In the first week of November last year, Dr. Vishal Changela was attending patients at his clinic in Ahmedabad. In December, the focus changed completely and he was seen in the field, braving chilly winter from morning till late evening.
A pediatric cardiologist, Dr. Changela, has been attending guests at the Pramukh Swami Maharaj Satabadi Mahotsav at the Pramukh Swami Nagar, specially set up on the ring road in Ahmedabad.
The month-long event that draws to a close on Sunday has been organized by Bochasanwasi Aksharpurshottam Swaminarayan Sanstha. Born as Shantilal Patel, Pramukh Swami Maharaj was the fifth successor of Lord Swaminarayan. He passed away on August 13, 2016.
“I have been inspired by the way Pramukh Swami Maharaj served the society in more than one way,” said Dr. Changela, who has been doing 'seva' (service) at the event that has seen a daily footfall of 2.5 to 3 lakh visitors on weekdays and around 4.5 to 5.5 lakh on weekends. The event was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He started following the Swaminarayan Sect in 2010 but continues to worship Lord Krishna—whom he worshipped earlier--even today. “In Swaminarayan Sect, we are taught to respect all Gods. However, my go-to God is Lord Swaminarayan,” he said.
Dr. Changela feels that just like the body needs food, the soul too needs nourishment and that is in the form of positivity and moral values. “Purification of the soul is necessary and the 'seva' that I do helps me,” he says.
Before attending the guests, when the Nagar was being developed, he even laid paver blocks for days together. He unloaded the blocks from the trucks, carried and laid them. According to him, perhaps 20,000 volunteers were involved in the paver job. All pavers have been donated by builders and once the event gets over these would be returned to them.
Dr. Changela is among the 80,000 plus volunteers, right from vice presidents of top firms to doctors, chartered accountants, teachers, lawyers to even workers who have made it possible for the visitors for a hassle-free experience at the Nagar spread over 600 acres of land.
Neha Patel is a pharmacist from London and is serving the volunteers in the dining area. “I do not know. I would be serving thousands of volunteers on a daily basis. This is my first exposure to 'seva' of such a magnitude and the way cleanliness is maintained here and people are spoken to can be replicated back home,” she says.
The volunteers, who are out of Ahmedabad stay in the Nagar and nearby areas, and the ones who are from the city return home after their duties are over.
The politeness with which the volunteers, including children, attend visitors and handle the rush in the shows is something that needs to be experienced, personally.
Another set of volunteers, who serve on the road leading to the Nagar, don’t even get to see the Nagar on a daily basis. They are lined, folding hands, for kilometres together, and also assist the police force to manage the traffic.
In the Nagar, each show/exhibition has a socio-cultural message to convey. The shows talk about unity in a family to encourage children to recognize their talent and get over fear. Both the elders and children can take different vows that they would like to follow. In both the cases, children administer the pledge. It can be bowing to your parents, reading religious books for 15 minutes a day, sitting with family members for 15 minutes a day, or using mobile for less time to concentrate on studies.
Holding a masters degree in biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University, United States, Jahnavi Sheth is assigned the task of taking feedback from women who have been visiting the event.
A follower of Swaminarayan sect since her birth, she says that she came across so many messages about better living. Working in international business development of an international pharma firm, she applied for a month-long leave and the company granted her half of it as paid leave as it was aware of the work being done by BAPS.
Not only is the Nagar spreading the message of good moral values, it's also demonstrating its concern towards the environment. Benches are being made from the plastic waste that is generated and empty water bottles have been used to make dustbins. Seventy dustbins have been put up across the area and each of the dustbins is made up of 90 bottles. Plastic is also crushed to make fly ash.
Various statues, gates and properties in the glow garden, which lights up in the evenings, are expected to be reused at suitable places.
Apart from spreading the messages, Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s 30-feet statue, put up over a 15-feet pedestal, replica of Akshardham Temple in New Delhi, the Bal Nagari has also emerged as a selfie point in the Nagar that has been visited by who’s who from various fields in India. The event had dignitaries from abroad as well.
