Jnana Yajna 3

Jnana Yajna 3

Year & Dates:

September 12, 1953 to December 10, 1953

Yajna Topic:

Mandukya Upanishad

Place:

Karol Bagh, New Delhi, India.

An impactful metamorphosis inside a bustling metropolis – in the 91 days after an orange ‘sannyas’ flag bearing the all-encompassing Om symbol was unfurled in the yajnashala at Karol Bagh, New Delhi, the transformation was striking. The educated elite, the agnostics, atheists, the seekers, the people of other faiths and the staunchly-faithful sat as one, spellbound. How could an Upanishad, that too the shortest with twelve verses, reconfigure their entire outlook? But Mandukya Upanishad and Gaudapada Karika as expounded by Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda took the most fortunate in Delhi to heights of profound silence. The discourses immersed them in the inmost experience of the all-pervasive Om. Even His Guru, Swami Tapovanam, was overjoyed that a materialistic city had halted in meditation on the Highest Truth.

A Spiritual Toolkit for Sadhana

The third Jnana Yajna revealed not only the direct path to the Supreme Essence but also empowered seekers with practices of Sadhana. The features which Pujya Gurudev had included in His Jnana Yajna from the very beginning were becoming an unforgettable part of a collective spiritual journey. The Akanda Kirtan and chanting of the Mahamantra, “Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare; Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare,” kept echoing across Delhi. When even children participated in a 11-day Kirtan, when all the audience did an Akanda Japa of “ Hari Om,” and when everyone completed a Likhita Japa (a written Japa) during the end of the third Upanishad Yajna, the power of constant remembrance in the path of purity was understood. When Swamiji revealed the meaning behind Deepavali and Navaratri during the celebrations during this Jnana Yajna, devotion added a special glow. When the devotees’ sacred immersion in the holy waters of Yamuna was complete, it was beautifully clear that the core of Hinduism was being revitalized in that milestone Yajna.

In Admiration 

Rahila Ansari, a Muslim introduced to the luminous wisdom of Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda through a dear friend, eloquently reveals the profound impact these discourses had on her. In her own words, she gracefully confesses, “I went to the lectures partly out of curiosity, but mainly to please and humour my friend. But imagine my bafflement, it did not take me long to feel that I had a right to me there. There was hardly any talk of God, but Godliness prevailed. Hinduism as expounded by Swamiji was not a religion based on old wives tales, but on a practical and highly developed code of morality. Swamiji’s lectures have certainly enlarged my views, destroyed my prejudices and brought me to a pinnacle from which I can see all human beings equally blessed! I am grateful to Him for this!”

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“Think,” Says Pujya Gurudev!

Although only a few of us complain against the ‘wandering mind’ almost all of us are conscious of the mind. Yet, very rarely, if at all, does any one of us definitely know what the mind is. Unless we know what the mind is, it must certainly be difficult to control it. This ignorance is mainly the cause of all failures of Truth-seekers in spite of their diligent practice.
From Mandukya Upanishad Yajna Prasad Vol. 2, p. 42

“All that is past, present and future is, verily, OM.” All that was, that is, and that shall be, meaning the entire world of objects cognized by our forefathers, by our forefathers, by ourselves and by our children, …the entire world has but one substratum, which is unchanging in all the three periods of time, and it is represented by the symbol and name “OM”. 

Here also it may be possible that the student may fall in to another misunderstanding that the world, conditioned by time alone has “OM” as its substratum and that it is not the ground for the world of experiences that are beyond the concepts of time, space and causality. Thus, the Master clearly emphasises here that “OM” is a substratum for all that is limited in time and also for all that is not conditioned by it, meaning that which is even beyond the triple concepts of time. 

The concept of time is a trick of the mind. Where there is no mind, this concept of time also does not function. But we all know that mind is in itself matter, inert and insentient. When the mind is in conjunction with life; it gains a similitude of activity in its sentience and conscience. Thus, that, which is beyond time, is the very Divine Spark of life, because of which, this assemblage of body mind and intellect functions as though it is a vibrant and dynamic being. 

Thus, “OM” represents in its symbolism, as well as in its syllabic-significances, not only the manifest world of plurality, but also its substratum, the unmanifest, Non-dual Reality. 

From Mandukya Upanishad Yajna Prasad Vol. 5, p. 34

Understand the essence of Om
Let’s revisit the Yajna on Mandukya Upanishad in New Delhi, juxtaposed with a subsequent discourse delivered at Sidhbari in 1991 with this short excerpt.

Unravel the transformative power of “Om” and its role in expanding consciousness. Discover how the teacher becomes an empty reed, allowing the divine to express through, and how the declaration that everything is Brahman transcends time and form.


