Morari Bapu

He has been speaking for progressive norms in the 21st century and feels there should be no stagnancy in religious beliefs.

Morari Bapu (born Moraridas Prabhudas Hariyani, 2 March 1946) is an Indian spiritual leader and narrator of Rama katha from Gujarat.

He is an exponent of Ramcharitmanas with more than 900 kathas recited over the last 60 years.

Bapu's core message is truth, love, and compassion (satya-prem-karuna) and encouraging awareness about Hindu scriptures.

Morari Bapu was born on 2 March 1946 (Maha Shivaratri according to the Hindu calendar) in Talgajarda village in Bhavnagar district, Gujarat, to Prabhudas Hariyani and Savitriben Hariyani, in a family of six brothers and two sisters.

His family followed Nimbarka Sampradaya, a Hindu Vaishnava tradition.

Both the Ramcharitmanas and the Bhagavad Gita were deeply embedded in Bapu's life from childhood.

Tribhuvandas, grandfather and guru of Bapu, taught him the deeper meanings of Goswami Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas and initiated him on the path of recitation of the sacred text, i.e., the narration of katha.

Bapu recited the Ramcharitmanas Chaupais (stanzas or couplets) while walking to and from school, and thus began his journey of oration.

After completing secondary education, Bapu joined the Shahpur Teacher's Training College in Junagadh.

In 1966, Bapu started teaching at a primary school in Mahuva.

Dhyanswami Bapa, the first from Bapu's lineage of saints (sadhu parampara), followed the Nimbark tradition.

Dhyanswami Bapa immersed himself in the ground alive (took Jeevant Samadhi) at Senjal Dham, approximately an hour away from Mahuva.

Dhyanswami Bapa's disciple, Jeevandas Bapa, decided to devote his life to the service of humanity; however, on guidance from Dhyanswami Bapa, he got married, and this formed Bapu's ancestral origin.

Tribhuvandas Bapu's younger brother, Vishnu Devanand Giri, was the 6th Mahamandaleshwar of Kailash Ashram, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Uttarakhand (India).

When Bapu was 14 years old, he began reciting Ram Katha under the guidance and encouragement of his grandfather and spiritual mentor, Tribhuvandas Bapu.

Initially, he would recite verses from the Ramcharitmanas to a small group of people under a banyan tree named Tribhuvan Vat, named after his grandfather, mentor, and guru in his village.

As time went on, he began to recite at the Ram Temple in both his village, Talgajarda, and the nearby town of Mahuva.

Bapu's first 9-day katha outside of Talgajarda was in 1966 at Ramfaldas Maharaj's ashram in Ganthila village, Gujarat.

He gave his first discourse abroad in Nairobi, Kenya in 1976.

Kathas based in Gujarat are narrated in Gujarati, and in the rest of India and abroad, in Hindi.

Bapu has also narrated the 19 verses of the Gopi Geet as Manas Gopi Geet.

Bapu's Ram Kathas can be seen on the Aastha TV network and the Chitrakutdham Talgajarda YouTube channel.

The largest gathering at one of Bapu's Ram Kathas to date has been 1.2 million people over the course of nine days in Nathdwara, Rajasthan (India).

Bapu has traversed major areas and pilgrimages in India, including Amarnath, Vaishno Devi, Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath, Badrinath, Kurukshetra, Vraj Chaurasi, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Hastinapur, Naimisharanya, Ujjain, Omkareshwar, Bet Dwarka, Bodh Gaya, Jagannath Puri, Dhanushkodi, Rameshwaram, Somnath, Vaishno Devi and Ambaji.

Some overseas Kathas would include Toronto, Atlanta, Panama, Amazon Rainforest, London, Paris, Switzerland, Vatican City, Athens, South Africa, Mauritius, Jordan, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Rakshastal, Kailas, Bhushundi, Sarovar, Moscow, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Bali, Hiroshima, Sydney and New Zealand.

Other unique Kathas include Bapu's recitations on board a cruise ship and on board a flight.

Bapu does not charge for his recitations of Ram Katha.

His sermons are open to everyone without any financial or other restrictions, regardless of age, gender, caste, creed, or social status.

Bapu's overall ethos of katha is universal peace by reciting nine-day discourses, spreading the message of truth (satya), love (prem), and compassion (karuna), and relating the Ramcharitmanas scripture to everyday lives, embedding spirituality rather than religion.

Bapu defines religion as truth, love, and compassion.

According to him, the conventional idea of being religious is confined to going to temples or churches and observing fasts, but the idea of religion as truth, love, and compassion goes beyond the boundaries of countries and continents.

Bapu's line of thought is “not to improve, but to accept all”.

Bapu does not see those who listen to or attend the Ram Kathas as his followers.

Instead, he calls them "flowers".

Bapu spreads awareness about the essentials of life, which captures the interest of numerous young individuals who are also drawn to attend katha.

People should come out of the mental crises of jealousy (Īrṣyā), backbiting and criticism (ninda) and hatred (dvesh).

Bapu supports environment-related causes.

Cows should be nurtured and worshipped, not harmed.

Bapu believes in ‘Pravahi Parampara’ (flowing tradition).