Chinmayananda

Chinmayananda: Born in 1916, as Balan Menon,

Chinmaya joined the Indian Independence Movement while in college. His activities led to his incarceration in an overcrowded prison, enveloped in disease and death. The endless parade of lifeless bodies being removed caused him to reflect on the deeper meaning of life and the reality of death. Thrown out into the streets after contracting Typhus, he was discoverted by a Christian Indian woman who nursed him back to health. Recovering, Chinmaya began practicing japa and intensely studied Indian and European philosophers.

Swami Sivananda made a big impression and Chinmaya decided to join his Ashram in 1949. Learning of his interest in jnana yoga, Sivananda sent him to Sri Swami Tapovan, where he stayed for eight years, studying the scripture of the Bhagavad Gita and The Upanishads. His home was a cowshed, with a stone for a pillow.

Tapovan was a strict disciplinrian, demanding excellance from his students, and never repeating any teaching more than once. With Tapovan’s blessing in 1951, Chinmaya began his mission of sharing the wisdom of the holy scriptures. Initially, he was chastized by the brahman class for sharing secret knowledge with the masses. For 42 years, he found time to work with any honest seeker, whether child, scholar, or politician.

In additon to lecturing, Swamiji wrote commentaries to many Upanishadic texts and other issues affecting the spiritual health of his students. His clarity and simplicity of style became his trademark. Having no home or belongings of his own, Chinmaya lived at airports and train stations, never staying anywhere for more than a week. His mission: “To give maximum happiness to the maximum number of people for the maximum time.” Elected President of Hindu religon for the Centennial Conference of the Parliament of World Religons in Chicago, in 1992, Swami addressed the United Nations on “Planet in Crisis.”

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