Without a thread there is no garland of flowers; without God there is no universe. Without Swami Tapovan Maharaj, there would not have been a Swami Chinmayananda.

A rare jewel in the crown of the Himalayan peaks, Swami Tapovan was revered and exclaimed as the greatest of Jnanis and a man of total perfection. When Swami Chinmayananda was asked about his Guru, he became silent; what words could express the infinite? Even now, to mention his name in the solitude of the Himalayas is to awaken a deep reverence, so famous was this great Master.

Swami Tapovan was born in an aristocratic family in the Palghat District and from a very tender age was not attracted to the materialistic life. He was drawn in temperament naturally to a life of renunciation, austerity, and study.

When his worldly commitments were fulfilled, Swami Tapovan embraced the renunciates life and took to the secluded forest and higher elevations of the Himalayas, living in sacred Uttakasi. There he lived a life of extreme tapas (austerity), spending his time in study, reflection and meditation. During the summer months he would leave Uttakasi for Gangotri, and even today just above Gomuk where the sacred Ganges begins, there is a small place called Tapovan.

Swami Tapovan had complete mastery of the Scriptures. Sages and serious students came to study in his austere Kutir (house). He was also an eminent Sanskrit scholar and poet. He composed many hymns, commentaries and beautiful books such as, "Wandering in the Himalayas" and "Iswara Darshan".

These books give a glimpse of how a man of Divine Vision beholds Truth everywhere, playing in and through every form.

He had many seekers who came to study under him, but only a few could endure the rigorous life and completed their studies. One of these students was none other than Swami Chinmayananda. He taught Gurudev all the virtues enumerated in the Seventeenth Chapter of Geeta constituting the three forms of Tapas - physical, verbal and mental.

On the 16th of January 1957, on the Full-Moon day, at 4:30 A.M., in the Brahmamuhurtha, Swamiji gained his Mahasamadhi.

Swami Chinmayananda was an ascetic of modern India who worked ceaselessly for over four decades, spreading the Vedantic message of peace and happiness, to the classes and masses around the globe.

Balakrishna Menon was born on 8 th May, 1916, at Ernakulam, Kerela. He was an inquisitive and intelligent child. Chattambi Swamigal, a musician saint predicted a spiritual future for the boy.

Mere degrees in Law and Literature did not satisfy him. Sensitive to the freedom struggle around him, he joined the Indian Independence Movement in 1942. Poverty, suppression, starvation, prison life and a brush with death made him reflective. He became Chief Reporter of the National Herald at Delhi. He earned the reputation of being the “loud and dynamic voice” of all controversial issues like British rule. The radical journalist in him wanted to expose the “bluff of the masters” and off he went to Rishikesh to interview Swami Shivananda. But this meeting transformed him. The skeptic in Menon simply dissolved. Swami Shivananda initiated him into the holy order of Sannyas on the 25 th February 1949. He was named Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati – one who revels in the Bliss of Pure Consciousness.

His austerity strengthened under the great Himalayan hermit, Swami Tapovanam, who taught him the scriptures, discipline and service to mankind. Returning to the plains, Swami Chinmayananda gave his first talk “Let us be Hindus”, at a Ganesh Temple in Pune. Thus was born the Chinmaya Mission in December 1951. From then on, he became a globe trotter touching the hearts of millions, including the scholars at Harvard and M.I.T. and the UN Assembly.

His name became synonymous with the Bhagavad Geeta and the Upanishads. He brought about a revival of Indian Culture and spirituality. He was chosen to be the President for the centenary celebrations of the World Parliament of Religions at Chicago. Just prior to that, he attained Mahasamadhi at San Diego, USA on 3 rd August 1993.

His legacy remains in the form of the Global Chinmaya Mission. He has authored more than 250 books and written commentaries on various scriptural texts.