Swami Chidbhavananda | |
---|---|
Personal | |
Born | Chinnu 11 March 1898 |
Died | 16 November 1985 87) | (aged
Religion | Hinduism |
Organization | |
Founder of | Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam |
Philosophy | Vedanta |
Religious career | |
Guru | Swami Shivananda |
Self-perfection is the goal of life.
Swami Chidbhavananda (11 March 1898 – 16 November 1985) was born in Senguttaipalayam near Pollachi in Coimbatore District, Madras Presidency, India. [1] His parents named him 'Chinnu'. He studied in Stanes School, Coimbatore. He was one of the two Indians in his class, the rest being British. His parents wanted him to go to England after completing his degree in Presidency College, Chennai.
While making arrangements for his travel abroad, he came across a book about Swami Vivekananda's philosophy. The book had a profound impact on his mind. He started visiting Ramakrishna Math in Mylapore often and had discussions with Swamijis. Finally, he decided to become a novice and went to Ramakrishna Mission in Belur, West Bengal. His guru was Swami Shivananda who was a direct disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.
As per the wish and advice of Swami Shivananda, he returned to Tamil Nadu and established an Ashram near Ooty. On 14 Jan 1937, he has started a Seva Sangh in a village (Athigaratty) near Ooty and named it Kalaimagal Seva Sangam (KMSSA). In the early forties (1942), he established Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam in Tiruparaithurai, Tiruchi district. [2] Since then, Tapovanam has established several educational institutions [3] in Tamil Nadu and propagates the ideals of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda through religious and social activities such as book publishing.
Swami Chidbhavananda has authored more than a hundred books in Tamil and English. His books address a variety of topics, ranging from deep philosophical enquiry to contemporary social life.
He wrote many dramas based on ancient Hindu scriptures that are performed by students. He died in 1985. C. Subramaniam, [4] [5] was his nephew.
Now under Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam around 56 schools and colleges are running in TamilNadu.
His service started first at
Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam Tirupparaithurai Tirchirapalli
Sri Vivekanandha Vidhyavanam High School Tirupparaithurai Tirchirapalli
Vivekananda College, Tiruvedakam Madurai, a Gurukula Institute of Life-training in 1971.
Sri Sarada Education Institutions, Salem in 1950. [6]
Sri Sarada College for women, Thirunelveli. [7]
Sri Sarada Samithi, Madurai.
Swamy Chidbhavananda Matric Hr. Sec School, Pollachi.
Sri Sarada Niketan College of Science for Women, Karur [8]
Swamiji delivered more than 70,000 talks on religious harmony, Hinduism. He is author of more than 130 books and compiled and edited 30 books.
The Bhagavad Gita (Translation and Commentary)
Sri Lalithambika Sahasranama Stotram (Commentary)
Siva Sahasranama Stotram (Commentary)
Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram (Commentary)
Facts of Brahman
The Indian National Education
Daily Divine Digest
Mind and Spirituality
Key to Higher Life
My Dear Students - A Counsel
The Nursery School
The Teacher
The Student
The School
Sri Krishna - The Manifest Divinity
Tirukkural (Commentary)
Hinduism Hosts Christianity
Bible in the Life of Vedanta
Reminiscences of Master Mahashaya
Swami Dayananda Saraswati was a renunciate monk of the Hindu Saraswati order of sannyasa. He was also known as Pujya Swamiji and was a traditional teacher of Advaita Vedanta. He was the founder of the Arsha Vidya Gurukulams in Pennsylvania, USA; Rishikesh, Uttarakhand and Coimbatore Tamil Nadu, India. He was also the spiritual Guru of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan,, for his service to the nation in the field of spiritualism in 2016.
The Vishnu Sahasranama, is a Sanskrit hymn containing a list of the 1,000 names of Vishnu, one of the main deities in Hinduism and the Supreme God in Vaishnavism. It is one of the most sacred and popular stotras in Hinduism. The most popular version of the Vishnu Sahasranama is featured in the Anushasana Parva of the epic Mahabharata. Other versions exist in the Padma Purana, the Skanda Purana, and the Garuda Purana. There is also a Sikh version of the Vishnu Sahasranama found in the work Sundar Gutka.
Swami Gambhirananda (1899–1988), born as Jatindranath Datta, was a Hindu sanyasi associated with Ramakrishna Mission. He was born at Sadhuhati in today's Bangladesh. He graduated from Scottish Church College, Calcutta (Kolkata).
Swami Yatiswarananda was a vice-president of Ramakrishna Order, whose headquarter is in Belur Math. He was a disciple of Swami Brahmananda, a brother disciple of Swami Vivekananda and a direct disciple and spiritual son of Ramakrishna. He served in Philadelphia propagating the message of Vedanta. He was the president of Bangalore centre of Ramakrishna Math. He founded an ashrama in Switzerland.
Swami Nikhilananda (1895–1973), born Dinesh Chandra Das Gupta was a direct disciple of Sri Sarada Devi. In 1933, he founded the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center of New York, a branch of Ramakrishna Mission, and remained its head until his death in 1973. An accomplished writer and thinker, Nikhilananda's greatest contribution was the translation of Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita from Bengali into English, published under the title The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (1942).
Swami Tapasyananda (1904-1991) was a senior monk of the Ramakrishna Mission. He was born in the Palat family of Ottapalam in Kerala, in 1904. His pre-monastic name was K. P. Balakrishnan Menon. In 1921, when he was just 17 years old, he met Swami Brahmananda- a direct disciple and spiritual son of Sri Ramakrishna, in Chennai. He received Mantra-Diksha from Swami Shivananda in 1924, and joined the Order in 1926, at 22 years age after completing in post graduation. In 1932, he received Sannyasa from Swami Shivananda. He was a disciple of Swami Shivananda, one of the eminent disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. The Swami was a vice-president of the Ramakrishna Order from 1985-1991, giving Mantra-Diksha to a large number of devotees. He was an erudite scholar in Indian and Western philosophy. He has to his credit many books in English, including the translations of many scriptures. His translation of Bhagavata Purana in four volumes has been highly acclaimed in intellectual and devotional circles. He was the president of Ramakrishna Math, Chennai from 1971-1991. Swamiji was well known for his austere life and intuitive intellect. His deity was Lord Khrishna and he practiced spiritual activity as told by his Guruji. He was a prolific writer. Some of the books authored by him are listed below. He translated many Hindu classics into English from original Sanskrit. He founded Ramakrishna Mission Hospital at Thiruvananthapuram.
Belur Math is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, founded by Swami Vivekananda, the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. It is located in Belur, West Bengal, India on the west bank of Hooghly River. Belur Math was established in January 1897, by Swami Vivekananda who was the disciple of Sri Ramakrishna. Swami Vivekananda returned back to India from Colombo with a small group of disciples and started work on the two one at Belur, and the others at Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas called the Advaita Ashrama. The temple is the heart of the Ramakrishna movement. It is notable for its architecture that fuses Hindu, Islamic, Buddhist, and Christian art and motifs as a symbol of unity of all religions. In 2003, Belur Math railway station was also inaugurated which is dedicated to Belur Math Temple.
Sister Nivedita was an Irish teacher, author, social activist, school founder and disciple of Swami Vivekananda. She spent her childhood and early youth in Ireland. She was engaged to marry a Welsh youth, but he died soon after their engagement.
Sahasranāma is a Sanskrit term which means "a thousand names". It is also a genre of stotra literature, usually found as a title of the text named after a deity, such as Vishnu Sahasranāma, wherein the deity is remembered by 1,000 names, attributes or epithets.
Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Coimbatore is a group of educational institutions with 19 wings offering courses from pre-school to doctoral levels. The Vidyalaya was established in 1930 in the suburbs of Coimbatore, India, and affiliated to Ramakrishna Mission in 1934. Ramakrishna Mission's official General Reports start giving reports of its activities from 1936.
Ramakrishna Paramhansa Deva had sixteen direct disciples who became monks of the Ramakrishna Order; they are often considered his apostles. In the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda movement, the apostles have played an important role. Apart from Swami Vivekananda, the direct disciples or apostles of Ramakrishna were as follows.
Nachimuthu Mahalingam was an Indian educationist, industrialist, philanthropist and prominent person in Tamil Nadu. He was the Chairman of the Sakthi Group and Chairman of Ethiraj College for Women between 1972 and 1980.
Thirupparaitturai is a village in the Srirangam taluk of Tiruchirappalli district in Tamil Nadu, India. It is situated on the south bank of the River Cauvery. Trichy-Coimbatore National Highway, Trichy-Palakkad Railway Line have been laid through this village. It is 16 kilometers away from Trichy. The place is known for Paraithurainathar temple.
Ramakrishna Sarada Math is a religious monastic order, considered part of the Hindu reform movements. It was established in 1929 at Bagbazar, Kolkata.
Thiruvedagam is a village located in between Sholavandan and Madurai. It is 18 kilometres away from Madurai and 3 kilometres away from Sholavandan. It comes under Vadipatti taluk in Madurai district. It is located at the bank of the River Vaigai, which flows in the direction North to South here in Thiruvedagam. Here a famous and historical Shiva temple named Edaganathar temple is located.
Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith, Deoghar is a residential boys' senior secondary school in Deoghar, Jharkhand, India, established in 1922. It is the oldest institute of Ramakrishna Mission, and used to be visited by brother disciples of Swami Vivekananda. Swami Jayantananda is the present secretary, and Swami Divyasudhananda is the current principal of the school.
Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai is a monastic organisation for those men who were taught into existence by Sri Ramakrishna (1836–1886), a 19th-century saint of Bengal. The motto of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission is: "For one's own salvation, and for the welfare of the world". The math in Chennai is the first branch center of the Ramakrishna Order in Southern India. It was established in 1897 by Swami Ramakrishnananda, one of the direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. Besides Swami Ramakrishnananda, the Math was visited by Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, Swami Nirmalananda, Swami Shivananda, Swami Abhedananda, Swami Premananda, Swami Niranjanananda, Swami Trigunatitananda, and Swami Vijnanananda.
Alambazar Math is the second monastery of the Ramakrishna Order established in February 1892, which remained the order's headquarters till February 1898, when it was finally moved to Belur village on the bank of Ganga.
Sri Sarada Math is named after Sri Sarada Devi, the consort of Sri Ramakrishna, and founded on 2 December 1954. Built by a group of eight sadhavis, as per the instructions given by Swami Vivekananda, it serves as a monastic order for women. Headquartered at Dakshineshwar, Kolkata, the organisation has branch centres all over India, in Sri Lanka and Australia. The nuns of this order use the title "Pravrajika" before their ordained name, and are usually addressed as "Mataji" meaning 'revered mother'.