The end of 2020 brought joy to a small group of friends that came together, as a result of an impromptu invite, to perform the last arti of the year in the village of Chansad, the humble birthplace of His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj.
During a conversation with sadhus in Chansad, we thought that it would be a good idea to have our close friends finish the year at Bapa’s birthplace. 70 invites were sent and in half an hour, we had 120 acceptances!
Frankly, we should not have been surprised at all. After all, Bapa has brought so much joy to so many people, both directly and indirectly. Just remembering his name continues to bring joy even today.
The arti took place in Chansad at the home of his actual birthplace. We were incredibly lucky and privileged enough to have both Narayancharan Swami and Hariprakash Swami performing the arti. Both had been personal sevaks of Bapa for many years.
After a short discourse, they showed us all the exact spot where Bapa (Shantilal) was born on Wednesday 7 December 1921 at 8.20 am. They showed us the window from where he would see the village lake and the Hanuman Temple that he visited. We were shown the school where he studied and other mandirs that he visited. Most importantly, we saw the cricket ground where he was playing with his friends when he received a letter from his guru Shastriji Maharaj asking him to come to Bochasan to join the fellowship of sadhus. With the full blessings of his parents, Shantilal immediately left without any further thoughts!
It was an incredibly auspicious evening for all of us as we were about to enter the year of Bapa’s centenary in 2021.
Jay Swaminarayan.
Nitin and Kamu Palan
