King Charles III greets BAPS community amid Pramukh Swami Maharaj's centenary celebrations, recalls his 'timeless message'

British King Charles III on Sunday (8) gave a special message to the BAPS (Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha) community as it celebrates the birth centenary of His Holiness (HH) Pramukh Swami Maharaj (1921-2916).

In his message which was tweeted by UK in India, the King said, "As you commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of His Holiness, Pramukh Swami Maharaj, I did just want to send you all my warmest good wishes."

King Charles III also recalled his meeting with the late spiritual leader at St James' Palace in the late 1990s and several visits to the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden which HH Pramukh Swami Maharaj helped to create.

"It was the greatest pleasure to meet His Holiness at St James' Palace in 1997, and to have been able to visit, on several occasions over the years, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden which His Holiness helped to create," the tweet quoted him as saying.

The King, who took over in September last year after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, said the "timeless message" of HH Pramukh Swami Maharaj that "in the joy of others lies our own, in the progress of others rests our own, in the good of others abides our own, know this to be the key to peace and happiness" resonates as much now as it always has.

The British king’s message was also read out by the British high commissioner to India, Alex Ellis, as part of the birth centenary celebrations of the spiritual leader.

The theme of Sunday’s event was ‘BAPS Europe Day’.

In a video message, British prime minister Rishi Sunak also praised the dedication of Swaminarayan volunteers and their “seva” (service) in the UK during the Covid-19 pandemic to help not just the Hindu community but thousands of others.

The centenary celebrations of HH Pramukh Swami Maharaj kicked off in Ahmedabad in the western Indian state of Gujarat on December 15 and will continue till January 15.

They were inaugurated by Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.

(With agency inputs)