His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj often warned, “Addictions cause destruction.” Thus, as part of his centennial year celebrations, 50,000 BAPS children, participated in the De-Addiction Rallies organized at 100 BAPS centers in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka, West Bengal and others centers across India on World No-Tobacco Day on 31 May 2022.

These rallies included inspiring exhibits, creative floats, stirring rhymes and emotive jingles, encouraging people to quit harmful addictions. During these rallies, the children appealed to all to support social uplift through de-addiction and a healthy lifestyle.

Pramukh Swami Maharaj actively advocated for the nurture of nature. During his lifetime, he inspired the planting and nurturing of more than 15 lakh trees worldwide, and encouraged numerous environmental preservation projects.

To commemorate Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s Shatabdi Mahotsav and India’s Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, young girls (balikas), aged between 8 and 14, of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha conducted a large-scale ‘Environment Conservation Campaign’ from 8 to 22 May 2022. These young girls dedicated their summer vacation, forgoing their leisure time, to spread guru Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s messages of saving water and energy, and to promote environmental conservation. In a world plagued by global warming, deforestation and rapid urbanization, this campaign raised awareness among the public of the perils of not caring for the environment and the earth’s resources.

With the blessings of guruhari Mahant Swami Maharaj, 14,000 girls, divided into 3,300 groups, conducted this drive nationally. They reached out to people at their homes to give three important messages:
Stop leakages to prevent wasteful water loss. Optimize water usage during activities like washing clothes and utensils, bathing, etc., and use RO purified drinking water effectively.

Turn off electrical appliances when not in use. Use LEDs and adopt solar usage where possible.
Plant and nurture at least one sapling.

These gallant young girls spread eco-awareness among all strata of society, personally meeting and inspiring 1.3 million people nationally. As a result, 1.2 million people pledged to save water and energy, and 7.5 lakh people pledged to plant and nurture a sapling.

By participating in this campaign the resolve of the young girls themselves to conserve such resources was consolidated, and their self-confidence, and public speaking and communication skills were boosted.

To commemorate Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s Shatabdi Mahotsav and India’s Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, children of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha conducted a large-scale De-Addiction Campaign between 8 and 22 May 2022. During his lifetime, Pramukh Swami Maharaj inspired over 40 lakh people worldwide to give up addictions. Following in his footsteps, these children sacrificed their summer vacation to spread the message of de-addiction and promote a healthier society.

Guruhari Mahant Swami Maharaj blessed these young campaigners with a spirit to ‘March Forward’ at the inauguration on 8 May 2022 in Surat. With such inspiration, the gallant young children went out to wage a war on the perilous addictions that plague and hinder society.

In total, 16,000 boys in groups of four (total: 4,200 groups) contacted people at their homes, shops, factories, bus stands and many public places during the 15-day campaign. They informed them about the health, financial, cultural and other benefits of freeing themselves from the shackles of gutka, cigarettes, tobacco, liquor and other inappropriate habits. Undeterred by hardships, summer heat, odd hours and other inconveniences, the boys enthusiastically reached out to and personally met over 1.4 million people throughout Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, New Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka. Of these, over 400,000 people pledged to shun their addictions and that they, too, would convince other to give up their addictions.
Among the benefits of conducting this campaign was that the boys gained confidence and developed communication and leadership skills. Furthermore, the campaign also consolidated their own resolve to never engage in any form of addictions.