(MOREPIC1)(MOREPIC2)(SUBHEAD)Raj Sadosh/Abohar.
After the opening of Swaminarayan Mandir in Jalandhar with the inspiration of globally revered Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the Punjabi translation of the Shikshapatri has now been published for the convenience of the Punjabi speaking devotees in the country and abroad. This book was unveiled recently by PP Mahant Swami Maharaj, the current spiritual head of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, during his stay at Akshardham Delhi.
On the occasion, veteran saint Pujya Ishwarcharan Swami garlanded Mahant Swami Maharaj. He said that Bhagwan Swaminarayan incarnated in the village of Chhapaiya near Ayodhya in Samvat 1837 for the welfare of many living beings. He left home at the young age of 11 years. He composed the Shikshapatri, aiming to establish stability and peace in the society. Lakhs of BAPS followers are making their life successful by following the teachings recorded in it.
On 26 February 1830, at Rajkot a historic meeting took place between Bhagwan Swaminarayan and Sir John Malcolm, the then Governor of Bombay. At this meeting, Bhagwan Swaminarayan presented a copy of the Shikshapatri to Sir John Malcolm. This copy is now housed at the Bodleian Library of the University of Oxford.
Bhagwan Swaminarayan had instructed Nityanand Swami to translate Shikshapatri from Sanskrit into Gujarati. It has since been translated numerous times into other languages. It has been translated to Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Udiya, Urdu, Vraj, Afrikaans, Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Modern Hebrew, North Sotho, Portuguese, Russian, South Sotho, Spanish, Swahili, Xhosa and Zulu and now in Punjabi.
In this program, the child artistes of Punjab enthralled the audience by presenting folk dance Bhangra.
