Vachanamrut
The Narnarayan and Laxminarayan Gadis believe moksha is attained by worshiping the sacred images of Swaminarayan installed by acharyas.
[5]: 58 [6]: 17 [11] The Vachanamrut begins with a preface, termed, partharo (parthāro), that provides a detailed account of Swaminarayan’s activities, his interactions with devotees, and his appearance.
[6]: 12 [12]: 48 The discourses took place across various towns and villages of Gujarat, India, specifically Gadhada, Sarangpur, Kariyani, Loya, Panchala, Vartal, Amdavad, Ashlali, and Jetalpur.
[1]: 13n39 One of the compilers, Muktanand Swami, was instructed by Swaminarayan to include the precise date of each discourse and names of who asked questions in the assembly.
[12]: 48 [14]: 204 Regarding the details and precise dating present in the introductory paragraphs of each Vachanamrut, John Carmen, Professor of Comparative Religion at Harvard, notes that the inclusion of such information in a scriptural text nullifies a common Western misunderstanding that religious India lacks a sense of history.
[7]: 187 [16][1]: 15 These sermons were not restricted to any social group or gender as monks, scholars, peasants, craftsmen, and women were all present in the assemblies and all actively participated in the dialogue.
[17]: 49 [5]: 2 In the Vachanamrut, Swaminarayan outlines his theology and its ultimate goal, moksha (mokṣa), a spiritual state characterized by eternal bliss and devotion to God.
[19]: 162 Swaminarayan explains the ultimate goal of his theology is moksha, the release from the ignorance borne of maya and the cycle of births and deaths to attain infinite bliss through endless devotion to God.
[3]: 308 [18]: 239–40 In Gadhada III-39, Swaminarayan describes maya as self-identification with the physical body, which also encompasses material possessions and personal talents.
[1]: 273 To overcome this ignorance, Swaminarayan explains in Gadhada II-20 that an individual must become brahmarup (brahmarūp),[1]: 275 an elevated state attained after developing the qualities of Aksharbrahman.
[11]: 184, 536–7 [1]: 293–304 [18]: 247 [22][23] The Narnarayan and Laxminarayan Gadis believe moksha is attained by worshiping the sacred images of Swaminarayan installed by acharyas.
[3]: 308 Baps believes the jiva needs the guidance of the Aksharbrahman Guru to transcend maya and become brahmarup to reside in the service of Parabrahman.
[6]: 21 Swaminarayan himself states in the discourse Loya 11, “One should only hear the sacred scriptures from the Satpurush (Satpuruṣa), but never from an unholy person.” Again, in Vadtal 12, Swaminarayan states, “...no one can ever attain liberation by listening to the Gitā or the Śrimad-Bhāgavata from a person who does not have faith in God coupled with the knowledge of his greatness.”[1]: 52–53 Interpretations by the Baps denomination, teaches that the Aksharbrahman Guru is the most qualified person to provide interpretations of the text.
