Lord Swaminarayan has laid down specific dharmas for the Acharyas or Gurus of the sampradaya, they are located at slokha 123 to slokha 134. These are prescribed to defend our religion and also to advance to song of the Lord amongst a wider audience. The job of the Acharyas or Gurus is to provide a path for the satsangis and bring them closer to Lord Swaminarayan. Lord Swaminarayan has said that he himself is always present within his Acharyas, and they are a representation of my swarup (form). Although the fisrt Acharyas have been mentioned in the Shikshapatri because they were initiated by Lord Swaminarayan himself, the dharmas apply to all proceeding Acharyas.

The Dharmas for the Acharyas are:

Slokha 123 ~ Ayodhyaprasadji who is the son of Shreeji Maharaj's elder brother Rampratapji, and Raghuvirji who is the son of Shreeji Maharaj's younger brother Iccharamji have been chosen and installed by Lord Swaminarayan as the first Acharyas of our sampradaya.

Slokha 124 ~ They shall never give religious lectures or preach to females who are not their near relatives. The Acharyas shall never touch or speak with any other female, and they shall never be cruel to and living person. This in it self shows the compassion that Lord Swaminarayan has for his devotees.

Slokha 125 ~ The Acharyas shall never by witnesses to any thing or anybody with regards to any social matter at any time, this means that Acharyas shall always be impartial and never take sides of anyone. They shall be humble in their duty as leaders of the sampradya. The Acharyas shall never become indebted to anyone for any items and shall maintain themselves with regards to basic needs.

Slokha 126 ~ When the Acharyas receive food, they shall not sale them in any circumstances, but may exchange them for new food grains, as this is not treated as a sale.

Slokha 127 ~ The Acharyas shall worship Sri Ganapati and Hanumanji on the fourth day of the bright half of the month Bhadrapad, an also on the fourteenth day of the dark half of the month of Ashwin.

Slokha 128 ~ One unique and special dharma that Lord Swaminarayan has invested in the respective Acharyas is that they are solely responsible for initiating all male devotees who wish to give up their lifes of a grahasta and become a saint of Lord Swaminarayan. Initiation involves the presentation of mahadiksha and prescribing guru mantra from the Acharyas. This is one of the pedastals of the Swaminarayan sampradaya.

The power of initiation has been invested in the Acharyas by Lord Swaminarayan himself and only in the Acharyas, whether it be of the Ahmedabad discose or the Vadtal discose, no other person has this unique responsibility.

A saint who has been initiated by the respected Acharyas can only be called a saint or sadhu of the Swaminarayan sampradya. If any other person gives this initiation or guru mantra to a person, the so called saint shall according to Lord Swaminarayan not be treated as a saint or sadhu of the Swaminarayan sampradya. The Acharyas shall guide and lead the devotees to Lord Swaminarayan with a view to attaining a place in Akshardham, the divine abode of Lord Swaminarayan.

Slokha 129 ~ The Acharyas shall in effect be managers of the Swaminarayan sampradya and ensure that all devotees follow a path as prescribed by Lord Swaminarayan himself, devotees shall perform tasks allocated by the respective Acharyas according to the Acharyas wishes. In order to fulfil this highly demanding and responsible occupation the Acharyas shall be acquainted with the sat-shastras (holy books).

Slokha 130 ~ Acharyas are often involved in ceremonies on specific occasion to perform rituals which require the worshipping of Laxmi-Narayan, Lord Krishna, Nar-Narayan and other idols installed by Lord Swaminarayan in the temples.

Slokha131 ~ Lord Swaminarayan has shown many times his compassionate and loving nature, this is enhanced even more by the fact that he has requested his Acharyas that they shall with love and according to their capacities present food to anyone who enters any temple of Lord Krishna. The act of giving food to the hungry and needy has been one of Lord Swaminarayan's prime instructions to the followers in his sampradya.

Slokha 132 ~ As explained the responsibility of the Acharyas is to impart Sadvidiya which is divine, glory and right knowledge of Lord Krishna. Lord Swaminarayan has treated the act of learning as a very important one because without knowledge a person cannot accept to imagine the greatness of Lord Swaminarayan. The Acharya shall therefore promote centres of knowledge and appoint learned brahmins as teachers to spreasd to gospel of the Lord.

Dharmas for the Wives of the Acharyas are also very important, as they have the sole powers and responsibility to initiate females into the sampradya by giving them the divine guru mantra, no other female has this right.

The wives of the Acharyas shall never look at, speak to, or touch any male, they shall also never show their faces to any male who is not a close relative of the Acharyas.

These dharmas for Acharyas and their wives have been prescribed to defend our religion and to create a standard by which generations for centuries can follow a simple and uniform means of performing the rules and laws requested by Lord Swaminarayan himself.

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