As part of the year-long celebrations commemorating the 150th Birth Anniversary of Brahmaswarup Shastriji Maharaj (1865-2015), founder of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, two Sadbhav Jyotyatras (Goodwill Torch Runs) were held.
The first was from Gondal to Atladra and incorporated the five shikharbaddh mandirs built by Shastriji Maharaj (Gondal-Gadhada-Sarangpur-Bochasan-Atladra) in its 326 km route. In Sarangpur, Pramukh Swami Maharaj received the jyotyatra and blessed the participating youths.
The second jyotyatra was from Shastriji Maharaj’s birthplace in Mahelav to Atladra. The 188 km route went through many villages which were visited frequently by Shastriji Maharaj.
Both Jyotyatras merged in Anklav, a short distance from Atladra, on 23 January and entered Vadodara city in the evening. In the city, fifty of the 350 participating youths carried the torches on motorcycles through the city before arriving at the BAPS Mandir in Atladra, where senior sadhus and thousands of devotees honored their arrival.
At the main event in Vadodara on 24 January 2015, the 150th Birth Anniversary Celebration Assembly, 150 youths representing all the participating BAPS centers presented a Jyotyatra routine in the presence of 150,000 devotees.