"Every body dies; nobody dies."; "Moksha is not 'Freedom from action' but 'Freedom in action'."; "It is sure to be dark if you close your eyes."
Central
Chinmaya Mission Trust is
an International Non profit Organisation that "helps
people bring the essence of Vedanta and Upanishads
into their daily lives". It was established
by Swami Chinmayananda, a disciple of Swami
Sivananda and Tapovan Maharaj. Its mission
statement is " To provide to individuals,
from any background, the wisdom of Vedanta
and practical means for spiritual growth and
happiness, enabling them to become positive
contributors to the society." There are
centres in Africa, Australia, France, Canada,
Hong Kong, India, Singapore UK, USA, and many
more locations. This site provides
details of teachers, locations, projects, publications
etc.
Chinmaya
Mission West is the site for North America
and contains links or email addresses to some
of the major centres and retreats. Books and
tapes, magazines etc. may also be purchased
from within the organisation.
One of the local centres, for example, is the Chinmaya Mission Washington Regional Centre. They organise talks, study groups, lectures on Sanskrit, dance, etc. in various locations in Maryland and Virginia. The UK branch of the organisation has study groups on the Bhagavad Gita, Atmabodha and on Swami Chinmayananda's own book on Self-Unfoldment at various locations in London. There is also an excellent html-based package for studying the Bhagavad Gita, containing the complete commentaries of Swamiji.
"Sin is never in action, it is always in reaction."
"Mind can make a hell out of heaven or a heaven out of hell."
An email course is available from Chinamaya Mission. The first part of this is entitled 'What is Vedanta?' and is a one year course of 24 fortnightly lessons. Each has a set of questions at the end that are answered and returned for marking. A diploma is awarded on successful completion. It is biased towards bhakti and is a very gentle approach. It is $100 outside of India and Rs. 1000 inside - and the fees are to be used for expansion of the Chinmaya International Foundation. The first lesson is available for free download if you want to consider it. More advanced courses are also in preparation.
Chinmaya International Foundation (CIF) is located in the Ernakulam District, Kerala, in India. Its aim is to 'Establish a centre of excellence for the study, research and dissemination of knowledge in the areas of Indian philosophy, culture, art and science, business management, both modern and ancient.' CIF offers a variety of home study courses in Vedanta and Sanskrit, both online and via post.
For more links see the Open Directory listings. |
