To nurture the satsang in the Asia Pacific region, Pujya Ishwarcharan Swami and sadhus – Aksharvatsal Swami, Madhurvadan Swami, Adarshmuni Swami and Yogismaran Swami – visited Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia and Cambodia.
On 30 and 31 December 2013, satsang assemblies were held at a local school in Singapore.
From 1 to 4 January 2014, in Hong Kong, the sadhus conducted satsang assemblies and padhramanis. Pujya Ishwarcharan Swami discoursed twice daily to guide the devotees. Due to the dedicated efforts of the devotees here, a new BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir will soon be ready for inauguration.
Then, after two days in Bangkok, Thailand, the sadhus arrived in Creswick, near Melbourne, Australia. Here, from 7 to 12 January, separate yuvak-yuvati and kishore-kishori shibirs were held for youths from throughout the Asia Pacific region. To conduct the shibirs, Amrutnandan Swami, Bhaktivardhan Swami, Snehmuni Swami and Purnajivan Swami had come from USA. Pujya Ishwarcharan Swami and the sadhus guided and inspired over 850 youth delegates who attended the shibirs.
Then, the sadhus arrived in Melbourne, where a new mandir had been inaugurated last year. Many devotees enthusiastically attended the Kirtan Aradhana, Sanskruti Din and Uttarayan celebrations held during the three-day stay.
Thereafter, the sadhus went to Auckland, New Zealand. In 2002, Pramukh Swami Maharaj had consecrated a large mandir here. The sadhus stay was split into two phases – one of three days and the second of five days. Many devotees benefitted from the daily satsang assemblies, shibirs and festival celebrations held. Between their two stays in Auckland, the sadhus also visited Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, Christchurch, where the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir is said to be the world’s southern-most Hindu mandir, Rotorua and Hamilton.
Then, on 4 February 2014, the group travelled to Adelaide, Australia, where the main event was the bhumi pujan for the new BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir. Pujya Ishwarcharan Swami performed the mahapuja in which many devotees also participated.
After their three-day stay, the sadhus went to Sydney, where on 9 February, Pujya Ishwarcharan Swami consecrated the murtis in the renovated BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir. Previously, in 2002, Pramukh Swami Maharaj had performed the murti-pratishtha in this mandir. Other programmes during the four-day murti-pratishtha celebrations included a welcome assembly, Upasana Shibir, Vadil Shibir, Family Shibir and mahapuja.
Many devotees from throughout the Asia Pacific region participated, in the various celebration programs.
From here, the sadhus went to Brisbane, where a new mandir was to be consecrated. On 14 February, the murtis were taken on a cruise in the River Brisbane.
On 15 February, Pujya Ishwarcharan Swami performed the Vedic murti-pratishtha rituals. To commemorate this special occasion, sadhus presented a Kirtan Aradhana and Pujya Ishwarcharan Swami spiritually guided the devotees in his address.
From Brisbane, the sadhus went to Perth. In 2002, Pramukh Swami Maharaj had consecrated a mandir here. Now a new mandir is to be built on a larger site. Pujya Ishwarcharan Swami inspired the devotees during a special assembly at the new site.
After short stays in Indonesia and Cambodia, the group returned to India.
During this hectic eight-week tour, the sadhus visited 20 cities in 7 countries.
Pujya Ishwarcharan Swami inspired the devotees through his morning and evening discourses and personal counseling. The devotees, young and old, everywhere enthusiastically participated in all the programs and derived great spiritual benefit.