Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, Powai (Mumbai)
सान्दीपनि साधनालय, पवई (मुंबई)
- Established
- 9 January 1963
- Type
- Gurukul
- Location
- Mumbai, Maharashtra
About
Chinmaya Mission's residential academy of Advaita Vedanta, founded in 1963 by Swami Chinmayananda as a modern-day gurukula. Its two-year Vedanta Course, conducted free for selected graduates, covers the Gita and the major Upanishads with Shankara-bhashya, Sanskrit, chanting and sadhana; the 20th course begins on 10 May 2027.
Courses & areas of study
- Two-year residential Vedanta Course in English (20th course: 10 May 2027 – 10 May 2029), free for selected students
- Eligibility: graduates up to 35 years, free from family obligations, proficient in English
- Texts: Bhagavad Gita and major Upanishads with Shankara-bhashya, Brahmasutras, prakarana granthas
- Sanskrit (Paninian grammar), Vedic chanting, puja and sadhana
History
A modern-day gurukula (1963)
Swami Chinmayananda conceived Sandeepany Sadhanalaya as a "modern-day gurukula" to train full-time teachers of Advaita Vedanta who would carry the knowledge back to their communities. It was founded on 9 January 1963 as the first residential academy of Advaita Vedanta, under the shadow of the 1962 India–China war, and named after Rishi Sandeepany, the guru of Shri Krishna; the name itself means "that which illumines". The first batch of 30 students in 1963 studied for six years; today the course runs for two.
The Vedanta Course
Students withdraw fully from worldly life for two years and follow a disciplined ashram schedule of study, sadhana, satsang and seva. The curriculum, designed to develop "both the head and the heart", includes Paninian grammar; Vedic chanting such as the Rudram, Purusha Suktam and Taittiriya Upanishad; prakarana texts from Tattva Bodha to Vivekachudamani and Panchadashi; the whole Bhagavad Gita and the major Upanishads with Shankara's commentary; the first adhikaranas of the Brahmasutras; and bhakti texts such as the Bhagavatam and Narada Bhakti Sutra. Swami Chinmayananda's disciples went on to teach at ten Sandeepany Sadhanalayas around the world.