Gunatitanand Swami

Gunatitanand Swami (17 October 1785 – 11 October 1867; born Mulji Sharma) was a prominent paramhansa of the Swaminarayan Sampraday who was ordained by Swaminarayan and is accepted as the first spiritual successor of Swaminarayan by the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) sect. Born into a religious family in Bhadra, a small farming community in the state of Gujarat, India, he first received religious education under his father’s guru, Ramanand Swami before encountering Swaminarayan and becoming a sadhu under him at the age of 25. He was revered for his spiritual discourses and divine service. For BAPS Devotees, he embodies an essential element of the doctrine of Akshar and Purushottam. They believe based on interpretation from the Vachanamrut (scripture containing discourses by Swaminarayan) that “Akshar is an eternally-existing spiritual reality having two forms, the impersonal and the personal.” Furthermore BAPS claims that Gunatitanand Swami was believed to be the first personal manifestation of Akshar in the Guru Parampara, an unbroken line of “perfect devotees” who provide “authentication of office through Gunatitanand Swami and back to Swaminarayan himself.” The Vadtal and Ahmedabad dioceses of the Swaminarayan Sampraday do not subscribe to this theory.Gunatitanand Swami held various administrative roles, most notably as the Mahant of Junagadh mandir, a position he held for forty years. In addition to this, he was a prominent speaker and was held in high regard as an authority on religious matters in general. A collection of his most important teachings on swadharma (one’s duty), atmagnan (knowledge of the soul), detachment, devotion to God and various other matters relating to the Swaminarayan sect has been published under the name Swamini Vato. Gunatitanand Swami died in 1867 and a famous shrine known as the Akshar Deri was built upon the spot obsequies were performed.