Jnana Yajna 2

Jnana Yajna 2

Year & Dates:

April 25, 1953 to June 05, 1953

Yajna Topics:

Mundaka Upanishad

Place:

Arni Palace, Egmore, Chennai, India

What started with the blessings of Lord Ganesha and mesmerized the crowds in Pune was gathering momentum. The daring sage from the Himalayas could sense that the revival of Hinduism was afoot. But the path ahead was still full of challenges as Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda arrived in the rituals-focused southern city of Madras (now Chennai) to launch his second Jnana Yajna. A discouraged organizing committee, a prejudiced and unwilling public, and a lack of even a proper venue for the talks – nothing dampened the enthusiasm of the selfless Swami. The purity of His purpose prompted a most unlikely patron – a Muslim offered his place for the universal essence of Hinduism to ring out loud. 

The Mission is Born! 

On the evening of April 25, 1953, the first few listeners who sat in the spacious courtyard before Arni Palace in Egmore, inside the pandal (tent)  with its flickering petromax lanterns, were entranced by the stately Swami Chinmayananda. They recall being overcome “by an awe-inspiring Presence of the Supreme.” By the end of that 41-day yajna, the pandal couldn’t contain the increasing crowds that stood captivated by Pujya Gurudev’s matchless discourses on Mundakopanishad.

The skeptical listeners in Chennai who were transformed into spirited seekers appealed to Swami Chinmayananda that summer of 1953. They wanted to form “Chinmaya Mission” as an organization to enable them to reflect and absorb the teachings after every Jnana Yajna. At first, Pujya Gurudev refused to be institutionalized. However when the group of devotees in Madras(Chennai) insisted that the word ‘Chinmaya’ referred to the Supreme, Pure Knowledge that they aspired to gain, He agreed to the name “Chinmaya Mission.” Thus, on August 8, 1953, was born Chinmaya Mission whose branches would soon encircle the world.

In Admiration 

“Offering of all our negativities and animalism into the fire of Knowledge is what I meant by Jnana Yajna,” is how Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda described as he emphasized on deep Hindu ideas such as self-restraint and self-training through relentless sadhana during his 2nd Jnana Yajna. Shri R Gopalakrishnan, a devotee who attended his early Yajnas in Chennai recounts, “Sitting on His mattress of easy camaraderie, Swami Chinmayananda used to dissect our day-to-day life and religion with his double-edged sword of Reason and Logic. The “Lion of Vedanta”  expounded the esoteric science of Advaitic Philosophy in a language at once mellifluous, sonorous and roaring. The highlight of his lectures is undoubtedly the telling effect of his homely smiles deftly employed to exhibit the same thought from several points of view. The congregational meditation at the conclusion of the daily lectures has captivated many!”

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“Think,” says Pujya Gurudev! 

The Upanishad-Seers, by a process of complete elimination of their ego, achieved through the divine method of sublimation, when they reached the Palace of Truth, they entered therein to rediscover themselves to be the owners of it. That Realm of Perfection is indeed the world which having reached no one returneth. However, there are some among them, rare birds, who had flown back, in their divinely selfless game of service, to lead, guide and encourage other manifestations of themselves, unto the same Truth. They try to express the topography of the Realms-Beyond and the main paths by which one may reach it. 

At such moments of Godly inspiration and intoxicating bliss the Rishis forgot to subscribe their names to their own masterpieces, the Upanishads! Thus, we have an incomparable literature on philosophy in the volumes of the Upanishads, the authors of which are unknown to us. We only know that there was behind these sparkling words of wisdom a personality who reveled in the subjective experience of the very theme which they describe in such a wealth of details. 

From Mundakopanishad, first edition June 1953 page 4-5

Insights from Mundakopanishad Talks in Pittsburgh (1984) 

Discover the Upanishadic metaphor of the bow and arrow, where the Upanishad serves as the bow and the mind as the arrow. Learn the art of sharpening the mind through worship, prayer, and various yogas. Dive into the discourse on Ayamya Yoga, understanding the importance of turning the mind towards the divine reality. Explore the powerful analogy of the arrow hitting its target, symbolizing the dissolution of the self into the state of consciousness. Join Pujya Gurudev in unraveling the transformative wisdom of the Upanishadic teachings.


Jnana Yajna 1

Jnana Yajna 1

Year & Dates:

December 31, 1951 to April 08, 1952

Yajna Topics:

Kenopanishad and Kathopanishad

Place:

Ganesha Temple, Rasta Peth, Pune, India.

True to His deep conviction that “Hinduism in its whole vigour and power is in the Upanishads,” Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda’s first Jnana Yajna was an extraordinary offering of Knowledge in its most strong, sublime form. His plan was bold – a 100-day Yajna where the Swami would expound on the exalted Truth declared in Kenopanishad and Kathopanishad. In spite of hesitation, lack of support, and even opposition from varied quarters, His painstaking, selfless efforts to give the Highest were like opening the floodgates of an ocean of Knowledge.

Vedantic Renaissance Begins

From an audience of only 18 on the first day of His Jnana Yajna on Dec.31, 1951, at the small Ganesha Temple in Rasta Peth, Pune, the crowds swelled to over a thousand to hear the glory of Hindu Scriptures explained in English and experience the power of Vedanta Shravanam. For a hundred days, the Yajna evoked the Highest; the unique format of the Jnana Yajna with daily Upanishadic discourses, Akanda Kirtan, bhajans, and clearly-explained homas conducted by priests uplifted an audience that had been motivated to also practice brahmacharya to absorb the essence of the Supreme Knowledge.

