Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Rajkot Sansthan, commonly known as Rajkot Gurukul or Swaminarayan Gurukul, is a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

religious and educational organization with headquarters in

Rajkot, Gujarat Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat after Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat, and is in the centre of the Saurashtra (region), Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Rajkot is the 35th-largest metropolitan area in India, w ...

. The organization is within the

Laxmi Narayan Dev Gadi The Laxminarayan Dev Gadi ( Gujarati:- લક્ષ્મીનારાયણ દેવ ગાદી) is one of the two gadis (diocese) that together form the Swaminarayan Sampraday. It is headquartered at the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Vadtal a ...

of the

Swaminarayan Sampraday The Swaminarayan Sampradaya, also known as Swaminarayan Hinduism and Swaminarayan movement, is a Hindu Vaishnava sampradaya rooted in Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita, characterized by the Bhakti, worship of its Charismatic authority, charismati ...

. The goal of the organization is to spread the ''Sadvidya'' (true education) that was championed by

Bhagwan Swaminarayan Swaminarayan ( IAST: ', 3 April 1781 – 1 June 1830), also known as Sahajanand Swami, was a yogi and ascetic, who is believed by followers to be a manifestation of God Krishna, or as the highest manifestation of Purushottam, and aro ...

. The organization also aims to teach

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by soci ...

through branches around the world. Its major branches in

include Rajkot, Junagadh, Surat, Poicha (Nilkanthdham), Hyderabad, Taravada, Bangalore, Gulbarga, Ahmedabad, Bidar, Jadcherla, Mysore, Nagpur, NTPC Lara, Navi Mumbai, Secunderabad, Raipur, Solapur, Suryapet, Vidyanagar, Vijayawada. Its international branches include

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, Paramus (New Jersey) and

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, all in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

History

Shastriji Maharaj Shri Dharmajivandasji Swami was inspired to found an educational institution after a pilgrimage to

Badrinath Badrinath is a town and nagar panchayat in Chamoli district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. A Hindu holy place, it is one of the four sites in India's Char Dham Hindu pilgrimage, pilgrimage and is also part of India's Chota Char Dham pilgr ...

(an abode of Badrinarayan on Himalaya) in 1946. The organization was established in 1947 in Rajkot by Shastriji Maharaj with support from Pujya Purani Swami, Shree Premprakashdasji Swami, Pujya Mugat Swami, Shree Nitrannamuktadasji Swami, and Tribhuvan Gaurishankar Vyas. The organization started teaching on June 16, 1948, with seven students in a rented house in Rajkot. The foundation stone of Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul at Rajkot was laid on November 5, 1948. In 1974, Shastriji Maharaj gave the administrative duties of the organization to its current leader, Guruvarya Shri Devkrushnadasji Swami. In 2022 then Indian

Prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

gave a virtual address at the Rajkot branch.

Academics

The word Gurukul is combination of two

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

words: "

Guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverentia ...

", meaning teacher or master, and "Kula" meaning 'abode'. Swaminarayan Gurukul provides three types of education: Vidya (Modern Science), Sadvidya (Traditional Education), and Brahmvidya (Spiritual Education).

Vidya – modern education

Modern education (including science and technology) includes the aspects of knowledge,

curiosity Curiosity (from Latin '' cūriōsitās'', from ''cūriōsus'' "careful, diligent, curious", akin to ''cura'' "care") is a quality related to inquisitive thinking such as exploration, investigation, and learning, evident by observation in humans ...

creativity Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is formed. The created item may be intangible (such as an idea, a scientific theory, a musical composition, or a joke) or a physical object (such as an invention, a printed literary w ...

, leadership, and dynamism (adapting to the changes on the move).

Sadvidya – traditional education

Traditional education includes the values and ethics found in Indian culture and history. These values include: *

Integrity Integrity is the practice of being honest and showing a consistent and uncompromising adherence to strong moral and ethical principles and values. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions. Inte ...

Empathy Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another's position. Definitions of empathy encompass a broad range of social, co ...

Non-violence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...

: Valuing the life of every living organism. * Gratefulness: Having an appreciation and being conscious towards God, saints, guardians, seniors, and

natural resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...

. * Freedom from awful propensities: refraining from

insults An insult is an expression or statement (or sometimes behavior) which is disrespectful or scornful. Insults may be intentional or accidental. An insult may be factual, but at the same time pejorative, such as the word "inbred". Jocular exch ...

smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have bee ...

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

drugs A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalat ...

enslavement Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

infidelity Infidelity (synonyms include cheating, straying, adultery, being unfaithful, two-timing, or having an affair) is a violation of a couple's emotional and/or sexual exclusivity that commonly results in feelings of anger, sexual jealousy, and riva ...

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

, etc.

Brahmavidya – spiritual education

Aspects of spiritual education include: *

Faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people often ...

: including faith in the scriptures and obedience to divine rules and laws * Devotion: includes reverential practices like chanting

mantras A mantra (Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ma ...

, singing

kirtans Kirtana ( sa, कीर्तन; ), also rendered as Kirtan, is a Sanskrit word that means "narrating, reciting, telling, describing" of an idea or story, specifically in Indian religions. It also refers to a genre of religious performance art ...

, prayer, and service (Seva) to God. * Atmanistha: Realizing oneself as a simple Soul, confined from the body, as a humble Sevak of God *

Non-attachment Nonattachment, non-attachment, or detachment is a state in which a person overcomes their emotional attachment to or desire for things, people or worldly concerns and thus attains a heightened perspective. It is considered a wise virtue and ...

: detaching oneself from materialistic objects and interests (wealth, popularity) to better focus on God. * Realisation of God: Encountering God in reality. * Affection with saintly persons: Having positive relationships with

saints In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual res ...

and devotees.

Foundation

Aims & Objectives

To propagate and promote Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan's Message # Building the best character of pupils through credible education. # Establish comprehensive development in every zone. # Prepare students to be the best patriots. # Creating secular harmony for all types of religions. # Equalize between modernity and spirituality.

References

{{reflist

External links

Gurukul WebsiteRajkot Gurukul Website
1948 establishments in India Education International Educational institutions established in 1948 Rajkot Spiritual organizations Swaminarayan Sampradaya