Mission Statement: “To help children learn values with fun, to delight like the moon and shine like the sun”
Bala Vihar, the greatest boon given by Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda to the younger generation is a weekly gathering of children between the ages of 5 to 15 years, that takes place in Chinmaya Mission Centers under the supervision of trained teachers. The aim of Bala Vihar is to help children bloom, grow, and inculcate values through fun-filled activities. Bala Vihar enhances the overall development of the personality of a child at all levels — physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual
At Chinmaya Mission Trinidad we offer Bala Vihar classes based on age group. Our teachers are sevaks who are dedicated to the spiritual growth of children through Bala Vihar classes.
What is Balavihar
“Love is to the human heart what sunshine is to flowers” said the
visionary spiritual master, Swami Chinmayananda. Anticipating the
need of the modern world for both sunshine and love, he formulated
and developed every loving, inspiring, and nurturing facet of what
stands today as the world’s most renowned and systematic Vedantic
learning forum for children: Chinmaya Bala Vihar.
Swami Chinmayananda believed that just as the strength of a wall
depends on the quality of each brick, so too, the health of a society depends on its
individual citizens. If the individuals are healthy, the society is healthy.
Bala Vihar children are encouraged to be responsible, alert and sensitive. His strategy for building a new society was to “catch them young”; The Chinmaya Bala Vihar offers weekly spiritual Vedanta classes for children in their formidable and molding years. The classes are categorized by varying age groups, start and end with Sanskrit prayers, and include chanting, bhajans, stories of devotion and morals, interactive discussions, and creative games. Conducted worldwide, the classes are based on specially designed syllabi, with the aim of accomplishing the rationale set by Swami Chinmayananda.
The greatest boon given by Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda to the younger
generation is Bala Vihar. These Bala Vihar classes provide a spiritual and cultural
orientation to children of growing up in this fast paced and rapidly changing society that we live in. The rationale of the Bala Vihars as elucidated by Pujya Gurudev in the “March of the future” talk is summarized below:
To train the children and inculcate in them a reverence for our ancient culture, and inspire them to live up to it with correct understanding.
To create self-confidence to serve and act cheerfully.
To generate a true affection in all contacts, inculcate personal discipline and a true spirit ofleadership.
To mold their capacity to express and assert their individuality.
To bring out their dormant faculties and detect defects; cultivate and improve their creative abilities.
To help children to develop a healthy resistance against temptations in the atmosphere in which they grow.
To provide an atmosphere to grow with noble ideals, healthy emotions and physical
discipline.
Need for Bala Vihar – From The Children’s Point Of View
The character-building of a nation must start from us, children. We are the trend-setters for future generations.
It is we who will help establish a world of peace and harmony. In the absence of the Gurukula system and joint families, we are exposed to minimum of our valued culture. Add to that, our fast paced lives. We have no time for all this! Our elders seem to have lesser time for us. Bala Vihar is the solution where loving sevakas / sevikas teach us what we ought to know, with the love of a parent, the doting of a grand-parent and the discipline of a teacher.
And best of all – we have fun together!
How Bala Vihar Works?
Bala Vihar is a group of children, meeting once a week, at a set venue, for 90 minutes, for the sole purpose of learning our precious culture, spiritual wisdom, and related values through books, stories, and games. Bala Vihar inculcates the values of Sanatana Dharma, as taught in our scriptures–Shrimad Bhagavad Geeta, Upanishads, Epics and Puranas-helping us to grow into responsible citizens of tomorrow. Bala Vihar classes for various age groups are conducted by trained sevaks and sevikas. These voluntary dedicated workers impart to children, the glory of our rich culture, aiming at
character formation and reverence for our ancient heritage.
The high ideals and values from our great scriptures are taught in the form of stories, games, quizzes, crafts, bhajans, hymns, shlokas, skits, dances, etc. The current syllabus includes: ABC of Vedanta, Superman Hanuman, Symbolism in Hinduism, Bala Ramayana, Bala Bhagavatam. Keys to Success, My 24 Teachers, Krishna Krishna Everywhere, Yato Dharma Tato Jaja and Self Unfoldment. Bala Vihars are meant for children in the age group of 5-17 years. Chinmaya Mission Bala Vihars are an amazing boon to our children and our families.
