Swaminarayan Jayanti: Difference between revisions

[[Swaminarayan]] was born on 3 April 1781 ([[Chaitra]] sud Nom in the [[Vikram Samvat]] calendar) in [[Chhapaiya]]. This day is annually celebrated as '''Swaminarayan Jayanti''' by his followers. This coincides with the occasion of [[Ram Navmi]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism|last=Williams|first=Raymond|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2001|isbn=0521652790|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/introductiontosw0000will/page/13 13]|url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontosw0000will/page/13}}</ref><ref name="Williams 139">{{cite book|last=Williams|first=Raymond|title=An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism|url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontosw0000will|url-access=registration|year=2001|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=New York|isbn=0521652790|pages=[https://archive.org/details/introductiontosw0000will/page/139 139]}}</ref>

The day is spent in worship and reflection by followers who observe a waterless [[fasting|fast]]. In the evening, celebrations include scriptural discourses, [[Swaminarayan Mantra]] chanting, devotional singing, and live enactments of episodes from the life of Swaminarayan.<ref name="Williams 141">{{cite book|last=Williams|first=Raymond|title=An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism|url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontosw0000will|url-access=registration|year=2001|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=New York|isbn=0521652790|pages=[https://archive.org/details/introductiontosw0000will/page/141 141]}}</ref> Swaminarayan was born at 10:10 PM, and to mark the occasion, a [[murti]] of Swaminarayan is placed in a small [[Hindola|swing]] and a special [[Swaminarayan Aarti|Aarti]] is performed at all [[Shri Swaminarayan Mandirs]] at this same time.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/holydays/swaminarayanjayanti.shtml | title= BBC - Swaminarayan Jayanti}}</ref>