- Gopalanand Swami
Gopalanand Swami (
Devnagari : गोपालान्द स्वामी) (Vikram Samvat 1837-1908) was a saint of theSwaminarayan Sampraday and one ofBhagwan Swaminarayan 'sparamhansa s.Biography
Khushal Bhatt, the childhood name of Gopalanand Swami, was born in the Tolda Village near Idar,
Gujarat . His father was an audichiya brahmin named Motiram Sharma and his mother was Kushaladevi. Gopalanand Swami pursued deep study and showed great interest of grammar, Indian philosophy ofNyaya andVedanta . Gopalanand Swami soon became a profound scholar.In Vikram Samvat 1864,
Bhagwan Swaminarayan gavediksha (the becoming of a saint in which vows such ascelibacy and renunciation of all personal possessions and of all worldly duties, including family ties are taken) to Gopalanand Swami inVadodara ,Gujarat .Lord Swaminarayan held Gopalanand Swami in very high regard and he was very learned in Ashtang
yoga .Gopalanand Swami passed away on Vikram Samvat 1908 in Vadtal.
Responsibility of the Swaminarayan Sampraday
When the Lord left his mortal body (
Vadtal , year 1830), and returned to Akshardham, he left responsibility of theSwaminarayan Sampraday and the Acharyas in his hands. Further, it is said that Lord Swaminarayan had askedBrahmanand Swami to overlook the completion of the Junagadh Temple because he knew Brahmanand Swami had powers to bring a person back to life after death. The lord knew that before leaving, Brahmanand Swami had got a whiff of things and told Gopalanand Swami to inform him if the lord departed and not to cremate the body till he reached as he had powers to call him back. He therefore instructed Gopalanand Swami not to inform Brahmanand Swami about his departure till after the cremation of his mortal remains.arangpur temple
Gopalanand Swami arranged for an idol of Kastabhanjan Dev
Hanumanji to be installed in Sarangpur in which it is said that he invested a large amount of divine power, which is evident till today.References
* [http://www.vadtal.com/our-saints-1.html Gopalanand Swami]
* [http://www.swaminarayan.info/NandSantos/saintdetails.asp?scode=1 Nand Santos - Gopalanand Swami]
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