Chinmaya Mission, New Delhi

THE HISTORY OF CHINMAYA MISSION, DELHI

1957. In January, Swami Tapovanam attained Mahasamadhi and when Swamiji passed through Delhi, he was looking very sad. Mrs. Sheel Dewan, who happened to be in Delhi, innocently asked him whether swamis also feel sad, to which he replied: "I am also human".

1958. For the first Mahasamadhi anniversary of Swami Tapovanam, Swamiji took devotees from Hyderabad (the late Sulochana, the late Sulakshana, Rani Sarla Devi and Padmini) to Uttarkashi. From Delhi, Mr. Subhas Chadda and Mrs. Bindra made all the arrangements. They all went by bus from Connaught Place to Rishikesh and stayed the night there in a dharamsala. The next morning the bus took them to Dharasu from where they walked the whole day, going up and down the hilly region, eating chanas and tea at chattis and reached Uttarkashi only at dusk.

1959. A yagna was held between October 3 and October 23. The yagnas had now become 20 days each, as more people began to invite him. Many people met him during the late 1950s and early 1960s who served the Mission in different capacities later.

1960. The yagna was from March 2 to March 20.

1961. The yagna on the 16th chapter of the Bhagawad Geeta was held in the Community Hall at Panchkuin Road, as it was during the monsoon season. Guru Poornima was celebrated at Ashoka Road, where Swamiji was staying. Miss Anjali Lal (now Singh) attended the entire yagna from the first day.

1962. A yagna was held at the site of the present Bank of Baroda, in the heart of the city on Parliament Street next to Connaught Place. The talks on the 18th chapter of the Bhagawad Geeta were taped on spools by Miss Anjali Lal, who had become inspired by attending the previous yagna. Another yagna was held in July 1962. The evening discourses at the Community Hall were on the Taitiriya Upanishad. The morning discourses at the Hindu Mahasabha Hall near Birla Mandir were on Bhaja Govindam. Swamiji stayed with Mrs. Bindra in Jungpura at her newly constructed house, and Guru Poornima was celebrated there. Mr. Darshan Sharma had become close to Swamiji and became secretary of the yagna committee for a year. Mr. Kharbanda was appointed next and held the fort for several years in the 1960s and 1970s. He also took up a lot of study group activities.

1963. Another yagna was held from September 29 to October 19, at the Bank of Baroda building site. On October 8, Swamiji explained the concept of happiness with great humour. "Joy is only an equation between two changeable phenomena. Not only the object in the world outside changes (flowers fade) but our mind and intellect also change ( the second cup of coffee does not give the same pleasure as the first). The fading out of joy is the birth of the sorrow. An ever-changing mind in an ever-changing world is trying to find a balance between the two. It is impossible! Take two wild horses, one = the mind, and the other = the object. It is like trying to bridge the two with a charpai (bed) and resting on it!"

1968. Swamiji came for a yagna from March 1 to March 17. Mr. Jagdish Prasad, Director of Post and Telegraphs and Chairman of Delton Cables, met Swamiji in 1962 and became an ardent devotee. He and his wife were involved in a lot of Mission activities. They hosted Swamiji in their house during many yagnas from the mid 1960s till 1972. It was only when they moved to Sidhbari that Swamiji started staying elsewhere. Swamiji also stayed with Mrs. Rani Bhan a few times in the 1950s and 1960s.

1970. Swamiji held a yagna at Windsor Place from March 2 to March 12. After this yagna, when Swamiji went to Mysore, he suffered a massive heart attack. For two years he did not hold any yagna anywhere.

1972. Swami Jyothirmayananda (then Br. Radhakrishan) was stationed in Delhi and there was an increase in study group activity. 36 study groups were running at the time, out of which Swami Jyothirmayananda was taking 22. The others were taken by Mr. Kharbanda, Mr. I.P. Gupta, Mr. Kumar and Mr. K.C. Bhatia.

1973. From this year onwards, Swamiji stayed with O.P. and Padmini Nambiar in their various residences as they shifted from Link Road to W Block Greater Kailash to Gulmohar Park to Hemkunt Colony to S Block Greater Kailash. Many Mission members have enjoyed their open house and generous hospitality. In passing through Delhi, Swamiji stayed with Mr. Inder Khanna .

1974. Swami Jyothirmayananda selected a site, and after a lot of hard work, managed to get a highly prestigious plot of land in Lodhi Road, where the Chinmaya Centre of World Understanding now stands as a testimony to Pujya Gurudev's glory. The architectural plans of the Centre, made by architect K.T. Ravindran, were seen by Gurudev. In 1991, Gurudev modified the plans and gave the concept of combining the simple contemporary lines with a traditional centre-form of a sun window, representing the light of knowledge that reaches out like the sun.

1975. A 'New Delhi News Bulletin' was started by Swami Jyotirmayananda and he was its editor for one year.

1976. From the June issue onwards, Mrs. Anjali Singh became the editor of the New Delhi News Bulletin. She was the editor for a total of 10 years at different periods, and continues to be on the advisory committee of the Bulletin.

The Chinmaya Foundation (Vigyan Mandir) classes, organized by Mrs. Padma Narsimhan, were started in the basement of Mr. O.P. Nambiar's office. Br. Yagna Chaitanya was the first acharya. He taught for six years under Chinmaya Mission in the premises of Ramana Kendra and Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan. He has since left the Mission.