Towards the end of the eighteenth century, a lone pilgrim reached Gujarat and joined a small ashram in Loj. In time, his followers not only accepted him as the leader of the ashram but also as the manifestation of deity and called him Swaminarayan. His followers increased rapidly and today Swaminarayan Hinduism is a transnational religious movement with major centers in India, East Africa, UK, USA, and Australasia. In a first multidisciplinary study of the movement, this volume provides new and vital information about its history, theology, as well as its transnational development, and brings forth current academic research from fields as diverse as the arts, architecture, sociology, and migration studies, among others. It analyses the philosophy, conduct, and principles that guide Swaminarayan Hindus and provides a case study of the historical and social processes of adapting religious traditions to shape new identities in response to evolving social, economic, and political changes.

Table of contents

Contents List of Tables List of Figures Acknowledgements Note on Transliteration and Pronunciation Introduction Section I: History Introduction to History by Raymond Brady Williams Chapter One: Situating the Swaminarayan Tradition in the Historiography of Modern Hindu Reform by Brian A. Hatcher Chapter Two: Sahajanand Swami’s Language and Communication by Makrand Mehta Chapter Three: Gujarati Socio-religious Context of Swaminarayan Devotion and Doctrine by Francoise Mallison Chapter Four: Swaminarayan and British Contacts in Gujarat in the 1920s by Sadhu Paramtattvadas and Raymond Brady Williams with an Appendix on Historical Dating by Sadhu Amrutvijaydas Chapter Five: The Swaminarayan Ideology and Kolis in Gujarat by Vibhuti Parikh Chapter Six: Sahajanand Swami’s Approach to Caste by Sadhu Mangalnidhidas Section II: Theology and Literature Introduction to Theology and Literature by Yogi Trivedi Chapter Seven: The Swaminarayan Commentarial Tradition by Arun Brahmbhatt Chapter Eight: Akshara and Its Four Forms in Swaminarayan’s Doctrine by Smit Gadhia Chapter Nine: Swaminarayan’s Brahmajnana as Aksarabrahma-Parabrahma-Darsanam by Sadhu Bhadreshdas, translated by Sadhu Aksharananddas Chapter Ten: Multivalent Krishna-bhakti in Premanand’s Poetry by Yogi Trivedi Chapter Eleven: Brahmanand and His Innovations in the Barahmasa Genre by Dalpat Rajpurohit Section III: The Arts and Architecture Introduction to the Arts and Architecture by Yogi Trivedi Chapter Twelve: Early Swaminarayan Iconography and Its Relationship to Vaishnavism by Cynthia Packert Chapter Thirteen: Swaminarayan Temple Building: Tradition and Innovation by Rabindra Vasavada Chapter Fourteen: The Nagara Tradition of Temple Architecture and ‘Truth to Shastra’ by Adam Hardy Section IV: Transnational Networks Introduction to Transnational Networks by Raymond Brady Williams Chapter Fifteen: Development of Swaminarayan Hinduism in Uganda and the Kampala Temple by Paddy Musana Chapter Sixteen: Transnational Growth of BAPS in East Africa by Sadhu Vivekjivandas with Mahendrabhai Patel and Sadhu Ishwarcharandas Chapter Seventeen: Terrorism and Interfaith Relations at Swaminarayan Akshardham in Gandhinagar by Sadhu Brahmaviharidas Chapter Eighteen: Construction of the BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in Chino Hills, California: A Case Study in Interfaith Bridge-building by Kalpesh Bhatt Chapter Nineteen: Thinking through Akshardham and the Making of the Swaminarayan Self by Hanna Kim Chapter Twenty: Swaminarayan (BAPS) Identity Formation in Virtual Transnationalism by Andrew Kunze About the Editors and Contributors Index