Tuesday 31 January 2023 | Maha Sud 10, Samvat 2079
Tue 31 Jan 2023
When Lord Shree Swaminarayan was merely 11 years old, He embarked on a forest expedition (van-vicharan) to bestow salvation upon innumerable souls. He took the guise of a Sage, Shree Nilkanthvarni, and performed staunch austerities as He visited many of the pilgrimage sites of North and West India. Eventually, He started His journey to the South of India. Shree Nilkanthvarni travelled to Kanyakumari Rameshwaram and many of the other sacred places in that southern part of India.
In 1965, Gurudev Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa also travelled to these regions. At that time, there was a convention held in Kerala by the Akhil Bharat Sadhu Samaj, of which Gurudev Swamibapa was the President of the Gujarat Division. A group of 9 Sants and 5 disciples travelled with Swamibapa on that occasion. Our beloved Ved Ratna Acharya Swamishree Maharaj was part of this Yatra Group, and He wrote a detailed account of Swamibapa’s travels in this region. This was published in the March 1965 edition of Shree Ghanshyam Vijay.
With the encouragement of Gnan-mahodadhi Acharya Swamiji Maharaj, a group of over 450 sants and disciples will travel back to these sacred regions where Lord Shree Swaminarayan and then Gurudev Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa and Ved Ratna Acharya Swamishree Maharaj visited.
As part of this 10 day Mokshdayi Smruti Yatra, from 7 to 16 November 2022, Acharya Swamiji Maharaj and the group will travel to Madhurai, Rameshwaram, Kanyakumari, Kovalam, and surrounding regions.
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.