Swaminarayan Mantra

[3]: 242  A spiritual aspirant named Shitaldas who had arrived in Faneni seeking the guidance and blessings of Ramanand Swami had just learned of the latter's death.

[5] According to the BAPS, composed of these two words, the mantra encapsulates the central principle of Sahajanand Swami’s theological teachings of five eternal and distinct entities.

[7]: 69  Jivas and ishwars are souls who, until liberated, are bound by maya,[7]: 211–218, 238–241  a deluding force that induces attachment to the body and the world, resulting in rebirth.

Specifically, in chanting “Swami”, a devotee contemplates oneself as separate from one's physical body and one with Akshar—transcendent of maya and constantly engrossed in God.

[8]: 10, 13  [7]: 302–304  So, in chanting the Swaminarayan mantra, an adherent reflects on Sahajanand Swami's central theological principle and aims to internalize it.

[8]: 5 Devotees generally chant the Swaminarayan mantra to offer worship, to allay distress, to spiritually purify oneself, to pray for the welfare of others, and at the end-of-life.

[11]: 92  Outside of these times, devotees aim to chant the mantra to offer worship while performing any other mundane activities, such as preparing food[12]: 327  or traveling.

[14]: Ch 1, Verse 272  In particular, they chant the mantra to endure pain[15]: 110  [12]: 138  as well as to draw courage and strength by seeking God's protection when threatened by danger.

Following the terrorist attack on Gandhinagar Akshardham in 2002, Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the fifth spiritual successor to Swaminarayan,[18] chanted the mantra and advised others to do so while praying for a peaceful resolution.

[19] Fifthly, devotees chant Swaminarayan both individually and collectively as a means of praying to God for the fulfillment of their spiritual or otherwise positive desires.

[23]: 304  Moreover, illustrating its salvific nature, Dalpatram writes in the Harililamrut that one who faithfully chants the Swaminarayan mantra will be released from the burdens of past deeds, which bind the soul in a cycle of births and deaths.