Day 3 : Pramukh Swami Maharaj Nagar.

On the third day of the month-long centenary celebrations of His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, thousands gathered at Pramukh Swami Maharaj Nagar in Ahmedabad to celebrate “Para-Bhakti Day”, marking Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s pure and singular devotion to God.

The evening assembly began with an address by Adarshjivandas Swami, a learned swami of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha and the author of the extensive biography of His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj. He reflected on the centrality of devotion in Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s life and his constant communion with God. He said, “Pramukh Swami built over 1,100 temples, wrote over 760,000 letters, visited over 17,000 cities, towns and villages, personally counselled over 810,000 people, and organized thousands of social activities, philanthropic works and festivals. However, before, after and in the midst of all these activities, his devotion to God always came first and played the primary role in his life.”

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Lets take a look what few of the dignitaries who all were present at the event had to say about the event and Pramukh Swami maharaj :

Sudhir Nanavati, President of Gujarat Law Society University, stated, “When I first saw and experienced this festival today, my immediate thought was that organizing and managing this vast festival for a month with all that it entails is only possible due to the love that all the dedicated volunteers have for Pramukh Swami Maharaj. My experiences and memories with Pramukh Swami Maharaj have truly been divine. The love in his eyes is comparable to the love I saw in my mother’s eyes, while his laughter is so innocent that I can clearly recall his eyes and laughter after all these years. I recall that when I touched his feet 35 years ago, I experienced a divine current that flowed through me the likes of which I have never experienced ever again. I would like to say that while he may not be here today, his love, affection and selfless service is something that is the rarest of the rare. I am not religious enough to perform long rituals, but even after 35 years, I still do five malas every day for Pramukh Swami Maharaj.”

Anant Goenka, Executive Director of The Indian Express Group, also said, “When we bow our heads, we recognize and appreciate that there is someone bigger than us. Humility is an extremely powerful characteristic to have, because being humble tells you that you have a lot to learn. And if you are open to learn, you are open to the pursuit of truth. This is what we saw in Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s life. “Harvard did a case study that of the 600 employees of the Taj Hotel, not a single person left their post to save their life. They helped guests leave the hotel and came back to help other guests. Many of them lost their lives trying to do this. In trying to understand why they risked their lives to save other guests, they concluded it was because the employees of the Taj were not hired based on grades but based on how well they lived Indian values. The world looks to India teach them how to work without being greedy, to teach them the difference between ambition and greed. The world looks to India to teach them how to work hard yet be content. The world looks to India to learn how to be happy, no matter what the externalities around us are. In the news industry, we always cast blame on others, but Pramukh Swami Maharaj taught that the solutions to all the problems of the world lie inside of us. Events like this are very special since they remind us of this truth.”

Sri Sri Sri Tridandi Chinna Srimannarayana Ramanuja Jeeyar Swami Ji who was also present at the event also spoke about the importance of God and the devotion towards god in brief.

Pramukh Swami Maharaj Nagar also hosted a special one-day tax conclave, or ‘Gyan Mahotsav’, for members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) in partnership with all ICAI branches of Gujarat and the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav government initiative. And all the leading members of the institute showed their gratitude towards him and the conference held.

Talking about the next day, 18th December will be 4th day of the 1month long event and the day will be celebrated as “My Mandir, My Home: Celebrating Mandirs”.  And The stage guests will include:

          Teerth Kshetra Trust

          India Group’)