New Delhi: Mahant Swami Maharaj initiated 46 BAPS youths into the monastic order in a grand initiation ceremony at Pramukh Swami Maharaj Nagar in Ahmedabad before an audience of tens of thousands on the morning of 6 January 2023. The 46 highly educated and devoted youths received parshadi diksha and embarked on their lifelong path of worldly renunciation, self-realization and service to God and society.
Of the 46 youths taking initiation, there are five postgraduates, 23 graduates, 16 engineers, a teacher, a pharmacist, an MBA and an MPH. Having studied from prestigious Indian and foreign universities like IIM, Harvard University (USA), Rutgers University (USA) and Melbourne University (Australia), these youths left the comforts of home and promising careers to eagerly walk on the path of renunciation.
The youths have come from around India and the world, including nine from America, one from Africa, and others from Rajasthan, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Gujarat.
The newly initiated monks will continue their rigorous monastic training at the BAPS ashram in Sarangpur (Hanuman), Gujarat, where they lead a life of simplicity and austerity steeped in devotion, service and learning. The seven-year training course helps them become proficient in their personal spiritual endeavours related to worship, service, austerities and learning.
The learning curriculum covers a deep study of Swaminarayan Hindu theology, history and literature as well as of the Ramayana, Mahabharat, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads and other Hindu scriptures. It also includes a study of languages such as Sanskrit, Hindi, Gujarati and English, and world religions.
