As Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayanandaji stated, “The spirit of Advaita is not to stay away from anything but to stay in tune with everything”. Swami Siddhanandaji has stayed true to this ideal not for a minute, day, or year but for five long decades.
Swami Siddhananda was born in Kerala. After his college education, Siddhaji joined Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, Mumbai on September 15th, 1972, to study Vedanta directly from Pujya Gurudev. He successfully completed the course in April of 1975.
Swamiji served at Chinmaya Mission, Chennai from 1976-1992. During that time, Swamiji spearheaded several projects including Tapovan Prasad and Bala Vihar magazines, Chinmaya Yuva Kendra, Madras Chinmaya Seva Trust, Sarveshwara Dhyana Nilayam and the Chinmaya Vidyalaya.
In August of 1992, Swamiji took charge at Adi Shankara Nilayam, Cochin leading all Chinmaya International Foundation activities in the early years.
In 1994, Swamiji arrived in the USA to take care of Chinmaya Publications West. While working tirelessly leading Chinmaya Publications, Swamiji also conducts Bal Vihar, Study Group, Satsang and Bhajan Sandhya. Swamiji’s dynamism in spreading Gurudev’s work has resulted in four vibrant Chinmaya Centers – Kedar, Madhuvan, Ramalaya and Sudarshan in the Philadelphia area of Pennsylvania East.
Siddhaji is also an artist, composer and accomplished singer who has released seven devotional albums.
Swamiji’s fifty plus glorious years on the path of Karma, Jnana and Bhakti has not been one of inertia. “We can, We Must!”- Swamiji continues to inspire devotees worldwide with his enthusiastic leadership style, teamwork, oratory skills and the essence of Vedanta.
After chanting the Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 6: Dhy?na Yoga: Verse# 1, select “Yes” to record your participation.
