page_title: Bhagatji Maharaj
section_title: Under the guidance of Gopalanand Swami
hierarchical_section_title: Bhagatji Maharaj / Life / Under the guidance of Gopalanand Swami
context_page_description: Bhagatji Maharaj, born as Pragji Bhakta, was a householder devotee in the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, a Hindu denomination. He is regarded as the second spiritual successor of Swaminarayan in the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha.
  Through his discourses he was instrumental in propagating the belief that Swaminarayan was Purushottam, the Supreme Being, and that his own guru, Gunatitanand Swami, was Akshar, the divine abode of God. His spiritual realization and practice as a low-caste householder set new precedents and acted as a bulwark against the idea that spiritual elevation was confined to upper castes.
  For BAPS devotees, he is best known for passing on the philosophy of the Akshar Purushottam Upasana to his closest disciple, Shastriji Maharaj, who later founded BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha in 1907 after leaving the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. His inclusion is the BAPS lineage is remarkable as he was in a lower caste and was not a saffron-clad swami demonstrating that status does not limit spiritual realization.
context_section_description: When Pragji was ten years old, Acharya Raghuvirji Maharaj and Sadguru Gopalanand Swami visited the nearby village of Pithvadi. Due to his devotional nature, the young Pragji was chosen to perform the welcoming pujan rites of the two eminent spiritual leaders. This initial contact with Gopalanand Swami whetted Pragji's appetite for Satsang and he made a dedicated effort to remain in the company of Gopalanand Swami in Vadtal as often as possible. As Pragji's devotion and love for Gopalanand Swami increased, he expressed a wish to be initiated into the swami fold. However, Gopalanand Swami instructed him to remain a householder explaining, "If you attain spiritual knowledge from the swamis, then even while leading the life of a householder you will not be able to forget God and His holy Swami". Thus, Pragji Bhakta demonstrated the denomination's teaching that anyone could attain realization of God, even a low-caste householder, since spiritual attainment is determined by devotion, non-attachment, and spiritual understanding and practice. One day, Gopalanand Swami delivered what was at that time a prescient message to Pragji that would lay the foundation for his future discipleship under Gunatitanand Swami. Gopalanand Swami said, "Pragji, You must go to Junagadh. All the promises [of attaining spiritual realization] I have made to you will be fulfilled by the Jogi of Junagadh (an allusion to Gunatitanand Swami).” Unable to grasp the significance of this statement, Pragji did not immediately set out for Junagadh. However, when Gopalanand Swami lay on his deathbed, he once again alluded to "keeping his vision towards the Jogi of Junagadh." When Pragji sought clarification, Gopalanand Swami gave Pragji an insight into the Akshar-Purshottam philosophy by saying, "Gunatitanand Swami - the Jogi of Junagadh - is the incarnation of Akshardham. He is Swaminarayan's divine abode, and Swaminarayan is not even an atom's distance away from him." Gopalanand Swami further declared that if Pragji wished to attain ultimate liberation, he should go to Gunatitanand Swami in Junagadh.
caption: BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Mahuva, Gujarat
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