Swami Sharanananda
Swami Sharanananda hails from Puri in Orissa. Being inspired by Pujya Gurudev H.H. Swami Chinmayananda, he joined the two year brahmachari training course in Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, Mumbai, in the year 1986.
Swamiji was trained by H.H. Swami Tejomayananda. He was given Brahmachari Diksha in 1988 and became Br. Sharana Chaitanya.
Swamiji has served Chinmaya Mission centers in Anugul, Rourkela, & Calcutta and has been the resident Acharya at Chinmaya Mission Chicago since March 1993.
On July 9, 1995 Swamiji was initiated into Sanyasa Diksha by H.H. Swami Tejomayananda and became Swami Sharanananda. He conducts yogasana and other scriptural classes during Chinmaya Mission family camps in America and Canada. Swamiji likes to be with children and loved by all the children. He places great importance on value based living.
Swami Aparajitananda
In his early years, Swami Aparajitananda Ji earned his professional degrees in Electronics and Communication Engineering. He went on to serve as a respected professor at an Engineering college in Bangalore for five years. However, driven by a deep spiritual calling, he renounced his professional career to dedicate himself fully to the study of Indian scriptures.
Swamiji underwent rigorous spiritual training at the esteemed Sandeepany Sadhanalaya in Mumbai, completing the intensive two-year Residential Vedanta Course. Upon completion, he joined the Chinmaya Mission as a full-time Brahmachari, embracing a life of service and spiritual dissemination.
On the auspicious occasion of Maha Shivaratri in 2018, Swamiji was given Sannyasa Deeksha, marking a significant milestone in his spiritual journey. Since then, he has selflessly served various Chinmaya Mission centers across Karnataka—including Bangalore, Mysore, Shimoga, and Mangalore—touching countless lives with his wisdom, humility, and unwavering dedication.
Since May 2023, Swamiji has been serving Chinmaya Mission Chicago – Yamunotri as the Resident Swami. He has also visited more than a dozen Chinmaya Mission Centers across the United States, inspiring thousands of devotees with his profound teachings on various scriptural topics, both in person and online. His deep understanding and clear articulation shine through in every discourse. Swamiji connects effortlessly with children, youth, and adults, leaving a lasting impression on all who hear him.
In 2024, Swamiji was invited to join the faculty of the Hindu Spiritual Care Program, organized by the Chinmaya International Foundation, to guide aspiring Hindu chaplains. Swamiji’s teachings from Bhagavad Gita help Hindu chaplains to provide spiritual care for seekers in joy, uncertainty, grief, relationships, hospitals and hospice care etc
Swamiji’s divine singing of bhajans and chantings reflect a deep and heartfelt devotion to God, effortlessly guiding seekers into a serene and meditative state of inner stillness and spiritual connection.
Pujya Swamiji is also an exceptional writer. His writing offers profound reflections on scriptures and timeless values, drawing inspiration from the illuminating words of Pujya Gurudev. Swamiji is renowned for his ability to articulate profound ideas with clarity, eloquence, scholarly depth and insight. Swamiji’s authored books are: Indispensable values, Read Daily Live Fully, Gurudev’s quotes with explanations part 1, part 2, part 3.
In addition, he is a regular contributor to esteemed publications, including various magazines and the renowned Mananam book series, further amplifying his impact on spiritual literature.
Shri Dhiren Khatri
Respected Dhiren Khatri was born and raised in Mumbai, India. He came to the U.S. as a child with his family and completed his high school and university studies here. After working for three years, he experienced a sense of discontentment that led him to seek a higher, more fulfilling purpose than a routine life of labor.
With an intensified longing to know more about God, Hindu scriptures, and Vedantic philosophy, Dhirenji soon learned of an opportunity to fulfill all these needs. So he left to join the two-year course of study at 'Sandeepany Sadhanalaya' in Mumbai, India. There, under the guidance of Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayananda, under Swami Advayananda, he studied the resident course acharya, and Swami Sharanananda, the resident upacharya. On the successful completion of the Vedanta Course in 2013, he became spiritual leader at Chinmaya Mission Chicago centers. He currently conducts Vedanta classes at Yamunotri, Badri, & Chicago City center.