which results in their bondage to the cycle of births and deaths and subsequently suffering.
Ishwars are sentient beings responsible for the creation, sustenance, and dissolution of the cosmos, at the behest of Parabrahman. While they are metaphysically higher than jivas, they too are bound by maya and must transcend it to attain moksha.
Jivas, also known as atmans, are distinct, eternal entities, composed of consciousness that can reside in bodies, animating them. The jiva is inherently pure and flawless, though under the influence of maya, jivas falsely believe themselves to be the bodies they inhabit and remain bound to the cycle of transmigration.

Moksha

In Swaminarayan’s soteriology, the ultimate goal of life is moksha, a spiritual state of ultimate liberation from the cycle of births and deaths. The jiva attains this state, characterized by eternal bliss and devotion to God, by becoming brahmarup, or like Aksharbrahman, under the guidance of the manifest form of God, the Aksharbrahman Guru.
To attain moksha, an individual must overcome the ignorance of maya, which Swaminarayan describes as self-identification with the physical body, personal talents, and material possessions.
Swaminarayan then explains that an individual must earn the grace of Parabrahman and Aksharbrahman through a spiritual endeavor called ekantik dharma. Ekantik dharma consists of dharma, gnan vairagya, and bhakti.
By pleasing the Aksharbrahman Guru with one’s efforts, Swaminarayan states that an individual perfects ekantik dharma and acquires virtues of Aksharbrahman, becoming brahmarup. In this highest state, the jiva or ishwar never becomes Aksharbrahman but transcends maya and experiences God’s bliss through eternally serving Parabrahman.

Practices

Ekantik dharma is an important spiritual practice of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, and its establishment is one of the reasons why Swaminarayan is believed to have incarnated. Ekantik dharma consists of dharma, gnan, vairagya, and bhakti.
Dharma consists of religious and moral duties according to one’s responsibilities and situation. All Swaminarayan Hindus who are householders maintain five basic vows: abstaining from theft, gambling, adultery, meat, and intoxicants like alcohol. As part of their dharma, swamis additionally endeavor to perfect the five virtues of non-lust, non-greed, non-attachment, non-taste, and non-ego. Another aspect of the practice of dharma is the Swaminarayan diet, a type of vegetarianism, similar to that practiced generally by Vaishnava sampradayas, that entails abstaining from animal flesh, eggs, onions, and garlic.
Gnan is knowledge of Parabrahman and realizing oneself as the atman. Basic practices of gnan include the daily study of scriptures like the Vachanamrut and Shikshapatri and weekly participation in congregational worship services at the mandir, in which scriptural discourses geared towards personal and spiritual growth occur. In the Vachanamrut, Swaminarayan explains that adhering to the Aksharbrahman Guru’s commands is commensurate to perfectly embodying gnan—that is, realizing oneself as the atman.Swaminarayan Hindus cultivate vairagya, or dispassion for worldly objects, through practices like fasting on Ekadashi days, two of which occur every month, and observing extra fasts, during the holy months of Chaturmas Vairagya is realized by adhering to the codes of conduct, inclusive of these practices, serving other devotees physically, listening to discourses, and engaging in devotion.
Bhakti involves devotion towards God, while understanding God’s greatness and believing oneself—the atman—as one with Aksharbrahman. Important bhakti rituals for Swaminarayan Hindus include puja, arti, thal, and cheshta.
During puja, adherents worship Swaminarayan and, depending on their denominational affiliation, the lineage of Aksharbrahman Gurus through whom Swaminarayan is believed to be manifest, by performing a series of ritual acts before their murtis.
At the beginning of the puja ritual, men imprint a symbol known as the tilak chandlo on their forehead, and women imprint a chandlo. The tilak is a u-shaped saffron-colored symbol made of sandalwood, symbolizing God’s feet, and the chandlo is a red symbol made of kumkum, symbolizing God’s ideal devotee.
Other bhakti rituals included in Swaminarayan religious practice are abhishek, the bathing of a murti of God, mahapuja, a collective worship of God usually performed on auspicious days or festivals, and mansi puja, worship of God offered mentally.

