Syllabus

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.

Children, please make sure to bring the following to class:

Balavihar Tote Bag
Folder with Invocation Prayers
My Prayers Book
Siddhanjali Bhajans Book

2026 - 2027 Syllabus

Grade	Room	Teachers	Syllabus & Teachers Manual	Children's Books	Syllabus Description
Pre K (Shishu Vihar)	#4 Narayanam	Parvathy Sivasamy Sharmila Kandasamy	Thank you Ganesha Sishu Vihar Bhajans	Thank you Ganesha	A playful first step into our tradition, blending simple yoga, storytelling, and slokas to introduce young children to Lord Ganesha.
KG	#3 Nandanam	Charulatha Desikan Hema Nair	ABC Alphabets Sishu Vihar Bhajans	Alphabet Safari	Children learn their letters alongside first prayers, building early familiarity with God and simple daily rituals.
1	#5 Damodaram (2nd half of room #1)	Geetha Nakela Kameswari Ganti	Bala Ramayana Tarangini-1	Tarangini 1 Bala Ramayana	Follows the story of Lord Rama through the Bala Ramayana, paired with the devotional Rama Stotram.
2	#11 Kaustubham (Open room next to bath rooms)	Amrutha Gopinath Vandana Devpura	Superman Hanuman Tarangini-2 Hanuman Chalisa Coloring book	Superman Hanuman, Hanuman Chalisa Tarangini 2	Celebrates Hanuman's strength and devotion through story and the classic Hanuman Chalisa chant.
3	#1 Shankaram	Sudakshina Paul Kiran Mathuria	Bala Bhagavatam Tarangini-3	Bala Bhagavatam 1 Tarangini 3	Introduces the Dashavatara and stories from the Bhagavatam, exploring Vishnu's many forms.
4	#13 Omkaram or Kitchen	Santhosh Srirangam Venkat Ganti	Tarangini-4 Amar Chithra Katha of Gurudev	Amar Chitra Katha on Gurudev, Incarnations of Lord Vishnu Tarangini 4	Explores Gurudev's life and the incarnations of Vishnu through illustrated stories and guided meditation.
5	#7 Shridharam (Upstairs small w. skylight)	Mini Nair Gowri Iyer	Ramayana Character's for children Tarangini-5	Characters in Ramayana Tarangini 5	Deepens the study of Ramayana characters and their virtues through recitation of the Nama Ramayana Strotram.
6	#6 Madhavam (Upstairs corner room)	Pooja Vijay Aparna Polavarapu	Shiva Mahima Junior Tarangini-6 Festivals of India	Shiva Mahima, Festivals of India Tarangini 6	Covers Lord Shiva's glory and India's festivals, connecting devotion with cultural celebration.
7	#8 Keshavam (Upstairs large room)	Srividhya Sanjeev Kala Nathan	Why Do We? Parables Key to Success Tarangini-7	Game of Life, Know what you have, parables Tarangini 7	Draws life lessons on success and gratitude from parables, paired with the Madhurashtakam chant.
8	#2 Shrivatsam (Swamiji) — do not use before 2:30	Sumita Suresh Padmaja Dasari	Characters in Mahabharata Mahabharata for Children 1&2	Characters in Mahabharata	Examines the concept of dharma through pivotal stories and characters from the Mahabharata.
9	#12 Sundaram (Upstairs windowless room)	Subha Ravishankar Vedavati Katdare	Gita for Children Values in Gita workbook		Introduces the Bhagavad Gita for children alongside key figures from the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
10	#9 Achyutam (Left wing next to bathrooms)	Harish Bidadi Amit Devpura	Gita for Yuva	Geeta for yuva	Begins a focused study of the Bhagavad Gita's teachings, tailored for young adults.
Junior CHYK	#10 Chinmayam (Temple room-multi purpose hall)	Ravi Mahadevan Sairam Innumela	Understanding Hinduism Hindu Culture Hinduism	Concepts of Hinduism	Explores core concepts of Hinduism and prepares students for seva and community involvement.
Sevak Study Group	Auditorium	Guruji	Bhagavad Geeta meaning Chapter 7		An in-depth study of Chapter 7 of the Bhagavad Gita for our young adult volunteer group.
Telegu Class	#5 Damodaram (2nd half of room #1)	Anuradha Srirangam	Intermediate		Beginner and advanced Telugu language instruction for children of all ages.
Hindi Class	#4 Narayanam #3 Nandanam #1 Shankaram #8 Keshavam (Upstairs large room) #7 Shridharam (Upstairs small w. skylight) #6 Madhavam (Upstairs corner room)	Vandana Devpura Shiva Mateti Vidya Saligrama Manisha Jain Kiran Mathuria Amit Vijay	Beginner - 1 Beginner - 2 Intermediate - 1 Intermediate - 3 Advanced - 1 Advanced - 2		Hindi language instruction across six levels, from first words to advanced fluency.
Bhagvad Gita		Sujatha Ramanujam			A children’s and adults’ Bhagavad Gita chanting and learning circle

Home

Syllabus