A tireless, fearless Sage had taken up the divine sankalpa of a Vedantic Renaissance.

There was no turning back – the Goal was glorious, and the Way was lit with Grace and great blessings of Mother Shruti and His Gurus.

In Admiration 

Shri Madhukar Veeraswami Naidu of Chinchwad, Pune recalls how he was compelled to attend the discourses of the first Jnana Yajna. He had been a regular visitor to the Ganesha temple, solely interested in taking the prasad, which was distributed in the evening. He was much drawn towards this young swami there holding forth so eloquently on the scriptures.  “My mission is to convert Hindus to Hinduism,” said Gurudev. These words still ring in Naidu’s ears.  Here was a swami, a stranger to Pune, lived in Madras Dharamshala, dyeing ochre the cloth given to him by some devotees, speaking impeccable English, wearing a unique head-dress, and working with missionary zeal. All these traits appealed to the residents of Poona at that time.

Pujya Gurudev thus sounded the auspicious conch of the Chinmaya Movement on 31 December 1951 at Pune. A saffron flag with the mystic syllable ॐ inscribed on it was first hoisted there.

For the complete story of the first Jnana Yajna: Story Behind First Jnana Yajna; Jnana Yajna Part 1; Jnana Yajna Part 2

Photo Gallery

“Think,” Says Pujya Gurudev 

“Though the Guru indicates to the burning aspirant that Truth is “that Life Centre which manifests as the power of sight in the eye, the power of hearing in the ear, the power of speech in the tongue etc.,” he is equally anxious to warn the disciple; “ the Absolute Truth is that power which is in no way associated with any of its seeming conditionings such as the ear, eye, mind, etc.”

From Kenopanishad Yajna Prasad Vol.4, p.130

Wonderful is he who comprehends: – What a rare percentage of the whole can in each generation come to live the voiceless joy of their life’s fulfillment. The chance to hear is rare; even when heard to digest and understand those subtle ideas is rarer; a Master, who is efficient enough to initiate a student into the Absolute and satisfying all his doubts, guide him into the Realms Beyond is rarer and, even when an individual comes to be lucky to enjoy the blessings of all the above three, Lord Death says, only the luckiest one comes to experience Godhood in this very birth while listening to the teacher discoursing upon the Sruti texts.

From Kathopanishad Yajna Prasad, Vol.1, Part 3 p.107

Chariot of Wisdom   

Transport yourself back to the enchanting era of 1951-52 and experience the profound first yajna. Fast forward to 1982, where a later yajna on Kathopanishad unfolds, offering a chance to relive the wisdom and insights.

Explore the profound metaphor of the chariot in this excerpt from a Kathopanishad discourse by Swami Chinmayananda in Toronto, Canada in 1982. Delve into the relationship between the Lower and Higher Self, understanding the mind as the steering wheel controlled by intellect. Discover how sense organs serve as trotting horses, dragging the body through the muddy roads of sensuality. Unravel the analogy of Arjuna as the individual in the body, with Krishna as the pure intelligence guiding the chariot. Join the insightful journey of self-contemplation and learn to navigate the roads of life with a pure intellect.


Kaushalya's Leadership

Kaushalya in the field

From Troubled Life to Role-Model

Kaushalya’s story is similar to Urmila’s but with a difference; her husband did not beat her. She had the support of a wonderful mother-in-law. However, her husband was drunk most of the time and did nothing to earn a living and support the big family. Kaushalya and her daughters worked as laborers in the agricultural fields of others and in their own little land and eked out a living to somehow have two meals a day.

Her eldest daughter, who is now married and well settled, recalls with tears in her eyes how, when she was sixteen years old, she wanted to go to school to study, but she had nothing suitable to wear. Her kameez (a long shirt that is worn over loose pants, the salwar) was torn, and she had already mended it several times. The kameez had ultimately torn beyond repair. She, however, had a woolen sweater which was fine. So she hid the torn part of the kameez uniform with the sweater and went to school all summer wearing the sweater! If anyone asked her whether she did not feel hot with the woolen sweater on, she would simply reply that she had a fever and felt cold! Thus, Kaushalya and her family lived in dire poverty when she joined CORD as a village health guide. Soon, like Urmila, she grew to be a team leader in the organization and a micro-entrepreneur at home. In 2000, she was elected as a member of the Zillah Parishad (District Council), which presided over the local self-governance of eleven Panchayats. She had hardly campaigned; however, she won the election by word of mouth of the villagers, who appreciated her sincere work.

