Preface

Avatāravāda is a unique characteristic of Hinduism. In this way, Avatārī Parabrahman Svāminārāyaṇa incarnated in the village Chapīyā in Uttara Pradeśa on 3 April 1781 (Caitra Śukla 9, Samvata 1837). In 1792, at the age of 11 years, he left his home and began a seven-year pilgrimage across India. After 7 years and 11 months, he settled in the modern-day Indian state of Gujarāta 1799. In 1800, he was initiated and took Bhagavatī dikṣā in the Rāmānanda Svāmī’s sampradāya. The Guru, Svāmī Rāmānanda, handed over the helm of the sampradāya and made him his successor in 1802. During his lifetime, Svāminārāyaṇa preached his unique teachings to his followers. Throughout his travels, he explained the principle of becoming akṣararūpa and offering upāsanā to Puruṣottama.

He revealed the existence of the following five eternally distinct ontological entities: jīva, īśvara, māyā, Akṣarabrahman, and Parabrahman. He did not encounter a single sampradāya that believed in the existence of five eternally distinct entities or the principle of becoming akṣararūpa and offering bhakti to Puruṣottama. Along with it the form and nature of Akṣarabrahman, īśvara as a distinct entity from Brahman and Parabrahman, etc. are the matchless principles found in the history of the Vedanta tradition. Svāminārāyaṇa’s teachings were based on the ancient Indian scriptures and he propagated his principles using direct references from these texts. All his teachings were compiled in his time and preserved in a written form. This compilation is known as the Vacanāmṛta.

In this manner, Svāminārāyaṇa provides a unique, unprecedented contribution to Vedic knowledge. His successors, Akṣarabrahman Guṇātītānda Svāmī and Brahmasvarūpa Bhagatajī Mahārāja, continued this legacy. Brahmasvarūpa Śāstrījī Mahārāja (Śāstrī Yajñapuruṣadāsa, the third successor of Svāminārāyaṇa) had given the name of Svāminārāyaṇa’s teaching as ‘Akṣara Puruṣottama Darśana’. He propagated this Darśana by using terms such as Akṣara-Puruṣottama Upāsanā and Akṣara-Puruṣottama Siddhānta. In addition to conveying the Darśana’s teachings, he also created the mandiras in which he consecrated mūrtis of both Puruṣottama and Akṣarabrahman. Thereafter, Brahmasvarūpa Yogījī Mahārāja and Pramukha Svāmī Mahārāja spread Parabrahman Svāminārāyaṇa’s teaching throughout the world.

In Pramukha Svāmī Mahārāja’s time, through his blessings, after two hundred years of Svāminārāyaṇa’s time, Bhadreśadāsa a Sādhu has authored a commentary (Bhāṣya) on the Prasthānatrayī. Today, Pragaṭa Brahmasvarūp Mahanta Svāmī Mahārāja is enriching devotees with these darśanic principles. This darśana is also known as ‘Svāminārāyaṇa Darśana’. This work is correlating the principles of Svāminārāyaṇa described in the Vacanāmṛta with the Svāminārāyaṇa Bhāṣya.