The Chinmaya Mission is a Hindu religious and spiritual organization engaged in the dissemination of Vedanta, the science of the self as expounded in the Vedas, particularly the Upanishads, and other Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita.[2][3] It was formed in 1951. The devotees of the renowned Vedanta teacher Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati from present-day Kerala, India established the Chinmaya Mission in India in 1953.[4]
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.[5] It is currently administered by Central Chinmaya Mission Trust (CCMT) in Mumbai, India, headed by Swami Swaroopananda.[6]
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.[6]
History
Foundation
Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati,[7][8] the founder of Chinmaya Mission, was born in the city of Ernakulam in present-day Kerala, India. He taught spirituality as the art of living. Through jnana yoga (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), 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, as expounded by Adi Shankaracharya, throughout the world.
After Chinmayananda
After Chinmayananda passed away in 1993, his disciple Swami Tejomayananda (known as Guruji) became the global head of Chinmaya Mission. Under Tejomayananda, 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.[9][10]
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, but also in countries such as the United States, UK, and Australia.[11][12] 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".[13] 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
Pallavur Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Palakkad, Kerala
Educational field
Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth, a liberal University focused on promoting Indian Knowledge Systems, Indian traditions, Indic parampara and 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
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.
