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{{Short description|Indian guru (1921–2016)}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}}
{{Infobox Hindu leader
| name = Pramukh Swami Maharaj
| image =
| religion = [[Hinduism]]▼
|alt=Pramukh Swami Maharaj, 2010▼
| birth_date = 7 December 1921
▲| religion = [[Hinduism]]
|birth_date= {{Birth date|df=yes|1921|12|7}}▼
| birth_name = Shantilal Patel▼
▲|birth_place= Chansad, [[Baroda State]], [[British Raj|British India]]
▲|birth_name=Shantilal Patel
▲|death_place= [[Sarangpur, Gujarat|Sarangpur]], [[Botad district]], [[Gujarat]], [[India]]
| denomination = [[Swaminarayan Sampradaya]], [[BAPS]]
|guru= [[Shastriji Maharaj]], [[Yogiji Maharaj]]▼
| free_label = Role(s)
|disciples=[[Mahant Swami Maharaj]]▼
| free_text = Spiritual head of BAPS (1971–2016)<br>President of BAPS (1950–2016)
| monastic_name = Narayanswarupdas Swami
| notable_works = Global development of BAPS<br>Swaminarayan Akshardham (Gandhinagar, New Delhi)<br>1,125 mandirs built<br>Initiated 1,000 swamis
| philosophy = [[Akshar-Purushottam Darshan]]
}}
{{Hindu philosophy}}
'''Pramukh Swami Maharaj''' (born '''Shantilal Patel'''; ordained '''
As president of BAPS,
==Early years==
[[File:Shantilal - Pramukh Swami.png|left|thumb|Sketch of Shantilal Patel (Pramukh Swami Maharaj) as a child.]]
Shantilal was born in the village of Chansad, [[Gujarat]], on 7 December 1921.
Shantilal's mother described him as a calm and soft-spoken, yet energetic and active child.<ref name=Shantipriyadas/>{{rp|9}}
===Early spiritual inclination===
[[File:Narayanswarupdas and Shastriji Maharaj.jpg|left|thumb|Pramukh Swami Maharaj (left) with his Guru [[Shastriji Maharaj]] (right) shortly after entering monastic life at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Sarangpur (1939). [Photograph by Shankarprasad Mulshankar Trivedi].]]
Shantilal was strongly inclined towards spirituality from a young age. Upon completing his schoolwork, he would often rush off to the village's [[Hanuman]] temple, where he and a childhood friend would listen to the discourses of a Hindu "holy man" named Haridas.<ref name=Shantipriyadas/>{{rp|2}}
Shantilal's daily “darshan”, or worship, at the Swaminarayan temple in Chansad, and his association with Shastriji Maharaj and his disciple
As a teenager, Shantilal's bond with Shastriji Maharaj deepened, and his devoutness and intellect impressed many in the fellowship. Those
===Entering the monastic life===
On 7 November 1939, when Shantilal was seventeen years old, he received a letter from his guru, Shastriji Maharaj, asking him to join the
Shastriji Maharaj gave Shantilal primary initiation, ''parshad diksha'', at Ambli-Vadi Pol in [[Ahmedabad]] on 22 November 1939, and renamed him Shanti Bhagat.<ref name="aksharvatsaldas2007"/>
Soon thereafter, on 10 January 1940 at the [[Akshar Deri]] in [[Gondal, India|Gondal]], Shanti Bhagat was given the ''bhagvati diksha'', initiated as a
Renouncing worldly pleasures,
==Early years as a
As a young
==President of BAPS==
===Appointment as
[[File:Ambli Vali Pol.jpg|thumb|Depiction of the ceremony at Ambli Vali Pol in
In the early part of 1950, Shastriji Maharaj wrote several letters to 28-year-old Shastri Narayanswarupdas expressing his wish to appoint him the president of the organization. Twice Shastri Narayanswarupdas wrote back respectfully declining, citing his young age and inexperience, and the presence of many senior
On 21 May 1950 at Ambli-Vali Pol in [[Ahmedabad]], Shastriji Maharaj appointed Shastri Narayanswarupdas, then merely 28 years of age, as the administrative president ("Pramukh") of BAPS.<ref name="
===Service under Yogiji Maharaj===
[[File:Yogiji Maharaj and Pramukh Swami.jpg|left|thumb|Pramukh Swami Maharaj (right) with Yogiji Maharaj (left), then the spiritual head of BAPS, in the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Gondal, Gujarat
He continued to serve as the president of BAPS under guru Yogiji Maharaj after Shastriji Maharaj died in 1951.
