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Swaminarayan Hinduism, also known as the ''Swaminarayan faith'' or the ''Swaminarayan sect'', is a modern spiritual tradition, as a subsect of Vaishnava Hinduism, originating in the state of Gujarat, in which followers offer devotion to and worship Swaminarayan as a form of Vishnu. The Swaminarayan faith has a large percentage of Gujarati Hindus who are followers of Swaminarayan. ==Beliefs== Considered a Vaishnava Bhakti sect following philosophical teachings of Uddhav as per Ramanujacharya. Since its origin, Swaminarayan Hinduism has been noted by its preservation of Gujarati cultural and linguistic traditions, devotion to the personality of Swaminarayan as supreme deity and the reason of all avtārs, dedication to social service and a strict ethical code including uncompromising segregation of the genders.〔 (Chapter 1. (2004) )〕 Monier Williams, on at least one of his visits, had long discussions with Swaminarayan and his followers and did his best to ascertain the way Swaminarayan's principles were preached.〔 He visited the temple in Vadtal in the company of the Collector of Karira during a popular Kartik Purnima festival that took place there and recorded the basics. Those who are initiated into proper worship of Krishna deity are instructed to wear a Tulasi kanti or rosary beads in two rows around their necks, one for Krishna and one for Radha. Followers are also instructed to chant the mantra of ' (great Krishna is my soul's refuge) and wear Urdhva Pundra Tilak markings on their forehead. Daily worship of Krishna in the temple was instructed and the Krishna mantra was central to the Swaminarayan's initiation (''diksa''). Supreme Being is believed to be referred by various names: Para Brahman, Bhagavan and Purushottama. While no detailed statistical information is available, most of the followers of Swaminarayan share a belief that Swaminarayan is the complete manifestation of Narayana or the supreme person and more superior to other avatars. Swaminarayan teachings are sometimes categorized as monotheism. It is not, however, the monotheism of Abrahamic religions. Unlike most other Vaishnavite schools such as those of Ramanuja, Madhva and Chaitanya, Swaminarayan, although leaning in preference towards Vishnu/Krishna, did not differentiate between Vishnu and Shiva; moreover, he followed a Smarta approach (scripture-sanctioned deities are viewed as different manifestations of the same Brahman) by instructing his followers to venerate all five deities of the Panchayatana puja with equal reverence.〔An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism, by Raymond Brady Williams at http://books.google.com/books?id=tPkexi2EhAIC&pg=PA25&dq=Shikshapatri+Vishnu+shiva&lr=&cd=1#v=onepage&q=Shikshapatri%20Vishnu%20shiva&f=false〕〔Encyclopedia of Hinduism, article by B.N. Krishnamurti, pgs. 67-68 at http://books.google.com/books?id=UG9-HZ5icQ4C&pg=PA67&lpg=PA67&dq=shiva+madhva+hierarchy&source=bl&ots=dq2q07HLTy&sig=EjbwE8szalkDKB7zF_At4zr09Qs&hl=en&ei=7ErvS4m8IoT7lwfgjvm0CA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CD0Q6AEwCA#v=onepage&q&f=false〕〔(The Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, Chapter 8: The Avataras ) Author: A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada〕 Verse 84 of Shikshapatri, a key scripture to all followers of the Swaminarayan faith, makes reference to the Smarta-like belief.〔(Swaminarayan Satsang - Scriptures )〕〔(Swaminarayan Satsang - Scriptures )〕 In making no distinction between Vishnu and Shiva, Swaminarayan, held that Vishnu and Shiva are different aspects of the same God, instead of according Shiva a lower status as Madhva and Ramanuja had done, for example.〔〔According to this site, http://www.kakaji.org/shikshapatri_verses.asp?catid=viewAll], verses 47, 84, of their scripture, Shikshapatri, a key scripture to all followers of the Swaminarayan faith. () states, "And the oneness of Narayana and Shiva should be understood, as the Vedas have described both to be brahmaroopa, or form of Brahman, i.e., Saguna Brahman, indicating that Vishnu and Shiva are different forms of the one and same God.〕 Verse 47 of the Shikshapatri, makes reference to this belief.〔(Swaminarayan Satsang - Scriptures )〕〔(Swaminarayan Satsang - Scriptures )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Swaminarayan (spiritual tradition)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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