LONDON (Diya TV) — Guinness World Records has recognized a biography of Pramukh Swami Maharaj as the longest written by a single author, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha announced Monday.
Sanskrit scholar Sadhu Adarshjivandas wrote Brahmaswarup Pramukh Swami Maharaj: Vistrut Jivan ane Karya. The multivolume work documents the late BAPS spiritual leader’s life, teachings and activities in India and abroad.
Guinness senior adjudicator Carl Saville presented the certificate to Mahant Swami Maharaj, the organization’s current spiritual leader, at OVO Arena Wembley on Sunday. The ceremony formed part of celebrations marking Mahant Swami Maharaj’s birth anniversary. Adarshjivandas also attended.
BAPS said the biography contains more than two million words across nearly nine thousand pages. The author completed the research and writing over just over three years.
“The subject of this biography is infinitely more important than the author,” Adarshjivandas said in a statement released by BAPS.
Pramukh Swami Maharaj led the organization through decades of international expansion. BAPS’ historical records document his overseas visits, temple inaugurations and participation in relief efforts following the Latur earthquake in Maharashtra.
His work included the inauguration of the BAPS temple in London’s Neasden neighborhood and Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Delhi.
BAPS also reported sales of more than three hundred thousand individual volumes. That figure refers to copies of the volumes rather than complete biography sets.
The Guinness recognition applies specifically to a biography written by one author, a separate category from its broader longest-biography record.
