A Spiritual Travelogue of Pramukh Swami Maharaj

11 November 2002, Gondal
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Gondal (6 pages)

Ramod

Gadhada (2 pages)

Tajpur

Sarangpur (2 pages)

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(Ramod-Gadhada-Taijpur-Sarangpur)

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(Gondal)

Swamishri's Itinerary

Highlights:

November 2002

1 to 10:
11:

12:
13:

14:

Gondal
Gondal, Ramod, Gadhada
Gadhada
Gadhada, Tajpur, Sarangpur
Sarangpur, Gandhinagar, Himmatnagar

2 November 2002 (V.S. 2058, Aso vad 13) Saturday, Gondal; Dhanteras
After his morning puja, Swamishri performed the murti-pratishtha of the deities for the newly built Hari mandirs in Nani Vavdi, Dedan and Gidardi (Gadhada region). Swamishri also performed the foundation-stone laying rituals for the proposed English Medium Secondary School in Nagpur.
5 November 2002 (V.S. 2059, Kartak sud 1) Tuesday, Gondal; New Year's Day
- Swamishri blessed everyone as he went to Akshar Deri. After having darshan Swamishri performed the New Year's mahapuja from 6.10 a.m. to 7.30 a.m. Thereafter he performed his morning puja and blessed the devotees, saying, "New Year's Jai Swaminarayan to everyone. Blessings to you all for the New Year. May you all engage yourself in bhajan and spiritual discourses. Maharaj will be happy upon you... When Yogiji Maharaj used to be here devotees from India and abroad would come for darshan and listen to spiritual discourses. They would wish to stay for one day but Yogiji Maharaj made them stay for five. The reason was to lessen their worldly desires. The great Sadhu has the desire to worship God and abide by moral rules and to inspire others likewise ..."
- At 11.20 a.m., Swamishri and sadhus sang thal and offered annakut to Thakorji.
11 November 2002 (V.S. 2059, Kartak sud 7) Monday, Gondal, Ramod, Gadhada
Swamishri performed pujan of murtis for the Swaminarayan Sanskar Bhavan in Ramod, district Rajkot.
12 November 2002 (V.S. 2059, Kartak sud 8) Tuesday, Gadhada
Swamishri performed pujan of bricks for the construction of a Hari mandir in Navagam (sub-district: Vallabhipur).
13 November 2002 (V.S. 2059, Kartak sud 9) Wednesday, Gadhada, Tajpur, Sarangpur

Swamishri performed pujan of bricks for the construction of a Hari mandir in Umrala (Bhavanagar district).
Swamishri performed the murti-pratishtha rituals of marble murtis of Shri Akshar Purushottam Maharaj and Guru Parampara at the newly built Hari mandir in Tajpur. Thereafter a satsang assembly was held in which 5,000 devotees were present.

14 November 2002 (V.S. 2059, Kartak sud 10) Thursday, Sarangpur, Gandhinagar, Himmatnagar
To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the introduction of arti by Muktanand Swami, Swamishri, sadhus and devotees performed mass arti of Shri Harikrishna Maharaj after morning puja. The occasion and ritual arti evoked a divine feeling. Swamishri narrated the brief life of Shriji Maharaj and the incident of how arti was made.

Living with Swamishri :

Tilak-Chandlo

6 November 2002 (V.S. 2058, Kartak sud 2) Wednesday, Gondal
A youth called Ghanshyam was hesitating in doing the tilak-chandlo. Swamishri asked him, "When you get married, will you allow your mother-in-law to do the chandlo on your forehead, or will you say that you don't want to do it?"

Ghanshyam responded with a smile.

Swamishri explained, "Just to please your mother-in-law would you would allow her to apply the chandlo on you, likewise, you should do tilak and chandlo to please God and the Sadhu. There's nothing wrong in that!"

Gems Swamishri :

By looking at another's fault or base nature one's faults cannot be removed. An aspirant should first look at himself. (1 Nov. 02)
God's word is to obey commands. By obeying one becomes brahmarup. (1 Nov. 02)
Money used for spiritual purposes is called Maha-laxmi and that used for good work is called Shubh-laxmi. (2 Nov. 02)

Spiritual Endeavors :

To please Bhagwan Swaminarayan and Guru Pramukh Swami Maharaj children, youths and senior devotees perform austerities, pilgrimages or other devotional means. The spiritual endeavors performed by the devotees during Swamishri's visit to the local centers are congratulatory and worthy of recognition. It also reflects Swamishri's divinity for inspiring such spiritual efforts in children, teenagers and devotees.

7 Nov 2002, Gondal

75 female and 50 male devotees pilgrimaged on foot for 51 hours from Gadhada to Gondal. Swamishri blessed the 50 male devotees.

9 Nov 2002, Gondal

Swamishri blessed 2 devotees who had pilgrimaged 120 km from Jamnagar to Gondal. Swamishri also blessed 150 devotees who had pilgrimaged from Keriya-1 to Gondal.

11 Nov 2002, Gondal

11 men and women devotees pilgrimaged 100 km by foot from Dhari to Gondal.

12 Nov 2002, Gadhada

35 men and women devotees pilgrimaged 75 km by foot from Amreli to Gadhada.

13 Nov 2002, Tajpur

Balaks of Tajpur had performed 90,000 dandvats for Swamishri's good health during the Diwali vacation. The mahila mandal of Tajpur observed 82 fasts for Swamishri's good health.