Introduction

His Early Journey – how it all began

On 8 May 1916, a child was born as so many other children were born. Born to ordinary parents – a lawyer father, a home maker mother, Balan went to school like all kids do; he would later acquire a degree in English Literature, plunge into the Freedom Movement of India against British rule, be imprisoned, fall frightfully ill, be thrown out of jail for that, be rescued by a strange lady, start writing for a newspaper, make fiery speeches and plan even more fiery exposes and then, all too suddenly abandon all that, for none of them explained to him the purpose of his birth.

Clearly, Swami Chinmayananda was an unusual young man.

Vision to Mission

Having seen widespread spiritual and social degradation in India, Swami Chinmayananda felt the urge to share the knowledge that had brought fulfillment in his own life through Swami Tapovanam's tutelage and grace.

Having undergone the transformation from a rebel to a renunciate, which was in fact a transformation from an ignoramus to a knower, Swami Chinmayananda saw that the drivers of this knowledge lay buried in a language that was almost dead (Sanskrit) and its idiom was losing context as the essential Indian was now more anglicised in demeanour and disposition. Bringing him back to the teachings of the Upanishads could only be by rephrasing the lessons in English - the language of intellectual India. That was how Swami Chinmayananda took to teaching Vedanta in English, a big surprise in that era.

Gurudev, as Swami Chinmayananda came to be known, had a keen sense of perception and observation. He knew people by being among them, seeing them, talking to them. He also perceived the degeneration in values and family systems, and knew that the way to restoration and sustenance was communicating to the youth via culture, on the platform of modernity, using contemporary idiom and the English language. Likewise, he understood that the way forward lay in strengthening value-based education, and energising schools. That is what Swami Chinmayananda approached single-pointedly, at a social level. Today, the Chinmaya Vision Programme followed in more than 80 Chinmaya Education institutions, as well as other educational institutions throughout the country, is seen as a remarkable system for holistic education.

At another level, he envisioned that the reason for the dissonance among the people – around the world, was the absence of a manual for living. Everywhere he was beginning to see an artless rush for living. He decided that the Bhagavad-gita which was the crème de la crème of the Vedas and Upanishads was what begged to be sown back into society everywhere.