Mandir tradition

The Swaminarayan Sampradaya is well-known for its mandirs, or Hindu places of worship. From Swaminarayan’s time through the present, mandirs functioned as centers of worship and gathering as well as hubs for cultural and theological education. They can vary in consecration rituals and architecture, which can be adapted to the means of the local congregation.

History

Swaminarayan instituted the mandir tradition of the sampradaya to provide followers a space for devotional worship to God. He constructed six mandirs in the following locations: Ahmedabad, Bhuj, Vadtal, Dholera, Junagadh, and Gadhada. Swaminarayan installed the murtis, or sacred images, of various manifestations of God and his devotee in the central shrines of each of these mandirs. He also installed his own image in the form of Harikrishna in the mandir at Vadtal, signifying his own divinity. Swaminarayan’s successors have continued the tradition of installing murtis of God and his ideal devotee to facilitate his followers’ pursuit of moksha.

Murti puja

The Swaminarayan Sampradaya is a bhakti tradition that believes God possesses an eternal, divine, human-like, transcendent form. Thus, Swaminarayan mandirs facilitate devotion to God by housing murtis which are believed to resemble God’s divine form. The murtis are consecrated through the prana pratishta ceremony, after which God is believed to reside in the murtis. Consequently, the worship practiced in Swaminarayan mandirs is believed to directly reach God.
After the consecration of a mandir, various rituals are regularly performed in it. Arti is a ritual which involves singing a devotional song of praise, while waving a flame before the murtis. Arti is performed five times per day in shikharbaddha mandirs and twice per day in hari mandirs. Thal, a ritual offering of food to God accompanied by devotional songs, is also regularly offered three times per day to the murtis in Swaminarayan mandirs. The sanctified food is distributed to devotees after the ritual.
Devotees also engage with the murtis in a Swaminarayan mandir through other worship rituals, including darshan, dandvat, and pradakshina. Darshan is the devotional act of viewing the murtis, which are adorned with elegant clothing and ornaments. Dandvats, or prostrations, before the murtis symbolize surrendering to God. Pradakshina, or circumambulations around the murtis, express the desire to keep God at the center of the devotees’ lives.

Community building and worship

Swaminarayan mandirs also serve as hubs for congregational worship and theological and cultural education. Singing devotional songs, delivering katha, and performing rituals such as arti all occur daily in Swaminarayan mandirs. In addition, devotees from the surrounding community gather at least once per week, often on a weekend, to perform these activities congregationally.
Cultural and theological instruction is also delivered on this day of weekly congregation. Cultural instruction may include Gujarati language instruction; training in music and dance; and preparation for festival performances. Theological instruction includes classes on the tradition’s history and doctrines, and the life and work of the tradition’s gurus.

Types of Swaminarayan mandirs

Swaminarayan followers conduct their worship in various types of mandirs. The homes of Swaminarayan devotees contain ghar mandirs, or home shrines, which serve as spaces for the daily performance of worship and ritual activities such as arti, thal, and reading sermons or scripture.
The majority of freestanding public Swaminarayan mandirs are hari mandirs, whose architectural style and consecration rituals are adopted to the means available to the local congregation.
As a means of expressing their devotion to Swaminarayan and their guru, some congregations elect to construct stone, shikharbaddha mandirs following Hindu architectural scriptures. In addition to being an expression of devotion, congregants strengthen their sense of community by cooperatively volunteering to construct these mandirs.
A fourth type of mandir, called a mahamandiram can be found in India, in New Delhi and Gandhinagar, Gujarat. These mahamandirs are the largest type of mandir constructed and they contain exhibits which present the life of Swaminarayan and the history of Hinduism in various formats with the goal of inspiring introspection and self-improvement.

Scriptural tradition

In addition to Swaminarayan’s acceptance of perennial Hindu texts such as the Vedas, Vedanta-sutras, and the Bhagavad Gita, Swaminarayan encouraged the creation of a scriptural tradition specific to the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. In addition to theological texts with revelatory status, the genres of textual production in the Swaminarayan Sampradaya include sacred biographies, ethical precepts, commentaries, and philosophical treatises.

