Our Gurus
"I am waiting for the trained Brahmacharis to come up to give this message. Give them also 30-35 years, so that when I am gone, there will be not one but many more Chinmayanandas coming up, so that work will not stop but continue."
-Swami Chinmayananda
Our Guru Parampara
Adi Shankaracharya established the Dashanami Sannyasa Order, a monastic order with ten lineage names. Of these, Chinmaya
Mission belongs to the lineage and traditions of the ‘Sringeri Matha’ in Karnataka, India. The first acharya of this noble institution was none other than Shri Sureshvaracharya.
In the Sringeri Matha tradition, the Lord is worshipped as Deva in the form of Lord Adi Varaha, and as Devi in the forms of Puri Devi, Bharati Devi, and Kamakshi Devi. The main pilgrimage centre, or dhama, is Rameshvaram and the worshipped holy river, or tirtha, is Tungabhadra.
In this Bhurivara lineage, or sampradaya, the primary Veda is Yajur Veda, which reveals the Mahavakya: “Aham Brahmasmi”. Sannyasis initiated into this lineage are bestowed with the title, or padavi, of “Saraswati” after their name (e.g., Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati).
Chief Acharyas
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. But the gentleness of devotion arrived riding on the back of an intense education in physics, going up to a Master’s degree. Born, 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. Read More..
Swami Swaroopananda
Swami Swaroopananda is the Global Head of Chinmaya Mission. The mantle of this important responsibility draped his shoulders from 19 January 2017, when Swami Tejomayananda passed on the baton to him. He chairs Central Chinmaya Mission Trust (CCMT), the apex governing body of Chinmaya Mission Centres and Trusts the world over. He is the Chancellor of Chinmaya University (Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth) and Chairman of Chinmaya International Residential School in Coimbatore, one of the most well-respected and well-performing residential schools of India. An able administrator and a dynamic leader, his watchful eye and acumen keeps him abreast with developments of any consequence in the over 300 Centres under his guard. Devotion to his Guru, Swami Chinmayananda, and obeisance to his philosophy, guides his decision making and governance. Read More..
Our Acharya
Our Spiritual Guardian
Swami Prakashananda
Born in California, Trinidad, after migrating to Canada for higher studies, a young
seeker met Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda during Chinmaya Mission's
jnana yajna at York University in Toronto. He eagerly approached Gurudev to join the
Mission and, in 1991, traveled to Mumbai, India to study the scriptures before taking the
vows of a Brahmachari. After spending six years in India studying Vedanta and Sanskrit, upon completion of his studies in 1994, Br. Prem Chaitanya was assigned to give discourses at various Mission centers in India and Nepal.
Leaving aside his bachelor's degree in political science and philosophy from York University in Toronto, and his law degree from Benares Hindu University, Premji returned to Trinidad in 1997 to start Chinmaya Mission's work in his native land. Thereafter, he began satsangs and yajnas in Trinidad, the Caribbean, the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom. Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayananda initiated Premji into sannyasa as Swami Prakashananda on Mahashivaratri, in 2005. CM Trinidad has grown in leaps and bounds, enhanced by Swamijis devotion, tireless service and clear vision.
Our Centre's Spiritual Leader
Madan Gurdial
Our Spiritual leader, Madanji, was born in Guyana, South America. He moved to
New York in the early 1980’s and studied at Hunter College where he obtained a
B.A. in Mathematics and an M.S.ED. in Counseling/Social Work. In 1990, he moved
with his extended family to Kissimmee, Florida. Here, he saw a need for some structure to unite and support the Guyanese community who were slowly moving from the northern states to this area. He therefore started weekly satsang and did what he could to move the community forward on the path of Sanathan Dharma.
The big transformation came in Dec 2006 when Swamini Akhilanandaji (then Brni. Arpanaji) invited Madanji and his family to attend a Chinmaya Family Camp in Huston. It was their first contact with Chinmaya Mission and they took to Vedanta like duck to water. Madanji came back committed to transforming our community and he worked diligently to establish our center, Chinmaya Mission Kissimmee in, July 2012.
Madanji was a teacher and a counselor in all types of situations. Those skills support him very well in his role as Spiritual Leader or our Center. 
