Swami Chinmayananda (Our Gurudev) (1916-1993), the founder of Chinmaya Mission, was born in Cochin, India. Not satisfied with degrees in literature and law or with other worldly aspirations, he pursued the spiritual path in the Himalayas under the guidance of Swami Shivananda and Swami Tapovanam.

He taught the logic of spirituality, while emphasizing the balance of head and heart. "Selfless work, study, and meditation are the cornerstones of spiritual practice," he said. He is credited with the renaissance of spiritual and cultural values in India and with awakening the rest of the world to the ageless wisdom of Vedanta.

As the Spiritual Head of Chinmaya Mission centers worldwide, Swami Tejomayananda (Our Guruji) is fulfilling the vision that Swami Chinmayananda started. He oversees spiritual, cultural, educational, and social service activities, which are so dear to Gurudev. As he puts it, "I am not in Swamiji's shoes, I am at his feet."

Swami Tejomayananda completed the Vedanta studies at an early age of twenty, and was initiated into Samnyasa in 1983. He decided to dedicate his life to spreading the teachings of Pujya Gurudeva.

He excels in expounding upon a wide spectrum of Hindu scriptures - the Ramayana, the Bhagavad Gita, the Bhagavatam, and the Upanisads. He conducts jnana yajna-s (lecture series) on Vedanta as he moves around the world at a bewildering pace. His easy manner and devotional rendering of Vedantic texts has drawn many seekers into the spiritual fold. He is a master poet and composer who has written stotras in Samskrt, poems in Marathi and Hindi, and composes his own music. He has written commentaries on several scriptural texts, translated Gurudeva's commentaries on Srimad Bhagavad Gita into Hindi, and authored a number of books. His key contribution is, "Hindu Culture: An introduction," a text acclaimed for its clear description of the basics of Hinduism and adopted as text in some American High Schools.