The birth celebrations of Aksharbrahma Gunatitanand Swami were celebrated with great devotion on Friday 22 October and Saturday 23 October 2010 at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, London.
The festival on Friday began with kishores and yuvaks singing the dhun, which was followed by the bhajan ‘Dhanya Dhanya Dhanya Mara Nathji.’
The first of the five artis traditionally performed on this day followed thereafter. The greatness of Gunatitanand Swami was portrayed eloquently through the bhajan ‘Aaj Pragatya Puran Brahma Re’ before a montage of childhood prasangs of Gunatitanand Swami were narrated by Aksharvihari Swami.
Yogvivek Swami concluded the evening’s programme by explaining the life and works of Gunatitanand Swami as well as the relevancy of his key messages today.
The birth of Gunatitanand Swami was also celebrated on the evening of Saturday 24 October 2010. The evening began with kishores and yuvaks singing the Sanskrit verse ‘Gunatito Aksharbrahma…’ which was then followed by a video recording of Pramukh Swami Maharaj elaborating the verse during his visit to London in 2004.
Following the bhajan ‘Swami Gunatitanand Aaj’, a short skit was performed in which children sang Sanskrit verses from the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita extolling the truth and glory of Aksharbrahma. Paramtattva Swami continued the scriptural insights into Akshar thereafter.
A balak, kishore and yuvak each followed with an explanation of Gunatitanand Swami’s sermons from the Swamini Vato, after which kishores performed a colourful dance artistically depicting the impact of Gunatitanand Swami’s words.
Yogvivek Swami consolidated the messages of the evening, which concluded with video highlights of the Sharad Punam festival celebrated in the presence of Pramukh Swami Maharaj in Gondal the previous day.
The evening also saw a special prize giving ceremony to acknowledge high-achievers in the recent Satsang Exams as well as students who achieved exceptional results in their GCSE, A-Level and university exams.