Swami Chidbhavananda

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Swami Chidbhavananda was born in Senguttaipalayam near Pollachi in Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu, India. 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 sanyasi 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 Sivananda, he returned to Tamilnadu and established an Ashram near Ooty. In the late forties, he established the Ramakrishna Tapovanam in Tiruparaithurai, Tiruchi district.^[1]. Since then, Tapovanam has established several educational institutions^[2] in Tamilnadu and propagates the ideals of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda through religious and social activities.

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. His most acclaimed work is a commentary on Bhagavad Gita.^[3] He has written a lot of dramas based on ancient Hindu scriptures that are performed by students.

C. Subramaniam,^[4][5] was his nephew. He died in 1985.

[edit] References

1. ^ ::: Welcome to Sarada College :::
2. ^ Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam
3. ^ Amazon.com: swami chidbhavananda: Books
4. ^ The Hindu : My father and I
5. ^ C.S - From Death to Immortality