MY GURU
His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj
Guru. Faith. Seva. A path that became home.
At the center of my satsang is my Guru, His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj.
To me, Guru is not simply a teacher of philosophy. Guru is the living guide who shows how those teachings are actually lived — through faith in Bhagwan, humility, purity, seva, compassion, and seeing the good in others.
Mahant Swami Maharaj is the present spiritual leader of BAPS and the sixth spiritual successor of Bhagwan Swaminarayan. His life and guidance continue a guru parampara that has shaped generations of devotees — including me.
THE GURU WHO BROUGHT ME INTO SATSANG
Pramukh Swami Maharaj
When I first found satsang in 2012, His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj was the Guru of BAPS.
I came to know a spiritual tradition through a Guru whose life was defined by humility, devotion and an extraordinary concern for people. His simple message — that our own happiness lies in the happiness of others — captures much of what initially drew me to BAPS and continues to shape how I understand seva today.
After Pramukh Swami Maharaj's earthly departure in 2016, Mahant Swami Maharaj became the present Guru of BAPS. For me, these are not disconnected chapters, but one continuing guru parampara.
THE SANSTHA
BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha
BAPS — the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha — is a Hindu spiritual fellowship rooted in the teachings of Bhagwan Swaminarayan and the Akshar-Purushottam tradition.
The sanstha was established in 1907 by Shastriji Maharaj and today brings together mandirs, spiritual assemblies, youth activities, cultural programs, humanitarian service and countless volunteers around the world. At its heart is a simple idea: spiritual growth should transform how we live, how we treat others and how we serve.
What I encountered was not merely somewhere to go on a Sunday. Satsang became a community, a discipline, a way of understanding Bhagwan and Guru, and eventually a framework through which I began looking at my own life.
- Bhakti
- Devotion to Bhagwan.
- Guru
- Spiritual guidance through the living guru parampara.
- Seva
- Serving without expectation of something in return.
- Satsang
- Growing spiritually in the company of others striving toward the same goal.
- Samp
- Unity — one of the themes particularly emphasized in Mahant Swami Maharaj's guidance.
A DREAM BUILT THROUGH SEVA
BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham
In Robbinsville, New Jersey stands something that connects many of these ideas physically: BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham.
Pramukh Swami Maharaj envisioned a spiritual campus in the United States that could bring the depth of Hindu spirituality, art and culture to generations in America. Thousands of volunteers helped turn that vision into reality, and in 2023 Mahant Swami Maharaj presided over its historic dedication.
Akshardham is extraordinary as architecture. But that isn't the part of it I find most powerful.
Every carved stone points to something less visible: faith, sacrifice, seva and thousands of people offering what they could toward a Guru's vision.
BAPS has been growing in North America since 1974 — a 50-year journey that culminated in an extraordinary chapter with Akshardham.
Explore Akshardham ↗MY JOURNEY
New York, 2012
I didn't grow up knowing that New York would become the beginning of my spiritual life.
I moved there in 2012. Somewhere in the middle of everything that comes with starting a new chapter in a new city, I was introduced to BAPS and satsang.
What began as something new gradually became something foundational.
At first there were people, sabhas, mandir, conversations and questions. Over time there was something deeper: an understanding of Bhagwan, Guru, seva and what it means to try to live with purpose rather than simply move from one milestone to the next.
Pramukh Swami Maharaj was the Guru when I entered satsang. Later, under Mahant Swami Maharaj, that journey continued and deepened.
More than a decade later, satsang is no longer something that entered my life in New York.
It is part of how I understand my life.
FROM RECEIVING TO SERVING
Satsang gave me a place to grow. Seva gave me a way to give back.
Over the years, satsang increasingly became something I wanted to contribute to rather than simply receive from.
Some of that seva happens in ways that naturally overlap with the rest of who I am — technology, presentations, exhibitions, interactive experiences and finding new ways to communicate timeless ideas.
Whether the work is visible or invisible, the aspiration is the same: offer whatever abilities I have in the service of Bhagwan and Guru.
WHAT SATSANG MEANS TO ME
What Satsang Means to Me
Faith
Learning to see Bhagwan as the doer rather than believing everything begins and ends with me.
Guru
Having a living spiritual guide whose life makes abstract ideals tangible.
Seva
Learning that abilities become more meaningful when they can be offered for something beyond ourselves.
Becoming
Satsang is ultimately not about what I know. It is about the person I am trying to become.
CLOSING
The path continues
I came into satsang in New York in 2012.
I couldn't have known then how much of my life it would come to shape.
I'm still learning. Still trying. Still grateful for the path — and for the Guru who continues to show me where it leads.