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Swaminarayan- Swaminarayan Sampraday Acharyas

Swaminarayan Sampraday Acharyas
(Courtesy of Swaminarayan.info)

The Acharyas (Gurus) are the spiritual heads of the Swaminarayan
Sampraday. Lord Swaminarayan initiated His nephews, not only by His wish
but also of the wise saints present at the time, as the respectful
Acharyas of the two 'deshs' (dioceses): Ahmedabad (NarNarayan Dev Gadi)
and Vadtal (LaxmiNarayan Dev Gadi). The wives of the Acharyas are the
Gurus of the female devotees

Lord Swaminarayan, before He decided to install His nephews as Acharyas,
gave the opportunity of the Acharyaship to the saints. The wise and
dedicated saints did not like the idea because the responsibilities such
as administration, giving initiation to women etc  would go against the
rules prescribed for the saints. So as a practical method Lord
Swaminarayan, who although knew the outcome, took the advice of His saints
and devotees to set an example of taking their divine opinion when taking
a decision in religious affairs.

An Acharya is not or was never just responsible for administration duties
but also solely responsible for divine responsibilities such as the
installation of idols (Ref:Shikshapatri Vs 62) and initiation of saints
and devotees, without which salvation is not possible (Ref: Vachanamrit
Gadhada Section1, Vachanamrit No.1)

Saints are not allowed to be the Acharyas, as that responsibility has been
allocated by Lord Swaminarayan to His 2 nephews and then to be succeeded
by generations to follow within their families. If saints were to be the
Acharyas then who would initiate and spiritually guide the female
devotees? It is for this purpose that Lord Swaminarayan chose a
householder Acharya whose wife (referred to as Gadhiwala) would be able to
initiate the female devotees and advise them spiritually (Ref:
Shikshapatri)

Lord Swaminarayan dictated the 'Desh Vibhagh No Lekh' which specifies the
method of selection of the Acharyas WITHIN 'Dharmakul' (the family Of
Dharmadev, the father of Lord Swaminarayan) and the territorial
jurisdiction for the two Acharyas of the two dioceses i.e. Northern
(Ahmedabad) and Southern (Vadtal). So the rules were set by Lord
Swaminarayan Himself as to who should be the Acharyas and published too in
'Desh Vibhagh No Lekh' to avoid confusion later in the minds of devotees

Idols of Lord Swaminarayan and others in Swaminarayan temples cannot be
worshipped if they are not installed by the Acharyas. Saints CANNOT
install idols or initiate devotees

The lineage of the Spiritual Gurus is as outlined below:

To know why it starts from Ramanand Swami or to know why the Swaminarayan
Sampraday is also known as Uddhav Sampraday, please visit Swaminarayan.info

Shree Ramanand Swami (Uddhavji)

Shree Sahjanand Swami ( Lord Swaminarayan's name when He was initiated by
Ramanand Swami)

Lord Swaminarayan then initiated His nephews as the respectful Acharyas of
the Ahmedabad diocese and the Vadtal Diocese

Ahmedabad Desh Acharyas

• Ayodhyaprasadji Maharaj (Lord Swaminarayan's elder brother, Rampratapji's
  son)

• Keshavprasadji Maharaj

• Purushottamprasadji Maharaj

• Vasudevprasadji Maharaj

• Devendraprasadji Maharaj

• Tejendraprasadji Maharaj - The current Acharya of Ahmedabad desh

• Koshalendraprasadji Maharaj (Lalji Maharaj) - The Acharya designate
  

Vadtal Desh Acharyas

• Raghuvirji Maharaj (Lord Swaminarayan's younger brother, Ichharamji's son)

• Bhagwatprasadji Maharaj

• Viharilalji Maharaj

• Laxmiprasadji Maharaj

• Shripatiprasadji Maharaj

• Anandprasadji Maharaj

• Narendraprasdaji Maharaj

• Ajendraprasadji Maharaj - The current Acharya of Vadtal 'desh'

• Nrugendraprasadji Maharaj (Lalji Maharaj) - The Acharya designate