While representing them at the district level, she successfully demanded response from local government to meet the needs of her constituency. Without hesitation, she trained many others, especially women, to become effective representatives of the people. For her comprehensive work on various issues, she too has been interviewed by news media several times, including the government’s All India Radio. In 2013, to CORD’s pride, Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayananda felicitated Kaushalya as a ‘Karma Yogi’ in his inaugural address on ‘Karma Yog’ in New Delhi.

The essential advice that Kaushalya gives to new workers joining CORD is: “The key to work at the grassroots level is to build a lasting relationship with the villagers. Be a real friend in need who keeps his or her promises and delivers services on time.” Today, she helps CORD monitor, support, and build the Odisha and Punjab (Sidhbari satellite site) program, besides her many other responsibilities at Sidhbari. She was one of the main trainers who lived in Odisha for a few months to build and train the team of grassroots workers when CORD initiated the Program in Odisha.

Kaushalya being interviewed by All India Radio

With the Guru’s Blessings

If Urmila Devi treasures the letter that she received from Gurudev and her photograph with him, Kaushalya Devi recalls how he appeared in her dream one night when she was emotionally down, and how the problem just evaporated the next morning! In February 1992, when Gurudev was recuperating from his illness at the Sidhbari ashram, Kaushalya stood in front of him with folded hands, inviting him to her eldest daughter’s wedding in Sidhbari. Gurudev looked at her kindly and said to her that he would not be able to come. He said, “I cannot sit down with you all nor can I eat oily food as my heart condition does not allow it.” He then inquired with care if she needed money for the wedding. Kaushalya at once said: “No, Gurudev, I only want your blessings.” To this, Gurudev replied: “Shaadi ki chinta mat karo, sab thik ho jayega” (Do not worry about the wedding; all will be well).

Kaushalya remembers this with gratefulness when she recalls how everything at the wedding went smoothly. Her husband and his alcoholic friends, whom she had expected to create noise and confusion, behaved well during the wedding; the limited food supply, which she thought would run out and embarrass her, was not only enough for all those who poured into her house from afternoon until night, but was enough left over for the family to consume the next morning! “The people still praise the tasty food that was served!” says Kaushalya with devotion and gratitude.

Gurudev’s akshaypatra blessing Kaushalya’s daughter’s wedding dham

Urmila's Transformation

Urmila - From troubled life to Torch-Bearing role-model. Seen selling mushrooms to supplement her income.

From Troubled Life to Role-Model

Urmila started as a clinic attendant in one of CORD’s subcenters. She was referred by the villagers because of her husband, who would beat her every day after a bout of drinking. He was a poor village carpenter with meager earnings that he splurged entirely on alcohol and other addictive habits. He was also a minor village bootlegger, a gambler, and a womanizer. One night, he even tried to sell Urmila to his drinking mates. That was when she ran away in the middle of the night with her four little children to her inlaws’ home, about five miles away, where she began to stay in a very small room given to her by her in-laws.

She had no money to feed the children. She would earn a little on some days by doing odd jobs in certain homes in the village. Her husband did not leave her alone. He would visit her from time to time. On some days, her husband came home drunk and kicked the food she and her children were about to eat after having been hungry all day and, as usual, beat them all for no reason. Expected to be the traditional bread winner of the family, he did not like the fact that she was the one who was earning some money and feeding the family. In fact, her condition was so desperate that the villagers advised her to live with some other man. Urmila did not want to get into any such type of relationship. Nevertheless, the villagers constantly kept pestering her to enter into such a relationship.

At that juncture, when CORD first met her, she was hiding her face behind her veil, emaciated, unable to utter a word except for an occasional nod. Then, Urmila started working as a clinic attendant on a wage of Rs. 50 per month! She was soon promoted because of her diligence. She was trained as a Village Health Guide by CORD. Her readiness to learn and transfer her health-related knowledge, and her ability to help implement the program with efficiency, enabled her to rapidly grow from a part-time worker (working twice a week for a few hours only) to a fulltime worker. CORD devoted much effort to build her knowledge and skills. Before long, she emerged as an excellent community-development worker and a team leader.

During her work with CORD, Urmila started learning, practicing, and transferring the skills and knowledge to change her own as well as other people’s lives in the community. In her free time, she worked with her growing children to earn extra income from her own microenterprise. She grew mushrooms at home and sold them to make a reasonable profit. Through CORD’s facilitation, she formed, nurtured, and strengthened CBOs of women called Mahila Mandal — Self-Help Groups for Microfinance Access; Adolescent Girls’ Groups; Farmers and Youth Groups; and Children’s Groups.

Urmila then started leading a team of women group facilitators at CORD as a supervisor and later as Chief Community Development Worker. Besides having that role, she herself won people’s confidence in her village through her consistent and persistent selfless work. She won the election and became the ward representative in her Gram Panchayat. She soon began to train others on how to function resourcefully in the Panchayati Raj Institution and promote local self-governance.