Before dying in 1971, Yogiji Maharaj had explained to
==As president and guru of BAPS==
===Global growth===
[[File:BAPS Akshardham New Delhi.jpg|thumb|300x300px|[[Swaminarayan Akshardham (New Delhi)|Swaminarayan Akshardham, New Delhi]] (2007)]]
Under his leadership, BAPS rapidly grew into a global Hindu organization and witnessed a significant expansion in many measurable parameters. As
===Temples===
[[File:BAPS Mandir Chino Hills.jpg|left|thumb|300x300px|[[BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Chino Hills|BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Chino Hills, California]] (2013)]]
On 4 June 1971, in the village of Sankari, he consecrated the first temple after Yogiji Maharaj's death.<ref
===Interfaith harmony===
[[File:UN World Peace Summit.jpg|thumb|300x300px|Pramukh Swami Maharaj addressing the United Nations Millennium World Peace Summit in New York (2000).]]
In addition to meeting with and providing spiritual guidance to devotees during his international visits, he met with other religious and civic leaders.
This vision of harmony through dialogue characterized his message within BAPS and beyond.
===Celebrating Hindu culture===
[[File:Cultural Festival of India.jpg|left|thumb|300x300px|Cultural Festival of India in Edison, NJ (1991)]]
He led BAPS’ efforts in conducting a number of large-scale cultural festivals, with the aim of fostering better understanding and appreciation of Hindu traditions and promoting moral and spiritual living.<ref name="
===
[[File:BAPS monks.jpg|thumb|300x300px|BAPS
Beginning with his first
== Death ==
[[File:Pramukh swami samadhi sthal, salangpur,Botad, Gujarat.jpg|thumb|Shrine erected at the place of cremation,
He had been suffering from a [[lung infection|chest infection]] in his last days from which he was gradually recovering. However, due to his longstanding heart problems, he died on 13 August 2016, at 6 pm at the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir, [[Salangpur, Gujarat|
==Significance in BAPS==
Followers of [[BAPS]] believed him to be a manifestation of "Akshar", the form of the eternal abode of God. As Akshar he was also in constant communion with God.
===Theological role===
[[File:BAPS congregation.jpg|left|thumb|300x300px|BAPS devotees in an assembly in the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.]]
The living guru is considered by followers of BAPS to be the ideal
Devotees considered him to exemplify all the ideals of the religion; he was viewed as the first disciple, most faithful in his observance of the commandments, most active in propagation of the religion, the best interpreter of the meaning of the scriptures, and the most effective in eradicating the ignorance that separates man from God.<ref name="Raymond1996">Raymond Brady Williams (1996). "The Holy Man as the Abode of God in the Swaminarayan Religion". In Joanne P. Waghorne and Norman Cutler’s ''Gods of Flesh, Gods of Stone: The Embodiment of Divinity in India''. [[Columbia University Press]]. {{ISBN|0-89012-037-4}}.</ref>{{rp|153}}
[[File:BAPS Akshardham Gandhinagar.jpg|thumb|Prayer assembly after the 2002 terrorist attack at [[Swaminarayan Akshardham (Gandhinagar)|Swaminarayan Akshardham]] in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India.]]
His practice of carrying the ''[[murti]]'' of Swaminarayan before him and directing all garlands or offerings presented to him to the image was also seen as a paradigm of humility and selflessness.<ref name="Raymond1996"/>{{rp|150}}
Followers believed that by associating with him, they might rid themselves of their vices, baser instincts, and worldly attachments.<ref name="Raymond1996"/>
For a devotee of BAPS, he was considered the essential spiritual link with God.<ref name="autogenerated105"/>
===Spiritual guide===
[[File:Pramukh Swami - writing letter.jpg|left|thumb|232x232px|Pramukh Swami Maharaj writing letters to devotees in Gujarat, India.]]
[[File:Pramukh Swami - speaking with you.jpg|thumb|Pramukh Swami Maharaj counseling a young devotee in Gujarat, India.]]
Pramukh Swami was approached by many followers for guidance in all aspects of life.<ref name=GDR />{{rp|144}}
Raymond Williams reports that through such pastoral counseling, "Pramukh Swami instructs his followers to believe in God, because without belief in the inspiration of God and faith, nothing is possible".<ref name="Raymond2004"/>{{rp|109}} Young devotees approaching Pramukh Swami for advice and guidance were often counseled to focus on their education.<ref name="Raymond1996"/>
Pramukh Swami had said that the purpose of his providing advice on such a range of matters was not to establish the devotees in business or to enable them to become wealthy, but to relieve them of anxieties about mundane affairs so they could attend to their spiritual progress.<ref name="Raymond2004"/>{{rp|110}}
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== References ==
{{reflist|2}}
==Further reading==
* APJ Abdul Kalam with Arun Tiwari, ''[[Transcendence: My Spiritual Experiences with Pramukh Swamiji]]'' (2015), HarperCollins India. {{ISBN|978-93-5177-405-1}}
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[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:2016 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian Hindu spiritual teachers]]
[[Category:People from Vadodara district]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Swaminarayan Sampradaya]]
[[Category:20th-century Hindu religious leaders]]
[[Category:21st-century Hindu religious leaders]]
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