BAPS stands for Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha. The BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha is a spiritual, volunteer-driven organization dedicated to improving society through individual growth by fostering the Hindu ideals of faith, unity, and selfless service. However, such a great organization cannot be successful without a great guru. Many people think of a master of knowledge when given the word guru, but that is not all. A guru is a leader and teacher as well. As of right now, Pramukh Swami Maharaj, AKA Bapa is the guru or teacher of BAPS. This man is more unique in so many different ways than anyone you will ever meet. For example, Bhagwan Swaminarayan is proven to always dwell in him, he has imbibed all the virtues described in the scriptures, he has never and will never hurt anyone or think badly of anybody, he has always kept Bhagwan Swaminarayan at the center of his life and achievements, he has sacrificed his own health, safety, and well being for the benefit of others, and he has cared equally for everyone regardless of their status, wealth, caste or creed.
  What is the philosophy of this religion? Is this a Hindu religion? Why are there so many murtis and “gods”? I would be happy to answer these questions and provide you this important information. This is definitely a Hindu religion. Earlier today I had inquired my friends about the god or gods Hindus worship. They had replied “there are numerous gods.” This is a common misconception. “We actually believe in one Supreme Divinity,” I had replied. One god incarnates during different times for different reasons which we call avatars of god. Then, they are named just as any regular human being would be. The different avatars have different names, which confuses most people. There is just one god with many names. But, God has also created demigods and helpers that are given different duties which we worship as well.
  Now don’t get me wrong but BAPS is more than just spiritual. BAPS does many activities such as health and medical, education and research, environmental, community and family, and disaster relief. They keep other people healthy through monthly awareness lectures, yoga classes, fitness and recreation activities, medical-spiritual conferences, intervention programs, publications, health care facilities, blood drives, and bone marrow drives. Educational activities include modern schools and colleges, hostels, research centers for further learning, educational awareness campaigns, and career guidance programs.To protect the environment, BAPS has launched some of the most widely recognized water conservation, tree-planting, recycling, energy conservation, and environmental awareness campaigns. BAPS serves communities by focusing on their overall development, while simultaneously catering to the needs of the families and individuals that comprise such communities, focusing on strengthening relationships between spouses, extended and nuclear families, and parents and children, and encouraging individuals to live addiction-free lifestyles that will help them focus their energy to succeed and give back to the local community. BAPS and BAPS Charities make substantial contributions in the wake of natural disasters around the world by providing professional services that are instrumental to the emergency relief, the long-term recovery, love, comfort and genuine concern for communities affected by hurricanes and cyclones, earthquakes, floods, and tsunamis.
  There are many personal gains from coming to mandir. Therefore, you should come to mandir weekly if you do not do so already. Let us start with the basics. Mandir is a place of worship for all Hindus and God’s home. By coming to mandir, we experience peace, progress in satsang, learn of the greatness of God and other devotees, learn to please our gurus, make new friends, learn about our Hindu culture and traditions, and learn which path to take that leads us to Akshardham. True happiness is attained.
  As you can see, BAPS has a wonderful vision of improving society, a guru you will immediately fall in love with on first sight, a philosophy, many activities, and superb personal gains. That is just a short summarization of what BAPS is.