In the Times of Bhagwan Swaminarayan Bhagwan Swaminarayan in his teenage years as Nilkanth Varni first came to Bochasan in 1799. There, in a local Ramji Mandir, a temple of
God Rama, He offered
Aarti to the
Murtis of
Bhagwan Shri Ram,
Shri Lakshman and
Shri Sitaji. There, he was received by a villager named Kashidas Mota who requested Him to stay in the village, to which Nilkanth Varni replied: "
In the future, I will stay here forever with my choicest devotee". He repeated the promise of building a
Mandir to Kashidas in Kariyani in 1809 and in
Vadtal in 1816. At the installation of the
murtis of
Nara Narayan in
Kalupur,
Ahmedabad in 1822,
Bhagwan Swaminarayan showed Kashidas the
Murtis and told him : "
These murtis will be installed in your village, but albeit a different name". Also, prior to the installation ceremony of the
Vadtal temple, the
murtis of
Lakshmi Narayan were kept in Kashidas' house for safekeeping. Kashidas had requested
Bhagwan Swaminarayan to install them in his village instead, to which He replied : "
These Murtis are for Vadtal, in your village a grand Mandir will be built where I will reside alongside my Eternal Abode." to some reasons. The main reason was in the doctrinal difference of
Akshar Purshottam Philosophy between
Shastriji Maharaj and the
diocese, regarding Gunatitanand Swami as the " true successor of
Bhagwan Swaminarayan". Although he told everyone that he was not splitting with Vadtal, but just going to preach in the villages, his departure gave his detractors the excuse they were looking for, and
Shastri Yagnapurushdas was, as Prof. Raymond Williams observes, "expelled from the fellowship by a hastily called meeting of swamis" as Bhagwan Swaminarayan had prophesied. Saints and Devotees now had served to their best in the construction of the new
mandir in Bochasan which would house the Murtis of
Bhagwan Swaminarayan and
Gunatitanand Swami. During the Installation ceremony, devotees were unable to lift the
murti of Gunatitanand Swami despite it being lighter than that of Bhagwan Swaminarayan.
Shastriji Maharaj hence prayed before the
murti of Gunatitanand Swami, saying : "
It is only for you, Swami, that we countered countless hardships before leaving Vadtal. Therefore, please take your seat in the central shrine." Saying this,
Shastriji Maharaj slid a wedge under the
Murti of
Gunatitanand Swami which was then lifted with ease by the devotees. On 5 June 1907,
Shastri Yagnapurushdas consecrated the murtis of
Bhagwan Swaminarayan and
Gunatitanand Swami in the newly constructed mandir Bochasan. This marked the beginning of
BAPS as an organization since it was the
first mandir to have both murtis of
Akshar and
Purushottam in the central shrine. == References ==