DISKUS Vol.4, No.1 (1996), pp.23-33

The Authority of Pramukh Swami within the Swaminarayan Hindu Mission

A.D. Brear, 
Turku School of Economics and Business Administration, 
Rehtorinpellonkatu 3
SF-20500 Turku, 
Suomi-Finland 


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ABSTRACT
Pramukh Swami is the spiritual head of a dynamic branch of the Swaminarayan tradition within Hinduism. After a brief introduction to the history of the movement, a description is given of the nature of Pramukh Swami's authority, he being both the incarnation of an eternal principle and the practical administrative head.
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In July 1607 the Mughal emperor Jahangir had his son Khurram placed in a large balance and weighed against his own weight in gold. Three hundred and seventy eight years later, in the same month - July 20, 1985 - in the football stadium of Queen's Park Rangers in London, a similar ceremony was performed with Pramukh Swami Maharaj as the protagonist. However, out of humility he insisted that the opposing balance be filled with sugar, the equivalent weight in gold being calculated only after the ceremony. Two years later, during a period of severe drought in India, this same religious leader showed his surpassing powers of practical organization when he took personal care of the complex business of the arrangement of cattle camps, the transport of livestock and feed, and the provision for future crop needs.

These two vignettes are a fitting introduction to the head of a sampradaya (movement) which occupies a significant place not only in present-day India but in the Hindu diaspora: of late, indeed, it has achieved national attention in Britain by the inauguration of its impressive new temple in North London; whilst at certain local centres it regularly takes a prominent role in the arrangement of elaborate ceremonies at times of major Hindu festivals. It has has been described as "strong and prosperous".<1>

The sampradaya of which Pramukh Swami Maharaj is the head is not ancient, although it has its roots deep in the Hindu philosophical and devotional tradition, a fact reflected in the names of the parents of the eponymous founder - Dharma and Bhakti. Sahajanand Swami - Lord Swaminarayan - lived from 1781 to 1830, but it is impossible to construct a reliable biography, as both Indian and Western scholars recognize. Accounts of his life contain much that is hagiographical. A bare outline follows.<2>

Born to Brahman parents in the Ayodhya area, the young Ghanshyam renounced the world at the age of eleven and wandered the length and breadth of India for seven years, discussing with religious leaders and practising severe asceticism. In 1799 or 1800 he was accepted into the ashram of Ramananda and appointed the leader of the satsang upon Ramananda's death shortly after. By 1804 he was being described as a manifestation of Lord Swaminarayan and he installed an image of himself in one of the smaller shrines at the temple of Vadtal. His movement gathered strength and cohesion, sources stating that in 1822 he led fifty thousand followers to Ahmedabad on the occasion of the dedication of the new temple.

Before his death he appointed his two nephews as acharyas. Two administrative divisions were marked out by a line running roughly from Calcutta to Dwaraka, one acharya having charge of (indeed, it may be said, ruling over) the area north of that line, the other the area south of it. Today their direct lineal descendants occupy the gadis (seats - i.e. of authority) of Vadtal and Ahmedabad with a style of authority which is characterized by aristocratic, olympian dignity. A canonical text written by Sahajanand <3> specifies the various moral and ritual requirements incumbent upon an acharya and it may have been the suspicion that the then occupant of the Vadtal gadi was failing to conform to the high standards of behaviour expected from him which helped to persuade one sadhu - Yagnapurushdas - to leave the Vadtal temple in 1906. Taking a few sadhus with him, Yagnapurushdas gradually built up an ever-greater following. By the 1940's his movement had attracted many sadhus, established several of its own temples and could count considerable numbers of lay devotees; its actual independence was cemented by the establishment of a new constitution in 1947, a protracted legal process having been concluded in its favour four years previously.

Shortly before his death in 1951 Yagnapurushdas - known within the movement by the title Shastriji Maharaj, a sobriquet indicative of his great learning - appointed as his successor Jnanjivandas, Yogiji Maharaj, who in turn appointed the present head, Narayanswarupdas - Pramukh Swami Maharaj - in 1971.

