Mahamahopadhyaya Bhadreshdas Swami's : The Mundaka Upanisad Svaminarayana Bhasyam (With Exposition and Original Devanagari Text)

It is indeed a matter of great pleasure and pride for Kavikulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University, Ramtek to have this rarest opportunity of hosting the 50th session of All India Oriental Conference at Nagpur. This AIOC-50th session at Nagpur will be forever remembered by all as the year 2019 also happens to be the year of Centenary Celebration of AIOC. The premier objective with which the great scholars of yester years had contemplated and established this national academic event called All India Oriental Conference has been achieved through these years with scores of young scholars contributing significantly to the treasure house of knowledge through their valuable research work.

The research of yore and of the present should be properly recorded so as to make it easily available to all lovers of knowledge and wisdom in the years to come. With this objective, we have contemplated to commemorate the 100th year of this grand event of 50th session of AIOC by way of publishing 100 monographs on different subjects in four languages viz., Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi and English. It is no doubt a herculean task but still worth of it, for the reason that these 100 monographs will inspire many young scholars to take upon a fresh study and research of the oriental subjects with more vigor and zeal.

The AIOC Centenary Publication Series includes wide variety of subjects like Literature, Language, Veda, Indian Philosophy, Sanskrit Grammar, Law, Children Literature, Yoga, Astronomy and Astrology, Ayurveda, Pali, Prakrit, Jain, Buddhism, Education, Library Science, Poetics, Aesthetics, and Indology. It also includes reprint of some rare texts of academic importance which have gone out of print are not easily available. We wish to mark these centenary celebrations with this series that connects the glory of the past and aspirations of future. I place on record my sincere gratitude to all the authors of these monographs who have kindly contributed to the richness of this series.

I am confident that the books published in these series will definitely inspire the lovers of Oriental Learning in general and of Sanskrit Language and Literature in particular.

On this occasion, we have published a memorable book of all the speeches of Section-Presidents of all previous sessions of AIOC. It is indeed a very capacious addition to any collection. I with all respect thank two eminent scholars of our times - Prof. Gautam Patel, President and Prof. Saroj a Bhate, General Secretary, the torch bearers of AIOC who have not only encouraged us in this venture but also made all efforts to provide these valuable historical speeches for us. I thank all executive members of AIOC and my colleagues of the varsity for making this event a grand success. My words fall short in describing the painstaking efforts and scholarly commitment of my esteemed colleague Prof. Madhusudan Penna, local secretary of this session in bringing out this series.

I also take this opportunity to profusely thank Shri. Subhash Jain and Shri Deepak Jain, the proprietors of New Bharatiya Book Corporation, New Delhi for their enthusiastic approach and timely work with all precision and grace.

Let us all sanctify ourselves in the eternal flow of wisdom by reading these books and recommending these to others also!

The Svaminarayanabhasya is a comprehensive commentary on the Prasthanatrayi-that is, the Upanisads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Brahmasutras, texts that form the cornerstone of the Vedanta philosophical tradition. This commentary is written according to the original Vedantic teachings of Parabrahman Purusottama Bhagavan Svaminarayana (Swaminarayan) (1781-1830 CE), who founded the Svaminarayana Sampradaya in Gujarat, India.

Just as the teachings of Sankara are known as the Advaita Darsana, those of Ramanuja are known as the Vishishtadvaita Darsana, and those of Madhya are known as Dvaita Darsana, Swaminarayan's distinct teachings are known as the Aksara-Purusottama Darsana.

The teachings of the Aksara-Purusottama Darsana are deeply rooted in the Vedas and canon of Hindu sacred texts (sastras) which Bhagavan Swaminarayan regularly quoted in his teachings. Bhagavan Swaminarayan's ascetic disciples (sadhu) compiled his teachings, which were delivered in Gujarati, in a text known as the Vacanamrta. These teachings paved the way for a new commentary on the Prasthanatrayi.

Thereafter, Brahmasvarupa Sastriji Maharaja Sri Yajnapurusadasaji (1865-1951 CE) gave these teachings the name `Aksara-Purusottama Darsana'. He also established the Bochasanvasi Aksara. Purusottama Svaminarayana Samstha (BAPS), an organization dedicated to spreading these teachings. Amidst countless hardships, Sastriji Maharaja created five majestic, stone mandirs that encompassed and enshrined the Aksara-Purusottama Dariana and inspired countless to live by its teachings.

Sastriji Maharaja's successor, Brahmasvarupa Yogiji Maharaja 8rt Jnanajivanadasaji (1892-1971 CE), advanced his guru's efforts by building mandirs in Africa and England. Moreover, he encouraged and has and devotees to study Sanskrit to better understand the Aksara-Purusottama Darsana in the context of traditional texts. He also encouraged them so author texts in various languages in order to explain the darsana to a wider audience. To this end, he inspired them to not only study as traditional pundits, but also to bather their scholarship such that they were able to acquaint all calibers of scholars with this knowledge.

Brahmasvarupa Pramukha Svami Maharaja (Pramukh Swami Maharaj) (1921-2016 CE) succeeded Yogiji Maharaja. He established more than one thousand mandirs around the world dedicated to Aksara Purusottama Darsana. In addition to these mandirs, he inspired the creation of distinguished Aksaradhama complexes in Delhi, Gandhinagar, and Robbinsville, USA. He also inspired Sadhu Bhadresadasa to author the five-volume Prasthanatrayi Svaminarayanabhasya which was dedicated on 17 December 2007 as part of the BAPS centennial celebrations.

Pramukh Swami Maharaj was succeeded by Pragata Brahmasvarupa Mahanta Svami Maharaja (Mahant Swami Maharaj) (1933-), who continues to nourish the Aksara - Purusottama Darsana through his incessant travels and inspirational leadership. He continues to fulfil Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s vision of building mandirs and establishing satsang centres throughout the world. Moreover, he inspires the creation of scholarly works, such as Sadhu Bhadresadasa's Svaminarayanasiddhantasudha and the present series of expositions on the Prasthanatrayi Svaminarayanabhasya.