Swaminarayan Jayanti, the birthday of Bhagwan Swaminarayan is one of the most important festivals of the Swaminarayan Sampraday. As per the rituals, devotees observe nirjala (waterless) fast and get involved in various devotional activities during the day. For the past five years, the devotees of Toronto have celebrated the birthday of Bhagwan Swaminarayan in a special way – by offering continuous bhakti in various forms to Bhagwan Swaminarayan.
This year from 4:00 pm on April 4, 2009 to 4:00 pm on April 5, 2009, devotees including children got engaged in a variety of devotional activities. During this 24-hour period, devotees including children from the various suburbs of Toronto enthusiastically participated and offered their bhakti to Bhagwan Swaminarayan. The following forms of devotion were offered at the feet of Bhagwan Swaminarayan:
- Recitation of Janmangal Namavali: 2,675 times
- Recitation of Swaminarayan Kathamangal: 9 times
- Continuous chanting of Swaminarayan Mahamantra dhun
- Individual reading of Vachanamrut, Bhaktachintamani