A collection of his most important teachings on dharma, knowledge of the atman, detachment, bhakti, and various other matters has been published under the name Swamini Vato.

[1][2]: 132 Gunatitanand Swami was born on 28 September 1784 (Aso Sud Punam, Ashadhi Vikram Samvat 1841) to Bholanath and Sakarba Jani in the village of Bhadra,[1][2]: 121 [9] situated near the river Und in what is now Gujarat, India.

[6]: 4 [7] As Mulji approached adolescence, his sacred thread ceremony was performed on 13 June 1793[6]: 6 [7] in anticipation of his pursuit of a religious education.

[6]: 6  He openly told others that Narayan (God) would eventually visit his village and hence he had no reason to travel to Kashi, as was traditionally done for one who wished to pursue a serious religious education.

By the time he was in his early teens, he had grasped the principles of Shuddhadvaita from Acharya Gosai Narsinhlalji[6]: 6  of the Vaishnav Sampradaya and learnt about the Pranami sect.

Ramanand Swami invited Mulji and Lalji Suthar amongst others to the Bhagvati Diksha ceremony of Neelkanth Varni (Swaminarayan) to be held on 28 October 1800.

[6]: 19  On this occasion, Swaminarayan again publicly confirmed that Gunatitanand Swami was the incarnation of Akshar, declaring, "Today, I am extremely happy to initiate Mulji Jani.

He played a prominent role in its construction, served as the mahant for forty years and provided a template for the administrative development of future religious establishments in the Swaminarayan Sampradaya.

[2]: 56 [16]: 112 In line with his understanding of the Akshar Purushottam Upasana, Gunatitanand Swami continued discoursing around Gujarat and along with his primary spiritual mission, helped initiate various social reforms throughout the region.

[6]: 46–47 [2]: 38–46  Taking into account the socio-religious landscape of Junagadh, Swaminarayan decided to appoint Gunatitanand Swami as the mahant (religious and administrative head) due to his leadership abilities and experience.

[2]: 56 [8]: 47–48  For many decades, even into his old age, Gunatitanand Swami would perform the menial task of sweeping the mandir courtyard himself despite being the head of the temple.

[16]: 24  Over a period of time, Bhagatji Maharaj's nuanced understanding and absolute realization of Gunatitanand Swami’s teachings, in particular the Akshar Purushottam Upasana became apparent to all.

[2]: 56 [16]: 35–40  Furthermore his renunciation of worldly desires and strong adherence to the principles of ekantik dharma were a pivotal component of his relationship with Gunatitanand Swami who referred to him as "someone who has profound faith and spiritual zeal".

[19][2]: 98 On 16 September 1867, Gunatitanand Swami paid homage to the murti of Swaminarayan in Junagadh mandir for the last time and departed for a tour of neighboring towns and villages having served as the mahant for 40 years 4 months and 4 days.

He traveled through the villages of Ganod, Upleta, Bhayavadar and Vanthali before finally arriving at Gondal to celebrate a religious festival at the behest of Madhavji Dave, the town administrator.

[20] His obsequies were performed the next day on the banks of the River Gondali[16]: 197  Abhaysinh Darbar of Ganod, a disciple of Gunatitanand Swami, later built a shrine at the spot of his final rites that is known as Akshar Deri.

[2]: 78 [3]: 69–71, 321–324 [23][24][22]: 95  While both BAPS and certain sections of the dioceses of Ahmedabad and Vadtal accept Purushottam as God and the cause of all the avatars, the concept of Akshar has led to much debate and is one of the primary causes of the schism between the denominations.

[3]: 159 [13]: 137–167 In addition to sources within their oral tradition, followers of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, point to several references of Gunatitanand Swami as Akshar occurring in scriptures and texts published by the acharyas of the Vadtal or Ahmedabad dioceses.

On this occasion, Swaminarayan is believed to have publicly confirmed that Gunatitanand Swami was the incarnation of Akshar, declaring, "Today, I am extremely happy to initiate Mulji Jani.

[22]: 96–97  Matters came to a head when a majority of the swami in Vadtal opposed Shastriji Maharaj's propagation of this teaching,[2]: 54  and after numerous attempts on his life had failed, eventually forced him to leave.

[17] Shastriji Maharaj subsequently established BAPS as a separate entity from the Vadtal and Ahmedabad dioceses of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya.

[2]: 83–90 [22]: 100 [29] Thus according to Swaminarayan's statements in the Vachanamrut, there is an Akshar present on earth with Purushottam and as described previously, Gunatitanand Swami is believed by BAPS followers to be the first personal manifestation of Akshar in the Guru Parampara, an unbroken line of "perfect devotees" who provide "authentication of office through Gunatitanand Swami and back to Swaminarayan himself.

[3]: 16 [18]: 163  "The importance of Swadharma, Atmagnana, futility of sensual pleasures and detachment and devotion with the knowledge of the glory of God" form an integral part of this scripture.

The BAPS denomination uses an edition of the Swamini Vato that includes the addition of two more chapters compiled by Krishnaji Ada, another disciple of Gunatitanand Swami, based on the latest research and critical study of the original manuscripts.