In brief, Pramukh Swami Maharaj (born 1921) is the spiritual head of a now independent movement which split away from the original Swaminarayan stem. In order to appreciate the nature of his authority, some consideration of both the theology and the administrative structure of the organization is required. Since its present head unites in himself two essentially separate roles, his authority deriving from both, each will be considered in turn. The first and major role is as the spiritual head and the guru of the satsang. Pramukh Swami Maharaj is, as noted above, the third in line of spiritual descent from the sadhu who led the break from the parent group at the beginning of the century. However, this relationship of spiritual descent has a profound theological dimension, reflected indeed in the official title of the movement.<4>

It was stated above that the break from the Vadtal temple may have been in part brought about by the inability of Yagnapurushdas to accept the authority of an acharya whose conduct fell below the standard expected of the office. A second cause for the initial rupture is certainly identifiable - it is a theological disagreement. Yagnapurushdas had come to believe, and to teach, that Lord Swaminarayan had appointed one of his closest associates - Gunatitanand Swami - to be his spiritual successor. This Gunatitanand (1785 - 1867) had been an early disciple of Ramanand and had duly accepted the authority of Sahajanand when he assumed the leadership of the group.

Sahajanand had, in a manner by then traditional, given his teaching on 'the eternal entities' of which he distinguished five; jiva (soul), isvara (lord), maya (illusion), purushottam (the Supreme Person, that is, Lord Swaminarayan) and akshar (the abode of God), an analysis also accepted by the old gadi, the list appearing unequivocally in the Vachanamritam, the founding scripture of the movement.<5> One passage in particular, from a sermon delivered in 1809, apparently impressed Yagnapurushdas: "This Akshar-dham is in a dual form: firstly, as all-pervading Chaitanya...which is formless (i.e., not visible to the human eye because of its immeasurable greatness), secondly this Akshar (being associated with the Lord as His nearest devotee) is always in the proximity of the Lord in His service". <6>

This passage, relatively isolated in the distinction it so clearly makes, proved to be immensely significant. It was interpreted by Yagnapurushdas to mean that the eternal principle or 'entity' which is akshar has two distinct forms - the impersonal and the personal. The latter, the perfect devotee of purushottam (Lord Swaminarayan), was interpreted by Yagnapurushdas to be none other than Gunatitanand Swami. Purushottam dwells - fully, completely - in this personal akshar. Furthermore, and particularly, purushottam is eternally accompanied by his devotee, the personal form of akshar: "God manifests Himself on earth along with His divine Abode" <7> and Purushottam is always present to His earthly disciples in his perfect devotee who is the personal form of the eternal akshar; it is through this perfect devotee that He administers His grace.

If this be so, argued Yagnapurushdas, God has manifested His grace through an unbroken series of perfect devotees, so that a line of spiritual descent, beginning with Gunatitanand, must be discernible. (It need hardly be pointed out that only one perfect devotee - that is, only one manifestation of the personal form of akshar - is found on earth at any one time). As the theology of the movement expresses it, only through Swami who is akshar, can one come to Narayan who is purushottam; the perfect devotee is the perfect exemplar, the representative of God on earth, and speaks with divine authority because he is eternally the companion and devotee of God. Narayanswarupdas - Pramukh Swami Maharaj - being the current manifestation on earth of the eternal akshar, the source and character of his authority become plain.

He is "in continual rapport with God ..., the Lord walks and talks through His Divine Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj".<8> In the iconography of the movement, Gunatitanand Swami is depicted as pointing away from himself and towards Lord Swaminarayan - rather as does John the Baptist in a certain Renaissance tradition. Narayanswarupdas, in similar fashion and true to his name never accepts anything offered without first offering it to an image of Lord Swaminarayan <9>. 

Pramukh Swami Maharaj sees, we are told, with the eyes of God; sees all equally, and at all times. When, for example, donations were desperately needed in order to save the cattle population at a time of severe drought, he explicitly urged his devotees to treat with equal humility and gratitude both those who donated and those who refused <10>. It comes as no surprise to find that his daily puja is a public spectacle, taking place before large crowds seated in reverent silence. If a devotee at whose house he has been accommodated has the wherewithal, the room in which he slept may remain untouched; a shrine. His near-divine status is implicit in the phrase often found in communications written by devotees - "Swamiji is with me". <11>

