Full Text of HJR0070 95th General Assembly
HJ0070 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Pramukh Swami Maharaj is the third and current | 3 |
| spiritual leader of the BAPS Swaminarayan Organization and is | 4 |
| believed to be the fifth spiritual successor to Bhagwan | 5 |
| Swaminarayan; and
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| WHEREAS, Born Shantilal Patel, on December 7, 1921 in the | 7 |
| village of Chansad in Gujarat, India, he was initiated into | 8 |
| monkhood as Sadhu Narayanswarupdas; at the age of 28, he was | 9 |
| appointed president (Pramukh) of BAPS by the then guru of the | 10 |
| organization, Shastriji Maharaj, and from that day, | 11 |
| affectionally called Pramukh Swami; after Shastriji Maharaj | 12 |
| passed away, he was succeeded by Yogiji Maharaj, who in turn | 13 |
| chose Pramukh Swami Maharaj to be his successor as the | 14 |
| spiritual leader of BAPS; and
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| WHEREAS, Under Pramukh Swami Maharaj's leadership, the | 16 |
| BAPS Swaminarayan Organization, and Hinduism in general, has | 17 |
| enjoyed much success in promoting its message in India and | 18 |
| abroad; this partly lies in the organization's approach, which | 19 |
| is characteristic of other monotheistic religions, namely | 20 |
| their centralization and huge organizational strength, and | 21 |
| their emphasis on community development, the practice of | 22 |
| dharma, and the understanding of spiritual knowledge based on | 23 |
| the teachings of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, founder of the |
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| Swaminarayan movement within Hinduism in the late 18th century; | 2 |
| many mainstream Hindus, primarily from the state of Gujarat in | 3 |
| India, find themselves attracted to this and start identifying | 4 |
| with BAPS; and
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| WHEREAS, Away from India, Pramukh Swami Maharaj has | 6 |
| embarked on 15 world tours, covering 43 countries in 5 | 7 |
| continents over the last 25 years; over 600 Temples and 9,000 | 8 |
| spiritual centers have been established across Africa, | 9 |
| America, Australia, Europe, the Far East and the Middle East; | 10 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, Pramukh Swami Maharaj is credited as being the | 12 |
| inspirer of the Swaminarayan Akshardham cultural complexes in | 13 |
| New Delhi and Gujarat, and numerous traditionally built stone | 14 |
| temples across the world, such as the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan | 15 |
| Mandirs in London, Chicago, Houston, and Nairobi; and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, Pramukh Swami Maharaj has contributed to projects | 17 |
| in social (famine relief, cattle camps, earthquake relief | 18 |
| work), educational (literacy campaigns, youth hostels), | 19 |
| ecological (tree planting, well recharging, recycling | 20 |
| projects), medical (diagnostic camps, blood donation), moral | 21 |
| (anti-addiction drives), cultural (child and youth | 22 |
| development), and spiritual areas; and |
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| WHEREAS, In July 2000, Pramukh Swami Maharaj was awarded a | 2 |
| place in the Guinness World Records as one of the 20 most | 3 |
| influential people in the world; also in July 2000, BAPS Shri | 4 |
| Swaminarayan Mandir London, a temple inspired by Pramukh Swami | 5 |
| Maharaj, was awarded a Guinness World Record for being the | 6 |
| largest Hindu
temple outside India; in November 2000, BAPS Shri | 7 |
| Swaminarayan Mandir, London was awarded a Guinness World Record | 8 |
| for the "Most Different Dishes on Display", where 1,247 | 9 |
| different vegetarian dishes were displayed; the dishes were on | 10 |
| display as part of the Annakut festival, celebrating the Hindu | 11 |
| New Year; and
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| WHEREAS, The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir (Chicago), the | 13 |
| largest traditional Hindu mandir constructed of stone and | 14 |
| marble in the United States, is located on Illinois Route 59 in | 15 |
| Bartlett; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 17 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 18 |
| SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the portion of Illinois Route 59 | 19 |
| between Illinois Route 64 and Army Trail Road in Bartlett be | 20 |
| designated the Pramukh Swami Maharaj Road; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation | 22 |
| is requested to erect at suitable locations, consistent with | 23 |
| State rules, appropriate plaques or signs giving notice of the |
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| name; and be it further | 2 |
| RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be delivered to | 3 |
| the Illinois Secretary of Transportation and to officials of | 4 |
| the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir (Chicago), in Bartlett.
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