Introduction

The Chinmaya Mission centre in Melbourne is called “Chinmaya Dham”, located in the suburb of Templestowe. It was established first in 1981, thanks to the incessant efforts of an ardent devotee of Swami Chinmayananda, Dr K.T. Ganapathy, known affectionately as “Mataji”. Inspired by the idea of serving her Guru, she took up the challenge of gathering a small group of people together in a living room to conduct study groups. The sincerity of their seeking was soon rewarded when Swami Chinmayananda came to visit the (then) fledgling Melbourne centre on two occasions. Since those humble beginnings, the Chinmaya Dham centre in Melbourne has now grown into a vibrant hub of activity. Several classes for young and old are held there on a weekly basis, ranging in topics such as Hindu Culture, Yoga, Meditation, Sanskrit, Vedanta and so on.