Chinmaya Archana
Chinmaya Archana, the new ashram of CM Columbus, was officially inaugurated by Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayananda on August 5, 2008 with Lord Narayana & Goddess Lakshmi as the presiding deities. Later in the evening, Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayanandji conducted a lecture on "We Can We Must" to a full house audience. Resident Acharya Brni. Aparna Chaitanya, Br. Uddhav Chaitanya from Texas and Swami Sharananandaji from Chicago were also present to grace the occasion.
Guruji expounded on things we know we can do but do not actually take the time and effort to do so. He talked about the barriers in taking right action such as our deeply ingrained habits of laziness and procrastination. An interesting quote he mentioned was "If you always DO what you always DID, You will always GET what you always GOT!" He drove the point home that if we only take the first step in the right direction, all help will come to us in unexpected ways. This is the implicit faith we must have in God or even if we do not believe in God, have implicit faith in our own inner potential and keep thinking positively. Even though the talk lasted for an hour, the practical nature of the subject and its application in our daily life was very well received by the audience and they were left wanting more!
Our Core Activities
Balavihar: Weekly classes on cultural heritage of India, the Hindu moral values using the medium of stories, drama, arts and crafts, and discussion. Chinmaya Mission centers have become models for teaching India's rich spiritual heritage and the fundamentals of Vedanta to the next generation.
Adult Study Groups: Inspired by the vision of Vedanta, like minded seekers meet in groups of five to fifteen to study and discuss the textbooks of Vedanta. Setting aside blind belief, they analyze the scriptures in English, deepening their personal understanding and creating inspiration for personal practice.
Worship: Chinmaya Mission does not worship or enforce worship of any particular deity. Individuals are free to choose their 'Ishta Devata' (personal deity). Importance is given to establishing a personal relationship with one's Ishta Devata. It is easier to meditate on a form of the Supreme, and when as Swami Chinmayananda points out, "the wandering mind is thus brought to rest upon the idol, the intellect springs forth to contemplate and realise the ideal that the idol represents."place holder for worshiping activities. Lor Laxmi and Lord Narayana are the presiding deities at the Columbus Ashram. We conduct nitya puja, monthly abhishekam and celebrate all the festivals.
Community Outreach Programs: Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, a philosophy that inculcates an understanding that the whole world is one family. We live by our pledge, "We believe that the service of our country is the service of the Lord of lords, and devotion to the people is devotion to the supreme Self".