Premium
This is an archive article published on December 17, 2022

Pramukh Swami Maharaj Centenary: Inside the ‘city’ built for the event

The ‘Pramukh Swami Maharaj Nagar’ stands on 600 acres of land on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, and has been built over a period of six months.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Mahant Swami Maharaj of Swaminarayan Sanstha after inauguration of Pramukh Swami Maharaj Nagar as part of Pramukh Swami Centenary celebration in Ahmedabad. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Mahant Swami Maharaj of Swaminarayan Sanstha after inauguration of Pramukh Swami Maharaj Nagar as part of Pramukh Swami Centenary celebration in Ahmedabad. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)
Listen to this article
Pramukh Swami Maharaj Centenary: Inside the ‘city’ built for the event
x
00:00
1x 1.5x 1.8x

The month-long Pramukh Swami Maharaj Centenary event, to celebrate the spiritual leader of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purshottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 14. The event is expected to bring in over a million visitors, including world leaders, to Gujarat, in a specially built temporary ‘city’.

Building the Pramukh Swami Maharaj Nagar

The ‘Pramukh Swami Maharaj Nagar’, which is hosting the event, stands on 600 acres of land on the Sardar Patel Ring Road (SPRR), on Ahmedabad’s outskirts, built over a period of six months. The land was donated by 300 farmers and builders for two years, though a quarter of this land belongs to the Nirma Group Chairman, Karsan Patel. While the construction is on 200 acres, the remaining 400 acres are being used for parking, accommodation of volunteers and their cooking and dining areas.

Nearly 80,000 volunteers, including swamis of the sect, have taken leave from their organisations for over a month to build the ‘city’, combining technology, spiritualism and art. According to organisers, the work for this started more than a year ago, during the Covid period.

Story continues below this ad

For the accommodation of dignitaries, visitors and volunteers, builders have given flats, farm houses and bungalows within a 15 km radius of the city. Devotees too have opened up their homes. For this, a separate app was created, where all the accommodation was graded and allotted as per requirements.

The city will be wound up after January 15, the work for which is estimated to take around two months. A sect member, Brahmvihari Swami, said most of the material used will be returned or distributed among devotees.

For instance, he said, the paver blocks used across the city will be returned to the builders. The plants used will be distributed to people and used in the temples, while the construction material is to be used in BAPS festivals and temples. The 600 acre land will return to what it was before, with basic infrastructure like roads remaining.

The centrepiece of the city is a 67-feet high replica of the Akshardham temple at Delhi, besides a Bal Nagari (children’s cultural adventureland), vast assembly arenas to host a variety of cultural and spiritual programmes, light and sound shows, a glow garden, and national and international academic and professional conferences.

Story continues below this ad

The city opens at the ‘Sant Dwar’, a 380-feet long and 52 -feet high ornate gate visible from the SP Ring Road, which has 28 statues of spiritual luminaries, such as Adi Shankaracharya, Sant Tulsidas, Lord Buddha, Mahavira Swami, Swami Vivekanand, and others. Each of the other six gates are 116-feet long and 38-feet high, showcasing the life and work of Pramukh Swami.

A 30-foot-high golden idol of Pramukh Swami stands on a 15-feet high pedestal encircled by an arcade of arches.

A nursery spread over 3 acres with over 200 species of plants is watered by drip irrigation method.

Who was Pramukh Swami?

Pramukh Swami, the fifth spiritual successor in line of the Swaminarayan gurus, was born on December 7, 1921 to a family of farmers in Chansad village of Vadodara. He passed away at Sarangpur in Botad district of Gujarat on August 13, 2016, at the age of 95.

Story continues below this ad

During his time, the sect grew manifold, adding not just followers but also around 1,200 temples across the world, one being the Akshardham temple in Delhi.

According to Bhadreshdas Swami, “Pramukh Swami Maharaj created mandirs (temples) to be a refuge in times of difficulties and a space to meditate on God and experience peace.”

The month-long event in Ahmedabad is the culmination of the five-year celebration of his centenary by the BAPS sanstha.

Over the past year, many social and spiritual initiatives were led by BAPS, including a ‘Family Harmony Campaign’ held in 17 states.

Story continues below this ad

The international events included a special programme exploring Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s work of ‘The World as One Family’ held at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Canada celebrated by illuminating the Niagara falls in saffron, London by lighting up the arch of Wembley Stadium in saffron, a tree and plaque were unveiled by Westminster City Council in the heart of London and a lake, Narayan Sarovar, was built in Chansad, Pramukh Swami’s birthplace.

Leaders share experiences

Apart from Modi and Union Home minister Amit Shah, the celebrations have seen the participation of Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani; G M Rao, Chairman of the GMR group; T S Kalyanraman, Chairman of Kalyan Jewellers; Karsan Patel, Chairman Nirma Group; Pankaj Patel, Chairman Zydus Cadila; Vijay Munjal, Chairman Hero Electric and Hero Exports; and Dilip Sanghavi, Managing Director of Sun Pharmaceuticals.

Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Speaker of the Lok Sabha Om Birla, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar are also expected.

Sect member Swami Bhadreshdas said, “When the Akshardham temple in Delhi was inaugurated in 2005, a Muslim President (APJ Abdul Kalam), a Sikh Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh) and a Hindu Leader of Opposition (Lal Krishna Advani) came together for the ceremony. This inclusiveness was the hallmark of Pramukh Swami.”

Story continues below this ad

Kalam had written a book, ‘Transcendence’, on the spiritual experiences with Pramukh Swami in 2015.

PM Modi has referred to Pramukh Swami as a “father figure” and said at the inauguration that he signed all his election candidature forms using the pen sent earlier by Pramukh Swami and after him by Mahant Swami (the current guru). Modi also shared how he had been receiving the cloth for his kurta-pyjamas from Pramukh Swami and later by his successor.

Events

The city promises day-long engagements with discussions on world issues, discourses and cultural performances in the evenings by more than 575 children and youths.

The month-long celebrations will host an international solidarity day with participation from Hindus, Jains, Parsis, Sikhs, and Buddhists, said sect member Aksharvatsal Swami. A seminar on temple architecture, conventions for the empowerment of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and a seminar on Sanskrit are among the events planned.

Latest Comment
Post Comment
Read Comments
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement