Ahmedabad: Head of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha Mahant Swami Maharaj initiated 46 youths into the monastic order in a grand initiation ceremony held at Pramukh Swami Maharaj Nagar in Ahmedabad. These 46 youths, including an IIM-Udaipur alumnus, took 'parshadi diksha' from Mahant Swami Maharaj to become monks, a release from the sect said on Friday.
There are five postgraduates, 23 graduates, 16 engineers, an MBA and an MPH. Nine are from the United States of America, one from an African nation and others from Rajasthan, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Gujarat, it said. "Having studied at prestigious Indian and foreign universities like IIM, Harvard University (USA), Rutgers University (USA) and Melbourne University (Australia), these youths left the comforts of home and promising careers to eagerly walk on the path of renunciation," the release said.
The newly initiated monks will undergo seven-year monastic training at the BAPS ashram at Sarangpur in Botad district where they will lead a life of simplicity and austerity, it said. "The curriculum covers a deep study of Swaminarayan Hindu theology, history and literature as well as of Ramayana, Mahabharat, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads and other Hindu scriptures. It also includes a study of languages such as Sanskrit, Hindi, Gujarati and English, and world religions," said the release.
IIM-Udaipur alumnus Hardik Mistry said he took diksha to serve society and for his own spiritual development, it stated. Pramukh Swami Maharaj Nagar has been created on 600 acres of land on the outskirts of the city as part of Pramukh Swami Maharaj Centenary Celebrations of the BAPS Swaminarayan sect.
Pramukh Swami Maharaj was the spiritual guru of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha. He was born on December 7, 1921, became chief of the BAPS Swaminarayan sect in 1950, and died on August 13, 2016. (PTI)