If the authority of Pramukh Swami Maharaj should appear to be little different from that of many another holy personage, a distinguishing feature is that the nature of the authority is precisely articulated and, within the satsang, exhaustively expounded. In this instance, the widely-applicable phrase 'god-realised saint' is similarly-understood by all satsangis as a result of the well-ordered system of religious nurture employed by the Sanstha.<12>

Moreover, the deeper theology of akshar:purushottam and of Swami:Narayan is accompanied by, and given focus through, the passing on of such crucial biographical details as that the date of Narayanswarupdas' initiation into the first stage was the same ekadashi day - the bright half of Kartik - as that upon which Ramanand Swami had initiated Lord Swaminarayan. It is also said that Yagnapurushdas addressed the young Narayanswarupdas by the same title ('Narayan Muni') which was given to Sahajanand in his youth <13>. The authority of this saint as spiritual leader is, therefore, universally understood by satsangis as well as being universally accepted.

Authority as 'spiritual head' is the first of the two inter-related strands distinguished above for consideration: the second is Pramukh Swami's authority as 'guru'. In this case, as is to be expected, much is shared with the wider Indian milieu but once again a distinctive clarity is evident, on account of the theological nuances already outlined.

As the perfect devotee, Pramukh Swami the God-realised saint is the model for every satsangi: therefore his own legendary respect for his own guru is crucial in both reinforcing and focussing traditional responses to the guru's authority, in a manner distinctive to the Sanstha. The movement's hagiographical literature preserves and passes on details of his early life which reveal his exemplary devotion, first to Shastriji Maharaj, and later to Yogiji Maharaj. As a young (and physically fairly frail) bhagat, he worked to the point of exhaustion when the temple at Bochasan was under construction <14>. In response to a casual remark made by the arthritic and sick Shastriji Maharaj (and retailed to him by a third party) he is reputed to have left Atladra immediately for Sarangpur, hanging on to the outside of the railway carriage for the sixty-mile journey from Baroda to Ahmedabad because the train was full (a feat fully appreciated by anyone who has travelled long distances in India by second class rail) <15>. The authority of Pramukh Swami as guru is therefore reinforced by his identity as the personal form of akshar. His exemplary devotion to the earthly guru both perfectly embodies the scriptural injunctions on the matter <16> and acts as a focus for the behaviour of satsangis.

These two aspects - spiritual head and guru - complement each other. As the personal form of akshar his authority is divine and his presence is necessary, since only through Swami can one reach Narayan <17>. As the guru he attracts loving seva. Again, the literature of the Sanstha is replete with examples from Swamiji's own life of his own obedience, given solely out love. In 1970 he accompanied his own guru Yogiji Maharaj to London and it was noted that, although by that time a sadhu of some seniority, he nevertheless frequently spread the seating cloth upon which devotees sat at mealtimes, laid the dishes, and served food. "Whenever Pramukh Swami saw an opportunity to perform 'seva' [service] ... he did it lovingly." <18>

The 'authority' of Pramukh Swami Maharaj from the point of view of his role as guru is, then, inseparably linked with what a pamphlet speaks of as "the mutual love between the Guru and the disciple".<19> Thus we have the spectacle - truly awe-inspiring in its way, as the writer has personal reason to recognize, having been present at several such occasions both in Great Britain and in India - of men and women who give up long periods of time and /or substantial amounts of money in order to serve Swamiji. Authority is complemented by seva; without both, there can be no full involvement in satsang, and "satsang which involves the contact of a Satpurush...is the only powerful sadhana to eradicate the influence of Gunas and the resurgence of baneful thoughts arising from such influence". <20>

Although the literature provides copious examples of the astonishing results arising from devoted service, perhaps a degree of immediacy may be brought to the subject if three ordinary cases, each within the writer's personal experience, be adduced. These epitomise the authority of the spiritual head as the successor of Gunatitanand Swami and as the personal form of akshar, and the loving, unquestioning service offered to this spiritual head as guru. 

Among the writer's acquaintance is a young male satsangi first encountered when the latter was an undergraduate at the University of Leicester. He took a good honours degree in Medicine and went on to complete his hospital training, becoming a qualified General Practitioner. At festivals organized by the Sanstha in London and in Ahmedabad in 1985, and again in New York in 1992, the friendship was renewed, on each occasion the young devotee having taken unpaid leave in order to offer his services in the organization and administration of the festivals. He is, at the time of writing, living at the temple of Sarangpur, where he performs whatever tasks are required and where his medical expertise is put to good use as necessary. He does not know how long he will stay there and he does not care; Swamiji wanted him there and he needs to know no more.

