Sachidanand Swami, who possessed immense divine powers, chose to serve Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan daily by farming at Radha Vadi in Gadhpur and preparing fresh flower garlands, showing his embodiment of love. A native of the village Moda near Jamnagar and a Vaghela Kshatriya by caste, he had a massive, tall physique and a deep, resonant voice. His original name was Dajibhai, though his family and villagers affectionately called him “Motabhai.”
While all the spiritual perfections (siddhis) and divine powers stood before Sadguru Sachidanand Swami, he considered them trivial compared to his love for the Lord and remained faithful in devotion. His family members, who did not appreciate this spiritual madness, once unsuccessfully tried to confine him to a room and shackled his feet in chains to keep him in a state like Jadbharat. Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan granted him darshan, broke his chains, and took him to Gadhpur, where Maharaj gave him diksha and named him “Sachidanand Swami.” From that moment, Swami witnessed the divine form of Maharaj continuously in all three states of consciousness. He could not bear even a moment of separation; such was his intensity that blood would sometimes well up from his skin. If Maharaj affectionately called out, “Come, Sachidanand,” he would leap with such joy that it felt as if the universe trembled, exclaiming that his Maharaj had called him by name with such love.
Once, Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan asked him, “How great is your love for Me?” Sachidanand Swami replied, “Even if You were to order a devotee in this court to shatter my knees with a sledgehammer for no reason, or subject me to fire, I would never perceive a flaw in You or Your devotee. I would rather pick up leftover grains from the leaf-plates used by the sadhus and haribhakto here than leave this place, because there is no God other than You. I am concerned only with my moksha.”
While he served at Radha Vadi, many of his divine feats (aishwarya lila) became famous. Once, when devotees returned disappointed after being told by Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan and the powerful Gopalanand Swami that rain was not possible in the region, Sachidanand Swami rebuked Indra Dev and forced the rain to fall. When the plague attempted to enter his body, he ignited such an intense inner spiritual fire that the personification of the disease was forced to beg for mercy. In Gadhpur, he once bewildered a group of arrogant ascetics (bawas) at a sugarcane press by operating the heavy machinery using only a fragile thread of raw cotton.
He displayed many such miracles, but never to increase his own fame. His mind and senses remained absorbed in Maharaj at all times. When Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan traveled to Dharampur, he did not take Swami along. However, Maharaj would daily offer him prasadi (sanctified food) from His own meal, which Swami would consume spiritually. When Harji Thakkar refused to believe this, Swami said, “Maharaj just gave me a meal of curd and rice, which I have eaten.” To prove it, he physically manifested the food through his yogic power, after which Harji accepted the truth.
Thus, Swami maintained an eternal connection with Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan. When Maharaj prepared to depart for Akshardham, Swami used his own spiritual powers to withdraw his life force and reached Akshardham even before Maharaj.