Swami Chinmayanada was a great Saint who traversed the planet for nearly eight decades. He was the torch bearer of Indian values and ethics for a good part of the twentieth century. The good work of Swami Chinmayananda began with his though provoking Gnana Yagnas and he had conducted 576 such Yagnas over 42 years by straddling all over the world. Magazines, books, videos and activities recorded his work. His lectures on the Bhagavad Gita were professionally recorded in 1991 in California at Krishnalaya and it continues to be an inspiration for everyone. He had also founded the Chinmaya International Foundation in the year 1989 at Veliyanad, Kerala which happens to be the ancestral maternal home of the spiritual master Adi Sankara. The work and mission of Swami Chinmayananda has interestingly been recognised and documented in the comic form by the 'Amar Chitra Katha' founded by another great son of India - Anant Pai. The founding of the 'Chinmaya Mission' in the year 1953, heralded a new innings for value based living in iron age of Kali. Over the decades the Mission has grown into a huge Banyan Tree which symbolises Lord Dakshinamurthy imparting knowledge to the seekers and nowadays, the Chinmaya Mission manages over 100 schools, 8 colleges and one university with nearly 1,00,000 students on their rolls. A peep into the work of the institutions initiated by His Holiness Swami Chinmayananda (1916 - 1993) offers a deep insight that is required for the stakeholders concerned with education. There are many boards and systems now a days but the Chinmaya Model offers the best panacea for all the evils that are plaguing the world of today. A visit to the Chinmaya Matriculation Higher Secondary School near the 'Pal Company' in the neighbourhood of Thadagam road will expose one to their wonderful methods.
The "Forgiving Tree" at the school is one feature introduced by the Principal Meera Jackson and this large Peepal tree is available for students who wish forgive some one. They simply forgive someone by writing the name of the person on a piece of paper and let it dangle from the tree. The Principal is charged with energy while talking about the slew of programmes launched at this 40 year old school, "Our school has a unique way of conducting the everyday assembly. We conduct the assembly in English on Mondays and Fridays, Tamil on Tuesdays and Saturdays, Sanskrit on Wednesday and Hindi on Thursday. On the English days the students read out the 'National Pledge' and we hoist the National Flag. On the Tamil days the 'Tamil Thai Vazhthu' is rendered by the kids. Every assembly includes a 3 time recitation of the 'Medha Sooktham', 9 time recitation of the' Mrityunjaya Mantram', news reading, one couplet of 'Thirukkural', a proverb for the day and on each Thursday a teacher will address the students. We do a lot more than academics and our 'Bhagavad Gita' contest is quite successful. This year we are on the 17 th chapter and the students learn two slokhas per month and the whole chapter gets covered by June. Thereafter they recite the complete chapter till September and the whole school takes part in the contest. The students have a quizz based on the publications brought out by the Chinmaya Mission on each Wednesday and a current affairs quiz on Fridays. A 10 minute 'Japa' writing helps the students to calm down everyday and each hour starts with the recitation of 'Sahanabhavathu' and ends with the 'Shanthi Mantram'. The teachers share the lesson plan by email and all the class rooms have a smart board. The teacher is free to implement the guidelines set in the 'Chinmaya Vision Programme' in a flexible manner using individual creativity. Ours is a vegetarian school and we do not permit the students to have non veg within the campus. I as the Principal plan the major programmes for the school in accordance with the vision of Gurudev."
"The first Chinmaya School came up in the year 1964 and the objective was to 'Transform Indians' in order to 'Transform India'. The Mission has a set of guidelines or objectives which address value based education and it includes patriotism, culture, health, hygiene among other things. The 'Chinmaya Vision Programme' offers guidelines, training sessions and assessment. Any school in India or elsewhere can become a 'Chinmaya Vision School' by joining the same by also paying a nominal fee. The Chinmaya website permits such institutions to make use of the videos, training programmes as per the schedule. Institutions like the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan , Amritsar are part of this programme. Besides, there are 3 day residential programmes for students pursuing their 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th standards. The teachers have their own set of training programmes. Every segment have their own reading material which comes in the form of magazines or news letters. The 'Bal Vihar' is for students up to class 8 while the 'Udgosh' addresses the older kids. The 'Tapovan Prasad' is meant for the teachers. The teachers have a spiritual class on each Wednesday. The Swamijis of the Mission under the present leader Swami Tejomayananda do their best at the schools through out the year. All this and much more makes the Chinmaya network very useful for the country", added the task oriented Principal, Meera Jackson.
The 'Chinmaya Vision Programme' is the USP or the Unique Selling Preposition of the 'Chinmaya Mission' and the implementation at the teacher student level differs based on individual approach but it ensures that the noble ideals of the same are implemented with prompt regularity. Every topic or subject is approached by the teacher based on their choice as to which objective of the vision is actualised.
