On the auspicious day of Kartik sud 11 (Tuesday 4 November 2003), Prabodhini Ekadashi was celebrated in traditional style at the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden.
The first day of the Dev Diwali period, Prabodhini Ekadashi is also the day on which Bhagwan Swaminarayan was handed the reins of the Sampraday by His Guru Ramanand Swami. An offering of vegetables was displayed in the traditional manner. The theme of the offerings was the Shakotsav – Festival of Vegetables – that Bhagwan Swaminarayan celebrated in the village of Loya. The scene was depicted in a life-like way with Bhagwan Swaminarayan preparing ‘shak’ and ‘rotlas’. In the main shrines of the Mandir, over 64 different varieties of vegetables were offered to mark the 64th anniversary of the day His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj was initiated as a sadhu by his guru Shastriji Maharaj.
After the 7p.m. evening arti, sadhus sang bhajans. Pujya Atmaswarup Swami explained the glory of the festival. Over 600 devotees participated in this festival, following which the sanctified vegetables were distributed to the attendees.