Vachanamrut

The Vachanamrut, literally the ‘immortalizing ambrosia in the form of words’, is the fundamental theological text of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya owing to the followers’ belief that Swaminarayan himself is the self-manifestation of Parabrahman. The text is a compilation of 273 discourses, with each discourse within the collection also called a Vachanamrut. Swaminarayan delivered these discourses in Gujarati between the years of 1819-1829, and his senior disciples noted his teachings while they were delivered and compiled them during Swaminarayan’s lifetime. In this scripture, Swaminarayan outlines his system of metaphysics which includes five eternal entities: jiva, ishwar, maya, Aksharbrahman, Parabrahman. He also describes the ultimate goal of life, moksha, a spiritual state of ultimate liberation from the cycle of births and deaths and characterized by eternal bliss and devotion to God. To attain this state, Swaminarayan states that the jiva needs to follow the four-fold practice of ekantik dharma under the guidance of the Aksharbrahman Guru to transcend maya and become brahmarup to reside in the service of God.
As followers believe Swaminarayan to be God, the Vachanamrut is considered a direct revelation of God and thus the most precise interpretation of the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, and other important Hindu scriptures. This scripture is read by followers regularly and discourses are conducted daily in Swaminarayan temples around the world.

Swamini Vato

The Swamini Vato is a compilation of teachings delivered by Gunatitanand Swami over the course of his forty-year ministry. Gunatitanand Swami was one of Swaminarayan’s foremost disciple. According to some denominations of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, he was the first spiritual successor to Swaminarayan. Similar to the Vachanamrut, Gunatitanand Swami’s followers recorded his teachings, which were compiled in his lifetime and reviewed by Gunatitanand Swami himself. The text consists of approximately 1,478 excerpts taken from Gunatitanand Swami’s sermons. In his teachings, Gunatitanand Swami reflects on the nature of human experience and offers thoughts on how one ought to frame the intentions with which they act in this world, while also elaborating on Swaminarayan’s supremacy, the importance of the sadhu, and the means for attaining liberation. Often, Gunatitanand Swami elaborates upon topics or passages from the Vachanamrut, which lends the text to be considered a ‘natural commentary’ on the Vachanamrut within the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. In addition, he often made references to other Hindu texts, parables, and occurrences in daily life in order not only to explain the sophisticated concepts, but also to provide guidance on how to live them.

Shikshapatri

The Shikshapatri is a composition of 212 Sanskrit verses attributed to Swaminarayan and completed in 1826. As an ‘epistle of precepts,’ the verses primarily communicate the Swaminarayan Sampradaya’s moral injunctions.

Sacred biographies

The Swaminarayan Sampradaya has produced voluminous biographical literature on Swaminarayan. The Bhaktachintamani is a sacred biography of Swaminarayan composed by one of his prominent disciples, Nishkulanand Swami. Consisting of 8,536 couplets, this biography serves as a record of Swaminarayan’s life and teachings. The Harililamrut is a longer biographical text in verse written by Dalpatram and published in 1907. The Satsangi Jeevan, a Sanskrit text of 17,627 verses was written by Shatanand Swami, while the Harilila Kalpataru, a 33,000-verse Sanskrit biographical text was written by Achintyananda Brahmchari at the suggestion of Gunatitanand Swami. The sacred biographies complement the theological texts, insofar as their incidents serve as practical applications of the theology.

