A typical Balavihar class starts with the chanting of three "Omkars" followed by the Guru Stotram. Then they sing a few bhajans and learn new ones. They have sessions in story telling, quiz etc. They end the class with the Balavihar anthem and finally they stand to take the Mission pledge-nowadays in some centres, this is taken in the Sanskrit language. In most classes children get toffees at the end of the class. The Balavihars have been the most popular and effective programmes in any Mission centre.

The reasons are many-the programme is easy to organize, does not need elaborate infrastructure like hiring a venue or a sound system, sevikas/sevaks are enthusiastic to spend time with the children and for conducting a Balavihar class sevaks do not need to make elaborate textbook preparations. In fact there are many instances where a Balavihar has flourished to grow into a full-fledged Mission centre-for example, in Kolkata Balavihar started in 1969 and is still very active. The sevika who started the Balavihar in Kolkata went to New York on an assignment for a dance programme; she started a Balavihar in New York. There are many members of the Mission who, though not sevikas, are ready to help with Balavihar activities. In the West also, the grass-root level activity of Balavihar is most popular. The Chinmaya Mission centre in Houston is a case in point-it started with Balavihar activity where the parents were to become compulsorily members of the adult group for Vedanta classes. Today the centre is one of the most successful centres of the Chinmaya Mission. There are 250 families as members and 150 children in the Balavihar classes. The mission centre at Ann Arbor, Michigan, also started as a Balavihar class in Long Island by Sharada and Kumar. Encouraged by Swamiji, they continued the Balavihar activity at Ann Arbor when they moved. The classes were in the basement of their house with a few children. It grew by leaps and bounds to 100 children and the venue changed to a nearby school. Today the centre is a full-fledged one with a lot of activity.

In Mumbai, Uncle Mani started Balavihar activity in 1965. In four years Mumbai had 2205 children divided into 63 classes with 58 sevaks/sevikas. Today in the fourteen areas in Mumbai there are more than 100 Balavihar classes. The children of Balavihar show a marked improvement in all their activities. They are happier, more stable and friendly. Because of the strong spiritual foundation some of the Balavihar children are today Swamis/ordained workers of the Mission.

The Balavihar activity of the Chinmaya Movement has touched the lives of thousands of children all over the world. As Swamiji would say, " Our children are our Future." Balavihar activity of the Mission ensures that the future of the Movement is bright and luminous.

Youthfulness attracts the young and the old. The springboard of dynamism and cheerfulness in the form of Swami Chinmayananda attracted a large number of youth from his early days of discourses. But it was in early sixties when he went to institutions of higher education that youth started realizing the need to know more about Vedanta.

The youth felt that they needed to be guided, moulded. They needed to be loved. The youth were searching for some master who would look into their problems and the problems were plenty. The youth lacked a sense of direction and purpose. Their view of life was narrow and self-hurting. They were unable to face their situations and felt frustrated. They took to various wrong habits and false notions. They were becoming escapists. They were also feeling lonely. They wanted to be loved but were never wanting to give love. Who could guide them in such situations? After each discourse of Swamiji they would meet him and ask so many questions on life and living that Swamiji felt something had to be done for the youth.

Chinmaya Mission had started Balavihars for the kids going to school. Study groups for elders, Devi groups for ladies were available, but what about youth? Probably the time was not ripe so Swamiji went on encouraging elders to conduct teenagers' classes to give them some direction.

It was in 1975 at Bangalore after a 5-day camp of teenagers that he felt the time was ripe to start the Chinmaya Youth forum. This was renamed as Chinmaya Yuva Kendra as Swamiji felt that it should not be misunderstood as a political youth forum.

The news about starting of Chinmaya Yuva Kendra (CHYK) spread in all mission centres like wildfire. Within a year in all major cities the CHYK started functioning. Swamiji's disciple Br. Haridas, a nuclear scientist in his poorvashram, was appointed as the General Secretary of the Yuva Kendra.

The first All India youth camp was organized in the year 1976 at Chennai. In 1977 a youth camp at Pune attracted large crowds from all over Maharashtra. In Mumbai, Bangalore, Coimbatore and other such places, Study groups for the young started in all parts of the cities. In Chennai, Pune and other such cities the youth got inclined to do wonderful cultural programmes. In cities like Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam, the youth started projects for social service.

