Akshar Purushottam Upasana - Gunatitanand Swami As Mul Akshar

Gunatitanand Swami As Mul Akshar

Followers of BAPS and Akshar Purushottam Upasana hold Gunatitanand Swami, a saint and paramhansa of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, to be the personified form of Brahman as discussed above. They cite several references, incidents, and evidence, as seen below.

• Acharya Shri Raghuvirji Maharaj quoted Bhagwan Swaminarayan when he referred to Gunatitanand Swami Maharaj as his 'Akshardham, within whom he forever resides in.' Shri Harililakalpatru VII/17:49, 50.

• Acharya Shri Viharilalji Maharaj referred to Gunatitanand Swami as Akshar Murti Gunatitanand Swami Maharaj in his Kirtan Kaustubhamala. But this is not evident within his works.
• Brahmachari Krishnanandji named Gunatitanand Swami Maharaj as 'Mul Akshar'.
• Darbar Abhaysinhji of Lodhika referred to Gunatitanand Swami Maharaj as 'Mul Akshar' in Purushottam Charitra.
• Similar references can be found in the kirtans of Jerami Brahmachari, Akhandanand Brahmachari, and Jagdishanand Brahmachari of Junagadh.
• The small shrine erected at the spot where Gunatitanand Swami Maharaj used to sit in Junagadh has the inscription, "Anadi Mul Akshar Murti Gunatitanand Swami sat here for 40 years." .
• The shrine constructed on the site of Gunatitanand Swami Maharaj's final rites only a few years after his death was called 'Akshar Deri'.