Sadguru Shree Chaitanyanand Swami was a scholarly Brahmin originally from the Awadh state of Uttar Pradesh.
Once, while traveling on a pilgrimage to Dwarka with two other Brahmins, he arrived in Dakor. After hearing of the divine glory of Maharaj in Dakor, they continued their journey toward Dwarka. While traveling, they reached the banks of the Bhadar River in Saurashtra. At that time, Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan was traveling from Junagadh toward Gadhada. Since it was early morning, Maharaj, along with the sadhus and parshads, had finished their bathing and morning prayers in the Bhadar River and were seated together. Beholding this sight, the Brahmin felt in his heart that this must surely be Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan.
Experiencing this unexpected darshan of Maharaj, he felt great joy and approached Him with immense faith. Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan then began a katha. Upon hearing the speech of Maharaj, all three Brahmins entered a state of samadhi (meditative trance). In that samadhi, they had a vision of Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan in the form of Bhagwan Shree Ram. Having heard the spiritual instructions of Maharaj and witnessing His form in samadhi, they accepted Him as Bhagwan and offered prayers of praise. Among the three, one seeker Brahmin decided to abandon his journey to Dwarka and firmly resolved to stay with Maharaj. He accompanied the sadhus to Gadhada, where Maharaj gave him diskha and gave him the pious name “Chaitanyanand Swami.”
Chaitanyanand Swami was already well-versed in Sanskrit and was a student of the Shastras and Puranas. He was firm in following and encouraging others to follow religious rules (dharm-niyam), was skilled in practical affairs, and had great faith in spreading the Satsang. Therefore, Maharaj appointed him to deliver spiritual discourses (katha-varta) to the devotees who came for darshan.
In V.S. 1872, when Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan organized the Annakut festival in the village of Adalaj in the Dandhavya region (modern day Ahmedabad), He appointed four sadhus as the first “Sadgurus”: Muktanand Swami, Nityanand Swami, Brahmanand Swami, and Chaitanyanand Swami. Later, Maharaj also appointed Chaitanyanand Swami as Mahant of Dholera Mandir.
After Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan returned for Akshardham, Chaitanyanand Swami would visit Gopalanand Swami daily for satsang. After Gopalanand Swami returned to Akshardham, he would travel to Junagadh to seek the company (samagam) of Sadguru Shree Gunatitanand Swami. As Chaitanyanand Swami was a fine Sanskrit scholar, he recorded the dialogue between Sadguru Shree Gunatitanand Swami and King Sangramji Bapu of Gondal, composing the scripture titled Gnan Vilas. Just as Chaitanyanand Swami composed the Gnan Vilas, he continued to nourish the Satsang with spiritual knowledge and instruction.