The life of Swami Chinmayanandaji was one of extraordinary spiritual strength, immeasurable love and tireless service. In less than half a century, he has left behind a worldwide organisation, hundreds of institutions, and millions of devotees. This was all aimed at a single theme, discovering the Eternal within. Swami Chinmayanandaji was born on May 8th, 1916 as Balakrishna Menon in Ernakulam, Kerala. His family was very devout in their religious life and had regular contact with holy men. This influence moulded mental and moral make-up of Balan, preparing him for the mission of his life ahead. Balan excelled with his education graduating in Science, Political Science, Law and English Literature at Lucknow University. A man of strong ideas and idealism, he entered the field of journalism where he felt he could influence political, economic and social reform in India. At this time he met Swami Sivanandaji at Rishikesh and became very interested in the spiritual path. Here he found the answers that he was seeking. Balakrishna Menon took monkhood from Swami Sivanandaji to become Swami Chinmayananda - the one who is saturated in Bliss and Consciousness. Swami Sivanandaji saw the potential in Swami Chinmayananda and sent him to study under the greatest Teacher in the Himalayas - Swami Tapovan Maharaj. Swami Chinmayananda studied for 12 years under the guidance of Swami Tapovanji Maharaj, leading a very austere and rigorous life. Then he felt a deep inner urge to share his knowledge and wisdom with the mass of humanity. He descended to the plains and held his first yagna in Pune to a small group of three people. This humble beginning rapidly expanded to more than 500 series of seven days lectures on Bhagwad Gita given to audiences numbering thousands. During his 40 years of traveling and teaching, Gurudev opened numerous centres worldwide, he also built many schools, hospitals, nursing homes and clinics. Reinvigorating rich Indian cultural heritage, Swami Chinmayanandaji made Vedanta accessible to everybody regardless of age, nationality, or religious background. On 3 August 1993, in San Diego, USA, Swami Chinmayanandaji attained Mahasamadhi. He worked tirelessly to the very last moment and created an international spiritual revolution.

Swami Tejomayanandaji is the former Head of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide, a position he held since 1993 after Swami Chinmayananda attained Mahasamadhi. If Swami Chinmayanandaji served the cause of Vedanta with his service, knowledge and pioneering qualities, Swami Tejomayanandaji – 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. But the gentleness of devotion arrived riding on the back of an intense education in physics, going up to a Master’s degree. Born as, Sudhakar Kaitwade to a Maharashtrian family in Madhya Pradesh, this physicist had a close encounter that changed the velocity, direction and path of his life. Two decades have gone by, and one can see how seamless the transition has taken place. Swami Chinmayananda’s vision, mission and drive have been passed on with the mantle and every dream is fulfilled with the same organisational zeal. The number of Chinmaya Mission centres have substantially increased. In fact, they have almost doubled. New projects have been envisioned, enabled and executed effortlessly. Notable amongst these are-Chinmaya International Residential School in Coimbatore, Chinmaya Centre of World Understanding in New Delhi, Chinmaya International Foundation near Cochin, Chinmaya Heritage Centre in Chennai, Expansion of the Chinmaya Mission Hospital in Bengaluru and Chinmaya Vibhooti Vision Centre near Pune. Books written by him- Upanishad Ganga tele-serial, Swami Chinmayananda s Birth Centenary Celebrations in 2015-2016 etc are such literary works that none of these are mean in stretch or vision,and each take the Chinmaya banner wider and further, yet with the thrust on broadening and advancing the vision of Vedanta. Apart from these the courses of Swami Tejomayananda has added to the study and spread of Vedanta through postal and online lessons in-Sanskrit, Bhagavad-gita ,Vedic Maths. In overseeing the global activities of the mission and projects, H.H. Swami Tejomayanandaji s tours around the world are extensive and continuous. Throughout his travels, he conducts Jnana Yajnas (3-7 day Vedanta lecture series) in different cities and various countries every week. He has been able to win the love, devotion and dedication of the ever-growing Mission followers. He has been able to carry the old and the young with him on the wings of Vedanta. Added to this, his remarkable foresight in endorsing and promoting technology to foster the Mission’s growth and progress, has earned him inter-generational appeal and endeared him to millions across the globe.The mere presence of Pujya Swami Tejomayananda Ji, affectionately known as Guruji, radiates a feeling of warmth and love, upon meeting him.

In an era ripe with scepticism and confusion about spiritual matters, Swami Swaroopanandaji 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) , Swami Swaroopanandaji has now been bestowed by Swami Tejomayanandaji , the privilege to also serve as the Head of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide. Born and brought up in the bustling commercial capital of India, Swamiji had always been convinced that beyond superficial life, joys and sorrows of every day, there was something more enduring and satisfying. As a child he heard from his grandmother many religious stories based on the great Indian epics and the history of saints. These stories suddenly came to life, acquiring new meaning and depth, when as an adolescent he encountered the preeminent Master of Vedanta, Swami Chinmayanandaji. His heart completely moved and inspired, in 1984 . Swaroopanandaji gave up his family s thriving business in Hong Kong to undergo intensive training under Swami Chinmayanandaji and Swami Tejomayanandaji at Sandeepany, Mumbai. He was initiated into the monastic order in 1992. Since then, he has touched thousands of lives across the world, and his tremendous work in bringing out the essential wisdom and underlying unity of all religions has garnered him a place among the vanguards of self-development philosophy. Swamiji has authored several commentaries on important spiritual classics such 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 programmes of various corporate organisations in India and beyond.