Born as Balakrishna Menon on May 8th, 1916, Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda spent over 40 relentless years successfully bringing Vedanta to the masses. Pujya Gurudev attained Mahasamadhi on August 3rd, 1993.
Swami Chinmayananda inspired the formation of Chinmaya Mission in 1953 and Balavihar in 1956. Today, Chinmaya Mission has over 270 centers in India, 75 centers overseas, and 300 Acharyas globally. Chinmaya Schools are consistently ranked among the best in India.
Our Motto is to give maximum happiness to the maximum number of people for the maximum amount of time. Our Mission is to share the wisdom of Vedanta as well as the practical means for spiritual growth and Happiness, enabling individuals of any background to be positive contributors to society.
In the United States and Canada, Chinmaya Mission West has over 50 mission centers with over 25,000 children in Balavihar. Across New Jersey and Pennsylvania, each weekend, we conduct Balavihar classes for over 1500 kids to expose them to our ancient Hindu Principles and equip them with tools to successfully navigate through the challenges of life. Balavihar emphasizes the overall development of the personality of a child at all levels – Physical, Emotional, Intellectual and Spiritual.
Chinmaya Mission established the Vrindavan Ashram in Cranbury, NJ in 2001 with the blessing of our Guru Ji, Sw. Tejomayananda ji. The Sri Radha Krishna temple within the ashram was inaugurated on July 4th, 2014 with Kalasabhishekam by our beloved Guruji.
Chinmaya Vrindavan provides several activities and services for the entire community:
The Chinmaya movement gives us higher ideals and a true vision of life, to help us face challenges in a positive and dynamic manner. Gurudev has famously said: Don't just invest on the child, also invest in the child. "Investing On" gives outer prosperity. "Investing in" ensures inner unfoldment and lasting prosperity. True education is "investing on" complemented with "investing in" the child.
We invite you to join the Chinmaya Movement, contribute to the movement wholeheartedly! Hari Om!!
Now, Let us listen to a direct message from Pujya Gurudev, Swami Chinmayananda. In an inspired mood, he spontaneously dictated this pledge at a conference of Chinmaya Mission workers in the summer of 1962 at Ernakulam in Kerala. He said that this pledge would act as a guide to all of us.
"We stand as one family
Bound to each other with love and respect.
We serve as an army
Courageous and disciplined
Ever ready to fight against all low tendencies
And false values, within and without us.
We live honestly
The noble life of sacrifice and service
Producing more than what we consume
And giving more than what we take.
We seek the Lord's grace
To keep us on the path of virtue, courage and wisdom.
May Thy grace and blessings flow through us
To the world around us.
We believe that the service of our country
Is the service of the Lord of lords
And devotion to the people
Is the devotion to the Supreme Self.
We know our responsibilities
Give us the ability and courage to fulfill them.
Om Tat Sat"