The second incident - merely the most recent example of several - took place in London recently, just prior to the opening of the Sanstha's new temple in Neasden, North London. The writer slept on the floor in a dormitory, the other occupants being mostly boys or young men. Below the windows, open on account of the intense heat, were the kitchen tents in which clearing-up and the washing of dishes took place until well after midnight. The same young men rose commendably early in the morning, bathed and performed their puja. Many a face was worn and haggard, testimony to continual and prolonged effort, but no word of complaint was ever heard, nor was any slackening of effort ever discernible: all was for love of Swamiji.

The third minor incident was a meeting. When the writer was in New York in 1992 at a major Sanstha festival he made the acquaintance of a young satsangi, then reading Law at Rutgers University, who was working at the festival as an act of seva. He was detailed to drive the writer to Philadelphia, the journey affording the opportunity for prolonged conversation. In London, at the temple opening referred to previously, they met again on a staircase in the dormitory block. He had paid his own fare from New York in order to perform seva, Swamiji having so instructed all who had the means: he averred that he was happy to comply, simply out of love for Swamiji; moreover, having approached Swamiji for guidance, he had followed his guru's instructions and had abandoned his Law studies for the world of Real Estate. Finally, he informed the writer that he was now married to the daughter of a satsangi who lives in India, who himself had approached Swamiji with his need for a husband for the girl.

It should be emphasized that were either of these young men to be asked about the nature of the authority exercised by Pramukh Swami Maharaj, their answers would involve the aspects so far adumbrated.

Did the above exhaust the subject, the authority of Narayanswarupdas would not differ essentially from that of many another holy person within the Hindu tradition, however particular may be the theological nuances outlined above. However, a second type of 'authority' is present which, though in principle separable from that which has so far been designated 'spiritual authority', happens at present to be vested in this leader.  As will be clear from the foregoing, the most widely-used name of Narayanswarupdas is 'Pramukh' Swami, 'Pramukh' being a title signifying 'Administrative President'. This title was conferred upon him in 1950 when he was appointed to the office by Yagnapurushdas (Shastriji Maharaj). Between 1950 and 1971 Jnanjivandas (Yogiji Maharaj) was the spiritual head of the Sanstha - identified, that is, as the personal form of the eternal akshar - and Narayanswarupdas was President, with administrative authority. Since 1971 he has united both roles, although there is no reason why at some future date they might not be separated.

In practice, the Sanstha's major affairs are administered through two trusts, both in accordance with the laws of Gujarat. Religious activities are the responsibility of one board of trustees; all matters to do with temples, sadhus, religious observances, sacred literature and teaching material. A second charitable trust has as its remit social welfare activities; hospitals, hostels, schools, disaster-relief and so on. Pramukh Swami is president of both trusts, the administration of these being overseen by a third, separate, board of trustees.

The proposals and decisions emanating from these boards are mediated through a complex organizational scheme which reaches down to the smallest village or group of satsangis meeting at a house. A network of committees reports to a central committee and subdivisions deal with such activities as the children's programme, the youth organization, women's work, publications and examinations. The kotharis (managers) of the larger temples, or sadhus sent out to undertake or to supervise planning work, act as liaison officers between the laity and the centre. <21>

Such, in brief, is the system of which Pramukh Swami is the Pramukh, that is, the administrative head and President. At his appointment he was only twenty-eight years of age, surely an indication of Shastriji's recognising his astuteness and drive, the latter having said that "after examining all possibilities..., I appoint... Shastri Narayan Swarupdas as... President".<22> For astute he surely is, having been appointed kothari of Sarangpur even before his Presidency. One of the vignettes which introduced this paper was his dealing with the cattle problem at a time of severe drought in 1987-88. So impressed was the Rajasthan State Government with the Sanstha's organization of drought relief that its representative in charge of the matter requested the services of Sanstha sadhus.

