Monday 25 September 2023 | Bhadarva Sud 10/11, Samvat 2079
Mon 25 Sep 2023
The Hindola festival falls in the months of Ashadh to Shravan in the Hindu calendar. It is an opportunity for each devotee to become engrossed in the Lord's murti. As you stand in front of the hindoro, gently swinging the Lord whilst having His divine darshan, you can quickly become immersed into His lustrous Murti and experience a tranquil state of mind. Hindolas are thus a mode through which to meditate unto the Lord.
During this month, devotees swing Lord Swaminarayanbapa Swamibapa on beautifully decorated ceremonial swing adorned with different themes and design concepts. The concepts are based on the creativeness and innovation of the disciples. This year the hindols festival commenced on Wednesday 5th July 2023. To make it more auspicous, Adhik maas fell this year with two Shravan months also known as Purushottam maas which is an additional month in Gujurati calendar and it occurs approximately every three years. This additional month is extra auspicious allowing devotees to prepare more intricate decorations for the swing and attain even more blessings by pleasing Lord Swaminarayanbapa Swamibapa. During this auspicious festival, devotees of Shree Swaminarayan Sidhhant Sajivan Mandal across East Africa (Nairobi, Mombasa, Kampala, Arusha) also decorated various types of Hindola.
Acharya Shree Jitendriyapriyadasji Swamiji Maharaj is the current spiritual leader of Maninagar Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan. He is the heir to Acharya Shree Purushottampriyadasji Swamishree Maharaj, and sixth in the lineage of ascetic Acharyas, which descends directly from Lord Shree Swaminarayan.