Mahant Swami Maharaj

Mahant Swami Maharaj (born Vinu Patel, 13 September 1933; ordained Keshavjivandas Swami) is the present guru and president of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a major branch of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, a Hindu denomination. BAPS regards him as the sixth spiritual successor of Swaminarayan, following Gunatitanand Swami, Bhagatji Maharaj, Shastriji Maharaj, Yogiji Maharaj, and Pramukh Swami Maharaj. He is believed by his followers to be in constant communion with Bhagwan Swaminarayan, and ontologically, the manifestation of Akshar, the perfect devotee of God.

Mahant Swami Maharaj received initiation as a Hindu swami from Yogiji Maharaj in 1961. He was revealed by Pramukh Swami Maharaj as his future spiritual and administrative successor in 2012, roles he assumed upon Pramukh Swami Maharaj's passing in August 2016.

Early life Childhood and education Vinubhai Patel was born in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India on 13 September 1933. His parents, Manibhai Naranbhai Patel and Dahiben Patel, were both followers of Shastriji Maharaj and the Akshar Purushottam Upasana. Shastriji Maharaj visited the newborn a few days post-birth and named the child Keshav, although his family referred to him by his nickname, Vinu.

Vinu Patel completed his primary and secondary education at an English-medium school within the local township and then completed his 12th grade at the Christ Church Boys Senior Secondary School. He then attended the College of Agriculture in his father's native town of Anand, Gujarat, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in agriculture.

As the leader of BAPS

Presidency Pramukh Swami Maharaj had known that Mahant Swami would be his successor when the latter received initiation in 1957. On 20 July 2012, in the presence of senior swamis in Ahmedabad, Pramukh Swami Maharaj formally declared that Mahant Swami Maharaj would be his spiritual successor after his death and wrote a letter in his own handwriting to this effect. On 13 August 2016, he became the sixth spiritual successor in Swaminarayan's lineage of Gunatit gurus.

Honours In 2017, he was presented with the key to the city by the mayors of various cities, including Toronto, Canada, Lilburn, Georgia, Irving, Texas, and Chicago, Illinois.

Significance in BAPS Followers of BAPS are told he is a manifestation of ontological entity of Akshar, the form of the eternal abode of God. As such, he is said to be in constant communion with God. He is to be considered by devotees as "the perfect servant of God, …totally filled with God and therefore worthy of reverence and worship." :87-95

Theological role

BAPS teaches followers that the living guru is considered to be the ideal swami, the perfect devotee, and the principal exemplar for emulation by spiritual aspirants. He is described to followers as a personification of the scriptures His conduct is hence to be considered as that of the "ideal saint" and "perfect bhakta (devotee)", providing a tangible and graspable example for the spiritual aspirant to follow. Devotees are to view his respect for his gurus (Yogiji Maharaj and Pramukh Swami Maharaj) to be the model of devotion to one's guru.

Followers are to believe that by associating with him, they might rid themselves of their vices, baser instincts, and worldly attachments. Earning the grace of the guru, devotees are to believe, enables them to achieve liberation in which they would escape the cycle of births and deaths and attain Akshardham (God's divine abode).