Laxmi Narayan Dev Gadi

Ghanshyam Maharaj in the Akshar Bhuvan at the LaxmiNarayan Dev Gadi headquarters

The Laxminarayan Dev Gadi (Devnagari: लक्षिमिनारायन देव गदी) is one of the two Gadis that together form the Swaminarayan Sampraday. It is headquartered at the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Vadtal and controls the Dakshin Vibhag.

The current Acharya of this Gadi is Acharya Shree Rakeshprasadji Maharaj.

History

Vadtal Swaminarayan Temple Logo

In Vadtal, on Prabodhini Ekadashi of Vikram Samvat 1882, Swaminarayan adopted his nephews Ayodhyaprasadji Pande (Son of elder brother Ramprasadji) and Raghuveerji Pande (Son of younger brother Ichcharamji) as his sons. Establishing the two Gadis i.e. NarNarayan Dev Gadi, headquartered at Ahmedabad and LaxmiNarayan Dev Gadi, headquartered at Vadtal, Swaminarayan instructed the two cousins to draw lots, to decide who would be seated on which Gadi.

Ayodhyaprasadji Maharaj was appointed the inaugural Acharya of the NarNarayan Dev Gadi (also known as the Uttar Vibhag - Northern division), whilst Raghuveerji Maharaj became the inaugural Acharya of the LaxmiNarayan Dev Gadi (also known as the Dakshin Vibhag - Southern division).

The administrative division between the two is set forth in minute detail in a document written by Sahajanand Swami(Bhagwan Swaminarayan), called Desh Vibhaag Lekh. The method by which future Acharyas are to be appointed is enshrined in the document Desh Vibhag Lekh.

Swaminarayan then instructed all the followers present to do poojan of their respective Acharyas.

Acharyas

The following table lists all the Acharyas of the Vadtal Gadi till date.

Acharya Number	Name of Acharya	Born on	Became Acharya on	Death	Term
1	Acharya Shree Raghuvirji Maharaj	21st Mar 1812	10th Nov 1826	9th Feb 1863	37 Years
2	Acharya Shree Bhagvatprasadji Maharaj	11th Oct 1838	09th Feb 1863	12th Aug 1879	17 Years
3	Acharya Shree Viharilalji Maharaj	19th Apr 1852	12th Aug 1879	27th Sep 1899	20 Years
4	Acharya Shree Laxmiprasadji Maharaj	15th Aug 1892	27th Sep 1899	24th Apr 1909	10 Years
5	Acharya Shree Shripatiprasadji Maharaj	18th Aug 1875	26th Apr 1909	12th Feb 1931	22 Years
6	Acharya Shree Anandprasadji Maharaj	22nd Jul 1906	12th Feb 1931	08th Jul 1974	28 Years
7	Acharya Shree Narendraprasadji Maharaj	25th Jan 1930	30th Apr 1959	1986	25 Years
8	Acharya Shree Ajendraprasadji Maharaj	16th Aug 1949	1984	Present	N/A
9	Acharya Shree Rakeshprasadji Maharaj	23rd Jul 1966	31st Jan 2003	Present	Present

Organisations

Laxmi Narayan with Rancchodrai at the Swaminarayan temple in New Jersey (Somerset)

Organisations under the LaxmiNarayan Dev Gadi.

Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul, Rajkot

A gurukul is a place of learning. Started by Dharmajivandas Swami in 1948 in Rajkot, the organisation imparts education to thousands of students in various parts of India today. Gurukuls have been established in places like Junagadh, Surat, Hyderabad, Taravada, Navsari, Bangalore, Dallas, USA, Vidyanagar and Narmada over the years.^[1] This organisation is a totally independent organisation. The current head of this orgainisation is Guru Shree Devkrushndasji Swami. The Acharya of the LaxmiNarayan Dev Gadi, however, is the highest spiritual authority at the Gurukuls.

LaxmiNarayan Dev Spiritual Organisation

Located in the San Francisco Bay area this organisation was formed at the behest of Acharya Shree Rakeshprasadji Maharaj to perform Satsang in the area.^[2]

International Swaminarayan Satsang Mandal

Main article: ISSM

The International Swaminarayan Satsang Mandal (ISSM) is an organisation based in USA that comes under the Laxminarayan Dev Gadi, Vadtal.^[3] It has temples in various parts of the country, all of them being named Vadtal Dham after the parent organisation....^[4]

See also

• Bhagwan Swaminarayan
• Swaminarayan Sampraday

Notes

1. ^ "Introduction to the Shri Swaminarayan Gurukul". http://www.rajkotgurukul.org/the-gurukul/about-us/. 
2. ^ "Original Swaminarayan Organisation Vadtal - SFO". http://www.vadtal-sfo.com/AboutUs.html. 
3. ^ Williams 2004, pp. 145
4. ^ Williams 2001, pp. 229

References

• Williams, Raymond (2001). Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521654227. http://www.amazon.com/dp/052165422X. 
• Desh Vibhag Lekh
• Acharyas of the Swaminarayan Sampraday
• Dharmakul
• Swaminarayan Acharyas