In the year 1979 another youth camp was organized in Mumbai at the Sandeepany Sadhanalaya. Youth from far-flung places like Kolkata and Assam also participated in good numbers. By this time the youth were regularly attending the CHYK classes. They organized series of lectures on various topics of the interest to the youth. They helped in organizing the yajnas by various disciples of Swamiji. They started taking Balavihars and due to their enthusiasm the number of Balavihar classes increased manifold. They became true pillars of the Chinmaya Movement.

It was in 1980 that the Chennai CHYK presented to the world their fantastic histrionic talents through their famous programme on Ramayana, 'Kambar', in Light and Sound, (a sonne et luminaire). This multi-stage drama where live characters depicted the beautiful epic was liked by one and all. Several shows were performed and the mission earned good name and money from these shows. The youth got a chance to learn choreography, publicity, dramatics, event managing etc. Close on the heels, Mumbai CHYK organized M. S. Subbalakshmi Night, by which more than Rs. one lakh was collected. This was handed over to Swamiji to buy a flat in the suburb of Mumbai for starting a small mission centre. Taking the cue from Chennai, Pune organized 'Samarth Ramdas' in light and sound. This multi-stage dance-drama brought to life the upbringing and teachings of Shri Swami Samarth Ramdas. More than 50 shows of both these light and Sound programmes have been performed so far. The light and sound show on Kambar was performed in Sri Lanka also.

In the year 1981 Swamiji gave a new idea to Mumbai Chyks. And from that came out the CHYK Soul Song Nite. This was an audio-visual presentation of devotionals with lively orchestra and appropriate slides. These shows brought ecstasy to one and all. Bangalore has now excelled in such programmes.

In the year 1983 another youth camp was organized at Tirunelveli. Here the CHYK got its first President in Dr. Shrikant Jichkar, a young scholar from Nagpur having a number of degrees to his credit, who was also the youngest minister in the Maharashtra Cabinet.

Come December 1983 and the First International Spiritual Camp was organized in Mumbai. A torch march from Pune to Mumbai indicating the journey of the Movement with floating exhibition was organized. More than a hundred youth took part in this unique event. During the camp CHYK representatives from various centres participated in the discussions. It was observed that in nineteen cities of India, the CHYK had a strong presence.

Soul Song Nite by CHYK Kolkata, A cultural blitz by CHYK Vijayawada, relief work following the Latur earthquake by Bangalore Chyks, Seva projects of chyks of Adoni and Chennai, and flood relief work by Orissa chyks deserve a mention here.

In that eventful year Swamiji gave a new programme called CAMTRACON i.e. CAMP-TRAINING-CONFERENCE. Parindra Kadakia was made the Secretary General of All India CHYK and was asked to coordinate that programme. It simply implied that not only spirituality should be taught but training be given in conducting CHYK classes, Balavihar classes, public speaking etc. Also the young had to be organized for meaningful discussions so that all took up work to fulfill the great vision as given by Swamiji.

Given below are the year-wise events of the CHYK:

1984: First All India CHYK Conference at Coimbatore. Shri. H. N. Ramathirtha was made the President of AICHYK. CHYK worked hard for Hundi collection for the first ever Chinmaya Kumbh Mela at Siruvani Ashram.

1985: The first ever Balavihar Camp with Swami Tejomayananda at Mumbai and starting of such camps all over India.

1986: Temple visits and Cycle and Motor cycle yatras all over India.

1986: Chinmaya Seva Camp at Chinmayaranyam.

1987: Swamiji's 70^th birthday celebrations at Shanmukhananda Hall. CHYK performed Soul Song Nites.

1987: Hanuman Abhishek, Sidhbari. CHYK participated in large numbers from all over India.

1988: Regional camps all over India.

1989: New guidelines for AICHYK.

1991: First national youth convention at Bangalore.

1993: CHYK Camp at Sidhbari with Pujya Gurudev.

At the moment there are 70 CHYK centres in India and around 10 abroad.

The Study group movement was conceived as a means of ensuring continued interest in the study of the scriptures. A Study group meets each week for an hour and a half at a place offered by some devotee or other. The course of study is graded so as to make it easy for members to imbibe gradually the deeper suggestions made in the scriptures. A Study group follows three disciplines-first self-study, then enlightened discussion, and, finally, reflection on the knowledge gained in class. Swami Dayananda, one of the senior disciples of Swami Chinmayananda, and a pioneer in Study group activity, once said: "Knowledge is acquired by inquiry. And knowledge acquired should be free from error, vagueness and doubt." He was a group sevak in the first Study group started by the mission in Chennai in the 1950s.

