Sadguru Nityanand Swami

In the village of Datiya, near Lucknow, lived a Brahmin called Vishnu Sharma. His wife’s name was Virjadevi. This pious couple led a pure life and worshipped God. They enjoyed great respect for leading their lives in accordance with the principles of dharma. Due to merits earned in their previous births, they were blessed with two sons, whom they called Govind and Dinmani. Dinmani was born on the auspicious day of 21 March 1793 (Chaitra sud 9, Samvat 1849).

Of the two, Dinmani was more interested in studies than his brother. Also, his noble behaviour, courtesy and politeness made him dearer to everyone. At the age of eight, Dinmani was given the yagnopavit by his father in accordance with the rites prescribed by the scriptures.

With a keen desire to attain knowledge, Dinmani went to Kashi, where great scholars and pundits lived. Due to his studies and the samskars of previous births, he began to think, “Theoretical knowledge is for debates only. In order to realize God, one must experience jnan. For this, one must associate with a Satpurush. Such a Satpurush can be found at places of pilgrimage. Hence, Dinmani set out on a pilgrimage in search of such a Satpurush.

He visited many holy places, but his intense desire to find a God-realized Sadhu or manifest God remained unfulfilled. As days passed, his hope for such a meeting waned and he became increasingly sad. He bathed in the holy waters in Jagannathpuri and Rameshwar, and prayed at sacred mandirs, but his goal of attaining a Satpurush was not achieved. Although disappointed, he was not disheartened. Not prepared to give up his search, he continued his pilgrimage.

He came to Gujarat and visited Dwarika. On his way from Dwarika, he came to Visnagar. Here he received some encouraging news: “Bhagwan Swaminarayan has manifested on Sadguru Nityanand Swami 1 this earth. He travels throughout Gujarat with his paramhansas, and thousands of spiritual seekers have sought his refuge.” On hearing this, Dinmani felt great joy in his heart. He became impatient to meet Bhagwan Swaminarayan. He inquired from many people about Bhagwan Swaminarayan before arriving in Unjha, a town in north Gujarat.

He saw thousands of people near the lake on the outskirts of the town. There, he had his first darshan of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, who was seated on a raised decorated platform surrounded by sadhus and devotees. Dinmani experienced divine bliss on seeing Bhagwan Swaminarayan. As if he had known him from before, his mind instantly merged into the murti of Shriji Maharaj. He felt, “I have attained manifest God.” Like an arrow, Dinmani sped towards Shriji Maharaj and fell at his feet. He prayed, “O Lord! You are everything to me. I want to become your disciple. Please keep me forever at your feet.” Merciful Maharaj got up from his seat and affectionately embraced Dinmani. Maharaj read the detachment written on the lustrous face of this virtuous devotee and accepted him.

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For some time, Dinmani travelled with Maharaj. Soon, Maharaj gave him bhagvati diksha in Meghpur and named him Nityanand Swami. True to his name, Nityanand always beamed with the satisfaction of the bliss of God. He had already mastered the Vedas and other scriptures. However, to attain expertise in Nyaya, Mimansa and other Darshan Shastras, Maharaj sent him to study under a great pundit. Learning was his first love. His sharp intellect flourished with the study of the Darshan Shastras. Great scholars were highly impressed with his rare scholarship and personality. Within a short time, Nityanand Swami earned great respect among the scholar-paramhansas of Shriji Maharaj. Maharaj appreciated his intellect and honoured him by establishing him as one of the sadgurus. The pundits of 2 Satsang Reader 2 the Vidvatsabha of Maharaja Sayajirao of Vadodara were jealous of the increasing popularity of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. They challenged Nityanand Swami to a debate on the scriptures. Right from the outset, Nityanand Swami found fault with their philosophical propositions and defeated the pundits with his logical explanations. He established that the Swaminarayan Sampradaya was indeed Sanatan – eternal – in accordance with the Vedas, and that the philosophy propounded by Bhagwan Swaminarayan was correct.

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Once, Shriji Maharaj travelled to Junagadh along with Nityanand Swami and other sadhus. He was accorded a warm welcome with great fanfare by the nawab. The nawab received Maharaj in his palace and performed puja with great love. A foolish pandit called Narsinh Pandya came there to defeat Maharaj in a scriptural debate. Certain jealous Nagar Brahmins who were in league with Narsinh Pandya told the nawab, “This Narsinh Pandya wants to have a scriptural debate with Swaminarayan.” When Maharaj heard this, he told the nawab, “Let there be a debate. All his questions will be answered by Nityanand Swami.” With these words, Maharaj left the royal court and returned to his lodgings.