Vedanta commentaries

From its early history, the Swaminarayan Sampradaya has also been involved in the practice of producing Sanskrit commentarial work as a way of engaging with the broader scholastic community. The classical Vedanta school of philosophy and theology is of particular import for the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, which has produced exegetical work on the three canonical Vedanta texts—the Upanishads, Brahmasutras, and the Bhagavad Gita. While Swaminarayan himself did not author a commentary on these texts, he engaged with them and their interpretations in the Vachanamrut. Since Swaminarayan’s metaphysical framework consists of five eternal entities, it differs from Ramanuja’s and that of the other commentators, and therefore forms a distinct system within the Vedanta school, known as the Akshar-Purushottam Darshan.
The earliest Vedanta commentarial literature in the Swaminarayan Sampradaya reflects a heavy dependence on the Vedanta systems of Ramanuja and Vallabha. Although authorship of these nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century texts are attributed to two of Swaminarayan’s eminent disciples, Muktanand Swami and Gopalanand Swami, textual evidence indicates that they were composed by Vishishtadvaita scholars from southern India, who were called to Gujarat to head the Vadtal Sanskrit Pathshala.
The most comprehensive commentarial work on Vedanta in the Swaminarayan Sampradaya is the Swaminarayan Bhashya authored by Bhadreshdas Swami. It is a five-volume work written in Sanskrit and published between 2009 and 2012. The format and style of exegesis and argument conform with the classical tradition of Vedanta commentarial writing. In more than two thousand pages, the commentator Bhadreshdas Swami, offers detailed interpretations of the principal ten Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahmasutras that articulate Swaminarayan’s theology and philosophy.

Major branches

Swaminarayan established two modes of succession, a hereditary administrative mode and a spiritual mode. The former was communicated in an administrative document, attributed to Swaminarayan, entitled the “Lekh”; and the spiritual mode of succession was established in the Vachanamrut, in which Swaminarayan conveyed his theological doctrines. The various branches of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya have adopted one of these interpretations of successorship.
The Lekh established two “administrative dioceses,” the Vadtal diocese and the Ahmedabad diocese, and appointed two acharyas to “administer his temple properties” which are distributed among them. The first acharyas of the two dioceses were Swaminarayan’s two nephews, Raghuvir and Ayodhyaprasad, whose descendants continue the hereditary line of succession.
In the Vachanamrut, Swaminarayan described a spiritual mode of succession whose purpose is purely soteriological, reflecting his principle that a form of God who lives “before one’s eyes” is necessary for aspirants to attain moksha. According to certain traditions, Swaminarayan identified Gunatitanand Swami as the first successor in this lineage.

Vadtal and Ahmedabad

In 1826, Swaminarayan appointed two of his nephews as acharyas to administer the two gadis, or dioceses. Ayodhyaprasadji, son of his elder brother Rampratap, became acharya of the Nar Narayan Dev Gadi, and Raghuvirji, son of his younger brother Ichcharam, became acharya of the Laxmi Narayan Dev Gadi. In the twentieth century, several controversies involving the acharyas led to litigation resulting in restrictions on the acharyas’ authority along with schisms and the formation of new subgroups within the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. The current acharya of the Nar Narayan Dev Gadi is Koshalendraprasad Pande. The current acharya of the Laxmi Narayan Dev Gadi is Ajendraprasad Pande.
, current guru and president of BAPS

Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS)

The Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha was formed in 1907, by Shastriji Maharaj. Shastriji Maharaj's primary reason for separation from the Vadtal diocese and creation of BAPS had been due to doctrinal differences in the interpretation of Akshar and Purushottam.
Based on the theology of Akshar-Purushottam Darshan, followers believe Swaminarayan manifests through a lineage of Aksharbrahma Gurus, beginning with Gunatitanand Swami followed by Bhagatji Maharaj, Shastriji Maharaj, Yogiji Maharaj, Pramukh Swami Maharaj, and currently Mahant Swami Maharaj.

Swaminarayan Gadi (Maninagar)

The Maninagar Swaminarayan Gadi was founded in 1941 by Muktajivandas Swami after he left the Ahmedabad diocese with the belief that Gopalanand Swami was the spiritual successor to Swaminarayan. The current spiritual leader is Jitendrapriyadasji Swami.

Gunatit Samaj

The Yogi Divine Society was established in 1966, by Dadubhai Patel and his brother, Babubhai after they were excommunicated from BAPS by Yogiji Maharaj. The brothers were expelled after it was discovered that Dadubhai illicitly collected and misappropriated funds and, falsely claiming that he was acting on the organization’s behalf, led a number of young women to renounce their families and join his ashram under his leadership. After Dadubhai’s death in 1986, an ascetic named Hariprasad Swami became the leader of the Yogi Divine Society. The Yogi Divine Society became known as the Gunatit Samaj and consists of several wings: namely, Yogi Divine Society, The Anoopam Mission, and The Gunatit Jyot.