Urmila coaching community workers

With the Guru’s Blessings

Both Urmila’s and Kaushalya’s (see next topic about Kaushalya) children are well settled today, and both of these women have managed to build their small comfortable homes. What they treasure most is their special moments with Gurudev, who gave them love and encouragement, which Guruji now continues to give. Urmila Devi recalls the time when, during a workshop on environment at Solan, Himachal Pradesh, she and her friend Vidya Devi won a cash prize of Rs. 500 in a speech competition about the ‘Environment.’ They were very excited and decided to offer this prize money at the feet of Gurudev. When they were trying with difficulty to reach Gurudev through the crowd of devotees around him, Gurudev noticed them and said loudly to the devotees, “Please give some space so that my people can come to me.” He then introduced them to the crowd, said that they were doing very good work, and blessed them. Later, Gurudev wrote to Urmila a letter which she still treasures today and says, “This is a letter to me from God.” (See the original letter and the typed version below)


Binta Devi's Story

Binta Devi undergoing sewing training.

From an Abused Widow to Active Entrepreneur

The following anecdote illustrates, through an individual beneficiary’s story, how the CBOs and the four strategic principles enable CORD to transform the lives of the poor people, who then mutually help each another. Moreover, the story depicts how CORD enriches various aspects of a person as a whole even though the entry point may be through any one of its program components.

Binta Devi became a young widow when her husband, a truck driver, died of HIV/AIDS. Her husband had acquired the disease during his frequent travels to the metropolitan cities. However, her late husband’s family blamed Binta for his death. She and her two children were ostracized by her family. Beaten and kicked out of her original room in the house by her in-laws, shut in a very small dark room where water leaked from the roof, she was physically and verbally abused by her in-laws who, too, were extremely poor. Her children were forced to drop out of school. With no money and nowhere to go, she and her children became malnourished and emaciated. When the local women’s group, called the Mahila Mandal and the Self-Help Group within it (groups which were nurtured by CORD), heard about her condition, they became concerned and brought her to CORD’s clinic. When CORD workers saw her, she weighed only seventy-six pounds. Even her two children were malnourished and scrawny. The three of them looked terrified.

Binta and her two children were referred for HIV testing. Fortunately, all of their test results were negative. With the help of the Mahila Mandal (Women’s Club) in her village that had been promoted by CORD, the field workers from CORD helped Binta get some food from the government’s public distribution system, food to which she was entitled but had not been able to access earlier. The family was counseled by CORD’s informal legal cell team about women’s rights and by the women’s group about the mode of transmission of HIV/AIDS. After a few sessions with the family by the Mahila Mandal and the Panchayat leaders, Binta’s rightful place in the home was ensured by the pressure created by the Mahila Mandal in her village.

The Mahila Mandal in her village then interacted with the school. The school teachers in the small village, out of fear of HIV/AIDS, had forced Binta’s children out of the school. These misinformed teachers were not willing to learn and only acted when some of the members of the women’s groups threatened them by saying, “Give it to us in writing that you will not readmit the children. We will take your statement to the higher education authorities at the block and district levels. Then we will see how the children are not educated in the government school!” Binta’s children, who had been thrown out by the small village school run by the government, were taken back by the school with no further arguments! Subsequently, they all understood their mistake.

Furthermore, the women’s group ensured that Binta became entitled to the widow’s pension of Rs. 330 (about five-six dollars) per month from the government by getting the President of the Panchayat to endorse her application. Though a very small amount, the pension meant much to her. The group enrolled her as one of their members in the Women’s Group as well as in the Self-Help Group (SHG) for access to micro-credit. She learned to save small amounts and get loans from the Self-Help Group and, with that group’s help, from a regular bank without collateral.

Binta’s group motivated her to learn sewing skills. She joined CORD’s sewing training program, where she could earn as she learned. As she learned to stitch garments, she began to take small loans from her SHG to buy raw material to make stitched products. She began to earn a small amount every month. After two years, she began to get enough orders to earn a fair living from this micro-enterprise. She now trains other girls in stitching, charging them a small fee, which adds to her income. Presently, she is an important micro-entrepreneur and member of a Self-Help Group outlet called Guru Dhara Self-Help Group shop run by the women members themselves. Binta and her family now live a dignified, healthy life. Binta’s dream, she says with a broad smile, is to educate her children and build a small home for her family. She earns Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 5,000 per month; with the extra help from the government for food and with an increase in her widow’s pension to Rs. 600, she is now content and happy.


Prostrations

Everywhere in Chinmaya Tapovan Sidhbari, we see His Glory. We see how Pujya Gurudev envisioned the ashram to be a fitting tribute to His Guru, the Glory of Himalayas, Himavat Vibhuti Swami Tapovanam. We realize the glory of the place – Sthala Mahima. And, the Sthala Mahima is because of Shastra Mahima, the glory of Vedantic Knowledge, and Tapo Mahima – the glory of penance. The Sandeepany Gurukula at Chinmaya Tapovan Sidhbari is all Guru Mahima where the blessings of Bhagavan Rama, Bhakta Hanuman, and our Bhakti-Rupa Guru await us.