In 1961 he was in sole charge of the organization of a substantial festival at Gadhada. On this occasion fifty-one young men were initiated as sadhus by Yogiji Maharaj. An apparently insignificant, because normal, event, this was in fact one of the occasions at which the future character of the Sanstha was first shaped: all the initiates were educated, not a few of them being graduates.

Yogiji Maharaj seems to have been possessed of the ability to attract and to hold the interest and affection of such young people, and on his visits to East Africa many university undergraduates were drawn to become sadhus. Pramukh Swami has always shown that he learned well his guru's lesson, for he not also attracts young men and women frequently of very high academic ability, but is able to make the best use of their talents. If the expression be permitted, an intellectual jewel in the crown of the movement is a young sadhu, originally from Leicester, who was of sufficient promise to be offered a provisional place at Oxford: the writer was privileged to be present at his initiation in Ahmedabad in 1985. As for the utilisation of sadhus - and indeed of satsangis in general - its wisdom and efficiency may immediately be seen from a discerning examination of the various offices and departments operating at any major festival. Longer acquaintance with the Sanstha merely reinforces the initial impression.

Moreover, young satsangis have frequently pointed out to the writer that when they have approached Swamiji for advice and guidance as to their future, he has usually instructed them first and foremost to complete their education. The premium placed upon an educated satsangi is undeniable. Yet that this is not merely a lapidary rule, applied without exception, is indicated by the case discussed above of the young man who was allowed to terminate his undergraduate Law studies.

The foregoing may here be summarised. The spiritual authority of Pramukh Swami Maharaj - as the present incarnation of the personal form of the eternal akshar, in the line of spiritual descent from Gunatitanand Swami, the companion and perfect devotee of Lord Swaminarayan - is at the present time conjoined with supreme administrative authority. The latter is surely underpinned by the former and, it may be imagined, the two elements occasionally fuse. One such occasion may have been during the terrible drought in Rajasthan mentioned earlier: Pramukh Swami simply announced that there would be no celebration of any of the Diwali cycle of ceremonies; the Sanstha's celebrations would comprise the opening of cattle camps. <23> Perhaps only an administrative head who is also divine would be able to make such a decision. Almost certainly only the instruction of such an authority would be unquestionably accepted in such a case.

A final point arises from the reference made above to the approach of satsangis to Pramukh Swami for personal guidance. The generalized 'authority' which has been the focus of the foregoing is, for most satsangis, actually focussed on particular needs or difficulties which either have been or may at some time be taken to Swamiji. The literature of the movement tells us that Pramukh Swami is always available to whomever needs him, and the witness of a substantial number of satsangis bears this out <24>. As is implied in one of the examples above, marriage is an important area of decision in connection with which the leader's advice and assistance are requested; another area is that of business. However, the writer has personally known satsangis both in Great Britain and in India who have approached Pramukh Swami with such apparently mundane matters as the placing of a window in an extension to a house.

An authority on the Sanstha suggested some years ago that such a relationship between spiritual head and devotee - appropriate and feasible within the context of a compact movement - would, as the Sanstha's numbers increased, become impossible.<25> The strength of the movement has been pointed out above, and there are indeed some signs of change: clearly no single individual (theological paradox aside) could handle the now endless stream of satsangis desirous of guidance. A number of individuals have pointed out to the writer that in certain cases they and their friends either have asked or would ask one of those sadhus in the 'inner circle' rather than troubling Swamiji; such sadhus imbibe, as it were, Swamiji's wisdom and can therefore be reliable guides in, for example, questions of theology or religious life.

When the writer came unannounced to the headquarters of the movement at Bochasan, having had no contact with the leader for some time, one of the sadhus with whom written and personal contact had been maintained reminded Pramukh Swami of the identity of the visitor. Since, as has been mentioned, Pramukh Swami has attracted into the Sanstha not only a large complement of sadhus but, among them, many literate and educated young men, the wide social and intellectual contacts which they are able to maintain allows the sense of a 'personal relation' between guru and satsangi to remain intact, as this example suggests.

An attempted analysis has here been presented of the authority of a remarkable spiritual leader. Throughout, distinctly personal impressions have been omitted in the interests of achieving as descriptive a result as possible. It would, however, fail to do justice to the subject were the writer not to aver that he has a deep sense of the appropriateness, the wholly satisfying rightness of the devout satsangi's obedience to this authority and his or her loving service of it; and that he has for long had an abiding belief in the holiness of Pramukh Swami.