Narsinh Pandya asked, “Why is it that we bow at God’s feet and not to his hands, face, head and other parts of the body? Why do you call Swaminarayan God?” Nityanand Swami found his questions too simple and shallow. He replied, “By bowing at the feet of God we offer our devotion as a servant. This is the best form of worship.” The foolish Pandya remarked, “No, it is not like that. God’s feet are pure; in the rest of his body resides maya. That is why we worship his feet.” The assembly burst into laughter on hearing this remark. The nawab observed, “The entire body of God is pure.” Thus, Pandya lost the first round. However, he was vain, so he asked another question, Sadguru Nityanand Swami 3 “One who wants to be God must write a commentary on the Prasthantrayi¹. Only when accepted by the pundits of Kashi, can one claim Godhood. Has this Swaminarayan Bhagwan written any such commentary?”

When Nityanand Swami heard this question, he answered, “Is the sun the sun because people call it so? Without that, will it cease to be the sun?” The nawab lost his temper when he heard such foolish questions from Narsinh Pandya and banished him from the royal court. When other jealous people saw this, they were also crestfallen. Nityanand Swami then explained varous topics such as the form of God, devotion, upasana and others. The nawab was greatly pleased to hear him.

Thus, Nityanand Swami, while travelling in the company of Maharaj, greatly enhanced the prestige of the Sampradaya among the scholars by participating in scholarly debates. He influenced many seekers to shed their incorrect beliefs and seek shelter at the feet of Shriji Maharaj. He was rightly called vidya varidhi – an ocean of wisdom.

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Nityanand Swami had unshakeable faith in the supremacy of Bhagwan Swaminarayan. While the Satsangijivan scripture was being written in Vartal, the question of how to describe Maharaj’s swarup or form was raised. Most of the sadhus likened him to past incarnations. At that time, however, Nityanand Swami declared, “Shriji Maharaj is the avatari of all avatars. He is the cause of all causes. He is the manifest supreme God, Purushottam Narayan. How can we possibly say that he is like others?”

The sadhus were divided on this issue. Even Shriji Maharaj himself opposed Nityanand Swami’s stance. Maharaj tried his best, but Nityanand Swami was as firm as a mountain in his 1. Three foundational shastras of Sanatan Dharma: Brahmasutras, Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita. 4 Satsang Reader 2 conviction. He didn’t budge. In the end, Shriji Maharaj called him an obstinate person and excommunicated him!

Nityanand Swami stopped attending the daily satsang assemblies. He stopped taking meals and engaged in constant meditation and bhajan. This continued for seven days. On the eighth day, Shriji Maharaj invited Nityanand Swami to the assembly, performed his puja and offered his own garland as a token of love and appreciation for his devotion. People were surprised to see this sudden change in Maharaj’s attitude towards him. Maharaj then explained to the paramhansas, “Nityanand Swami is correct in his understanding. A devotee must possess such qualities. You, too, should understand my swarup or form the way he understands it.”

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Although Nityanand Swami was quiet and serious by nature, he wasn’t without a sense of humour. When celebrating the Fuldol festival, spraying colours or playing raas, Shriji Maharaj often appointed him as leader of one of the groups. Swami also enthusiastically participated.

Once, Shriji Maharaj was ill in Gadhada. He was taking afternoon rest in the Akshar Ordi. He called Nishkulanand Swami and said to him, “Bring me a cart. I want to go to Mount Salemal to perform austerities.” Nishkulanand Swami replied, “Maharaj! You are not well. We will go there as soon as you recover.” Maharaj ignored his pleas and insisted, “I want to go there now.”

So, Shuk Muni approached Nityanand Swami and explained everything to him. Nityanand Swami went to Akshar Ordi. With the help of four people, he lifted Maharaj’s cot and started rocking it. Maharaj sprang up and exclaimed, “Oh! Why is this cot rocking?” Nityanand Swami quietly replied, “Maharaj! The road to Mount Salemal is like this. It is uneven and so your cot is getting jerks.” Sadguru Nityanand Swami 5 “Don’t bluff. This isn’t Mount Salemal. This is the Akshar Ordi,” said Maharaj. Nityanand Swami responded, “Maharaj, why are you bluffing? You aren’t well, yet you are talking of going to Mount Salemal.”

Maharaj heard this humorous retort and gave up his idea of going to the mountain. He backed off, “Fine, I will do as you wish.” Nityanand Swami then returned to his room.

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After Shriji Maharaj’s departure to Dham an incident took place in Ahmedabad. Pundits belonging to various sects gathered together in Ahmedabad and resolved to defeat the Swaminarayan scholars in a debate. At that time, Nityanand Swami was in Vadodara.

