Great Britain, Great Sampraday

A conversation at work centred around the topic of being British born to Indian parents.  That led me to get thinking – What are the great things each country has provided us with?  Let’s have a look shall we?

Great Player

Britain gave us Rugby, India gave us Kabadi

Britain gave us Sir Isaac Newton and Calculus, India gave us the Number Zero and the Number system

Britain gave us some of the greatest writers ever, India gave us the world’s first Universities (both residential and non residential)

Britain gave us The Beatles, India gave us Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar

Britain (or England more so) gave us Cricket, India gave us Sachin Tendulkar

The list actually endless. But the overlaps and similarities are actually amazing.  The relationship between Britain and India can always be looked upon in a number of ways.  Some tend to see the British as nothing more than oppressors who interfered with our culture and economy.  Others look at the good they did in terms of the railway network, education structure and legal framework they introduced to India. Personally speaking, I tend to meander between the two.  However when you look at it from a Satsangi perspective - the dynamics change greatly.

From a Sampraday standpoint – we owe a great deal to the British.  If we just think about the impact they have had during Swaminarayan Bhagwan’s time and even today – much of our prosperity has come from the generosity of the British.  In fact His Holiness Mota Baapji will often reference this in His speeches.  

Until the Sun and Moon shine

1 – During Swaminarayan Bhagwan’s time, Sir Dunlop of the then British government was so impressed with His work on social reform that he gifted 5000 acres of land for the building of a temple.  This temple came to be known as Shree Swaminarayan Temple – Kalupur, the world’s first Shree Swaminarayan temple and the foundation for the Sampraday.  Sir Dunlop, who was present at the opening ceremony was so impressed ordered a 101 gun salute to the temple.  Now for those who aren’t familiar with the tradition of gun salutes – they are a military and naval tradition to mark special occasions. Generally speaking within Indian custom and for British Raj the more guns used – the more prestigious the event – with 21 being the highest.  A 101 gun salute was reserved for the British monarch.  The fact that a tradition only used for Royalty was used to commemorate the opening of our temple should go some way to illustrate just ho impressed and respectful the British were to the Sampraday.

Holy Shikshapatri (left Sir John Malcolm,
right Shree Sahajanand Swami)

2 – Shree Hari personally gave a copy of the Shikshapatri – the shastra that is the pillar of the Sampraday – to Sir John Malcolm – the then British Governor of Mumbai as mark of mutual respect and admiration.  Sir John was deeply aware of the need for social harmony and peace – principals that make up the Shikshapatri – and so had immense respect for Sahajanand Swami and the work He carried out.

Today – on Vasant Panchmi – the Holy Shikshapatri is housed in the world famous Bodleian Library in the University of Oxford.  The fact that the British have safeguarded this gift for over 185 years in one of their grand institutions speaks volumes (excuse the pun) of the greatness of the Shikshapatri as well as the profound respect the British hold for ancient manuscripts particularly those given as gifts.  We as Satsangi’s should take great pride in the fact that our most cherished shastra is being preserved and protected by those who may not be devotees of Swaminarayan Bhagwan but are devotees of the principals He has laid down in the Shikshapatri.  The very same principals the museum is aiming to preserve – further underlying the importance of this great building. That they (the British) have upheld such great morals and manners in preserving a scripture that represents the pinnacle of Swaminarayan Bhagwan’s values, ethics and principals for all these years should be an inspiration for us all.

Vasant Panchmi, VS 1882.  When our values, principles and ethics would be immortalised into a single Shastra

The Dehli Durbar of 1911

The relationship between the British and our Sampraday does not stop there though. In 1911 King George V arrived in India to attend the “Dehli Durbar”. The Delhi Durbar, meaning "Court of Delhi", was a mass assembly at Coronation Park, Delhi, India, to mark the coronation of a King and Queen of the United Kingdom. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was held three times, in 1877, 1903, and 1911 - at the height of the British Empire. The 1911 Durbar was the only one attended by the sovereign, who was King George V.

Shield Presented to Acharya
Shree Devendraprasadji Maharaj

After hearing the arrival of the King, His Holiness Acharya Shree Devendraprasadji Maharaj sent a chariot from Shree Swaminarayan Temple, Kalupur to the welcome ceremony held at the Gate of India, Mumbai. To show his appreciation King George presented a shield to the Temple. This shield has been in safe keeping ever since and will will be placed at the museum for everyone to view.  The just a glimpse of the mahima and inspiration that is deep rooted in these sacred prasadi items.  I cannot begin to imagine the greatness that lies in store for the hundreds of other items that will be on display.