Guru Sishya Parampara
Swami Tapovan Maharaj
His Holiness Swami Tapovan-ji Maharaj of Uttarkashi is the renowned spiritual master from whom Pujya Swami Chinmayananda acquired the wealth of Vedantic knowledge.
Swami Tapovanji set before himself the ideals portrayed by Lord Krishna in Shrimad Bhagavad Gita. He was a virakta mahatma and the embodiment of the ideals of sannyasa, endowed with supreme renunciation, profound wisdom, austerity, and compassion.
Swamiji, also a poet, had great passion for Mother Nature’s canvases of rare beauty: the unfrequented Himalayan peaks and valleys. He wrote his travels in two splendid volumes, Himagiri Viharam and Kailasa Yatra. Swamiji’s masterpiece is the rich Sanskrit volume, Ishvara Darshan. This autobiographical sketch is a garland of spiritual thoughts, revealing the fragrance of the life of a man of realization.
Swamiji lived for 68 years as a monumental expression of an ideal Vedantic Guru in the ancient rishi tradition. He attained mahasamadhi in 1957.
Swami Chinmayananda
Swami Chinmayananda (May 8, 1916 – Aug 3, 1993) was born Balakrishna Menon (Balan) in Ernakulam, Kerala in a devout Hindu noble family called “Poothampalli”. Graduating from Lucknow University, he entered the field of journalism where he felt he could influence political, economic and social reform in India. But his life was changed when he met Swami Sivananda at Rishikesh and became interested in the Hindu spiritual path.
Balakrishna Menon took sanyas(monkhood) from Swami Sivananda to become Swami Chinmayananda – the one who is saturated in Bliss and Consciousness. Swami Sivananda saw the potential in Swami Chinmayananda and sent him to study under a guru in the Himalayas – Swami Tapovan Maharaj under whom he studied for 8 years. At the end of the education he decided to spread his teaching all over the world.
During his forty years of travelling and teaching, Swami Chinmayananda opened numerous centres and ashrams worldwide, he also built many schools, hospitals, nursing homes and clinics. As well as reinvigorating India’s rich cultural heritage, he made Vedanta accessible to everybody regardless of age, nationality, or religious background.
Pujya Gurudev taught the logic of spirituality, while emphasizing the balance of head and heart. Selfless work, study, and meditation are the cornerstones of spiritual practice, he said. He is credited with the renaissance of spiritual and cultural values in India and with awakening the rest of the world to the ageless wisdom of Advaitic Vedanta as expounded by Adi Sankaracharya. He attained Mahasamadhi in August 1993. His legacy remains in the form of books, audio and video tapes, schools and social service projects. Vedanta teachers from whom he taught and inspired, and Chinmaya Mission centers around the world serving the spiritual and cultural needs of local communities.
Swami Tejomayananda
Swami Tejomayananda is the former Head of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide, a position he held since 1993 after Swami Chinmayananda attained Mahasamadhi. If Swami Chinmayananda served the cause of Vedanta with his service, knowledge and pioneering qualities, Swami Tejomayananda – fondly addressed as Guruji – completed that with his natural attitude of devotion. This is richly and abundantly evident in his talks, his singing, and his demeanour.
Swami Swaroopananda
In an era rife with skepticism 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 Chancellor of the Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth Trust (University for Sanskrit and Indic Traditions) and Chairman 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.
Swamiji has authored several commentaries on such important spiritual classics as Ik Onkar, Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra and Sankat Mochan, besides numerous books on contemporary lifestyle subjects such as Simplicity and Meditation, Storm to Perform, Avatar, Managing the Manager and Journey into Health.
Swamiji is equally adept at conducting ‘wholistic management’ seminars for senior corporate executives. Among the well-known institutes he has been invited to speak at are The Ford, London Business School and Harvard University, to name a few. In fact, a proprietary self-development course he conceived and initially conducted, Make It Happen™, has been adapted and integrated into the human resource training programs of various corporate organizations in India and beyond.