Whenever we visit Chinmaya Tapovan Sidhbari, we are awestruck by the grand vision of a Yugapurusha like Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda to conceive and bring to fruition this crest-jewel of the Himalayas at Sidhbari. He who transformed the lives of so many near and far, we wonder how He was driven to do so much so selflessly! The answer is best summarized by Pujya Gurudev Himself:

It is true, that to remain in silence at Sidhbari can be more effective than working. But people like us do not work. They are relentlessly made use of, for fulfilling the Total Vasanas, and IT works through us. 

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Everywhere in Chinmaya Tapovan Sidhbari, we see the Glory (Mahima) of the place, the penance, and the knowledge. The many blessings in the ashram are because…


Samadhi Sthal

The Samadhi Sthal of Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda (1916-1993) is a hallowed space in the Sidhbari ashram. Pujya Gurudev attained Mahasamadhi at 5:45 pm on August 3rd, 1993, in San Diego, California. After 42 years of teaching the Highest Knowledge, the ageless Guru left the frail body that He had used as the most exalted instrument of Bhagavan.

The Final Journey - The Guru is a Presence.

A hallowed space in Chinmaya Tapovan, the Samadhi Sthal of Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda (1916-1993) is an inspirational altar in the ashram. It is the sacred place of Pujya Gurudev’s Bhu Samadhi (burial in earth). There, the mortal frame of a much-loved, matchless Guru, one of the greatest teachers of Vedanta, was placed with great reverence in a kund (pit dug inside the earth) on August 9th, 1993, after a dignified and poignant Vedic ceremony.

Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda attained Mahasamadhi at 5:45 pm on August 3rd, 1993, in Sharp Memorial Hospital, San Diego, California. After 42 years of selfless teaching of the Highest Knowledge, the ageless Guru left His frail body that He used as the most exalted instrument of Bhagavan. When His body was respectfully brought back to Mother Bharat on August 7th, 1993, and laid in state in Chinmaya Mission Lodhi Road Centre, thousands of people paid tearful homage. Seated in a lotus position, Pujya Gurudev’s embalmed body had a radiant aura that can be glimpsed from those last photographs.

Respectful Homage to Pujya Gurudev - Aug.7th, 1993, Chinmaya Mission Delhi, Lodhi Road
Reaching His final resting place in Sidhbari on August 8th, 1993

On August 8th, a long convoy brought Pujya Gurudev’s body back to His final resting place in Sidhbari. When His seated body was placed in Kamala Hall for the people of Himalayas and all others to offer their respects, He looked as bright and uplifting as He always did when alive. His favorite japa of “Om Namah Shivaya” surrounded Him as all devotees kept vigil until Pujya Gurudev’s last rites began. It was His wish to rest in the rose garden in front of His Kutiya facing the Dhauladhars that He loved. So, on the night of August 8th, the earth had been dug, 5 feet by 5 feet, 7 feet deep and lined with cement to receive the beloved son of Sidhbari.

In the early hours of August 9th, 1993, after a final darshan to all His beloved devotees, Pujya Gurudev’s body was placed facing the east as the last rites began. All Vedic rituals were performed with great solemnity to befit the Maha Purusha that Pujya Gurudev was. Pujya Gurudev’s body was bathed with Ganga water, milk, honey, ghee, camphor, sandalwood, incense, curds, and other aromatic substances in a last abhishekam performed amid reverential chanting of mantras for two hours. Then, His entire body was interred with salt according to Shastra vidhi, the scriptural injunctions. Starting with the Swamis and brahmacharins, everyone again paid their last respects with a common prayer that Pujya Gurudev’s Grace and blessings shall forever fill their hearts.

Pujya Gurudev's Samadhi Sthal - A most sacred place

With the magnificent Dhauladhar standing guard in the backdrop, the austere Samadhi Sthal is breathtakingly meditative with its elegant combination of woodwork, clear glass, and rosy granite under a Kerala-style tiled roof crowned by a central golden Kalasha.

The structure is built in such a thoughtful manner that it opens up to seamlessly blend with the sylvan surroundings of Sidhbari. Constructed with devotion by Architect Mythili and her team in 1995, it was consecrated in a beautiful, solemn ceremony on Aug.3rd, 1995, by Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayananda on the sacred occasion of the second anniversary of Pujya Gurudev’s Mahasamadhi day. It is an exquisite shrine among His beloved roses for an inimitable Guru who gloriously embodied the Auspicious Beautiful Truth – Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram – in every breath of His worshipful life.

Inside the Samadhi Sthal, Pujya Gurudev’s Presence is immediate, inspiring, and unmistakably powerful. The brilliant pratima of Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda is made out of panchadhatu – a combination of gold, silver, copper, zinc, and iron. It was made in Mahabalipuram near Chennai with great prayers. As we gaze at His Pratima, we are filled with a deep yearning to hear His Voice just one more time thundering the message of the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads. Almost immediately floods the realization that we can hear Him in our inspired hearts that are made pure with the teachings that He tirelessly illustrated in His every action. We understand that our dearest Pujya Gurudev was more than His physical form which is why He is ever available to every devotee who strives to walk behind Him.