Influence on Society

Humanitarian Service

In addition to his efforts in social reform, Swaminarayan was instrumental in providing humanitarian aid to the people of Gujarat during turbulent times of famine. When given the opportunity to receive two boons from his guru, Swaminarayan asked to receive any miseries destined for followers and to bear any scarcities of food or clothing in place of any followers. In the initial years of the sampradaya, Swaminaryan maintained almshouses throughout Gujarat and directed swamis to maintain the almshouses even under the threat of physical injury by opponents. During a particularly harsh famine in 1813-14, Swaminarayan himself collected and distributed grains to those who were suffering, and he had step wells and water reservoirs dug in various villages. He codified devotees’ engagement with humanitarian service in the Shikshapatri, instructing followers to help the poor and those in need during natural disasters, to establish schools, and to serve the ill, according to their ability.
Consequently, various denominations of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya currently engage in humanitarian service at a global scale. For example, BAPS has been involved with coordinating responses to major natural disasters, building various residential and day schools, organizing blood donation drives and free medical clinics as well as constructing and running seven hospitals and treatment centers through its humanitarian services wing, BAPS Charities. Following the devastating earthquake in Gujarat in 2001, they rebuilt 15 villages and neighborhoods and 39 schools. For its work, BAPS has been granted consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.
ISSO Seva, a subsidiary of the Ahmedabad diocese, is involved in disaster relief, food and blood donation drives in the United States and providing accessible healthcare in Africa. The Gunatit Samaj also hosts medical camps, provides educational services, healthcare, and other social services in India. The Swaminarayan Gadi diocese primarily hosts health camps and other social services in the UK, Africa and North America. SVG Charity, a subsidiary of the Laxmi Narayan Dev Gadi, is involved in disaster relief, food and medicine donations, blood drives, and organ donation registration drives across the United States, Europe, Canada, and India.

Caste

During Swaminarayan’s time, the oppressive nature of caste-based customs, like endogamy, dress codes, and commensality, pervaded many aspects of society. Religious groups and other institutions often regulated membership based on caste. Swaminarayan opposed caste-based discrimination and has been credited as one of the foremost social reformers of 19th century India for his efforts in reducing caste-based oppression. In fact, Swaminarayan’s opposition of caste-based discrimination through his spiritual teachings and practices incited vehement criticism and violence from some high-caste Hindus. Kishore Mashruwala, a Gandhian scholar writes that “Swaminarayan was the first to bring about religious advancement of Shudras in Gujarat and Kathiawad region…And that became the main reason for many to oppose the Sampraday”. It is noted in an 1823 memorandum published in The Asiatic Journal that upper-caste Hindus “regret the levelling nature of system” often resulting in frequent violence against followers of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya.
Swaminarayan's doctrine that everyone's true self is the pure atma within which God resides, led him to reject caste-based discrimination and welcome those of all caste backgrounds equally into the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. In his public writings, Swaminarayan allowed for some caste rules to protect his followers from violence incited by his opposition of caste-based discrimination. For example, in the Shikshapatri, Swaminarayan states that his followers should follow rules of the caste system when consuming food and water. Based on these public writings some have criticized Swaminarayan of supporting caste-based discrimination. However, numerous scholars have demonstrated that this criticism is unfounded, citing Swaminarayan’s continued actions in combating caste-based oppression and promoting inclusivity. In fact, Swaminarayan not only accepted people from all castes into the sampradaya but also Muslims and tribal peoples. Additionally, various historical sources indicate that Swaminarayan himself often ignored caste rules and urged his followers to do the same. When asked about his views on caste by Bishop Reginald Heber, Swaminarayan stated that he did not believe in the caste system but sometimes accommodated it publicly so as to not offend the masses.
Taken together, Swaminarayan’s contemporaries and modern scholars both credit him for reducing caste-based oppression and discrimination through his actions and teachings. Swaminarayan’s actions uplifted many of the oppressed and drew them to the Swaminarayan Sampradaya.