Morari Bapu Age, Wife, Caste, Children, Family, Biography & More
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Hometown: Bhavnagar, Gujarat
Wife: Narmadaben
Age: 74 Years
Bio/Wiki | |
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Full Name | Moraridas Prabhudas Hariyani |
Profession(s) | Spiritual Leader and Preacher |
Physical Stats & More | |
Height (approx.) | in centimeters- 165 cm in meters- 1.65 m in feet inches- 5’ 5” |
Eye Colour | Dark Brown |
Hair Colour | Grey (Semi Bald) |
Personal Life | |
Date of Birth | 25 September 1946 (Wednesday) |
Age (as in 2019) | 74 Years |
Birthplace | Talgajarda, Bhavnagar District, Gujarat |
Zodiac sign | Virgo |
Signature | |
Nationality | Indian |
Hometown | Talgajarda, Bhavnagar District, Gujarat |
School | Higher Secondary School, Talgajarda |
College/University | Shahpur Training School in Junagadh, Gujarat |
Educational Qualification | Teacher Vocational Course (Lectureship) [1]Google Books |
Religion | Hinduism |
Caste | Hindu Vaishnava (Nimbarka Sampradaya) [2]Google Books |
Address | Shree Chitrakutdham Trust, VIII, Talgajarda, Mahuva, District- Bhavnagar, Gujarat |
Hobbies | Listening to Indian Classical Music, Singing Couplets of Urdu, And Playing Cricket |
Controversies | • A question was raised against him as an anti-nationalist in 2017; when a working man was found to be a terrorist at the Sardar Patel Hospital; where Bapu attended many functions to raise funds. [3]Janta Ka Reporter • In 2019, he passed a controversial statement in one of his Kathas he said, Lord Shiva was the only true Neelkanth and not “ones that had eaten laddus.” Swaminarayan sect did not take this statement positively as they offer Ladudi (Ladoo) is offered as Prasad, and one of the Swaminarayan is also Neelkanth. [4]BBC • Advocate of Porbandar demanded action against him and other forest officials, for organizing an illegal lion show in the prohibited area of 'Gir Sanctuary' near Junagadh in 2020. [5]Jagran • In June 2020, many followers of Lord Kishna accused him of making controversial remarks against Lord Krishna and Lord Baldau while reciting the Ram Katha in Adi Shakti Peetha, Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh. Upset by his comment one of former BJP MLA, Pabubha Manek’s video went viral in which was rushing towards Bapu. [6]India Today |
Relationships & More | |
Marital Status | Married |
Family | |
Wife/Spouse | Narmadaben Hariyani |
Children | Son- Parthiv Hariyani Daughter(s)- 3 • Bhavana Modi • Prasanna Patel • Sobhana Hariyani |
Parents | Father- Prabhudas Bapu Hariyani Mother- Savitri Ben Hariyani |
Siblings | He has six brothers and two sisters and of his brothers' is Late Jadgishbhai Hariyani. |
Money Factor | |
Net Worth (approx.) | Rs 550 crore; as in 2018 [7]Mangalore Today |
Some Lesser Known Facts About Morari Bapu
- Morari Bapu is an Indian spiritual leader and preacher.
- As per the Hindu calendar, he was born on the festival of Shivratri.
- He has spent maximum childhood with his grandparents. At the age of 5, he used to listen to his grandmother, Amrit Ma’s folktales and his grandfather Tribhovandasji’s singing of the Ramcharitmanas Hymnes (Chaupais). Bapu considers his grandfather as his spiritual guru.
- His paternal great grandfather, Mahamandleshwar Vishnu was the Giriji Maharaj of Kailas Ashram in Rishikesh.
- Bapu’s Grandfather Tribhovandas Dada used to teach him five hymns (Chaupais) of Ramcharitmanas daily that he used to recite while going and returning from his school. In this way, he recited the whole Ramayana by the age of twelve. Morari Bapu’s grandfather gave him a 300-year-old copy of Ramayana.
- As a teacher, he taught in the J. Parekh High School in Mahuva (Bhavnagar state, Gujarat) for more than ten years. During this period, he used to meet and listen to the most prominent spiritual leaders of India.
- In 1960, at the age of fourteen, Bapu’s first Ram Katha was held at ‘Ramji Mandir’ in Talgajarda, and his first Katha in abroad was held in Nairobi in 1976.
- He belongs to the ‘Vaishnava Bava Sadhu Nimbarka lineage;’ in which every child is called Bapu.
- During his Ram-Katha in California, he asked the audience to donate one crore to the sufferers of Uttarakhand calamity, and till evening, the sum of donation reached more than Rs. 3.14 crore. His Talgajarda Trust donated 1 lakh to help Uttarakhand victims.
- He has done over 800 Ramkathas until now; which were held in various countries like the USA, England, Brazil, Bhutan, Dubai, Australia, South Africa and Kenya.
- Time to time; he meets different spiritual leaders and encourages their great welfare work for humanity.
- Bapu organized the ‘World Religions Dialogue and Symphony Conference’ in Mahuva in 2009, inaugurated by the 14th Dalai Lama.
- Many famous Indian political leaders often pays a visit to his place.
- In Mahuva, Bapu was invited as the chief guest of a famous program ‘Yaad-e-Hussain,’ held by the Muslim community every year.
- Reportedly, he used to support Vishwa Hindu Parishad in the Ram-Janmabhoomi movement.
- He had organised a peace meeting in the Muslim area of Ahmedabad during the Gujarat riots in 2002.
- He also visited Adu Dhabi on 17 September 2016 to recite Ram Katha, and the Sultan Mohammad-Bin-Jayad-Al-Nahyan welcomed him.
- He gives free education to the needy students and supports Indian art, literature, and culture. He gives awards to the artists and scholars in Gujarat at ‘The Sankat Mochan Sangeet Mahotsav’, which has been held continuously for the past ninety-two years on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti annually.
- He has organised various Ram Kathas including Katha for transgenders in 2016, Ram Katha & donation for Akshaya Patra Foundation in 2015, Katha for sex-workers in 2018, and Kathas for the army personnel.
- He is also one of the first spiritual leaders to visit women of red light area in Mumbai.
- In an interview, the popular Indian LGBT activist, Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, said,
No spiritual or religious leader in the world has ever done this kind of a community event for us and for that, I’m grateful to him.”
- On 26 April 2016, Morari Bapu welcomed and supported the performance of Pakistani ghazal singer, Ustad Ghulam Ali at the ‘Sangeet Samaroh’ in ‘Sankat Mochan’ temple in Varanasi; despite the protest of Shiv Sena supporters.
- During an interview in 2019, in the Indian TV show- ‘Aap Ki Adalat,’ with Rajat Sharma, he revealed many aspects of his personalities such as he never celebrates his birthday, his root is poverty and he has never forgotten and not only he meets the rich people but goes to poor people’s house also to support them.
- In an interview, Morari Bapu shared one of the motives of his life, he said,
My motive is to make Ram Katha (Story of Rama) accessible to the neglected, exploited and marginalised segments of society, just as Ram himself went to the Shabris, Nishads and Sugareevas of that time.”
- In one of his documentaries, when he shared why he wears black shawl, he said,
It is not for any specific reason. My grandmother used to wear black clothes and is used to sleep in her lap. The colour of god is also black.”
- Morari Bapu always sits behind the Ram Charit Manas (Poothiji) and wrap it in an orange hand-spun cotton cloth. He keeps a piece of Ram Nam shawl underneath Poothiji and keeps rest of the shawl in his lap.
- A spiritual saint from Punjab known as “Chhote Morari Bapu” follows the same dressing style like Bapu including the black shawl.
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