Swaminarayan Hinduism: Tradition, Adaptation and Identity

Swaminarayan Hinduism is rooted in its formation in India at the cusp of the early modern and colonial period. This book explores the new discoveries, recent research and interpretation of the history, doctrine, devotional arts, and transnational developments provide a foundation for a more comprehensive understanding of contemporary Swaminarayan growth, belief and practice. The themes that trace through the analyses are tradition and adaptation in the historical and social process of creating a complex new religious identity in response to social, economic and political changes. The book contains current academic research from several disciplines including history, theology, the arts, architecture, sociology, and migration studies to analyze how the stories, texts, and arts shape and reveal the thought, devotion, conduct, and socio-religious community that guide Swaminarayan Hindus through major transitions across time and space in several contexts. Swaminarayan is one of the rapidly expanding transnational Hindu movements with followers and institutions throughout India and abroad, especially in the United States, Britain, East Africa and Australasia.

Contents: Introduction. I. History: Introduction/Raymond Brady Williams. 1. Situating the Swaminarayan Tradition in the Historiography of Modern Hindu Reform/Brian Hatcher. 2. Sahajanand Swamis language and communication/Makrand Mehta. 3. The Gujarati socio-religious context of Swaminarayan devotion and doctrine/Francoise Mallison. 4. Swaminarayan and British contacts in Gujarat in the 1820s/Sadhu Paramtattvadas and Raymond Brady Williams with appendix on historical dating by Sadhu Amrutvijayadas. 5. Swaminarayan Ideology and the Kolis of Gujarat/Vibhuti Parikh. 6. Sahajanand Swamis approach to caste/Sadhu Mangalnidhidas. II. Theology and Literature: Introduction/Yogi Trivedi. 7. The Swaminarayan commentarial tradition/Arun Brahmabatt. 8. Akshara and its four forms in Swaminarayans doctrine/Smit Gadhia. 9. Swaminarayan Brahmajnana as Aksharabrahma-Parabrahma Darshanam Sadhu Bhadreshdas, translated by Sadhu Aksharananddas. 10. Krishna-bhakti in Premanands Poetry/Yogi Trivedi. 11. Brahmanand and his innovations in the Barahmasa genre/Dalpat Rajpurohit. III. The Arts and Architecture: Introduction/Yogi Trivedi. 12. Early Swaminarayan iconography and its relationship to Vaishnavism/Cynthia Packert. 13. Swaminarayan temple building: tradition and innovation/Rabendra J. Vasavada. 14. The Nagara tradition of temple architecture and truth to Shastra/Adam Hardy. IV. Transnational Movements: Introduction/ Raymond Brady Williams. 15. Swaminarayan Hindus in Uganda/Paddy Musana. 16. Transnational growth of BAPS in East Africa/Sadhu Vivekjivandas with Mahendrabhai Patel and Sadhu Ishwarcharandas. 17. Terrorism and Interfaith Relations at Swaminarayan Akshardham in Gandhinagar/ Sadhu Brahmaviharidas. 18. Interfaith bridge building in California/Kalpesh Bhatt. 19. Thinking through Akshardham and the making of the Swaminarayan self/Hanna Kim. 20. Swaminarayan (BAPS) identity formation in virtual transnationalism/Andrew Kunze. Index.