Bhagwan Swaminarayan, with the utmost kindness, attended to every fervent plea of his devotees, annihilated evil elements, and transformed lives by establishing ekantik dharma. His unending compassion compelled him to endure countless hardships for the sake of pleasing his devout devotees. Not only did He travel immense distances to honor Naja Jogia’s staunch faith, but also elevated Jiva Khachar from the traps of jealousy that had taken over his mind. Similarly, Bhagwan Ram demonstrated immense compassion and piety that stirred devotion and affection from devotees of various walks of life. Inspiringly, he withdrew his rightful claim to the throne of Ayodhya to fulfill Kaikeyi’s wish and liberated Ahalya from a vicious curse; Bhagwan Ram truly exemplified the attributes of the kind lord.

This year’s Swaminarayan Jayanti and Ram Navami celebrations highlighted the sympathetic virtues of Bhagwan that propel Him to answer every earnest prayer of His resolute followers.

The month of Chaitra ushered in Swaminarayan Jayanti and Ram Navami festivities to commemorate the birth anniversaries of Bhagwan Shri Rama and Bhagwan Swaminarayan. On the divine evening of April 1, 2012, an assembly of enthused devotees and well-wishers gathered at BAPS Mandirs across North America to extol this joyous occasion. Uniquely themed, ‘He Naath Sunjo Prathana’, a parayan-formatted program engaged the audience in rapt attention as it narrated the faithful prayers of various devotees to Bhagwan and ultimately unfolded the power of prayer.

The prayerful evening also saw the children and youth of BAPS adorn the stage with themed skits, speeches, recitation of prayers and vedic shlokas in Sanskrit, and folk dances. In addition to these performances, video blessings from His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj and inspirational speeches from revered swamis perfectly complimented the spiritually charged atmosphere of the audience.

As the assembly wholeheartedly joined in singing the kirtan, “Dharma gher anand bhayo, jay bolo Ghanshyam ki”, the momentous occasion concluded leaving the attendees with a renewed understanding of prayer.
