Through the grace and blessings of Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the North India Shibir, entitled "Nijatmanam brahmaroopam..." took place on 20 and 21 September 2014 at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Jaipur which was attended by over 540 Haribhaktas from North India.
Following the introductory videos and traditional deep pragatya ceremony, Rajeshwar Swami set the scene by delivering a short speech about the purpose of the shibir and what all the attendees would be learning over the 2 days. This was followed with a theme video and a short skit on Parivarik samasya by the Delhi yuvak Mandal. There after Jaytirth Swami discussed about the Sansarik samasya and how this affects our daily lives.
Munivatsal Swami explained about “apni samasyao ane apna samadhan.” He elucidated that by believing in superstitions, black magic, and suicide one does not get solutions to the problems. The only solution to all the problems is Satsang.
The post- lunch session commenced with a game followed by a workshop by the yuvaks. The purpose of the workshop was to cultivate intensions, values and attitudes in sync with others around us. Munivatsal Swami resumed the assembly hall sessions by speaking about “apni samasya ma apni bhumika.” To develop this quality, participants introspected and learned how they can imbibe this quality in their lives.
This was followed by a video on Swabhav, after which the Delhi Yuvaks performed a skit on the same. Yogiprem Swami delivered an inspiring discourse on, “Samasya no mul karan – Swabhav”. This helped participants accept that swabhavs innately exist within everyone, allowing them to reflect on how the content of the shibir could help them to reduce their dominant swabhavs over time.
After the arti and dinner, Anandswarup Swami eloquently conveyed Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s message from the Shikshapatri, "Nijatmanam brahmaroopam...," he further explained that to please God, to walk the path of dharma, to develop love for the devotees and attachment for a God- communion sadhu - this is the goal of life..."We have to do our duties in life but all our actions do not lead us to moksha. They do not lead us to God. Therefore one should realize oneself as the atman (soul) and then offer worship to God." The first day was concluded with the speech by Shruti Prakash Swami, followed by satsang goshti.
Day two began with Guruhari darshan, after which Shrutiprakash Swami spoke about “Sarvopari Siddhant na prashodhak Bhagwan Swaminarayan.” There after Atmaswarup Swami spoke on the supremacy of Bhagwan Swaminarayan giving references from the Vachnamrut and various examples from the life of Bhagwan Swaminarayan. After the video presentation, Dharma Murti Swami, Anandswarup Swami and Rajeshwar Swami spoke about “Your Adarsh and Agnapalan”.
The final segment of the penultimate day was “Tamaru Kartavya – siddhant Prachar” by Atmaswarup Swami. The volunteers were guided on how to perform their duties by spreading the Philosophy of Akshar Purushottam with pride, dedication, efficiency and understanding. Through the video blessings of Pramukh Swami Maharaj and Pujya Ishwarcharan Swami on “Nijatmanam Brahmarupam” the karykaras learnt that “In it are included all the niyams. In times of joy and insult one should remain happy. That is our aim and our niyam. One should always introspect.”
The shibir was concluded by Rajeshwar Swami, who summarised the two days and thanked everyone for making the Shibir a success. At the end of the shibir all karyakars were presented with a murti of Pramuks Swami Maharaj and a mala as a memento of the shibir.