This is Chinmaya Mission’s newest creative device to ‘catch them young’; a forum for anyone aged below 6 years. Shishu Vihar is an assemblage of infants, toddlers and young and new parents for early introduction to spiritual education.
Bala Vihar is a weekly gathering of children, between the ages of five to thirteen years that takes place in Chinmaya Mission Centres or in private homes, under the supervision of trained teachers. The aim of Bala Vihar is to help children bloom, grow, and inculcate values through fun-filled activities. Bala Vihar enhances the overall development of the personality of a child at all levels — physical, emotional, intellectual, cultural and spiritual.
A platform where youngsters are chiseled to become dynamic leaders for tomorrow with a spiritual base and a national outlook through experiential learning of our ancient knowledge and wisdom.
Chinmaya Setukari serves as a bridge between the Yuva Kendra and mature age devotees of Chinmaya Mission, ‘building bonds’ between the young and the old in these fast-changing times.
Developing an inquiring, reflective mind is the first objective of the Study Group.
The objective of the Devi Group is to impart spiritual knowledge thus empowering women to disseminate the knowledge gathered to their family. Devi Group training enables women to equip themselves with the wherewithal to promote tradition with wisdom and understanding. They play an important role in raising the cultural standard in pockets of society becoming catalysts for family, community and societal transformation.
The Central Chinmaya Vanaprastha Sansthan (CCVS) is the senior citizens wing of Chinmaya Mission uniting people over sixty years of age. CCVS encourages senior citizens to pursue the final spiritual goal of life and shows them the means to achieve it. It assists and trains householders and near-retirees (vanaprasthis) to make a smoother and easier transition from life in grihasta ashram to life in vanaprastha ashram.
The musical wing of Chinmaya mission, aims at experiencing divinity through Bhajans. Swaranjali doesn't demand one to be a trained musician, all that is required is *'music from your heart'* and completely giving oneself to the Lord.
Swami Tapovan Maharaj was that pristine glacier of Self-knowledge through whom flowed the Ganga of Vedantic Wisdom of Swami Chinmayananda, the architect of the Chinmaya Movement.
Swami Chinmayananda was one of the 20th century's most world-renowned and revered exponents of Vedanta, the foundation of Hindu religion and culture.
Swami Tejomayananda is a living portrait of simplicity with depth, humility with courage, and wisdom with devotion. Always jovial, smiling, and welcoming, he is readily accessible and approachable to all who seek the knowledge of Vedanta from him.
"Fill the heart with the oil of love, place in it the wick of single-pointed mind. Light it with the knowledge of truth and remove the darkness of ignorance around you. Just as one lamp can light many lamps let each youth kindle this light in many hearts"
He is the Advisor of the All India Chinmaya Yuva Kendra (AICHYK) the global youth wing of Chinmaya Mission.
Brahmacharya Anand Chaitanya was a Business Programmer prior to being a full timer in Chinmaya Mission. Later, he has undergone the two year residential Vedanta Course in Sandeepany Sadhanayala, Mumbai and initiated as a monk to Chinmaya Mission.
Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Anna Nagar, was founded on 1st January 1989, under the able guidance of Swami Chinmayananda, with 11 students and four faculty members.
Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Taylors Road,the Vidyalaya marked its beginning with a meagre strength of 30 students at 13th Avenue Harrington Road, on 20th October 1968.
Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Virungambakkam, had its strong foundation laid by our Poojya Guruji H.H.Swami Tejomayananda, at Chittirai Street, Chinmaya Nagar Stage II, Chennai-92. Our Vidyalaya was given a benign beginning for the Higher Secondary in the Year 2002.
Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Tirupathi, a highly progressive school pledged to provide quality education with great emphasis on traditional values. We believe in moulding our students to be brave and courageous always, to face every experience in their life with a smile on their face.
Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Sri City, is a new chapter in the stream of Chinmaya Vidyalaya's run in Chennai. It was inaugurated on 20th June, 2011 by H.H.Swami Mitrananda. Located in Sri City which is an SEZ, FWTZ and DTZ, the school is located in a completely conducive environment for holistic education of a child.
