Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Swami (Shri Sahajanand Swami & Shri Gunatitanand Swami) Statues are made in brass metal with detail works on it.
The Lord was in Ramanand Swami’s Ashram serving as a humble servant. He was named Sahajanand when Ramanand Swami initiated Him. The Lord became the sole spiritual master when Ramanand Swami appointed Him as the Guru of his ashram. A month later, Ramanand Swami passed away. On the 14th day of the funeral rites, in the village of Faneni, the Lord introduced the new Swaminarayan Mantra. News of this Mantra spread far and wide. And its spiritual power was felt everywhere. Sahajanand Swami now became known as Bhagwan Swaminarayan. Anyone who chanted the Mantra enjoyed samadhi - the ultimate spiritual experience. Those who heard it, wrote it or thought of it experienced samadhi. Others who saw Bhagwan Swaminarayan, heard the sound of His sandals, or discussed His philosophy saw a divine light and beheld the visions of the great incarnations of God - Rama, Krishna and Shiva. Since the trance was an experience of His grace, it was called krupa samadhi.
Shri Gunatitanand Swami was a prominent paramhansa of the Swaminarayan Sampraday who was ordained by Swaminarayan and is accepted as the first spiritual successor of Swaminarayan by the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha sect. Born into a religious family in Bhadra, a small farming community in the state of Gujarat, India, he first received religious education under his father’s guru, Ramanand Swami before encountering Swaminarayan and becoming a sadhu under him at the age of 25. He was revered for his spiritual discourses and divine service.
Make: Made in brass.
Brass is well known for its grasping capacity. It grasps the divine spirit upto 30%, when compared to other metals. The spiritual vibrations are attracted towards these shining idols easily.
Dimensions:
Shri Sahajanandji: 13.75 inches (H) x 5.5 inches (W) x 4.5 inches (depth) (35 x 14 x 11.5 cm) approx
Shri Gunatitanandji: 12.25 inches (H) x 5.5 inches (W) x 4.5 inches (depth) (31 x 14 x 11.5 cm) approx
Total Weight: 7.3 kgs approx
Importance of Idol worship: Idols are not the idle fancies of sculptors, but shining channels through which the heart of the devotee is attracted to and flows towards God. Though the image is worshipped, the devotee feels the presence of the Lord in it and pours out his devotion unto it. Regular worship, Puja and other modes of demonstrating our inner feeling of recognition of Divinity in the idol unveils the Divinity latent in it. This is truly a wonder and a miracle. The picture comes to life. The idol speaks. It will answer your questions and solve your problems. The God in you has the power to awaken the latent Divinity in the idol. The lives of Mirabai, Sant Tukaram, Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Shri Yogananda are a few instances to prove the point. They proved beyond doubt that idol worship has its own brighter side and through simple faith and intense devotion one can realize God through it.
Idols are the "finite representation of the Infinite". As per Vishnu Samhita (ch 29, v 55-7), persuasively endorses the use of imagery (idols) and puts it: "Without a form how can God be mediated upon? If (He is) without any form, where will the mind fix itself? When there is nothing for the mind to attach itself to, it will slip away from meditation or will glide into a state of slumber. Therefore the wise will meditate on some form, remembering, however, that the form is a superimposition and not a reality."