Dada Bhagwan
| Dada Bhagwan | |
|---|---|
Dada Bhagwan
|
|
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Founder of | Akram Vignan Movement |
| Philosophy | Akram Vignan |
| Personal | |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Born | Ambalal Muljibhai Patel (A. M. Patel) 7 November 1908 Tarsali near Baroda (now in Gujarat, India) |
| Died | 2 January 1988 (aged 79) |
"May the world attain the happiness that I have attained"
Dada Bhagwan, also known as Dadashri, born Ambalal Muljibhai Patel, was a spiritual leader from Gujarat, India who founded the Akram Vignan Movement.
Ambalal Muljibhai Patel (A. M. Patel) was born on 7 November 1908 in Tarsali, a village near Baroda (now in Gujarat, India). His parents, Muljibhai and Jhaverba, were Vaishnava Patidars. He grew up in Bhadran, Kheda district in central Gujarat. A. M. Patel credited his mother for instilling an early appreciation of the values of nonviolence, empathy, self-less generosity, and spiritual penance within him. It is said that he was blessed by a saint when he was thirteen who told that he will attain liberation. He married a local village girl named Hiraba in 1924. Their children (born in 1928 and 1931) died few months after birth so they had no children. During this period, he was also influenced by the writings of Shrimad Rajchandra who was also householder and religious teacher whose teaching inspired new religious movement later. He began practicing temporary celibacy and later vowed lifelong celibacy. He was a contractor by profession. He moved to Bombay where he worked successfully as a contractor for the company Patel & Co. The company used to maintain and construct dry docks in the Bombay harbour.
He claimed to have attained self realisation in June 1958 at Surat railway station while sitting on a bench at platform number 3. It was about 6 pm and it lasted 48 minutes. However this was not revealed initially by him.
After his experience, a close relative began to address him by the spiritual name of Dada (a Gujarati term for "Revered Grandfather") Bhagwan (Lord) became his spiritual name. The experience or self realization is described as revelation or manifestation of the god within, or pure self, supreme self manifested through body; which he later called Dada Bhagwan. He had differentiated between self and his empirical self as Patel and Dada Bhagwan.
He left his business to his partners to concentrate on his spiritual goals. He continued to live on the dividends of his shares of company. He continued his householder life as his teaching did not require renunciation or asceticism.
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