The pundits of the royal court went to Maharaja Sayajirao of Vadodara to seek his permission to participate in the Ahmedabad debate. Sayajirao said to them, “You will have to face Nityanand Swami. Have you thought about that?” The pundits replied, “Nityanand Swami is not going to participate in this debate. Acharya Ayodhyaprasadji Maharaj of Ahmedabad has not invited any scholars from Vartal. He has restricted this debate to the learned sadhus of his own region. Moreover, Nityanand Swami is here in Vadodara.” Sayajirao understood the meaning of their words and granted permission for them to participate in the debate. He said to the pundits, ‘‘If you lose the debate, however, your pensions will be discontinued.”

Immediately after this meeting, Sayajirao sent a message to Nityanand Swami, who was camping at the local Swaminarayan mandir, “You must instantly leave for Ahmedabad. I am sending the royal coach for you.” However, it was not possible for him to participate in the Ahmedabad debate without the formal consent of Acharya Raghuvirji Maharaj of Vartal. So Sayajirao also sent a letter to Acharya Maharaj requesting him to send Nityanand Swami to Ahmedabad. Acharya Maharaj quickly responded 6 Satsang Reader 2 to the royal request and instructed Nityanand Swami to go to Ahmedabad. Nityanand Swami duly arrived in Ahmedabad with seven carts full of books. Also, as he himself was so bulky he alone occupied one cart. He was also accompanied by his disciples. The pundits of Ahmedabad had thought that in the absence of Nityanand Swami, they would certainly win the debate. However, when they saw Nityanand Swami in the assembly, all their hopes were shattered. They lost all hope of winning the debate. Such was Nityanand Swami’s commanding personality.

All the questions raised in the debate were easily answered by one of the sadhus studying under Nityanand Swami. Even the scholars present there remarked, “All preparations were made to hunt a hare, but a lion turned up. How can one possibly fight it?” Thus, on many such occasions Nityanand Swami enhanced the prestige of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya with his scholarly prowess.

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Nityanand Swami wrote many scholarly books. He was chiefly responsible for giving an organized form to discourses in the Vachanamrut, which contains the immortal divine wisdom of Shriji Maharaj. As instructed by Maharaj, to strengthen the Sampradaya he wrote many other books based on the spiritual principles revealed by Maharaj. Also, it was at Nityanand Swami’s suggestion that Acharya Maharaj to preserve the sanctified holy relics of Maharaj as divine mementoes. Subsequently, the acharyas collected many such holy objects to display in permanent exhibitions. Even today, one can have the darshan of these sacred objects preserved in various mandirs.

Nityanand Swami also contributed significantly in constructing the mandir at the site where Shriji Maharaj had been cremated in Lakshmi Vadi. In accordance with the commands of Shriji Maharaj, he spent one month every year in the company of Aksharbrahma Gunatitanand Swami in Sadguru Nityanand Swami 7 Junagadh. On hearing the wise talks of Gunatitanand Swami regarding the need to abstain from worldly pleasures and to understand the divine form of Shriji Maharaj, Nityanand Swami used to say, “Nishkulanand Swami is uprooting the attachment to sensual pleasures by composing kirtans; Gunatitanand Swami is accomplishing the same through his insightful discourses. He is not restricted by any scriptural limitations.”

In Vartal, on 1 December 1851 (Magshar sud 8, Samvat 1908), in the presence of Acharya Raghuvirji Maharaj, Gopalanand Swami, Shuk Muni, Shunyatitanandji and other sadhus, Nityanand Swami passed away.

To the very end of his life, he served the Sampradaya and followed Shriji Maharaj’s commands. Accomplishing his spiritual mission on this earth, he attained Akshardham to forever remain in the service of Shriji Maharaj.

Maharaj himself praised this great sadguru in Vachanamrut Gadhada III 24, “Nityanand Swami [has] the virtue of desiring to please me.” Again in the Sarvamangal Stotra, everyone remembers him while singing ‘Nishãnitya Kathãdara’.

Nityanand Swami’s scholarly works include:

Sanskrit Texts: Hari Digvijay, Harikavach, Shri Hanuman Kavach, Shandilya Sutra Bhashya.

Gujarati Texts: Bhagvat Dasham Skandh Purvardh, Bhagvat Pancham Skandh, Vidur Niti, Bhagavad Gita, Vaikunth Darshan, Kapil Gita, Gunvibhag, Avatar Charitra, Narayan Kavach, Nishkam Shuddhi, Commentary on Shikshapatri.

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