50,000 brave chill at BAPS event in Ahmedabad

To mark the 50th year of the Bochasanvasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) temple in Shahibaug, grand celebrations kicked off in the city on Friday. The chilly winter evening did not deter more than 50,000 devotees from being a part of the celebrations.

The celebrations included prayers, videos on the history of BAPS, cultural performances and much more. The main highlights of the event were traditional dance, drama and skits at regular intervals on the history of BAPS and speech by distinguished swamis of the organisation. Many saints from different countries and nearly 3,000 devotees from outside India participated in the historic celebrations.

The event was held at Sardar Patel stadium. The magnificent stage, the presence of senior saints and thousands of devotees from India and abroad indicated the enthusiasm of the people. The senior saints present at the event were Pujya Viveksagar Swami, Pujya Mahant Swami, Pujya Tyaag Vallabh Swami, Pujya Ishwarcharan Swami and Pujya Dr Swami.

Speaking about Pramukh Swami Maharaj and the contribution of the city, Viveksagar Swami said, “This city has witnessed important events of BAPS. Pramukh Swami took diksha in this city in Ambli ni Pol.”

Not only this, the first temple of BAPS was also established in Ahmedabad. Talking more about the history, one of the devotees present at the venue, Jayesh Barot said, “Lord Swaminarayan himself visited Ahmedabad 36 times before establishing the first temple in Kalupur.”

The event culminated with a mass aarti in the night. A similar celebration will be held on January 6 at same venue where thousands of youth will participate.