Swami Chinmayananda was born on May 8, 1916 as Balakrishna Menon in Ernakulam in Kerala. He was an inquisitive and intelligent child. Chattambi Swamigal, a saint known for his yogic powers predicted a great spiritual future for the boy.

Mere degrees in law and literature did not satisfy him. Sensitive to the freedom struggle around him, he joined the independence Movement in 1942. Poverty, suppression, starvation, prison life, and a brush with death made him reflective.

He undertook an assignment for The National Herald to “expose” the activities of the sadhus. "I’m going to find out how those holy men are keeping up the bluff," he told his friends as he set out for Ananda Kutir, the asrama of Swami Sivananda. His meeting with Swami Sivananda overwhelmed him and questions about the purpose of life and the secret of permanent happiness haunted him. On February 25th, 1949, along with five other students, Balakrishna was initiated into sannyasa. Swami Sivananda gave him the name "Chinmayananda Saraswati," Chinmayananda meaning "filled with the bliss of pure Consciousness".

Seeing that the new initiate needed someone who could help him understand the deeper meaning of the scriptures, Swami Sivananda sent him to Uttarkashi to study under Swami Tapovan Maharaj. Like a sculptor carving a beautiful figure from a misshapen stone, little by little Swami Tapovanam chipped away at whatever rough edges were left, sometimes using loving words, sometimes a reprimand.

Seven years later, brimming with Vedantic knowledge, with a heart overflowing with love for his countrymen, Swami Chinmayananda was ready to execute what he called the "Gangotri Plan" to spread the message of Vedanta to the masses. By the time he attained mahasamadhi in August 1993, Gurudev as he is known affectionately by his followers, had conducted 576 jnana yajnas and scores of family oriented spiritual family camps, logging thousands of miles as he traveled across the globe. "If I rest, I rust," he quipped when asked to slow down.

Gurudev 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 Advaita Vedanta as expounded by Adi Shankaracharya. His legacy remains in the form of books, audio and video tapes, schools, and social service projects, Vedanta teachers whom he taught and inspired, and Chinmaya Mission centers around the world serving the spiritual and cultural needs of local communities. He has authored more than 250 books and written commentaries on various scriptural texts.

Gurudev more than once declared that he wished to bring “Hindus back to Hinduism.” He believed that Vedanta was the spiritual birthright of every human being and that its earnest study and practice could make a Christian a better Christian, a Muslim a better Muslim and a Hindu a better Hindu, as it was universally applicable. He was a universal person in that he related to all as a true friend philosopher and guide, irrespective of age, class, caste, vocation, religion or nationality.

Gurudev can best be described in his own words, “God is the tree in your garden. The saint is the fruit in front of you”. Those innumerable souls who have eaten of this “fruit” will always relish its eternal sweetness.