Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Gujarat on Monday to pay his respects to Pramukh Swami, the 95-year-old founder of the Akshardham temples and a noted saint of the Swaminarayan sect, who passed away on Saturday evening.
According to sources, Mr. Modi will fly down to Bhavnagar and then reach Sarangpur where Pramukh Swami breathed his last.
“After his Independence Day address at the Red Fort, Mr. Modi will go to Sarangpur to pay his last respects to HH Pramukh Swami Maharaj,” the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted.
On Sunday, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, Governor O.P. Kohli and Opposition leaders paid homage to the saint, whose last rites will be held at Sarangpur on August 17.
Keshavjivandas Swamy, popularly known as Mahant Swami, has been named successor of Pramukh Swami, the Bochasanvasi Akshar Purushottam Sanstha (BAPS), a sub-sect of the Swaminarayan sect, said in a release.
On Sunday, Congress leader Ahmed Patel and senior BJP leader L.K. Advani condoled the passing away of the Pramukh Swami.
During his tenure as president of BAPS, the Swaminarayan sect expanded globally with more than 3,000 temples built in five decades.
Akshardham temples built in Gandhinagar and New Delhi are considered the largest Hindu temple complexes in India while the Swaminarayan temple in Atlanta, U.S., is regarded as the largest traditional Hindu temple outside the Indian subcontinent.
His spiritual journey started in January 1940 when he was initiated as a saint by his Guru Shastriji Maharaj, founder of BAPS. Pramukh Swami was a spiritual guide or mentor over one million followers, who worship him as incarnation of Lord Swaminarayan.