Our beloved Pujya Gurudev - Ever Present in Sidhbari's Tapobhoomi

We prostrate at the Lotus Feet of Pujya Gurudev’s Pratima. Overwhelmed with gratitude and reverence, we slip into an indescribable silence. His Grace enters us when our surrender is complete. That is the greatest blessing of Chinmaya Tapovan Sidhbari which we pray for in our lives.

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A hallowed space in Chinmaya Tapovan, the Samadhi Sthal of Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda (1916-1993) is an inspirational altar in the ashram. It is the…

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A hallowed space in Chinmaya Tapovan, the Samadhi Sthal of Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda (1916-1993) is an inspirational altar in the ashram. It is the…


Pahadi Upliftment

Pujya Gurudev used to describe true love as a dynamic giving, not a passive taking. One of his main objectives in starting the ashram at Sidhbari was to uplift the lives of the Pahadis, the natives of the Himalayan region who had served the saints and sages in the mountains of yore.

It was time to empower the Pahadi women.

Pujya Gurudev used to describe true love as a dynamic giving, not a passive taking. Such was the exceptional love that He showered on the people of Himalayas, choosing Sidhbari as the place for the Chinmaya Tapovan ashram. So, the founding objectives of the Chinmaya Tapovan Trust was the spread of Vedanta as well as the service of those simple-hearted Pahadis. 

Soon after Sandeepany HIM was inaugurated in April 1981, Pujya Gurudev initiated the efforts to serve the Pahadis in March 1982. There were no primary health care centers, and no hospital close enough for medical emergencies. So, Gurudev inaugurated a free medical dispensary, Tapovan Arogya Sadan, where Dr. Indumati Vaidya and Dr. Akhilam (Swamini Nishtananda) served. The manava seva project had struck roots with at least 30 villages benefiting at the very outset.

When Pujya Gurudev understood that women will be benefited most with proper maternal and child health care as multipurpose health workers (community nurses) got trained, He blessed and inaugurated the Chinmaya Rural Primary Health Care and Training Centre (CRPHC&TC) on April 10th, 1985.

The people of the Himalayas, especially women, have selflessly served the wandering sadhus. This will be our repayment of ṛṣiṛiṅ (debt) to them. I want to serve them.” – Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda

The reach of the project grew by leaps and bounds as remote areas of Kangra Valley finally got medical help through six outreach health sub-centers. As more trainees became health workers, birth attendants, or village health guides, the need arose for a separate building which was completed in late 1986. The dispensary in the ashram was merged into the project.

Pujya Gurudev standing with others in front of the medical dispensary that became Tapovan Arogya Sadan
Dr. Akhilam (later Swamini Nishtananda) was one of the first doctors who served for long in the ashram clinic.

As the project grew,  Dr. Kshama Metre came in November 1985, closing her pediatric practice in Delhi for good. After her magical, transformational meeting with Pujya Gurudev, she found both her Guru and her greatest calling at the same time in Sidhbari!

Chinmaya Tapovan Trust strengthened the project with the help of many ashramites. Sri Trilokinath, General Manager of CTT until 1994, assisted in the early years. The commitment of 75-year old Dr. Jayanti Mahimutra as the first director of CRPHC&TC was continued by Dr. Ramakrishna Sharma, retired Deputy Director of Health Services, Himachal Pradesh. Then, Sri K.R. Pai (Swami Ramananda) took over the project until Dr. Kshama Metre became the project director in 1987.

Pujya Gurudev’s guidance was like a mother’s care – gentle, patient, and nourishing. He emphasized on spirituality and character-building for seva to be effective. 

Dr. Kshama Metre, Director of CORD, shares about her meeting with Pujya Gurudev
Pujya Gurudev with a batch of nurses, Dr. Kshama Metre (in orange robe), and other devotees

What started with maternal and child healthcare soon diversified to address the poverty, lack of education and livelihood resources, and poor awareness of hygiene, sanitation, and more. Thus evolved the acclaimed CORD –  the Chinmaya Organisation for Rural Development. The empowered women became a driving force with their Mahila Mandals. CORD also motivated, mobilized, and enabled powerful community-based organizations, CBOs. The success that started in Sidhbari became a CORD saga which continues to empower not just the Pahadis but so many more across rural India.

In Sidhbari, Pujya Gurudev started a silent revolution with an expanding influence. While the rural women were learning the art of collective action and active participation, Pujya Gurudev turned His attention to the Pahadi children and youth. The Hari Hara vocational schools focused on children learning through field experiences and then getting trained in various vocations that would enrich them.

Sri Hansraj who came to Chinmaya Tapovan ashram as a youth speaks with affectionate reverence about the way his life was transformed by the Grace of Gurudev. In his words, we can hear gratitude for how Pujya Gurudev brought hope, confidence, and prosperity to the Pahadis.

