Swaminarayan Sampraday , known previously as the Uddhav Sampraday, is a Hindu sect established by Swaminarayan (or Sahajanand Swami) (April 2, 1781 – June 1, 1830).
Swaminarayan was handed the leadership of the Uddhav Sampraday by his guru, Ramanand Swami, to continue to propagate the teachings and philosophy of Vishishtadvaita, which originates from the Sri Sampradaya.
Under the leadership of Swaminarayan, the movement gained strength and at the time of his death, there were 1.8 million followers. The organisation is based on vedic and puritic Hinduism. Apart from traditional Hindu scriptures, the sect has more than three thousand works by its members.
The most important are the Shikshapatri and the Vachanamrut. The Shikshapatri was written by Swaminarayan in 1826, is described as a book of social principles by the Bombay Gazetteer. Before Swaminarayan died, he split the administration of the Swaminarayan Sampraday into two seats of power (gadi meaning seat): the Nar Narayan Dev Gadi headquartered in Ahmedabad and the Laxmi Narayan Dev Gadi headquartered in Vadtal. This was done by means of a legal document, called the Desh Vibhag Lekh.
Followers of the faith are called Satsangis, are expected to follow certain basic rules set forth by Swaminarayan. The sect also has a huge number of ascetics, who since inception of the organisation contribute towards growth and development of the movement and towards salvation of its members. They have a special responsibility; that of taking care of images in temples. These ascetics wear orange robes and lead a strict life refraining from worldly pleasures and devoting their life to the service of the fellowship. The Swaminarayan Sampraday has temples spread across five continents. Six temples that Swaminarayan built during his lifetime are considered to be the most important within the faith.
