UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is in India to attend the G-20 Summit, arrived at the Akshardham temple in Delhi on Sunday, September 10, before his other commitments for the day. Sunak was in the temple for about 45 minutes with his wife Akshata Murthy, offered prayers, participated in the aarti and also met saints and seers.
Pictures of Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murthy’s visit to Akshardham have gone viral on social media. In these pictures, the UK PM and his wife can be seen walking around the Akshardham temple complex having darshan and performing aarti.
In most images, Akshata Murthy is seen alongside her husband Rishi Sunak. However, a couple of photographs feature Rishi Sunak without his wife. In one of these pictures, Rishi Sunak is seen standing with folded hands in the company of saints and seers from the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha within the premises of the Akshardham temple. In another photo, the saints are seen applying tilak on him. It is worth noting that the management of the Akshardham temple in Delhi is under the purview of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha.
Honoured to welcome 🇬🇧 Prime Minister @RishiSunak and #AkshataMurthy to celebrate the shared cultural heritage between India and the UK @BAPS #SwaminarayanAkshardham during the #G20 #LivingBridge pic.twitter.com/6IXtanxn15
— Swaminarayan Akshardham (@DelhiAkshardham) September 10, 2023
In the images featuring sadhus and saints, only Rishi Sunak appears and Akshata Murthy is not seen. This is due to the adherence to a fundamental rule within the Swaminarayan sect, where initiated saints are required to observe Brahmacharya (celibacy), refraining from any contact with women. This longstanding rule, rooted in the teachings of Sahajanand Swami, the sect’s founder, has been upheld since the sect’s inception and remains in practice even today.
Swaminarayan Sect and Brahmacharya of Sadhus
Swaminarayan Sampradaya was founded by Sahajanand Swami (1781-1830). He asked the saints to observe Nishkam, Nisneh, Niswad, Nirman, and Nirlobh. The first of these five principles is Nishkam, that is, giving up desires. For this, he asked them to follow Ashtanga Brahmacharya. In that, it has been said to give up eight ways of contact with women.
In 1826, Sahajanand Swami authored the ‘Shikshapatri‘, a comprehensive guide that provides teachings on ideal conduct for individuals ranging from common people to kings and monks. It also contains specific rules and guidelines for sadhus within its teachings.
For the Naishtika Brahmacharis, Swami Sahajanand says that such sadhus should not touch or communicate with women and should not knowingly meet or face women. (Shikshapatri – 175) He also asked the sadhus not to talk to women and avoid reciting stories and kirtans of God aimed at addressing women. (Shikshapatri – 176, 179) Apart from this, other things have also been mentioned, such as not touching the clothes worn by a woman and not touching the image or idol of a woman who is not a deity. Nevertheless, it was instructed that in situations of grave danger or emergencies, where the safety and well-being of a woman or one’s own life were at risk, it was permissible to make physical contact or communicate with women to ensure their protection. (Shikshapatri – 182)
Sahajanand Swami also said that these rules should be followed at all times. Sahajanand Swami also said that if there is an order of a Guru asking the sages to break this rule, then it should not be followed. (Shikshapatri – 180)
There are many other rules for the saints of the Swaminarayan sect, such as they cannot go to the house of any householder except for alms, and that too on only two occasions. Further, on these two occasions, they should ask for raw food, cook with their own hands offer ‘Naivedya’ to God and take food.
The saints of the sect stick to this rule of celibacy and that is the reason why they do not come in contact with women. However, no restriction has been imposed on the entry of women anywhere in the temples of the sect. They can go to the temple, and take part in worship or aarti.
Sahajanand Swami is said to have done many things for the upliftment of women during his life. He actively worked against the Sati tradition prevailing at that time and the practice of killing the girl child and made efforts to eradicate these societal evils. Apart from this, he also made active efforts for the education of women and their empowerment in society.