"Our Bal Sevak Award is a fabulous initiative. It basically imbibes the concept of social work in the student community. As per the norms a student has to put in 120 hours of his or her time in the interest of others. A total of 20 hours has to be spent at home, 20 hours at school, 20 hours with the society the rest with an NGO (Non Governmental Organisation). Please remember that the work has to be validated. About 100 students from our school have received this award so far", spoke the Principal with a sense of commitment.
The concept of sharing duties and responsibilities are imbibed while the students are made to participate in the pooja and offerings made to Goddess Saraswathi at the school campus too. From the 35 minute assembly to making the school a green one, the slew of initiatives are far reaching in this non for profit initiative. The school is also supported by mentors like T.S.Sivanantham who works with the teachers with the objective of ensuring the best delivery of the goals of the Chinmaya Mission. The Chinmaya Model of Value Based Education is important in the commercial present were our focus is only on individual profit at any cost.
The "Forgiving Tree" at the school is one feature introduced by the Principal Meera Jackson and this large Peepal tree is available for students who wish forgive some one. They simply forgive someone by writing the name of the person on a piece of paper and let it dangle from the tree. The Principal is charged with energy while talking about the slew of programmes launched at this 40 year old school, "Our school has a unique way of conducting the everyday assembly. We conduct the assembly in English on Mondays and Fridays, Tamil on Tuesdays and Saturdays, Sanskrit on Wednesday and Hindi on Thursday. On the English days the students read out the 'National Pledge' and we hoist the National Flag. On the Tamil days the 'Tamil Thai Vazhthu' is rendered by the kids. Every assembly includes a 3 time recitation of the 'Medha Sooktham', 9 time recitation of the' Mrityunjaya Mantram', news reading, one couplet of 'Thirukkural', a proverb for the day and on each Thursday a teacher will address the students. We do a lot more than academics and our 'Bhagavad Gita' contest is quite successful. This year we are on the 17 th chapter and the students learn two slokhas per month and the whole chapter gets covered by June. Thereafter they recite the complete chapter till September and the whole school takes part in the contest. The students have a quizz based on the publications brought out by the Chinmaya Mission on each Wednesday and a current affairs quiz on Fridays. A 10 minute 'Japa' writing helps the students to calm down everyday and each hour starts with the recitation of 'Sahanabhavathu' and ends with the 'Shanthi Mantram'. The teachers share the lesson plan by email and all the class rooms have a smart board. The teacher is free to implement the guidelines set in the 'Chinmaya Vision Programme' in a flexible manner using individual creativity. Ours is a vegetarian school and we do not permit the students to have non veg within the campus. I as the Principal plan the major programmes for the school in accordance with the vision of Gurudev."
"The first Chinmaya School came up in the year 1964 and the objective was to 'Transform Indians' in order to 'Transform India'. The Mission has a set of guidelines or objectives which address value based education and it includes patriotism, culture, health, hygiene among other things. The 'Chinmaya Vision Programme' offers guidelines, training sessions and assessment. Any school in India or elsewhere can become a 'Chinmaya Vision School' by joining the same by also paying a nominal fee. The Chinmaya website permits such institutions to make use of the videos, training programmes as per the schedule. Institutions like the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan , Amritsar are part of this programme. Besides, there are 3 day residential programmes for students pursuing their 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th standards. The teachers have their own set of training programmes. Every segment have their own reading material which comes in the form of magazines or news letters. The 'Bal Vihar' is for students up to class 8 while the 'Udgosh' addresses the older kids. The 'Tapovan Prasad' is meant for the teachers. The teachers have a spiritual class on each Wednesday. The Swamijis of the Mission under the present leader Swami Tejomayananda do their best at the schools through out the year. All this and much more makes the Chinmaya network very useful for the country", added the task oriented Principal, Meera Jackson.
The 'Chinmaya Vision Programme' is the USP or the Unique Selling Preposition of the 'Chinmaya Mission' and the implementation at the teacher student level differs based on individual approach but it ensures that the noble ideals of the same are implemented with prompt regularity. Every topic or subject is approached by the teacher based on their choice as to which objective of the vision is actualised.
"Our Bal Sevak Award is a fabulous initiative. It basically imbibes the concept of social work in the student community. As per the norms a student has to put in 120 hours of his or her time in the interest of others. A total of 20 hours has to be spent at home, 20 hours at school, 20 hours with the society the rest with an NGO (Non Governmental Organisation). Please remember that the work has to be validated. About 100 students from our school have received this award so far", spoke the Principal with a sense of commitment.
The concept of sharing duties and responsibilities are imbibed while the students are made to participate in the pooja and offerings made to Goddess Saraswathi at the school campus too. From the 35 minute assembly to making the school a green one, the slew of initiatives are far reaching in this non for profit initiative. The school is also supported by mentors like T.S.Sivanantham who works with the teachers with the objective of ensuring the best delivery of the goals of the Chinmaya Mission. The Chinmaya Model of Value Based Education is important in the commercial present were our focus is only on individual profit at any cost.