Bala Vihar
Bala Vihar is a weekly gathering for school-aged children conducted by Chinmaya Mission Centers all over the world. The goal of Bala Vihar is to “wake up the sleeping giant” in our children.
We aim to inspire each one to reach their maximum potential by imparting a value-based education that is bursting with fun-filled activities. Each class follows a central, age-specific curriculum developed by senior Archaryas of the Chinmaya Mission.
The children are taught by a team of trained and dedicated volunteer teachers, many of whom have experienced Chinmaya Bala Vihar in their childhood, and are now actively attending courses in Vedanta offered by the Mission.
Mission Statement
“To help children learn values with fun, to delight like the moon and shine like the sun”
Value of Bala Vihar
Bala Vihar enhances the overall development of the personality of a child at all levels — physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual.
To understand the value of the Bala Vihar classes for children, we paraphrase the words of our Guruji Swami Tejomayananda:
- To teach children about our ancient culture and heritage, so they understand their roots
- To create self-confidence and leadership skills to serve and act cheerfully
- To provide a loving atmosphere where children grow with noble ideals, healthy emotions and the ability to put these ideals into action
Here is a wonderful video about Bala Vihar by Swami Sarveshananda:
“Children are not vessels to be filled, but lamps to be LIT. The seed of spiritual values should be sown in young hearts, and the conditions made favourable for sprouting and steady growth through proper control and discipline. It must be cared for with the warmth of love and affection, and such a tree shall blossom forth flowers of brotherhood, universal love, peace, bliss, beauty, and Perfection”
– Swami Chinmayananda
Shishu Vihar
Shishu Vihar is for infants and toddlers, accompanied by their parents. Expectant mothers are welcome too!
Shishu Vihar helps to develop the spiritual aspect of the young child’s personality by focusing on culture and values. An early introduction to spiritual life has a formative impact their character in years to come. Classes follow a modern structure of playgroups where babies and toddlers learn through simple stories from the Scriptures. They sing Bhajans and nursery rhymes, play games to develop motor skills and participate in arts and crafts that foster mental personalities in an atmosphere of love and knowledge.
Our Curriculum
Our Teachers
Bala Vihar Coordinator
Annapoorna Murthy
Annapoorna (Anu) has been a part of Chinmaya Mission since 2016. She is a physician and lives in Redmond with her husband and 2 daughters who also attend Balavihar. She also teaches the Shankara class. Growing up in Bharat, stories of Mahabharata and Ramayana were part of her childhood. She believes as a child if you listen to these stories, then in adulthood you can see the connection between them and the Gita. She is grateful and excited to be part of Chinmaya Mission and also to be on the spiritual quest of Vedanta.
Shishu Vihar
Nithya Subramanian
Nithya has been associated with Chinmaya mission since 2016. She has 2 daughters of her own who attend Balavihar. She has completed her Waldorf teacher training in Early Childhood and loves to be amongst young children. She is grateful for having found the Chinmaya family and enjoys celebrating festivals as a community. Other than working with children she enjoys being in nature, practicing yoga and playing volleyball.
Remyaa Krishnan
Remyaa is a dynamic IT professional from Coimbatore, India. She spent 12 years as a student at Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Coimbatore, and feels fortunate to have grown up with the teachings of Chinmaya Mission, which she believes had a profound impact on her life. She fondly cherishes memories of summer camps, Bhagavad Gita chanting, Bhajan Sandhyas, Mathru Pooja, and Bala Vihar classes. After moving to Seattle, she joined this wonderful team of Sevaks to help facilitate growth and learning for children. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, singing, and hiking.
Bharadwaj Class
Jaya Arora
Born and bought up in North India , by education I am a Human Resource Graduate and currently a full time homemaker. Our entire family has been associated with Chinmaya Mission from 2013. As part of my own learning have enrolled in Chinmaya Mission Foundation Vedanta course. I feel both grateful and excited to be part of Chinmaya mission teaching group.
Vatsala Epari
Vatsala Epari has been part of the Chinmaya Mission Seattle wing since 2019. Vatsala grew up in Calcutta, India and as young child she was a Balavihar student. She has had wonderful experiences at Balavihar growing up (learning bhajans, Geeta Chanting, participating in annual day events) She attends Swaranjali for adults and enjoys singing bhajans and shlokas. She also does canvas painting and other forms of art as a hobby.
