Swami Tejomayananda

Pujya Guruji, as he is known popularly, is the spiritual head of Chinmaya Mission, Worldwide. One of the most accomplished masters of Vedānta today, Guruji has conducted over 300 Gnana Yajnas throughout the world. He excels in expounding upon a wide spectrum of Hindu scriptures, including Rāmāyaņa, Bhāgavatam, the Bhagavad Gīta, and the Upanishads. A fantastic combination of the knowledge and clarity of Vedānta and the divine nectar of bhakti, he also is a great example of a Karmayogi, whom one would like to emulate. Naturally, he is our inspiration, too.

Guruji, in his own words, has grown in his journey of music from being a casual listener, to becoming a keen lover, and now a composer of music. He listens to music from any part of India with utmost interest and has a collection of his most-loved selections from various tapes. His melodious bhajans and kirtans are filled with devotion, and often hold listeners spellbound.

Guruji claims that the radio programmeme Sangeet Sarita which is played on Vividh Bharati, is his teacher, and that his deep knowledge of Ragas could put a trained classical singer to shame. His love for the harmonium is well-known, and he loves anyone who can sing, and play the harmonium well.

Guruji’s cassettes and CDs are most loved by the followers of Chinmaya Mission, through which they receive his abundant love and blessings.
 

Smt. Susheela Acharya

A jewel in the ornament of Chinmaya Mission, Smt. Susheela Acharya, or simply Amma, is a major inspiration for Chinmaya Swaranjali. Her compositions in Hindi, Sanskrit and Kannada, form a strong resource material for many singers of the Mission and outside of it. Her works do not limit themselves to just music composition, but include lyrics, as well as background scores. Her masterpiece composition, Ananda Paramananda Sacchidananda Chinmayananda, will remain in the hearts of Chinmaya devotees for years to come.  

A self-taught musician, Amma has a great grasp of music, and is able to identify nuances, differentiate between and compose in several Hindustani and Carnatic ragas. She claims to owe her popularity mainly to Chinmaya Mission, which gave her the platform to blossom as a musician. Her compositions have flooded the audio market of the Mission. She has to her credit as a composer, cassettes like Amrutvarsha, Anandavarsha, Kritajnata, Srimata, Ganesha Vaibhava and others, sung by her students. 

Amma conducted a Chinmaya bhajan class in Chembur for more than 30 years. With Swami Tejomayanandaji’s blessings, she named the group Chinmaya Naada Bindu. Currently, some of her students are conducting bhajan classes in different parts of the city. The name given to the group has now been adopted for the proposed residential school of dance and music at Chinmaya Vibhooti, Kolwan, Maharashtra, again with the blessings of Swami Tejomayanandaji. 

Self-contented that she is, awards, recognition and felicitations sit lightly on this musical giant. She says, “What more can I ask for, when I have been blessed and recognised by Swami Chinmayanandaji himself? That is the greatest award I could ask for.” Swami Tejomayanandaji too loves her dearly for her melodious harmonium playing. 

Besides shining forth in the field of music, she has also served in the Kannada Theatre of Mumbai for over a period of 20 years as one of its talented actresses in her younger days, and was recently felicitated for this very reason by Kannada Kala Kendra, Mumbai.