Bhagatji Maharaj, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Bhagatji Maharaj

Spiritual guru of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha

Date of Birth: 20-Mar-1829

Place of Birth: Mahuva, Gujarat, India

Date of Death: 07-Nov-1897

Zodiac Sign: Pisces

Bhagatji Maharaj (20 March 1829 – 7 November 1897), born as Pragji Bhakta, was a householder devotee in the Swaminarayan Sampraday, a Hindu denomination.
He is regarded as the second spiritual successor of Swaminarayan in the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha and in the Pragat Purushottam Sanstha, both sects created after his death.
Through his discourses he was instrumental in propagating the belief that Swaminarayan was Purushottam, the Supreme Being, and that his own guru, Gunatitanand Swami, was Akshar, the divine abode of God.
His spiritual realization and practice as a low-caste (Sat Shudra) householder set new precedents and acted as a bulwark against the idea that spiritual elevation was confined to upper castes.For BAPS devotees, he is best known for passing on the philosophy of the Akshar Purushottam Upasana to his closest disciple, Shastriji Maharaj, who later founded BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha in 1907 after leaving the Swaminarayan Sampraday.
His inclusion is the BAPS lineage is remarkable as he was in a lower caste and was not a saffron-clad sadhu demonstrating that status does not limit spiritual realization.
The extraordinary spiritual service and unflinching devotion towards his guru elevated him to an exalted standing among devotees of the Swaminarayan sect both past and present.