Bhagatji Maharaj

Bhagatji Maharaj (20 March 1829 – 7 November 1897), born as Pragji Bhakta, was a householder devotee in the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, a Hindu denomination. He is regarded as the second spiritual successor of Swaminarayan in the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS). His spiritual realization and practice as a lower ranked caste householder set new precedents and acted as a bulwark against the idea that spiritual elevation was confined to upper castes.

For BAPS devotees, he is best known for passing on the philosophy of the Akshar Purushottam Upasana to his closest disciple, Shastriji Maharaj, who later founded BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha in 1907 after leaving the Swaminarayan Sampradaya.

Life

Childhood

Pragji Bhakta was born on 20 March 1829 in the small, bucolic town of Mahuva into a family of tailors. His father was Govindbhai Darji his mother was Malubai Darji. As a young child, Pragji was greatly inclined towards devotion and spirituality and often visited the nearby Laksmi-Narayan mandir (which still stands today) to offer his devotion. Although this decision was criticized by some due to Bhagatji Maharaj's low-caste, Shastri Yagnapurushdas pointed to the teachings of Swaminarayan in the Vachanamrut to argue that a spiritual leader should not be judged by social classifications but by spiritual elevation.

Bhagatji Maharaj continued to spread the message of Akshar and Purushottam for the rest of his life. A group of swamis, including Shastri Yagnapurushdas and Swami Vignandas, endeavored to stay with him as much as possible and listen to his discourses. As a result of this association, these swamis were demoted from their monastic status and forced to wear the white robes of the initiate. As relations improved, however, the swamis were readmitted soon after.

Death

As Bhagatji Maharaj advanced in age, he appointed Shastri Yagnapurushdas, later known as Shastriji Maharaj, as his spiritual successor. In November 1898, Bhagatji Maharaj developed a serious illness and stopped consuming food. On the day of annakut, he went to the local mandir and gave a discourse in front of the thousands who had come for his final darshan. Bhagatji Maharaj died on 7 November 1898.

Legacy Bhagatji Maharaj's life epitomized that liberation was not dependent on caste or social status, but rather on detachment, devotion to God, spiritual realization and the grace of the God-realized guru. He taught renunciants the importance of celibacy and of controlling the senses. His central message, however, was that Swaminarayan was the Supreme Being, all-knower, and all-doer, and that Gunatitanand Swami was Akshar, or the divine abode and matchless devotee of Swaminarayan. This message, coupled with the emphasis on living an austere and pure life, resonated with many of his followers.

A hallmark of Bhagatji Maharaj's life was his resoluteness in obeying Gunatitanand Swami's commands. When Gunatitanand Swami asked Pragji to go fetch the nearby Mt. Girnar, Pragji immediately rose to carry out this seemingly impossible task, explaining to others that since it was his guru's wish, he was duty bound to carry it out.

Despite a simple background and minimal formal education, Bhagatji Maharaj attained a spiritually elevated state that was widely recognized amongst both his followers and his antagonists. For the followers of BAPS, Bhagatji Maharaj serves as an ideal for attaining a heightened spiritual state, which was possible due to his devoted service to please his guru Gunatitanand Swami.