Acharya Darshana Nanavaty

Then came the challenge of building the content for the CJD website. A darshan or vision of Chinmaya Jivan – the life of Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda necessarily must show how a young worldly Balakrishnan Menon transformed himself to become an immortal Guru and God on earth. From just being a mortal to finding His identity with the Supreme Divine Brahman, Gurudev showed us both the way and the highest goal of life. Thus, Chinmaya Jivan Darshan took the form of a virtual mountain where we embark on a spiritual journey – the left side of the mountain to show the journey of the Master and the right side of the mountain to show our journey with the Master! Children, who are so dear to Pujya Gurudev, can ‘climb’ the path of spiritual transformation, the journey with the Master through the graded pathway of the Balavihar (BV) curriculum. The BV curriculum was in fact a divine resolve of Pujya Gurudev Himself when he commanded me, one unexpected afternoon in 1991, to prepare the books for Balavihar! Again in 2004, Pujya Guruji instructed me to develop grade-wise Balavihar curriculum for worldwide use. In fact, it was through Pujya Gurudev’s words, teachings, and blessing that the right side of the virtual CJD mountain took shape to show the path for children to become spiritually aware, young seekers. When students of Balavihar complete their learning of the Bhagavad Gita, they are ready to take the journey with the adults to the top of the mountain! The path of adults, designed as the left side of the CJD mountain, is truly a journey with the Master because it is climbed with the support of His voice and words. It starts with Logic of Spirituality, a few basic texts of Vedanta, His matchless Gita jnana yajna teachings that guide us 365 days a year, and His timeless message of the Upanishads. When we have learned with the enthusiasm of children and listened through adulthood with deep interest, the top of CJD mountain is the place to meet the Master in meditation – our spiritual journey culminates with His Grace-filled guidance. Hari Om!