World Sanskrit Conference recognises Akshar-Purushottam Darshan as distinct Vedanta Tradition

The  17th World  Sanskrit  Conference, which was inaugurated on July 9 in Vancouver, Canada, recognised Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s Akshar-Purushottam Darshan as the first new  independent  school  of  Vedanta  since  the  16th century.

More than 600 eminent Sanskrit scholars and educators from over 40 countries attended the historic event that was held at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

The event also saw the launch of recently authored ground-breaking Sanskrit works on the Akshar-Purushottam Darshan -- the Swaminarayan Bhashyam and the Swaminarayan Siddhanta-Sudha by Sadhu Bhadreshdas.

World  Sanskrit  Conference  organising  committee  member  and  senior Sanskrit  scholar  from  the  University  of  British  Columbia,  Professor  Ashok  Aklujkar  said: “Bhadreshdas Swami is one of the most amazing personalities of the religious traditions of India that  I  have ever met.  His  scholarly  genius  is  jaw-dropping,  and  his  commentaries  on  the Prasthantrayi are a truly great achievement. I think all of us at the World Sanskrit Conference are fortunate  to  have  a bhashyakar  in our  midst. Just  as  the  Kashi Vishva Parishad  acknowledged Swaminarayan Bhagwan’s Akshar-Purushottam  Darshan  as  a  distinct  darshan  in  the  Vedanta tradition, we are honored to do the same from the platform of the World Sanskrit Conference.”

Bhadreshdas  Swami is an  eminent  Sanskrit  scholar  and  ordained swami of the  BAPS  Swaminarayan  Sanstha. He  completed  the Swaminarayan  Bhashyam,  a  five-volume comprehensive Sanskrit commentary on Hinduism’s three Vedic canonical texts  – the  Upanishads,  Bhagavad  Gita  and  Brahma  Sutras –in  2007. These texts form the foundation  for  the  philosophical  beliefs  of  Hindu  vedanta.

Highlighting the significance of Bhadreshdas Swami's achievements, professor Deven Patel of the University of Pennsylvania, said: "The World Sanskrit Conference is proud to honor this new and truly historic achievement in the world of Sanskrit philosophical culture.  It is the first Sanskrit commentary on the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras, and the BhagavadGita in nearly  200 years and the first commentary on the complete set by a single acharya in over 1200 years."