Pramukh Swami Maharaj was the leader of international religious organization Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS). under his leadership the religious group expands to almost all major countries and has a millions of members. He was fifth successor of Swaminarayan, after Gunatitanand Swami, Bhagatji Maharaj, Shastriji Maharaj, and Yogiji Maharaj. His role of BAPS guru was started in 1971. His main purpose was to help his believers in relieving anxieties. He started his devotion to a religious life at the early age of 17 and took Hindi monastic vows of nissneh and nishkam.
Table of Contents
Age
Pramukh Swami was born on December 7, 1921 in Gujarat, India. He was died on Aug 11, 2016 at the age of 94 due to illness. He took his last breathes in Swaminarayan temple in Sarangpur, Gujarat.
Wiki/Biography and Early life
Pramukh Swami was born in Chansad village, Gujarat, India. At the time of his birth his name was Shantilal Patel. His family were believed in Shastriji Maharaj and Akshar Purushottam. When swamiji was little in age Shastriji himself asked to his parents to bestow Shantilal for the good of thousands. Swamiji was very calm in his childhood. He got many praises for his maturity and honesty in his school time. After school hours he used to go nearby hanumanji temple to listen religious speeches by holy man named haridas. Until the age of 17 he lived in his home with family but when he turned 17 he officially joined Shastriji Maharaj. He received parshad diksha from Shastriji Maharaj in Ahmedabad on 22 November, 1939. that day Shantilala Patel turned to Shanti bhagat and started to learn Sanskrit. He received bhagvati diksha on January 10, 1940 and again renamed as Narayanswarupdas Swami. He had been suffering from a chest infection and heart matter for quite some time when he passed away to end his suffering on August 13, 2016. In his final days, he appointed Mahant Swami Maharaj as his successor. He has inspired numerous devotees since he was Shastri Purushottam and became Pramukh Swami.
| Full Name | Shantilal Patel |
| Nickname | Pramukh Swami |
| Date of Birth | December 7, 1921 |
| Age | Died |
| Birthplace | Chansad, Gujarat, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Profession | Religious leader |
| Zodiac sign / Sun sign | Not Known |
| Famous For | BAPS |
| School | Not Known |
| College | Not Known |
| Educational Qualifications | Not Known |
| Debut | NA |
| Years Active | NA |
Life as a Swami
Swami earned the name “Shastri” when he completed his learning of Hindu philosophy and scriptures at Khambat and Bhadaran. He was renamed to Shastri Narayanswarupdas. In his initial time he also cleaned the temple compounds and cooked food for swamis. He was important person to involved in building Atladra Mandir. He got the understanding the affairs and duties of BAPS when he serving as a secretary of Shastriji Maharaj. Pramukh Swami turned as the head of the BAPS temple in Salangpur on 1946 at his age of 25.
Life as a President
He got the offer to become president but he rejected every time. He finally accepted and choose to follow his guru Shastriji Maharaj’s wishes. He was declared as president of BAPS on May 21, 1950. since then he got the name “Pramukh Swami”. He served as pramukh for sixty years under Guru Yogiji Maharaj. He was declared as successor of Yogiji Maharaj and then he started his journey as guru of BAPS.
Life as a Guru
In the leader ship of Swami BAPS become a world wide organization. As a guru, he visited East Africa for the first time in 1974 and spread Hinduism’s spiritual views. As Guru, he traveled to more than fifty countries and organized more than 27 tours internationally. A million BAPS followers, 3300 temples, more than 7000 weekly assemblies, and 900 swamis followed him in 2019, due to his wisdom and true leadership. Swamiji took BAPS to the next level, bringing global recognition to it. Over one thousand temples were built in India during his reign. It is believed that he was responsible for inspiring the construction of the Swaminarayan Akshardhams in New Delhi and Gandhinagar. He was widely recognized for his wisdom and faith in keeping social and religious harmony. Swami’s ability to lead the BAPS through tough times made him a true believer and devotee of God.
Family and Cast
Pramukh Swami was born into middle class Hindu religious family from Gujarat, India. His father name is Motibhai Patel and mother name is Diwaliben Patel. As he always wanted to keep his personal life private so he never talked about that so we can’t publish it. All the details regarding his siblings are still unknown.
| Father Name | Motibhai Patel |
| Mother Name | Diwaliben Patel |
| Siblings Name | Not Known |
Girlfriend/Wife and Relationships
At the age of 17 he left his house and joined Shastriji Maharaj. He never wanted to live like all people he only wanted to gave his time to god and want to spread positivity. He never thought of getting married.
| Wife Name | NA |
| Marital Status | Unmarried |
Net worth
It is said that at the time when Swamji is leader of BAPS his estimated net worth is between $1 Million – $2 Million dollars.
| Money Factor | |
| Net Worth | $1 Million – $2 Million dollars |
Some lesser known Interesting facts
- Pramukh Swami’s original name was Shantilal Patel.
- He took the position of president of BAPS at the very young age of 29.
- He was among the richest Richest Religious Leader from India.
- He was died at the age of 94 due to long time illness.