In a manual prepared in 1965 Chinmaya Study Groups-How to Organize and Conduct-Swami Chinmayananda compared the activity of Study groups to winnowing grain-separation of the chaff from the grain. He said: "In the breeze of discussions, in the wind of arguments, the chaff gets blown off and the true teachings in the clear depth become evident. This is discriminative knowledge". He added that the ground for the Study group was the opportunity for reflection. This kind of inquiry which removes "error, vagueness and doubt" and through which we come to own the knowledge is called manana or reflection; it is a process of purification through analysis.

Study group activities have been the backbone of the Chinmaya Movement. To quote Swami Dayananda again: "Study Groups help you to provide opportunities for reflection." The Yajnashala is where the seeker listens to the teachings in the scriptures-this is called shravana and the Study group takes you to the next step in learning i.e. reflection or manana. When the seeker of knowledge takes these two steps successfully, the third step is meditation i.e. single-pointed concentration. It is also called nididhyasana. Swami Chinmayananda advised, "Once you have gained discriminative knowledge, run away from the Study group. Apply them to your life and realize the State of Truth in yourself."

The core concept of Study group is the study of the scriptures by those who long to benefit from the perennial wisdom of the rishis. The method of study is to meet regularly at a common place and discuss a specific topic. When we meet in a Study group, the idea is primarily to practice reflection and also to cultivate the art of communicating knowledge to others. The Study group will have the guidance of a trained sevak. In the formative years, when the concept of Study groups was first being implemented, there were orientation camps at the Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, Mumbai for Group Sevaks. Now, thanks to the availability of a large number of senior sevaks in the field, the training of new members is the responsibility of senior sevaks and Study group coordinators. Any member who has completed successfully the study of the first three books of the graded course-viz. Kindle Life, Bhaja Govindam and Atma Bodha-is eligible to be a sevak.

The Study group activity calls for regularity in attendance. Swami Chinmayananda used to insist on the Group Sevak maintaining an attendance register. He even used to check the attendance register maintained at some centres. If a member is found to be irregular, the group sevak takes the initiative and gets in touch with him or he writes a letter to him asking him to be regular. Members should not only be regular but also come prepared with the topic allotted for discussion. Preparation helps crystallize thoughts, when there is any doubt the member can get it cleared in the class. The Group Sevak's role is to act as a catalytic agent as also to ensure that there is meaningful discussion. He also helps in clearing the doubts of members and, where necessary, expand the ideas generated in class. For the Group Sevak it is a means of doing his sadhana.

A well-conducted class contributes to the self-development of a member by enhancing his powers of analytical thinking and inculcates the art of listening, patience, and reverence for others. It also provides fellowship. What is more, it strengthens his sense of belonging, as it were to the same fraternity.

Giving guidance once to Group Sevaks, Swami Tejomayananda, the Head of the Chinmaya Mission worldwide, laid emphasis on commitment and said that it was the responsibility of each Study group member to make the discussion fruitful and interesting.

On a rough calculation of the figures reported to Central Chinmaya Mission Trust (CCMT) by over 150 centres in India, we can safely hazard the guess that there are over 800 Study groups which means that with 10 members in each Study group on an average, the number of seekers who meet on a weekly basis would be over eight thousand. The Chinmaya Movement has to its credit the spiritual development of these people on an ongoing basis. Some choose to make an in-depth study of the Vedanta by joining the Vedanta course; others remain householders and continue to teach. They are encouraged to get more training and knowledge through attending Yajnas, camps for sevaks/sevikas, Dharma Sevak courses etc. arranged by the Mission.

A Study group meeting starts with an invocation and ends with Shanti path.

Swami Chinmayananda finalized the scheme of study of the texts for Study groups twenty-five years ago. Recently, Swami Tejomayananda revised the scheme taking into account the facts that new texts had been introduced and there was some overlapping of texts in the adult and Yuva Kendra Study groups. He divided the graded study into two parts-Part I, called the "The Basic Scheme of Study" and Part II, called "The Advanced Scheme of Study". The scheme is meant to cater to a) Adults, b) Junior Chyks and c) Senior Chyks.

A detailed tabulated scheme of study follows.

ADULT STUDY GROUPS

PART I: Basic Scheme of study

Every text has a central theme around which it revolves. Look for this first. Each verse should be taken up in the following sequence: First, the word meaning, then the translation of the entire verse, followed by the commentary and finally, the sum and substance of the verse."

- H. H. Swami Tejomayananda

CHYK STUDY GROUPS