Ahmedabad
Ghanshyam Maharaj’s Divyatasbhar Nagar Yatra and Swami Baba’s Smriti Devotedly Conducted by Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan in Lake District, England
England has its own unique culture and architecture. There is a lot of greenery all around. There is abundant natural beauty. The Lake District is a city of 16 lakes. Lake Windermere is an incredibly beautiful and natural spot. Located in the scenic Lake District, Windermere is the largest lake in England. The Lake District has abundant water bodies. The beautiful scenery of Windermere; and its surroundings with 300 meters high tree-covered hills and small islands in the middle attracts many tourists.
Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan’s Adya Acharyapravar Gurudev Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa visited the Lake District: Windermere on Samvat 2035 Bhadarva Sud Chhath Date: 29/08/1979 with around 500 plus devotees. Many tourists and locals thronged to witness this amazing darshan of Jeevanpran Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa.
Swamibapa seated his successor Ved-Ratna Acharya Shree Purushottampriyadasji Swamishree Maharaj beside Him and the this interaction between Swamibapa and Ved-Ratna Acharya Shree Purushottampriyadasji Swamishree Maharaj was wonderful. Since then this area has become a place of pilgrimage for devotees of Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan.
A grand procession (Nagaryatra) was organized under the guidance of Maninagar Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan’s Acharya Shree Jitendriyapriyadasji Swamiji Maharaj in Lake District, England, and a grand procession was held with the grandeur and divinity of Shree Ghanshyam Maharaj, Shree Harikrushna Maharaj along with Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan’s Acharya Gnan-Mahodadhi Param Pujya Shree Jitendriyapriyadasji Swamiji Maharaj and Eminent Sadguru Sants presided in the beautiful chariot. Shree Muktajivan Swamibapa Pipe Band, Bolton and London performed devotional tunes during this procession and attracted visitors from numerous nations. The ladies also held holy Kalash’s on their heads and sang kirtans with devotional melodies behind the chariot of His Divine Holiness Acharya Swamiji Maharaj.
Thereafter, just as Gurudev Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa and Ved-Ratna Acharya Shree Purushottampriyadasji Swamiji Maharaj were seated in a cruise boat called Miss Cumbria 44 years ago in 1979 in the UK’s largest Lake Windermere in Cumbria, Sants and Haribhaktas also had the opportunity to take a cruise with His Divine Holiness Acharya Swamiji Maharaj.
After boating in Lake District Windermere, Gnan-Mahodadhi Acharya Shree Jitendriyapriyadasji Swamishri Maharaj and Sadguru Sants planted a new tree in the supreme memory of Ved-Ratna Acharya Shree Purushottampriyadasji Swamishree Maharaj. After that, a memorial assembly of Adya Acharyapravar Gurudev Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa, was also held on Swamibapa Hill. In the assembly, Gnan-Mahodadhi Acharya Swamiji Maharaj offered Poojan archan and aarti to Gurudev Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa. The assembly was then blessed with the divine blessings of Gurudev Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa.
To keep alive the memory of the unforgettable events in the Lake District and to keep alive the memory of the divine blessings of the Lord, a devotional celebration of Gurudev Shree Muktajeevan Swamipapa’s memory sabha was held under the chairmanship of His Divine Holiness Shree Jitendriyapriyadasji Swamishree Maharaj, the sixth heir Acharya of Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan.
A special thanks to:
Mayor – Leitch Hallstsch,
Councillor – Aidrian Legge,
Police Sergent – Suzzanne O’Neill
Police constable – Becky
Cruise Owner – Nigel Wilkinson MBE
Lake Manager – John Woodburn
for their efforts and cooperation in allowing us to hold this exceptional memorial event.