Chinmaya Mission

Chinmaya Mission
Chinmaya Mission
Chinmaya Mission Logo
Motto To give maximum happiness to the maximum number for the maximum time
Formation 1951
Founder Chinmayananda Saraswati
Type Spiritual organization[1]
Legal status Trust
Purpose Spirituality, Vedanta
Headquarters Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Location
  • 300 Centres
Area served
Worldwide
Headed By
 Swami Swaroopananda
Main organ
 Central Chinmaya Mission Trust
Website www.chinmayamission.com

Chinmaya Mission is a Hindu spiritual organization engaged in the dissemination of Vedanta, the science of the self as expounded in the Vedas, particularly the Upanishads, and other important Hindu scriptures including the Bhagavad Gita.[2][3] The Chinmaya Mission was established in India in 1953 by devotees of the renowned Vedanta teacher Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati.[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]

The motto of Chinmaya Mission is "to give maximum happiness to maximum people for maximum time."

History

Foundation

Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati,[6][7] the founder of Chinmaya Mission, 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.

Not satisfied by worldly aspirations or his degrees in literature and law, Balakrishna Menon pursued spiritual studies for nine years in the Himalayas, under the guidance of Swami Sivananda (Divine Life Society) and the tutelage of Swami Tapovanam (Tapovan Maharaj). 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 Shrimad Bhagavad Gita. He is 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 attained mahasamadhi in 1993, his disciple Swami Tejomayananda (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 stepped down as head of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide. He was succeeded by Swami Swaroopananda.[8][9]

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.[10][11] Some centers also have a version called Sishu Vihar, which is meant for children aged 2 to 4.

Chinmaya Yuva Kendra

CHYK – Chinmaya Yuva Kendra, known as CHYK, is the global youth arm of Chinmaya Mission. It is meant for youth aged 18–30 and its motto is, "Harnessing Youth Potential through Dynamic Spirituality".[12] 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

Rural development

A meeting of CORD, at Siruvani, Coimbatore

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

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

Cultural field

Imparting knowledge of Indian scriptures in English and regional languages (Free two years residential course, for college graduate students) – 6

Area of influence

The Chinmaya Mission has influence in whole of India as well as in many foreign communities in Australia, England, New Zealand, Nigeria,[13] South Africa, United States of America and other countries.

Ashrams

  1. Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, Mumbai
  2. Chinmaya Tapovan Trust, Sidhbari
  3. Chinmaya Sandeepany, Karnataka
  4. Chinmaya Sandeepany, Kolhapur, Maharashtra
  5. Chinmaya Gardens, Coimbatore
  6. Tapovan Kuti, Uttarkashi
  7. Chinmaya Vibhooti, Kolwan, Pune
  8. Chinmaya Krishnalaya, Piercy, CA, USA
  9. SharadaSannidhi, Mangalore, Karnataka
  10. Sydney, NSW, Australia
  11. Chinmayaranyam, Andhra Pradesh
  12. Chinmaya Mission, Sikkim Centre Ashram at Saramsa, Near Jalipool, near Gangtok,Sikkim,India
  13. Chinmaya Mission at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
  14. Paramdham Ashram at Ahmedabad, Gujarat

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Chinmaya Mission". Chinmaya Mission Of Los Angeles. Chinmaya Official Website.
  2. ↑ "Chinmaya Mission | CMLA". chinmayala.org. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
  3. ↑ "History of Chinmaya Mission". cseweb.ucsd.edu. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
  4. ↑ "Chinmaya". www.chinmayavvdelhi.ac.in. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
  5. ↑ today it has over 300 centres across the world.. Times of India, December 25, 2001.
  6. ↑ "8 May 1916: Chinmayananda Saraswati, Indian spiritual leader, was born". www.mapsofindia.com. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  7. ↑ "His Holiness Sri Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati Maharaj". www.dlshq.org. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  8. ↑ "Official handover by Swami Tejomayananda on 19 January 2017 – watch the live streamChinmaya Mission UK". www.chinmayauk.org. Retrieved 2017-07-25.
  9. ↑ "Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayananda hands over the reins of Chinamaya Mission to Swami Swaroopnanada on January 19, 2017 | The Indian Down Under". www.indiandownunder.com.au. Retrieved 2017-07-25.
  10. ↑ "Balvihar | Chinmaya Mission Worldwide". Chinmaya Mission Worldwide. Retrieved 2017-07-25.
  11. ↑ "Training Teachers for a Fulfilling Bala Vihar at Chinmaya Mission | Indo American News". www.indoamerican-news.com. Retrieved 2017-07-25.
  12. ↑ "Chinmaya Yuva Kendra | Chinmaya Mission Worldwide". Chinmaya Mission Worldwide. Retrieved 2017-07-25.
  13. ↑ "Chinmaya Mission - Nigeria - Chinmaya Foundation Trust". lagosmart.net. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
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