Prahlada Class
Bhavani Sangameshwar
Bhavani grew up in Bangalore, India and was always associated with religious activities. She has been associated with Chinmaya Mission, Seattle since 2011 when her daughter started the classes. Since then, she always enjoyed being part of the learning process in Chinmaya Mission. She is passionate about teaching kids and engages them with interesting activities.
Rekha Kurpad
Rekha has been a member of Chinmaya mission since moving to Seattle in 2012. She feels blessed to be part of the mission and thankful for the dedication and involvement of all the teachers and sevaks. She enjoys teaching children at Balavihar by providing them with an enriching experience of learning through stories, activities and moral values.
Dhruva Class
Krithika Mahesh
Krithika was introduced to Gurudev and the Chinmaya Mission in 2004 through a study group. She has been a Bala Vihar Sevak since then, teaching in San Diego and Chicago centers before coming to Seattle. She has three children who, she says, both provide her abundant joys and opportunities for Sadhana
Prathibha Nair
Prathibha was born and raised in Dubai where she attended Chinmaya Mission Bala Vihar and yagnas with her parents. She continued to attend and eventually teach in New York. After relocating to the west coast, Prathibha joined Chinmaya Mission Seattle in 2009 as a substitute teacher for Bharadwaj class and eventually teaching the Dhruva class. She is grateful to have Gurudev’s guidance and blessings.
Sandeepany Class
Ajita Krishnan
Ajita was raised in Australia, and joined Chinmaya Mission in 2008. She has two sons who are both Bala Vihar graduates. She started teaching Bala Vihar children in 2011. She feels blessed to be part of an inspiring group of sevaks at CMS, and for the precious inspiration and insights the kids impart to us in every class!
Geetha Rajagopalan
Geetha has been a part of Chinmaya Mission Seattle since 2023. She was raised in a family where both her grandparents and parents have been members of the Chinmaya Mission for over 30 years and have established their faith rooted deeply in Advaitam & Vedanta based on the Gita. She lives in Redmond with her husband and two sons who also attend the BalaVihar classes. She is grateful for the opportunity to teach the BalaVihar classes as it provides an opportunity for her to learn through this process.
Vashista Class
Raj Maragoud
Raj and his family joined Chinmaya Mission Seattle in 2022. Raj is a scientist/engineer by profession and builder at heart. His hobbies are playing ball sports with his children and building woodwork projects around home. His passion is learning and understanding Sanatana Dharma at the mission while giving back to the community. He is grateful for the opportunity to teach Vasishta class this year and learn from the students. “
Vyasa Class
Anant Sundaram 
Anant grew up attending Bala Vihar in Mumbai. That experience combined with his family’s religious values have contributed to his interest in chanting, study groups, and bhajans. He is also interested in teaching which is why Anant is excited about taking lessons and learning from our Vyasa class kids.
Hyma Murthy
Hyma has been part of Chinmaya Mission Seattle since 2016. She started teaching Vyasa class in 2021. She lives in Redmond with her husband and 2 kids who are part of BalaVihar. She is grateful to be a part of Chinmaya mission and have the opportunity to learn and teach young kids concepts of vedanta and the Gita.
Shankara Class
Annapoora Murthy
Annapoorna (Anu) has been a part of Chinmaya Mission since 2016. She started teaching the Vyasa class in 2019. She is a physician and lives in Redmond with her husband and 2 daughters who also attend Balavihar. Growing up in Bharat, stories of Mahabharata and Ramayana were part of her childhood. She believes as a child if you listen to these stories, then in adulthood you can see the connection between them and the Gita. She is grateful and excited to be part of Chinmaya Mission and also to be on the spiritual quest of Vedanta.
Arunima Bhattacharya
Arunima grew up attending Bala Vihar in Minnesota, where she enjoyed the sense of community and spiritual learning opportunities offered by Chinmaya Mission. Now, as a CHYK (Chinmaya Yuva Kendra) member, she’s grateful to be part of Chinmaya Mission Seattle. She looks forward to spending her first year here fostering a sense of community and learning for children, and continuing her personal spiritual journey. In her free time, Arunima enjoys spending time outdoors, listening to music, and reading.
Chinmayam Class
Mahesh Vishwanathan
Mahesh has been part of the Chinmaya Mission since 2003. He was floored by the eloquent and logical style of Gurudev’s lectures and has been interested in learning more ever since.
Rajitha Suresh
Rajitha was raised in Mumbai and has been associated with Chinmaya Mission since 2009. She has one son who graduated from the mission in 2019.