The Chinmaya Mission is a Hindu religious and spiritual organization engaged in the dissemination of

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, ...

, the science of the self as expounded in the

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute th ...

, particularly the

Upanishads The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...

, and other Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita. It was formed in 1951. The devotees of the renowned Vedanta teacher Swami

Chinmayananda Saraswati Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati (born Balakrishna Menon; 8 May 1916 – 3 August 1993) was a Hindu spiritual leader and a teacher. In 1951, he founded Chinmaya Mission, a worldwide nonprofit organisation, in order to spread the knowledge of Advai ...

from present-day

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

established the Chinmaya Mission in India in 1953. Administered by the Central Chinmaya Mission Trust in Mumbai, India, the mission was later headed by Swami Tejomayananda and is now headed by Swami Swaroopananda. There are over 313 mission centres all over India and abroad. North America had more than 30 centres. It is currently administered by Central Chinmaya Mission Trust (CCMT) in Mumbai, India, headed by Swami Swaroopananda. The motto of the Chinmaya Mission is "to give maximum happiness to maximum people for maximum time". It does not seek to convert other religious practitioners.

History

Foundation

Swami

, the founder of Chinmaya Mission, was born in the city of

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation ...

in present-day

, India. He taught spirituality as the art of living. Through

jnana yoga Jnana yoga (), also known as the jnana ''marga'' (), is one of the three classical paths ('' margas'') for moksha (liberation) in Hinduism, which emphasizes the "path of knowledge", also known as the "path of self-realization". The other tw ...

(the Vedantic path of spiritual knowledge), he emphasized the balance of head and heart, pointing out selfless work, study, and meditation as the cornerstones of spiritual practice. Doubting the teachings of the sages in the Himalayas, Balakrishna Menon met Swami Sivananda (

Divine Life Society The Divine Life Society (DLS) is a Hindu spiritual organisation and an ashram, founded by Swami Sivananda Saraswati in 1936, at Muni Ki Reti, Rishikesh, India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South ...

), who initially guided him in spiritual studies and then placed him under the tutelage of Swami Tapovanam ( Tapovan Maharaj), with whom he pursued spiritual studies for nine years. He eventually came to share this Vedantic knowledge with the masses, in the form of the dynamic teacher known as Swami Chinmayananda. Swamiji is a teacher of Srimad Bhagavad Gita. He is often credited with the renaissance of spirituality and cultural values in India, and with the spreading of

Advaita Vedanta ''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the orthodox Hindu school Vedānta. The term ''Advaita'' ( ...

, as expounded by

Adi Shankaracharya Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shank ...

, throughout the world.

After Chinmayananda

After Chinmayananda attained mahasamadhi in 1993, his disciple

Swami Tejomayananda Swami Tejomayananda Saraswati (born 30 June 1950), also known as Guruji and born Sudhakar Kaitwade, is an Indian spiritual leader. He was head of Chinmaya Mission from 1994 to 2017, until he was succeeded by Swami Swaroopananda in 2017. Ini ...

(known as ''Guruji'') became the global head of Chinmaya Mission. Under Guruji, projects such as the Chinmaya International Foundation and the Chinmaya International Residential School were taken up. In January 2017, Swami Tejomayananda assigned the headship of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide to Sri Swami Swaroopananda.

Activities

The following activities are conducted at mission centers on a weekly basis:

Bala Vihar

Bala Vihar is a program in which children from age five to eighteen meet on a weekly basis to learn about Hindu culture, customs, and philosophy. Bala Vihar is a program that is conducted throughout the world, not just in India, from countries such as the United States, UK, and Australia. Some centers also have a version called Sishu Vihar, which is meant for children aged 2 to 4.

Chinmaya Yuva Kendra

Chinmaya Yuva Kendra, known as CHYK, is the global youth arm of the Chinmaya Mission. It is meant for youth aged 18–30 and its motto is "Harnessing Youth Potential through Dynamic Spirituality". CHYK conducts many camps and sessions throughout the world. CHYK West is a similar organization that operates in the West (United States, UK, etc.).

