Dear Children,

What does Lord Swaminarayan want us to do? Imagine a long line of boxes big and small. In the biggest box is a pile of things God wants all of us to do. In the other boxes are little piles of special things which God wants just sadhus to do, or just widows to do or just politicians to do or just Acharyas to do.
The first box - for everyone- boy or girl, no matter where you live or go to school, has things in it for helping poor people, and not murdering, not hurting anyone or any creature in any way. God says how and where we should live and pray, study and work and even behave in front of important people. By obeying these commands we make the world a better place for everybody, and when we don't it makes us unhappy and the world awful.
God wrote the Shikshapatri because He loves all of us. He knows that many times we get carried away and do things that hurt us and the world around us. God knows that humans are weak and easily given to temptation. So He wrote a little book of commands - the Shikshapatri - teaching us how to live a happy and fruitful life. The Shikshapatri is wonderful and very special. There is no other scripture in the world written by God Himself. He wrote it on Vasant Panchmi, 1826, in the small village of Vadtal. There are 212 short verses.
Everything taught by God is what we call the ultimate truth. Such truth can never be wrong, though it often is hard to understand and believe. Sometimes doubts can also trouble us. This is because we are humans with human limitations. But God is divine and perfect. Can He ever be at fault? Of course not!
Some commands of the Shikshapatri are a little hard to obey, but most are quite easy. By obeying all the commands we become virtuous and strong willed, devoted and of unbreakable character. These are qualities that other people admire and respect. It is these qualities that will help you serve God, your parents, your family, your country and yourself.
The best way to learn from the Shikshapatri is to read it as often as possible. When you've read it once, read it again and again. Take a little time think on each verse and discover whether you are fully obeying the commands or cheating a little. By cheating we rob ourselves of the chance of earning fabulous success and the grace and blessings of God. So let's go out right now and start doing some more of the things God wants us to do.

Shlokas: