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Chinmaya Mission, Washington Regional Center, Silver Spring,MD

46 Norwood Road,

Silver Spring MD, 20905

Our mission is to provide to individuals from any background, the wisdom of Vedanta and the practical means

 for spiritual growth and happiness, enabling them to become positive contributors to society

What is Chinmaya Mission?

Under the guidance of His Holiness Swami Chinmayananda, devotees formed the nucleus of a spiritual renaissance movement that now encompasses a wide range of spiritual, educational, and charitable activities, ennobling the lives of thousands in India and worldwide.
Presently headed by His Holiness Swami Tejomayananda, the Mission is administered by Central Chinmaya Mission Trust (CCMT) in Mumbai, India. Under Swami Tejomayananda's guidance, the Mission has continued mushrooming across the globe and stands today with over 300 centres worldwide.

Vision Statement

The inner transformation of individuals through knowledge of Vedanta, spiritual practices and service to society, resulting in a happy world around them

Mission Statement
To provide to individuals from any background, the wisdom of Vedanta and the practical means for spiritual growth and happiness, enabling them to become positive contributors to society.
Mission Motto
To give maximum happiness to the maximum number for the maximum time is our religion.

What does Chinmaya Mission teach?
Advaita Vedanta
Following the Vedic teacher-student tradition (guru-shishya parampara), Chinmaya Mission makes available the ageless wisdom of Advaita Vedanta, the knowledge of Universal Oneness, and provides the tools to realize the wisdom in one's life. "To give maximum happiness to the maximum number for the maximum time" is the tenet that drives Mission workers to uplift humanity beyond selfish and sectarian attitudes and activities. Each person's gain is manifold: personal growth, heightened efficiency, contentment, and the ability to live with others in peace and harmony.
Vedanta, the essential core of Hinduism, is the universal science of life, relevant to all people of all backgrounds and faiths. Vedanta inspires spiritual seekers to understand their own faith better. Thus, although Chinmaya Mission is a Hindu spiritual organization, it does not seek to convert other religious practitioners.

What does Chinmaya Mission do?
Many Services, One Goal
Chinmaya Mission is a movement that continues to touch and transform all aspects of human life. As a spiritual movement that aims for inner growth at individual and collective levels, the Mission offers a wide array of Vedanta study forums for all ages, promotes Indian classical art forms, and operates numerous social service projects. To date, millions worldwide have benefitted directly or indirectly from Chinmaya Mission's numerous centres, ashrams, classes, events, services, and projects.

Activities at Regional Centres

• Chinmaya Bala Vihars (Value education classes for children)
• Chinmaya Yuva Kendras - CHYK (Vedanta forums for youth)
• Chinmaya Study Groups (Vedanta forums for adults) & Devi Groups (Vedanta forums for housewives)
• Jnana Yajnas (Vedanta lecture series, seminars, workshops) and Spiritual Retreats and Camps (for all ages)
• Chinmaya Swaranjali (Musical wing of Chinmaya Mission)
• Chinmaya Vanaprastha Sansthan (Vedanta forums for senior citizens)

Courses

• Intensive Vedanta Courses (two year residential course on Vedanta)
• Youth Empowerment Programme - YEP (two year course of Vedanta study & service)
• Dharma Sevak Courses (two week course on the fundamentals of Vedanta)
• Vedanta Correspondence Courses (postal or e-mail)
• Veda Vidya Peetha (two year course on how to conduct rituals)

Projects

• Chinmaya Organisation for Rural Development (CORD)
• Chinmaya Vibhooti (Chinmaya Mission's Vision Centre)
• Chinmaya Naada Bindu (school of Indian classical music and dance)

Resources & Institutes

• Publications (Chinmaya Mission's print, audio & video material)
• Monthly magazines
• Vedanta Institutes
• Chinmaya International Foundation - CIF (Research centre for Sanskrit & Indology)
• Chinmaya Mission Hospital & Chinmaya Institute of Nursing - CMH & CHIN
• Chinmaya Institute of Management - CIM

COURSES/ RESIDENTIAL VEDANTA COURSE Purohita Course Youth Empowerment Programme-YEP Dharma Sevak Course Postal & E-Vedanta Courses Vedanta Course Curriculum Vedanta Course Eligibility Life in the Gurukula After the Vedanta Course Vedanta Institutes of Chinmaya Mission

The study of Vedanta is a sacred and ancient tradition, imparted in a gurukula setting. In Sanskrit 'kula' means family and 'guru' means teacher. A gurukula is a place where the students and the guru reside together and form a family. This system of constant interaction between them enables the students to learn, not only from the words of their teacher but also the teacher's daily living example. All Vedanta Institutes in Chinmaya Mission are called 'Sandeepany'. This was a name selected by Pujya Swami Chinmayananda. Vedanta Course Curriculum Studies at a Sandeepany institute are intense and intensive to say the least. Fully dedicated to the disciples' spiritual education and growth, the two-year residential course is standard in its syllabus and traditional in its teaching method. Disciples learn Advaita Vedanta based on various scriptural texts, the primary three being the Prasthana-traya, or the major Upanishads, Shrimad Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahma Sutras. These texts are studied based on the respective commentary by Adi Shankaracharya. Also studied are Sanskrit grammar, Vedic chanting, and select Vedantic introductory texts, devotional masterpieces, and original compositions of various spiritual masters

The curriculum is as follows:

• Sanskrit and Sanskrit subhashitas (wise sayings)
• Vedic Chanting
• Introductory Texts: Tattva Bodha, Bhaja Govindam, Atma Bodha, Upadesha Sarah, Sadhana Panchakam, Panchadashi (Ch. 5, 10, 15), Vivekachudamani, Drg-Drshya Viveka, Aparokshanubhuti, Vakya Vritti, Advaita Makaranda, Vedanta Sarah, Sad-Darshanam, Vedanta Dindima, Hastamalaka Stotram, Nirvana Shatkam, Maneesha Panchakam, Shivapradhakshamapana Stotram, and Dakshinamurti Stotram
• Shrimad Bhagavad Gita (Ch. 1-18)
• The Upanishads: Kena, Katha, Isha, Mundaka, Aitareya, Taittiriya, Prashna, Mandukya with Karika, Chandogya (Ch. 6-8), Brhadaranyaka, Kaivalya, Amrta-Bindu, Shvetashvatara, and Maha-Narayana
• Brahma Sutras (Sutras 1-4)
• Devotional Texts and Hymns (some studied in-depth; some in general, with select verses): Shrimad Bhagavatam, Tulsi Ramayana (Ramacharitamanasa), Adhyatma Ramayana, Valmiki Ramayana, Vishnu Sahasranama, Narada Bhakti Sutra, Hanuman Chalisa, Mukunda Mala, and Madhurashtakam
• Other Texts: Yoga Vasishtha, Tapovana Shatkam, Purusha Suktam, Jivanmuktananda Lahari, Manah Shodhanam, Bhakti Sudha, Dhyanasvarupam, Maya Panchakam, Kaupina Panchakam, Svarupa Anusandhana Ashtakam, and Dhanyashtakam

Vedanta Course Eligibility

Spiritual seekers, regardless of their upbringing and faith, are carefully selected and interviewed before being accepted to undergo the intensive, residential training in Vedic literature. A university degree is a mandatory prerequisite. Married students must have their spouse's permission to join, and unmarried students must have their parents' permission to join.

  

Life in the Gurukula

During this term, the residential students fully withdraw from worldly life, internalize the teachings, and prepare themselves to eventually spread these Vedantic teachings to the world at large. For two years, these spiritual seekers stay at Sandeepany within the Mission's strict gurukula guidelines, following a rigid, disciplined schedule of classes and activities that promotes their spiritual learning, reflection, and contemplation.

Throughout the course, students are required to wear white clothes (saree for women and lungi/kurta for men) and follow a very sattvika diet. Students also serve and participate in the celebrations of all the major Hindu festivals each year.

The Ashram provides free lodging and board for all Indian residents. Students accepted from outside of India are asked to pay a nominal amount for their stay. Lodging and board is separate for men and women, and usually consists of a room for one or two students and communal bathrooms and showers. Medical care, study materials (textbooks, notebooks, desks, pens, etc.) and basic daily requirements are provided to all students free of cost.

After the Vedanta Course

While it is not mandatory, it is welcomed and hoped, that at the end of his/her course, each student will choose to be initiated into Chinmaya Mission's monastic order as a brahmacharin (yellow cloth) in order to follow in the guru's lineage (guru-shishya parampara) by serving at a Mission centre. In due time, Mission brahmacharins are initiated into sannyasa (ochre robe of a swami or swamini).

Countless spiritual seekers, some from specific spiritual organizations, have walked through the portals of Sandeepany institutes. While many opted to join the Mission's monastic order, others went back into worldly life to serve the Mission in white clothes or as householders; and others went on to serve their family or another spiritual organization. Of those who were initiated into the Chinmaya Mission order, and who continue to fulfill the wishes of their spiritual master by spreading the scriptural message of Self-realization, is Swami Tejomayananda, now the Head of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide.

Vedanta Institutes of Chinmaya Mission

Established in 1963, Sandeepany Sadhanalaya in Powai, Mumbai was the first institute of Vedanta formed by Swami Chinmayananda. It commenced with Swami Chinmayananda himself as the Acharya (teacher). The two-year residential Vedanta course is conducted in English at Mumbai.

Sandeepany Himalayas (Sandeepany HIM) in Sidhbari, Himachal Pradesh conducts the Vedanta course in Hindi so that the students are trained to serve Mission centres in Hindi-speaking areas.

Sandeepany institutes sprang up in various regions of India because of the need for spiritual seekers and teachers there. Thus began the same two-year residential Vedanta course in different regional languages. These courses continue to date and their frequency is dependent on the number of interested and committed students.

MARYLAND CENTER CLASSES
No.	NAME OF CENTER	DAY	TIME	TEXT	LOCATION	HOST PHONE	ACHARYA	E-MAIL ADDRESS	PHONE #
1	Chinmayam 1	Every  Saturday	10:30 - 12:00 N	Bhagavad Gita	Chinmayam- Raj Bommakanti	301.520.8080	Swami Dheerananda	swami.dheerananda@gmail.com	301.384.1204
2	Chinmayam 2	Every  Sunday	10:30 - 12:00 N	Bhagavad Gita	Chinmayam- Sanjay Bapna	410.828.6899	Swami Dheerananda	swami.dheerananda@gmail.com	301.384.1204
3	Chinmayam 3	Every  Sunday	1:30 - 3:00 PM	Bhagavad Gita	Chinmayam- Raj Kirkire	301.774.1022	Swami Dheerananda	swami.dheerananda@gmail.com	301.384.1204
4	Frederick 1	Every  Sunday	10:30 - 12:00 N	Bhagavad Gita	Walkersville Middle School	301.874.5796	Sankaran Nayar	smnayar@gmail.com	301.299.9450
5	Frederick 2	Every  Sunday	10:30 - 12:00 N	Tatwa Bodha	Walkersville Middle School	301.694.5010	Vijay Kumar	vijaykumar@rocketmail.com	571.276.7828
MARYLAND VEDANTA CLASSES
No.	LOCATION	DAY	TIME	TEXT	HOST	HOST PHONE	ACHARYA	E-MAIL ADDRESS	PHONE #
1	Kailas Niwas	Every Thursday	7:45 - 9:15 PM	Advaita Makaranda	Kailas Niwas- Raja Kirkire	240.938.6024	Swami Dheerananda	swami.dheerananda@gmail.com	301.384.1204
2	Salisbury	2nd & 4th Saturday	10:00 - 12:30 PM	Kathopanishad	Madhav & Saroja Barhan	410.219.3242	Acharya Anantji	anant_sarma@hotmail.com	703.574.3854
MARYLAND STUDY GROUPS
No.	NAME OF SG	DAY	TIME	TEXT	LOCATION/ HOST	HOST PHONE	COORDINATOR	E-MAIL ADDRESS	PHONE #
1	Chinmayam	Alternate Fridays	7:30 - 9:00 PM	Upadesha Sara	Chinmayam	301.530.8961	DC Rao	dcraox@gmail.com	301.530.8961
2	Chinmayam 2	Every Sunday	8:45 - 9:45 AM	Jnana Saara	Chinmayam	301.384.5009	Chetana Neerchal	cneerchal@gmail.com	202.725.2668
3	Gaithersburg	Every Saturday	7:30 - 9:00 AM	Meditation & Life	Ravi & Meera Ravichandran	301.279.0434	DC Rao	dcraox@gmail.com	301.530.8961
4	Frederick- Devi group	1st &3rd Saturday	8:00 - 9:30 AM	Silent Search	Sathya and Sukanya	301.694.5010	Lakshmi Yelamanchi	dlyelamanchi@yahoo.com
5	Germantown	Every Sunday	2:00 - 3:00 PM	Bhagavad Gita	Rotating Location- Padmini Thotapalli	301.972.6672	Vijay Kumar	vijaykumar@rocketmail.com	571.276.7828
6	Rockville	Every Sunday	9:00 - 10:30 AM	Patanjali Yoga Sutra	DC Rao	301.530.8961	DC Rao	dcraox@gmail.com	301.530.8961
7	Rockville 2	Every Friday	7:30 - 9:00 PM	Viveka Chudamani	Sangamesh Konaraddi	301.874.5922	DC Rao	dcraox@gmail.com	301.530.8961
8	Clarksville	Every Saturday	10:00 - 11:00 AM	Self Unfoldment	Sitaram Kowtha	410.531.9923	Sitaram Kowtha	skowtha@verizon.net	410.531.9923

Next Friday Night Satsang at Chinmayam on June 28, 2013 at 7:30 PM.   WebPage

     Guru Purnima Observation on July 20 in Viriginia.  Details soon

     Chinmaya Aradhana Day on Aug 3 at Chinmayam.  Details Soon.

     2013/2014 Bala Vihar Sessions start September 7 and 8 locally at all Chapters.

    Hanuman Chalisa led by CHYK DC Youth at SBA Temple in Frederick on September 7.  Details Soon.

      5K Walk/Run organized by Chinmaya Somnath Bala Vihar, proceeds to benefit CORD Sri Lanka - Oct 5, 2013 at Leesburg VA.  Details.

Contact Us

Sethuraman Balan  Sbalan@cox.net (CMWRC Secretary)
Sri Gopalakrishna sri_gopalakrishna@yahoo.com (CMWRC Joint Secretary)

Mailing Address:  46 Norwood Road, Silver Spring MD, 20905

Phone: 301- 384 - 5009

For Additional Details, go to www.chinmayadc.org/Information.htm

Through

the Body (B), Mind (M), Intellect (I)

the Perceiver (P), Feeler (F), Thinker (T)

becomes enmeshed in the world of

Objects (O), Emotions (E) and Thoughts (T)

But when we transcend our

Vasanas (V)

we realize our true Self

OM

the Supreme Reality

Om Tat Sat

                                                        

(Continued...)                                                                                                                              

(My humble  salutations to the great devotees ,  wikisources  and Pilgrimage tourist guide for the collection )