The Swamini Vato is a set of quotations and sayings written by

Gunatitanand Swami Gunatitanand Swami (28 September 1784 – 11 October 1867), born Mulji Jani, was a prominent paramhansa of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya who was ordained by Swaminarayan and is accepted as the first spiritual successor of Swaminarayan by the Boc ...

. It is a scripture in the

Swaminarayan Swaminarayan ( IAST: ', 3 April 1781 – 1 June 1830), also known as Sahajanand Swami, was a yogi and ascetic, who is believed by followers to be a manifestation of God Krishna, or as the highest manifestation of Purushottam, and arou ...

denomination of the Hindu religion. It was documented in the mid 19th century over the course of Gunatitanand Swami's 40 year tenure as the Mahant of Junagadh Mandir.

Philosophy

Through his talks, Swamini Vato,

gave advice for every aspect of life and beyond. Topics ranged from the glory of God, and how to gain spiritual knowledge, to how to attain peace and happiness. The scripture is believed to have discussed the value of human life itself.

Compilation and publishing

When

delivered discourses, devotees took notes on his talks. The notes were later studied by Achintyanand Brahmachari, after being asked by Gunatitanand Swami to continue giving discourses on these topics. At this point, the Swamini Vato was officially dubbed a scripture by the

Swaminarayan Sampradaya The Swaminarayan Sampradaya, also known as Swaminarayan Hinduism and Swaminarayan movement, is a Hindu Vaishnava sampradaya rooted in Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita, characterized by the worship of its charismatic founder Sahajanand Swami ...

. The original set of Vatos has 5 ''prakrans'' (chapters) and was compiled by Balmukunddas Swami, who was a disciple of Gunatitanand Swami. The

BAPS Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS; ) is a Hindu denomination within the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. It was formed in 1905 by Yagnapurushdas (Shastriji Maharaj) following his conviction that Swaminarayan remained present o ...

sect has published a new edition of the Vatos which includes the addition of two more ''prakrans'' compiled by Krishnaji Ada, another disciple of Gunatitanand Swami, based on claims of the latest research and critical study of the original text.

References

External links

Swamini Vato PDF
*https://www.baps.org/Spiritual-Living/Scriptures/Central-Swaminarayan-Scriptures/Swamini-Vato.aspx {{Swaminarayan
Swaminarayan Sampradaya Hindu texts