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Chinmaya Mission's Vedanta institutes for spiritual studies were named by founder Swami Chinmayananda as 'Sandeepany'-s (prounounced saan-dee-panee). He said, "Sandeepany symbolizes the perfect kindling and the kindling of Perfection in the hearts of men."
In ancient times, the great sage, Maharshi Sandeepany, headed a gurukula, where spiritual knowledge, scriptural teachings, martial arts, and all aspects of learning were imparted to resident disciples. Gurukulas were much more than today's boarding school and the students stayed under the tutelage, protection, and nurturing of their guru for approximately ten years. Students and their guru resided together as a family. Maharshi Sandeepany's most famed disciple was none other than Lord Krishna.
Swami Chinmayananda thus chose 'Sandeepany' as Chinmaya Mission's first Vedantic learning and spiritual training academy in Mumbai, India. This title later came to be used generically for all of the Mission's Vedantic institutes, which sprouted in various parts of India and offered two-year residential training in the respective regional languages.
Studies at a Sandeepany institute are intense and intensive to say the least. Fully dedicated to the disciples' spiritual education and growth, the two-year residential course is standard in its syllabus and traditional in its teaching method.
Disciples learn Advaita Vedanta based on various scriptural texts, the primary three being the Prasthana-traya, or the major Upanishads, Shrimad Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahma Sutras. These texts are studied based on the respective commentary by Adi Shankaracharya. Also studied are Sanskrit grammar, Vedic chanting, and select Vedantic introductory texts, devotional masterpieces, and original compositions of various spiritual masters.
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Spiritual seekers, regardless of their upbringing and faith, are carefully selected and interviewed before being accepted to undergo the intensive, residential training in Vedic literature. A university degree is a mandatory prerequisite. Married students must have their spouse's permission to join, and unmarried students must have their parents' permission to join.
Established in 1963, Sandeepany Sadhanalaya in Powai, Mumbai was the first institute of Vedanta formed by Swami Chinmayananda. It commenced with Swami Chinmayananda himself as the Acharya (teacher).
The two-year residential Vedanta course in English now commences and concludes at Sandeepany Sadhanalaya on the auspicious day of Ganesha Chaturthi. A year after its conclusion, another course begins. The 13th batch of spiritual students completed their course in September 2007.
For further details and information on the ashram please click on this link
Sandeepany in the Himalayas was named by Swami Chinmayananda as 'Sandeepany HIM.' Situated and administered by Chinmaya Tapovan Trust in Sidhabari, Himachal Pradesh, this is the second of Chinmaya Mission's Vedantic institutes in India. All other course factors remaining the same, the only difference here is the language, teaching medium being Hindi instead of English. The Sandeepany HIM Vedanta course thus trains students to serve Mission centres in Hindi-speaking areas. Swami Tejomayananda (then Brahmachari Vivek Chaitanya) was the Acharya of Sandeepany HIM's first Vedanta course, which was inaugurated in April 1981.
For further details and information on the ashram please click on this link
Sandeepany West, also known as Krishnalaya, conducted the two-year Vedanta course in English in 1979. Administered by Chinmaya Mission West (CMW) in its scenic headquarters and ashram in Piercy, in Northern California, it was the first and last course of its kind outside of India. With more students wanting to join in India, including students from outside its borders, the English Vedanta course was permanently established in the one location of Sandeepany in Mumbai.
For further details and information on the ashram please click on this link
Sandeepany institutes sprang up in various regions of India because of the need for spiritual seekers and teachers there. Thus began the same two-year residential Vedanta course in different regional languages. These courses continue to date and their frequency is dependent on the number of interested and committed students.
To date, the Vedanta course has been conducted by different acharyas, in various Chinmaya Mission ashrams in India, in the following regional languages: Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil.
Notably, 'Chinmayaranyam' in Andhra Pradesh has been conducting a highly successful 11-month course called the Dharma Veera Course, which invites and empowers more householders to perform prachara work (teach Vedanta). This concept has been replicated and offered in Sandeepany Mumbai as the Dharma Sevak Course.
This ashram is situated between Toap & Sambhapur villages, about 13 km away from the main city of Kolhapur, in Maharashtra. The first Vedanta course in Marathi is to be conducted here commencing on the auspicious Guru Poornima day in July 2008. The course acharya will be Pujya Swami Purushottamananda.
For further details and information on the ashram please click on this link
Mumbai
Tara Cultural Trust
Sandeepany Sadhanalaya
Saki Vihar Rd
Powai, Mumbai 400 072
Maharashtra, India
E-mail: jagadis@vsnl.net
Ph: +91-22-2857 0368, -2857 5805
Fax: +91-22-2857 3065
Sidhbari
R S Kalra
Chinmaya Tapovan Trust
Sandeepany HIM
Sidhbari 176 057
Himachal Pradesh, India
E-mail: ctthm@sancharnet.in
Ph: +91-1892-234324
Fax: +91-1892-236199
Other
Central Chinmaya Mission Trust
Sandeepany Sadhanalaya
Saki Vihar Rd
Powai, Mumbai 400 072
Maharashtra, India
E-mail: ccmt@vsnl.com
Ph: +91-22-2857 2367
Fax: +91-22-2857 3065
Chinmaya Sandeepany Ashram, Kolhapur
Chinmaya Seva trust Mahrashtra
Toap Sambhapur
Kolhapur 416 122
Maharashtra, India
Ph: +91-230-246 5754, 246 5073
Mobile: +91-94232 82227
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