Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha

Uncommon card · No. 100442

Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, abbreviated as BAPS, is a Hindu denomination within the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. It was formed in 1905 by Shastri Yagnapurushdas (Shastriji Maharaj) following his conviction that the yogi Swaminarayan remained present on earth through a lineage of gurus starting with Gunatitanand Swami. As of August 2016, Mahant Swami Maharaj is the 6th guru and president of BAPS. The philosophy of BAPS is centred on the doctrine of Akshar-Purushottam Upasana, in which followers worship Swaminarayan as God, or Purushottam, and his choicest devotee, Gunatitanand Swami, as Akshar. As of 2024, BAPS has 44 shikharbaddha mandirs and more than 1,300 mandirs worldwide that facilitate practice of this doctrine by allowing followers to offer devotion to the murtis of Swaminarayan, Gunatitanand Swami, and their successors. BAPS mandirs also feature activities to foster culture and youth development. Many devotees view the mandir as a place for transmission of...

Read on Wikipedia