Indeed, to emphasize 'authority' is perhaps misleading. The response of the satsangi is precisely one of love. "A true measure of our love for God is expressed in our willingness to obey his commands."<26> It is love for Swamiji, expressed in seva, which is the key to the manifold activities of satsangis; love rather than any obedience to 'authority', even though an unquestioned authority - its theological exposition consistently taught - calls forth that love. As one sadhu expressed it after his initiation, "only the pure love of Swamiji has changed our lives". At the beginning of this paper the weighing of Pramukh Swami was mentioned. This was a ceremony expressly carried out by the satsangis of Great Britain as an act of love and appreciation.


Hence it can be claimed that "all the achievements and successes of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Sanstha have been due to its leader".<27> This leader epitomises the paradox of incarnation; unassuming, gentle, humorous, approachable, endlessly self-giving (despite having undergone one major and several minor operations); yet the personal form of the eternal akshar, untouched by maya, dwelling in glory. The words of another incarnate deity may perhaps suggestively sum up: "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart, and you shall find rest for your souls". <28>


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NOTES

1. Williams, Raymond B. The New Face of Hinduism: The Swaminarayan religion. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984), p.xi. The same author's chapter 'The Holy Man as the Abode of God in the Swaminarayan Religion', in Waghorne, J.P. and Cutler, N. (eds) Gods of Flesh, Gods of Stone. (Chambersburg: Anima Publications, 1985) complements the present discussion.

2. For the life of Sahajanand, see Williams,1984; Dave, H.T., Life and philosophy of Shree Swaminarayan. (London: George Allen and Unwin,1974); Parekh, M.C., Shri Swaminarayan. (Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 3rd ed., 1980).

3. Shikshapatri: A Compendium of the Code of Conduct (Ahmedabad: Bochasanwasi A.P.Sanstha, 1977); Shikshapatri (Rajkot: Shri Swaminarayan Gurukul, 1982).

4. See below, note 27.

5. For a summary of the teachings of the Vachanamritam, see the author's 'Transmission of a Swaminarayan Hindu Scripture in the British East Midlands', in Williams, R.B.(ed) A Sacred Thread: Modern Transmissions of Hindu Traditions in India and Abroad. (Chambersburg,PA: Anima Publications, 1992, pp 209-227).

6. Gadhada I.21, p.31 (Vachanamritam (Shree Swaminarayan's Vachanamritam. (trans H.T.Dave),[ Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1977]). References to this text are given by the name of the place where the discourse was delivered, followed by the number of the discourse, and the page number in the translation.

7. Gadhada I.71, p.137.

8. Kalarthi, M., Idol of Inspiration - Pramukh Swami Maharaj. (Ahmedabad: Swaminarayan Aksharpith, 3rd ed, 1994),pp.36, 11.

9. Personal observation. This image - called Thakorji - is carried everywhere with Pramukh Swami: his treatment of it is exemplary.

10. Kalarthi, p.91-2.

11. Mandir Mahotsav Souvenir (Temple Booklet), August 1995. (Ahmedabad: Swaminarayan Aksharpith, 1995)

12. See Brear, 1992. 'Sanstha' is part of the official title given to the movement; see the concluding paragraph below.

13. Kalarthi, pp. 22, 25.

14. Ibid., pp. 22-4.

15. Ibid., pp. 26-27.

16. Shikshapatri.

17. On this see, e.g., Williams, 1984, p. 74.

18. Kalarthi, p. 34.

19. Ibid., p. 28.

20. Gadhada I.30, p. 47.

21. See Williams, 1984, pp.51-5.

22. Kalarthi, p. 29.

23. Ibid., p. 89.

24. Personal communications.

25. Williams, R.B., 'The Guru as Pastoral Counsellor' The Journal of Pastoral Care. December 1986, XL:4,331-340. 

26. Kalarthi, p. 24.

27. Ibid., p. 83. The first four words of the movement's official title refer to the name of the first temple built after Yagnapurushdas' move from Vadtal, and to the major underlying theological distinction which characterizes the movement's teaching. 

28. The Holy Bible. Matthew 11.29-30