“The tragedy of human history is decreasing happiness in the midst of increasing comfort“
The Chinmaya Mission was established in the year 1953, a legacy of world renowned philosopher Swami Chinmayananda. The intention was to provide mankind with the wisdom of Vedanta. It guides us in our spiritual growth and prepares us to contribute positively to the all round development of our society. The mission sees the world as one family bonded with love and respect.
Swami Chinmayananda taught the rationale of spirituality while accentuating the balance of head and heart. He said, unselfish work, study and meditation are the essentials of spiritual practice. Not happy with the degrees in Literature and Law and other materialistic aspirations, he pursued spiritual path in the Himalayas under the directions of Swami Sivananda and Swami Tapovanam.
Portrait of Swami Chinmayananda courtesy: Bharati Mallya
He is credited with revival of cultural and spiritual values in India and with kindling rest of the world to the wisdom of Advaitic Vedanta as interpreted by Adi Sankaracharya. On August 3, 1993, Swami Chinmayananda attained mahasamadhi, in San Diego, USA. He continued to work unselfishly to the very end in creating an International revolution in spirituality.
His legacy…several books, tapes, schools, hospitals, Vedantic teachers, social service projects and several Chinmaya Mission Centers all across the world to serve the local communities with Spiritual and Cultural needs.
One such Vedantic teacher Swami Ishwarananda visited Ottawa recently. He is a Software Engineer by education but inspired by Param Poojya Swami Chinmayananda, he decided to join the mission. He was initially guided by Swami Brahmananda and later joined Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, Mumbai, in 1991. After completing his Brahmachari training in 1993, he served Chinmaya Mission centers in Bangalore and Kolkata. At present he is serving at the Chinmaya Mission center based in Los Angeles, USA. In the year 2000, he was given sanyasa deeksha by Swami Tejomayananda (present head of Chinmaya Mission) and was named Swami Ishwarananda Saraswati.
He is a brilliant speaker and has given several talks on Vedanta, art of meditation, about stress management and other related areas. His depth of knowledge and command over the subject of Vedanta, shows through the way he speaks. His talks are clear mixed with humor and at a level, a lay person could understand.
Chinmaya Mission Center – Ottawa
It was my pleasure to meet him and discuss about meditation and spiritual life. He has lots to impart to a receptive mind and I was fascinated by his knowledge even in the field of Neurotransmitters and their effects.
Author: Dr K.B. Mallya- Canada
