Akram Vignan Movement
| Formation | 1960s |
|---|---|
| Founder | Dada Bhagwan |
| Type | New religious movement |
|
Leaders
|
Deepakbhai Desai, Kanubhai Patel |
|
Main organ
|
Dadavani, Akram Vignan |
The Akram Vignan movement, also spelled Akram Vijnan, is a new religious movement originated in 1960s in Gujarat, India. It was founded by Dada Bhagwan and later spread to Maharashtra and Gujarati diaspora communities around the world.
The principal doctrine of the Akram Vignan movement is gnan bhakti which means devotional surrender (samarpan) to Simandhar Swami and his interlocutor Dada Bhagwan to gain knowledge of salvation.
The Akram Vignan movement draws some principles from Jainism and teaches about two paths. Jains believe that liberation (Kevala jnana and moksha) is not possible in current times as no suitable condition for liberated being exist which is based on Jain cosmological assumption. This is believed in dominant Kramik or step-by-step path of Jainism. By contrast, Akramik or stepless path believes that the moksha can be achieved directly by grace (kripa) of Simandhar Swami, the present Jain Tirthankara who lives in mythical land of Mahavideha in Jain cosmology. The Akram Vignan movement claims to offer 'instant salvation' by a medium (nimitta) or interlocutor who directly connects to Simandhar Swami through magical means. The principal medium was A. M. Patel who was known as Dada Bhagwan who founded the movement.
The principal doctrine of the Akram Vignan movement is jnan bhakti which means devotional surrender (samarpan) to Simandhar Swami and his interlocutor Dada Bhagwan to gain knowledge of salvation.
In contrast to traditional Jainism, it rejects or is indifferent to scriptural knowledge, physical asceticism, rituals and practices in favour of self-knowledge (atma-jnan) through direct grace of Simandhar Swami and devotion to his medium (gurubhakti).
Flügel regards the movement to be a form of Jain-Vaishnava syncretism, a development analogous to the Mahayana in Buddhism.
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