The Visit of Mr. Han Kop

A long-time satsangi* of the Swaminarayan faith visited Akshardham today. At first glance, the Netherlands-native Mr. Han Kop doesn't look like your average follower of Swaminarayan. He about 6'1", about 63 years old, balding, and very, very caucasian. I've had the opportunity to meet him in the past, though his visit today was the first time I've had a chance to actually sit down and talk to him.

In 1972, he and two of his brothers (he has nine siblings total) set out on a world tour by car. Having weaved their way down from the Netherlands, they travelled through Africa - via Zaire (now the D.R. of the Congo), Uganda, South Africa, and Tanzania. They ended up in Mombasa, Kenya, running short on cash, and not really sure where to go next. Deciding to hang around in Kenya for a few weeks, they camped on the beach every night (some serious penny-pinching). One day they came across a house with the doors wide open - not a very common sight in Kenya at the time for political reasons. So they went in.

There they first laid eyes on the murti of Bhagwan Swaminarayan - but from a different sect. Not seeing anyone inside, they walked out again and kept moving down the road. About 100 yards further down the road, they came to another set of wide open doors. Curious, they poked their heads inside, this time into a BAPS Swaminarayan Sampraday mandir. There, Mr. Kop says he saw the murtis of Swaminarayan and Gunatitanand Swami, the ideal disciple, as well as the image of Yogiji Maharaj, who had passed away, unbeknownst to them, just the year before. He says when he saw the image of Yogiji Maharaj, he wanted to meet him. There were some youths singing kirtans (devotional songs) and so he asked them where "the man in the picture" was. They said he wasn't there and that it wouldn't be possible to meet him. Thinking the youths were just trying to pass him off, he insisted. Relenting, they directed him to Mr. C. T. Patel, who family had followed BAPS since its founding by Shastri Yagnapurushdasji (Shastriji Maharaj) in 1907. "C.T. kaka" (uncle), as he was known, took Han and his brothers to his house, and so began a daily interaction where the three would come to C.T. kaka's house for lunch, and he would in turn explain to them all about Swaminarayan Bhagwan, the philosophy, and spiritual successorship - all the way to the current guru at the time, Pramukh Swami, who had been appointed by Yogiji Maharaj as the spiritual successor the previous year.

After about a month of these daily meetings, C.T. kaka told Mr. Kop that it was time for him to go to India and seek further answers there. So they loaded up the car onto a boat and sailed for Mumbai. Upon arrival, two Swaminarayan sadhus met him at the boat terminal and took him to the mandir in Mumbai. There he met Pujya Mahant Swami and stayed in Mumbai with him for some time. At the behest of Mahant Swami, he travelled to Gondal, Gujarat to meet Mahant Swami's guru, Pramukh Swami Maharaj. Mr. Kop had no real interest in meeting Pramukh Swami, however, because he was content with Mahant Swami as his guru. Nevertheless, Mahant Swami insisted, and Mr. Kop, his brothers, and four other sadhus loaded up into the 4x4 that, by now, had travelled through most of Europe and Africa, and set off for Gujarat.

They arrived in the evening that same day in Gondal right before Pramukh Swami was to have his dinner for the day. The sadhus sat with Mr. Kop in the room where Bapa (father, as Pramukh Swami is more affectionately known) was having dinner. As Bapa looked up, he looked directly into Mr. Kop's eyes. Han's next words encapsulate that moment beautifully:

"As Pramukh Swami looked at me, I looked back into the exact same eyes I had seen in that picture of Yogiji Maharaj in Mombasa. At that point I realized, they are the same person. I realized why even such a pious sadhu like Mahant Swami made Pramukh Swami his guru. There was so much love, joy, and divinity in the eyes of Yogiji Maharaj, and that same love, joy, and divinity radiated from Pramukh Swami's eyes. I did not want to leave."

After staying in Gondal with Pramukh Swami for almost 2 months, asking so many questions and receiving so many satisfactory answers, Mr. Kop indeed did ask Pramukh Swami if he could stay. But Pramukh Swami said he should return home, but continue his daily prayers to Lord Swaminarayan. If in one year he still felt strongly, he should come back to visit.

Mr. Kop has been a staunch satsangi of Pramukh Swami Maharaj since 1972, longer than many of the Indian followers today, and he has come back for Swami's darshan once a year since then. He says that 35 years later, he still sees the same love, joy, and divinity, radiating with the same strength, in Bapa's eyes.

*devotee, or follower; literally "a member of truth."