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Why chant Gīta?
Swami Pujya Guruji Tejomananda gives a beautiful answer in this video.
Swami Chinmayananda, dedicated his life to spreading the eternal wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita. Recognising the importance of introducing these teachings early in life, he initiated the Chinmaya Gita Chanting Competition (CGCC) – a unique endeavour to instill the values of the Bhagavad Gita through the sacred practice of chanting
What began as a Bala Vihar initiative has blossomed into a cherished global tradition. The CGCC is now a central activity of Chinmaya Mission Centres worldwide, welcoming children, youth and adults alike – all united by love for the Bhagavad Gita.
Gīta Chanting Challenge
The Gīta Chanting program began as a Bala Vihar activity that has now expanded to include the participation of all age groups. Gurudev envisioned the chanting competitions as a doorway to life-long friendship with the Gita, kindling a progressive journey from chanting to studying to learning to living the Gita.
The Gīta Chanting Challenge for this year will be conducted on March 1, 2026. Participants chant individually in front of a moderating panel.
See the Syllabus section below for the verses assigned by age-group for evaluation in 2025-26
Evaluation Criteria
The Rules and Judges’ Scoring Rubric may been downloaded here.
Notes
- Participants are required to chant from memory.
- Verbal prompting may be given by JUDGES ONLY
- As per the Chinmaya Mission west rules, there will strictly be NO SECOND PROMPTING. In order to encourage participants to chant all verses that they have learned, judges will give a second prompt when asked. However, the verses chanted after second prompt will NOT be considered towards the final score.
- Marks will be deducted for mistakes – Refer to “Pronunciations” section of Evaluation criteria manual.
- It has been observed that most participants are chanting all the assigned verses for their grade, In those scenarios, the pronunciation/confidence/diction play the major role in the final scores and determining the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place recipients.
- To avoid conflict of interest: Judges/GITA teacher(s) are excluded from competition.
- They can participate in the chanting session, but won’t be scored.
- Judges do NOT evaluate members of their own family.