"Whatever Pujya Gurudev sowed has sprouted now..."
Sri Hansraj's recollection and prayer to be ever in Pujya Gurudev's service
The joyful prosperity of Pahadi women today is a gift from Pujya Gurudev.
Pujya Gurudev cheered and danced with the Pahadis, encouraging their simple-hearted devotion.

Three Examples of Transformation

The following anecdotes illustrate, through an individual beneficiary’s story, how the CBOs and the four strategic principles enable CORD to transform the lives of the poor people who then mutually help each another. Moreover, the stories depict how CORD enriches various aspects of a person as a whole even though the entry point may be through any one of its program components. These excerpts are from the Mananam publication titled "Chinmaya Seva."

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Pahadi Upliftment Photos

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The Progress at Sidhbari

When we visit Sidhbari today, it is hard to imagine the unapproachable land that it was in the 1970s. Swami Chinmayananda’s vision made that metamorphosis in the mountains happen. The way the ashram has grown with the wholehearted teamwork of devotees reflects the purity and power of Pujya Gurudev’s sankalpa. Year after year, new buildings and facilities were added.

A view of Pujya Gurudev's Kutiya and His Samadhi Sthal

When we visit Chinmaya Tapovan Sidhbari today, it is hard to imagine the barren, unapproachable land that it was in the 1970s. Pujya Gurudev’s vision made that metamorphosis in the mountains happen. And the way the ashram has grown with the diligent, wholehearted teamwork of devotees of all backgrounds and talents reflects the purity and power of Pujya Gurudev’s sankalpa. Pujya Gurudev embedded in the growth many remarkable memories and lessons for all of us.  

All the ventures undertaken, from the divine landmarks to the accommodating facilities and amenities, brick by brick on the outside and thought by thought on the inside, were centered around spiritual evolution for all who stepped into the Sidhbari ashram. 

Rough and raw terrain in Sidhbari before the ashram construction began
Sidhbari was a place of rustic beauty amid the Dhauladhar mountains.
The hillock in Sidhbari was getting slowly transformed.
The entrance to Tapovan ashram with Ram Mandir in the background
Veera Hanuman majestically stands guard over the Sidhbari ashram.
"Gurudev had control over the gods!"
Chinmaya Tapovan ashram has developed in an amazing manner by the hard work of many devotees and Pujya Gurudev's Grace.
A front view of the Sidhbari ashram
Sri Neelakanta Menon talks about the green fiberglass construction in the ashram at Sidhbari.
The goshala at Chinmaya Tapovan, Sidhbari

So much thought went into making the ashram self-sufficient. The nourishing touch of Pujya Gurudev was evident when the goshala, the cowshed, was set up in March 1989.  Early days in Sidhbari meant tea with tinned milk powder. But that changed when the goshala with the cows and their tinkling bells became part of the ashram. Now fresh milk and the soothing moos of cows add to the sweet, serene joy inside Chinmaya Tapovan.

The newer buildings in Chinmaya Tapovan ashram are embellishing its ancient spiritual objectives.The new auditorium, Chinmaya Shatabdi Sabhaghar, built in the centenary year 2016 with a capacity to seat 670 people, resounds with the joy of many auspicious pujas and celebrations. Its open terrace where the Sidhbari skies glide over the meditative Dhauladhar mountain peaks unfolds the power of collective prayers during the blissful Vishnu Sahasranama Pujas.

Entrance to Chinmaya Tapovan Sidhbari
Chinmaya Shatabdhi Sabhaghar constructed in 2016

The striking transformation in Sidhbari through the years is not just from new buildings and landmarks. The landscaping of the ashram and temple surroundings was done with aesthetic acumen by Pujya Gurudev. He gave clear instructions to Sri H.K. Madhwal, a retired forest officer, outlining the overall plan for the trees, the garden, the hedges and grass. In subsequent letters he writes: The idea of tree planting is sacred. Why not get a teak, a rose wood and a Chandan plant? Try these Brazilian Papaya seeds near the dining hall. Make seedling and then replant each.

From the barren landscape to the green hermitage that it is now, the lush vegetation was nourished with great love and care by Sri. Madhwal after Vayuputra Veera Hanuman calmed the winds. It is wondrous to find an international mix of foliage – the California redwoods amid the deodars, camphor plants, African bamboo, and Australian eucalyptus. There is a vitalizing fragrance of a variety of exotic blooms of jasmine, lilies, champa, chrysanthemums, gardenias, and of course, the beautiful roses that Gurudev loved.

Chinmaya Tapovan is a spiritual nandavana where the splendor of Nature is undisturbed by the progress planned with care.

A list of buildings and the year of construction

Aerial view of the land at Sidhbari

Aerial view of the land at Sidhbari

Buildings and Landscape Photos

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When we visit Sidhbari today, it is hard to imagine the unapproachable land that it was in the 1970s. Swami Chinmayananda’s vision made that metamorphosis in…

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When we visit Sidhbari today, it is hard to imagine the unapproachable land that it was in the 1970s. Swami Chinmayananda’s vision made that metamorphosis in…