Read Vachnamrut Gadhada 1-3
What does bhakti mean? How do festivals help you feel it?
Love and devotion toward God.
Any answer.
Read Prasang: story of divinity
What is a Kirtan?
A prayer sung to praise or remember Bhagwan.
Read Train Prasang
What does “smruti” mean?
A memory or moment remembered with our Guru.
What does “Guru Bhakti” mean?
Devotion and love for one’s Guru.
What is Diwali? What does the concept of diwali mean?
Festival of lights. Good over evil.
Which festival did Maharaj celebrate in Sarangpur to teach about purity and proper celebration?
Fuldol
Why do devotees sing kirtans? Which one is your favorite and give me a simple meaning of it.
To express love and connect with Bhagwan through music.
Any kirtan.
Two people from your group give me a smruti each that you favor. Then tell me when you think about it in your own life?
Any answer.
Tell me the pathara story. How does that relate to guru bhakti?
Bapa quit pathara just because his guru made a comment about him not liking it. That was not true, however, he took it as an agna. He still does not eat pathara till this day...
What are two terms of Laxmiji entering your home during Dhan Teras?
1. The house has to be clean
2. She comes only if you're hardworking, she does not like lazy people
get it together guys
What did people start doing wrong with festivals before Bhagwan Swaminarayan revived them?
They basically turned them into parties and forgot the spiritual meaning.
Tell me the prasang of the kirtan, "Jaha Sadguru Khele Vasant." What makes this kirtan one of the most well known throughout satsang?
Prasang.
This kirtan was sung out of pure devotion for maharaj, portraying the leela maharaj was doing.
Tell me the train ride prasang. What does that prasang mean to you?
Any answer.
How can we show selfless bhakti like our Guru?
By doing seva and showing love without expecting anything in return, keeping the Guru and Bhagwan first in every thought and action.
Explain what chopda pujan is about.
Chopda Pujan is held on the day before the New Year, which is the day of Diwali itself. On this day, devotees do pujan of their accounting ledgers and scriptures. People do prarthana to Bhagwan to forgive them for all the mistakes of the past year and to give them the wisdom and strength to not repeat them the next year.
Give me three activities people do during festivals that increases bhakti?
Singing kirtans, listening to katha, doing arti, Annkut, any seva, etc...
Why do you think devotees remember Bhagwan more deeply through kirtans than through just talking?
How do kirtans help bring a satsang group closer together?
Because music touches the heart — it helps people feel devotion, not just think about it.
Singing together creates samp in a shared feeling of bhakti.
We often say "smruti ma rehvu." What’s the difference between remembering the Guru and living in smruti of the Guru, and why is the second one stronger?
Remembering the Guru means occasionally thinking of him but that is temporary.
Living in smruti means keeping the Guru constantly in your heart, thoughts, and actions — making every decision and emotion guided by his presence. It’s not just memory; it’s living awareness that shapes how you think, act, and feel.
The way our gurus care for haribhakto comes from their bhakti. Why do you think it is hard for us to care for others in the same way?
any answer.
Tell me the story of Diwali.
Give me a whole run down of each event of Diwali.
Ram bhagwans return from defeating Ravan.
...
What happens if we remember Bhagwan’s divine actions and stories?
Give me a prasang you remember during Diwali to help you feel that bhakti for Maharaj.
It brings us closer to Bhagwan and helps us reach Akshardham.
Any prasang.
Why do you think Bhagwan Swaminarayan wanted his sadhus to write new kirtans instead of only singing old ones?
Because he wanted the teachings of bhakti to stay alive and relatable — new kirtans could explain his message, connect to people’s hearts, and help devotees remember his divine actions in their own time.
Swamini Vat 1/196:
Āpaṇe jāṇīe chhīe je, āpaṇne Bhagwānmā het chhe paṇ āpaṇā karatā to āpaṇā upar Bhagwānne ne Sādhune jhājhu het chhe.
What does this mean?
We believe that we have love for God, but God and his holy Sadhu have even more love for us.
any answer
There is a story behind Kali Chaudas, what is it?
Narkasur rampaged through all three loks, stole the devas mother, Aditi's earings. They prayed to krisha to slay him. Dying, Narkasur prayed to Krishna Bhagwan, ‘Let those who bathe before sunrise on my day of death not go to hell.’ Krishna Bhagwan granted the boon.