Other activities

* Study groups for adults * Chinmaya Vanprastha Sansthan for senior citizens (India and UK)

Medical facilities

* Hospital – 1 * Nurses Training Centre – 1 * Diagnostic Centre – 14 * Eye camp in the rural areas – 1 * Adoption of villages for providing social and medical relief – 120 * Senior Citizen Homes – 8 * Income generating schemes for downtrodden women – 1 * Children Welfare Centre – 1 * Goshalas – 4 Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Pallavur

Educational field

* Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth, a liberal University focused on promoting Indian Knowledge Systems, Indian traditions, Indic parampara an
interdisciplinary research.
They have established three campuses in Pepathy, Pune, and Warriam Road. Widely known for its interdisciplinary research, cultural studies, immersive programs, CVV stands to merge the academic rigour with the traditional Indian parampara. * Chinmaya College of Arts, Commerce and Science, Tripunithura * Schools (Regular) – 70 * Chinmaya International Residential School – 1 * Harihar Schools (Free education & vocational training for downtrodden children for self-sufficiency) – 3 * Colleges – 4 * Degree College – 1 * Chinmaya Institute of Higher Learning – 1 * Chinmaya Heritage Centre – 1 * Value based Vision Programme for schools (Regularly conducted in various parts of India) * Institute of Management – 1 *Chinmaya Academy for Civil Services - https://www.chinmayaias.com

Rural development

Chinmaya Mission undertakes activities of Rural Development via its wing Chinmaya Organisation for Rural Development (CORD)

Environment related

Chinmaya Mission, Sikkim Centre has established CHINMAYA SMRITI VANAM at Bulbuley, Gangtok, Sikkim, India in 1995 and have planted till now more than 10,000 ( ten thousand ) trees sapling most of which have grown now into full trees.

Studies in Indology

* Chinmaya International Foundation (CIF), Veliyanad,

Cultural field

Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, Mumbai
Imparting knowledge of Indian scriptures in English and regional languages (Free two years residential course, for college graduate students) – 6 * Seminars on public speaking for Youth * Leadership and personality development for youth and adults
Chinmaya Naada Bindu: Gurukul of Indian Performing Arts
* Centre for World Understanding – 1

Areas served

The Chinmaya Mission has influence in whole of

as well as in many foreign communities in Australia,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and other countries.

Ashrams

Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, MumbaiChinmaya Tapovan Trust, SidhbariChinmaya Sandeepany, KarnatakaChinmaya Sandeepany, Kolhapur, MaharashtraChinmaya Gardens, CoimbatoreTapovan Kuti, UttarkashiChinmaya Vibhooti, Kolwan, PuneChinmaya Krishnalaya, Piercy, CA, USASharadaSannidhi, Mangalore, KarnatakaSydney, NSW, Australia
Chinmaya Mission, Sikkim Centre Ashram at Saramsa, Near Jalipool, near Gangtok, Sikkim, India Chinmaya Mission at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India Paramdham Ashram at Ahmedabad,

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the nin ...

Chinmaya Mission Avantika. Ann Arbor, MI. USAChinmaya Vrindavan. Cranbury, NJ, USA.
CHINMAYA “OMKARA”- NW.INDIANA-USA www.chinmaya-nwindiana.org 8705 Merrillville Road. Merrillville Indiana-46410 USA BADRI- YAMUNOTRI- GANGOTRI- Chinmaya Mission Chicago www.mychinmaya.org Chinmaya Hamsa Vahini -Peoria-USA Chinmaya Prabha -Houston- USA Chinmaya Kashi - Los Angeles-USA

References

External links

* {{Hindu reform movements Religious organizations established in 1953 Hindu organizations Religious organisations based in India Hindu new religious movements