Swaminarayan Sampraday (Devnagari: स्वामीनारायण सम्प्रदाय, Gujarati: સ્વમિનારાયણ સમ્પ્રદય,IAST: Svāmīnārāyaṇa sampradāya), known previously as the Uddhav Sampraday, is a Hindusect established by Swaminarayan (or Sahajanand Swami) (April 2, 1781 – June 1, 1830). Swaminarayan was handed the leadership of the Uddhav Sampraday by his guru, Ramanand Swami, to continue to propagate the teachings and philosophy of Vishishtadvaita, which originates from the Sri swaminarayan Sampradaya. Under
the leadership of Swaminarayan, the movement gained strength and at the
time of his death, there were 1.8 million followers. The organisation
is based on vedic and puritic Hinduism.
Apart from traditional Hindu scriptures, the sect has more than three
thousand works by its members. The most important are the Shikshapatri and the Vachanamrut. The Shikshapatri was written by Swaminarayan in 1826, is described as a book of social principles by the Bombay Gazetteer. Before Swaminarayan died, he split the administration of the Swaminarayan Sampraday into two seats of power (gadi meaning seat): the Nar Narayan Dev Gadiheadquartered in Ahmedabad and the Laxmi Narayan Dev Gadi headquartered in Vadtal. This was done by means of a legal document, called the Desh Vibhag Lekh.
Followers of the faith are called Satsangis,
are expected to follow certain basic rules set forth by Swaminarayan.
The sect also has a huge number of ascetics, who since inception of the
organisation contribute towards growth and development of the movement
and towards salvation of its members. They have a special
responsibility; that of taking care of images in temples. These ascetics
wear orange robes and lead a strict life refraining from worldly
pleasures and devoting their life to the service of the fellowship. The
Swaminarayan Sampraday has temples spread across five continents. Six
temples that Swaminarayan built during his lifetime are considered to be
the most important within the faith.
The
Swaminarayan Sampraday has encountered a problem of off-shoots in the
last century. Multiple organisations have been formed by people who
split from the Swaminarayan Sampraday as a result of differences in
philosophy, such as BAPS and Swaminarayan Gadi. The original movement, however remains the largest group within the Swaminarayan faith.
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