Chinmaya Sarveshwara

Pujya Swami Tapovan Maharaj was the very embodiment of the ideals of sannyasa, endowed with supreme renunciation, deep wisdom, saintliness, austerity, and compassion, a true virakta mahatma. Swamiji was born in 1886, in the village of Mudappalur in Palghat district to Balamba and Achutan Nair. His parents named him

Swami Chinmayananda was born on May 8, 1916 as Balakrishna Menon in Ernakulam, Kerala. Chattambi Swamigal a saint known for his yogic powers predicted a great spiritual future for the boy. A major turning point of his life was his meeting with Swami Sivananda. On February 25th, 1949, along with five other students, Balakrishna was initiated into sannyasa. Swami Sivananda gave him the name "Chinmayananda Saraswati," Chinmayananda meaning "filled with the bliss of pure Consciousness.

After the Mahasamadhi of Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda, Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayananda assumed the post of the spiritual head of the global mission and worked tirelessly for 23 years in fulfilling the vision that Pujya Gurudev started. As he says, I am not in Swamiji’s shoes, I am at his feet . Pujya Guruji has served as Acharya of the Sandeepany Institutes of Vedanta both in India and California, USA..

In an era rife with scepticism and confusion about matters spiritual, Swami Swaroopananda is a rare voice that blends authenticity with accessibility; theory with self- practice; logic with heart. Formerly the Regional Head of Chinmaya Mission Australia, United Kingdom, Middle East, Africa and Far East, and presently Chairman of the Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth Trust (University for Sanskrit and Indic Traditions) and Director of the Chinmaya International Residential School in Coimbatore, South India, Swami Swaroopananda has now been bestowed by Swami Tejomayananda the privilege to also serve as the Head of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide.

Swami Shridharananda is the regional head of Thamizh Nadu. Currently the spiritual mentor of Chinmaya Mission Trichy. He studied Vedanta course at Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, Powai under the guidance of Pujya Swami Tejomayananda  ( guruji )in the year 1984. In the year 1994, he was initiated into Sannyasa by pujya guruji. He served Chinmaya Mission Srilanka, Ramboda in the years 2000 & 2001. A Temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman was consecrated during this time.

Swami Mitrananda, is the Advisor of the All India Chinmaya Yuva Kendra (AICHYK) the global youth wing of Chinmaya Mission. Inspired by the truth on which his Master, H H Swami Chinmayananda, stood rooted, he took up the study of ancient Hindu Philosophy at Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, in Mumbai, in 1989. He has dedicated his life to the service of humanity, and travels all over India and South East Asia, conveying the profound Vedantic Truth with appealing logic and clarity. He is a highly sought-after speaker in the corporate circle and has delivered management related talks to various leading corporate-houses.

Missionary For Hinduism Swami Chinmayananda speaks to Pritish Nandy - in 1980 He wears a strange shade of Ochre, which looks almost like pink. There are silver knobs on his wooden sandals, which add at least three inches to his five-feet five. His long tresses cascade on to his shoulders framing with black and gray an intensely intelligent face. Swami Chinmayananda, 65, is Hinduism's answer to the countless young men and women who have strayed away over the years, disgusted with the meaningless rituals and the tired theology of the world's oldest living faith. (Please note that this interview and write up was done in 1980) A distinguished scholar, an ardent teacher and a compulsive globetrotter, the Swami is today held to be one of the few serious and credible missionaries that Hinduism has to offer. His missions are all over the world. So are his devotees and students. And they are growing at a rate which will soon, perhaps, make Swami Chinmayananda numero uno in the glit