Please Leave Feedback via this Form

---

 

(Vachanamrut Gadhada I 12: The Attributes of the Elements; Creation)

Extract: 

On Māgshar sudi Punam, Samvat 1876 [1 December 1819], Shriji Mahārāj was sitting in Dādā Khāchar’s darbār in Gadhadā. He was dressed entirely in white clothes. At that time, an assembly of sādhus as well as devotees from various places had gathered before Him.

…Muktānand Swāmi inquired, “What is the abode of God like?”

Shriji Mahārāj replied, “The abode of God is without a beginning and without an end; it is divine, infinite and indivisible; and it is characterised by eternal existence, consciousness and bliss. I shall describe it using an analogy. Imagine that this whole world, with all of its mountains, trees, humans, animals and all other forms, is made of glass. Also imagine that all of the stars in the sky are as bright as the sun. Then, just as this glass world would glow with extreme beauty amidst this radiance, the abode of God is similarly beautiful.”

 

Discussion Points:

1. Go round each family member and ask what is the most beautiful place they have ever seen on holiday at night.
   1. What made the place look more beautiful? And why? - answers should include the use of lighting
2. On a more personal front, each member of the family can then pick out a favourite feature of their home, and why they like it the most.
3. Diwali is coming up, each member can then explain what they do during Diwali in their homes
   1. Answers should include: Cleaning up our home, decorating the home with rangoli, decorating the ghar mandir, and hanging up lights to make the home look more beautiful.
   2. If possible and if available, the family can go through some photographs or some memories of past Diwali celebrations they will have done (approx. 1-2 mins)
4. Everyone agrees that the home looks more beautiful during Diwali as it is clean, well-lit, well-decorated etc. 
   1. Now imagine that your entire home, fully decorated, is made of glass. Then what happens?
   2. Answer should be: it is a lot brighter
   3. Now imagine that the homes in your entire street are made of glass and they are all lit up. Then imagine that your local area, then town, then county, then region and then the whole country, and then the whole world is made of glass. Imagine how bright it would look.
   4. That is how beautiful Bhagwan’s home is.
5. What is Bhagwan’s home? Akshardham. That Akshardham is extremely bright.
6. We may wonder if we can ever experience this brightness before we die. The answer is: YES!
   1. Another form of Akshardham is Mahant Swami Maharaj, in whom Bhagwan Swaminarayan eternally lives. He looks like a normal human being, but he has the brightness of Bhagwan within him. He is the one who will help us experience Akshardham nu sukh in person, and take us to the Akshardham as described in the Vachanamrut at the end of our lives.
7. That is the Mahant Swami Maharaj that is our best friend! He plays with us, he gives us air hugs, he responds to our loving gestures, he always looks after us…
   1. All to remember their best smrutis of MSM23.

 

Activity - Light me up:

What You Need:

• A glass of water
• A sheet of white paper
• A torch
• A small cut out of Akshardham (Robbinsville, Gandhinagar or Delhi)

Instructions:

• Fill the glass almost to the top with water.
• Place the glass of water on the white piece of paper, and move the flashlight around until you see a rainbow on the piece of paper.
• Then place the cut out of Akshardham just at the top of that rainbow