Swaminarayan Bhagwan incarnated on earth, along with His dham and some of His muktas, to establish ekantik dharma, and grant kalyan to those who became His bhaktas.
About Swaminarayan Bhagwan
The 6 Original Temples
In all religions, there is always a focal point to ensure that the faith continues and grows in the future. In Hinduism, temples perform a vital role in acting as a focal point in the sampraday. Lord Swaminarayan recognised that temples would be vital to ensure that the sampraday grew far and wide. Lord Himself installed the murtis at 6 temples that He constructed.
Nand Santos
Bhagwan Swaminarayan initiated approximately 3,000 sadhus in His time. Of those, 500 were known as ‘nand santo’ or paramhansas. Their names ended with ‘nand’, i.e., Brahmanand, Premanand, Muktanand, Shukanand, and Gunatitanand. These paramhansas passed 108 different tests of austerities and hardships.