Chinmaya Vidyalaya, VGN, is affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education. With the ultimate prospective of being the channel of wholesome education to the students. The Chinmaya Vidyalayas stand unique in intertwining education with values and their by hitting at the ultimatum- VALUE BASED EDUCATION.
Founder of chinmaya mission
Born on May 8, 1916 in Kerala, India, Balakrishnan Menon acquired degrees in Law and English Literature before plunging into the Freedom Movement of India against the British rule. Balakrishnan's nationalist activities led to his imprisonment, and after he was released, he worked for a newspaper called The National Herald.
Renunciation and Spiritual Quest
While working for The National Herald, Balakrishanan decided to write an exposé on what he believed to be the bluff of the swamis in the Himalayan regions. To investigate and uncover such veils of alleged sanctity, he travelled to Ananda Kutir, Swami Sivananda's ashram in Rishikesh.
However, this was not to be so, as Balakrishnan's journey to expose others ended up in exposing himself to his own spiritual revolution and evolution. Swami Sivananda's divinity, love, and Vedanta teachings overwhelmed the young skeptic. A striking inner transformation unfolded within Balakrishnan, and he began questioning and reflecting upon the purpose of life and the secret of permanent happiness. In the company of saints, and through the clarity of their teachings, the highly intellectual seeker soon chose to become a renunciate himself.
On the holy day of Mahashivaratri, February 25, 1949, Balakrishnan was initiated into sannyasa by Swami Sivananda, who blessed him with the name 'Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati'. Chinmayananda means 'filled with the bliss of pure Consciousness'.
Swami Sivananda then guided the new ascetic to the most renowned Vedanta master of the time, Swami Tapovanam, who lived in Uttarkashi, in the Himalayas. Swami Tapovanam who rarely took on disciples, put forth strict conditions to his new suppliant, and all of the Self-realized Guru's terms were readily accepted. As Swami Tapovanam's disciple, Swami Chinmayananda led an austere life and underwent an intense study of Vedantic texts.
A Visionary and Missionary
Spiritually awakened through Swami Tapovanam's tutelage and grace, and inspired by Mother Ganga's continuous flow of purity and service to mankind, Swami Chinmayananda sought and received his guru's blessings to spread Vedantic knowledge to the masses. Having seen widespread spiritual and social degradation in India, he felt the urge to share with others the knowledge that had brought fulfilment in his own life.
Swami Chinmayananda conducted his first jnana yajna (a series of spiritual discourses) in December 1951, at a small temple in Pune, Maharashtra. Jnana yajna, a term he coined from Lord Krishna's teachings in the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita, refers to the student who through scriptural studies performs the ritual of worship (yajna) at the altar of wisdom (jnana).
His teachings were based on the authority of the Vedas and his direct experience. They were highly appreciated, and the number of devotees eager to learn from Swami Chinmayananda's highly dynamic, logical, and witty discourses increased rapidly. An inspired band of devotees thus formed 'Chinmaya Mission' in 1953.
From pulpits and platforms throughout India and around the world, Swami Chinmayananda taught the tens of thousands who came to listen and learn. By the time he left his physical form and attained mahasamadhi on August 3, 1993, Gurudev, as Swami Chinmayananda came to be known among his followers, had conducted 576 jnana yajnas as well as countless family spiritual camps, traversing hundreds of thousands of miles, crisscrossing the globe, and transforming millions of lives directly and indirectly.
Published Works
As dynamic, creative, serene and profound that he was, despite serious medical conditions and incessant world travel, Swami Chinmayananda authored over 35 books, including commentaries on the major Upanishads and Shrimad Bhagavad Gita. The latter work has been acclaimed as one of the most refined, insightful, and practical commentaries ever written on the Gita. The collection of his video talks on the Gita is heralded today as one of Chinmaya Mission's most illustrious publications.
Swami Chinmayananda is credited with bringing about a worldwide Vedantic renaissance in the late 20th century through his introduction of Adi Sankara's works and teachings to the masses. Whether in his writings or his orations, Swami Chinmayananda was famed for his depth, clarity, eloquence, wit, and humour. Serving humanity e', 1, 0);