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Stuti: [(Shrimad Sadgun Shālinam…), Jaynād (1 min)]
Dhun: [Bhaj Man Swāminārāyan - Anirdesh Kirtan Muktavali (3 mins)]
Gun Grahan: [Write down 3 qualities of people you have met, seen, or heard about this week, and share these with your family.]
Prasang Reading (3 mins):
It was 6.50 pm on 20 July 1985, London. The day every devotee had been eagerly awaiting for months. Final preparations for the Suvarna Tula festival at Queens Park Rangers stadium were over. The festival atmosphere was charged with excitement, and when Swamishri arrived, the 17,000 devotees shouted, “Pramukh Swami Maharaj ni Jai.” The thunderous ‘jais’ echoed the greatness and feelings for the divine occasion.
The festival climaxed when Pramukh Swami Maharaj took Harikrishna Maharaj and sat on a giant scale for the Suvarna Tula. Then, one by one, the devotees placed packets of sugar on the empty scale, which in turn were later weighed against gold. The ambience of devotion was elevating as Vedic mantras chanted by the sadhus filled the air. The devotion offered to Swamishri was a celebration of honour and pride to not only the devotees of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya alone, but to all Hindus and well-wishers of Indian culture. And amidst this outpouring of faith, Pramukh Swami Maharaj remained calm and absorbed in the murti of Bhagwan Swaminarayan.
After this grand, divine celebration, Swamishri became immersed in reading letters from devotees while his car left the stadium. Within seconds, Swamishri had forgotten the honour bestowed upon him. The grand Suvarna Tula festival, the impressive Queens Park Rangers stadium and the thunderous applause of devotees had not overwhelmed him one bit.
The very next day, there occurred a contrasting incident.
A person came to see Pramukh Swami Maharaj at the Akshar Purushottam Mandir in London. He was extremely angry due to a misunderstanding. He started uttering foul language before Swamishri. His horrible words and insults angered the sadhus and youths sitting in the room. But Swamishri was unruffled. There was not a trace of anger on his face and no bitter feeling in his heart. Like an idol of compassion and forgiveness, he merely listened and stopped any counter reactions from those sitting in the room. After exhausting his rage, the person became silent. Swamishri instructed the attendants, “See that he is served lunch before he leaves.”
Swamishri can forget the grand honour accorded to him in moments, and also forgive and forget the insult rained on him in seconds! Whether he is insulted or honoured, he always remains stable and absorbed in Bhagwan Swaminarayan.
Discussion Points:
- Summarise the prasang in 3 sentences.
- Can you think of three times when you have gotten extremely angry and done something you regret
- Can you think of three times when you have been complimented a lot or been in the spotlight.
- How did Pramukh Swami remain stable in the prasang?
- For the future, can you think of three ways that you can control your emotions and remain stable in a scenario?
- Can you think of any prasangs when our Gurus or anyone you know have remained stable in different scenarios?
Family Activity - Stay Calm:
- Choose one person to be the ‘Annoyer’
- They have 5 minutes to try and annoy everyone else.
- They win if anyone shows signs of anger or agitation so STAY CALM
- You could also reverse it by making the person be an ‘Honorer’ - they have to compliment and praise everyone.
Make it harder - You could add more ‘Annoyers’ or make rules for the ‘Annoyer’ e.g. They can’t talk.
From this we can imagine just how hard it was for Pramukh Swami to have remained stable and not let his emotions control him. Similarly, we must not allow our emotions to control our actions by remembering Bhagwan Swaminarayan and asking ourselves how Pramukh Swami would have reacted.
Optional activity:
Try to create your own mini weighing scale and recreate the Suvarna Tula. You could create a stadium or use a murti of Pramukh Swami. Turn your creative minds on!