Foreword

Swami Ishwarananda – Director, Chinmaya Mission West, Acharya, Chinmaya Mission Los Angeles

It is a pleasure and privilege to share with all of you yet another edition (4th in the series) of Hari Patrika. Along with it we are into our 6th year in our own abode a.k.a ‘Chinmaya Haridwar’ with blessings from our Guru’s enriching the life of Portlanders!

Chinmaya Mission was formed in 1953 by Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda, a spiritual giant of all times who dedicated his entire life with the goal of expounding Vedantic knowledge to people all around the world. Today, the mission is a global movement with thousands of members, ever growing, and dedicated to spreading the timeless wisdom of Vedanta with the motto of ‘Maximum Happiness to Maximum People for Maximum Time’. Mission enables and enriches the lives of each individual in their spiritual journey through self-unfoldment and transforms them into tireless volunteers for the common good as positive contributors of the society. This is achieved by the various opportunities that Chinmaya Mission facilitates, be it Bala Vihar or myriad ways to serve in the community.

Portland Chinmaya Family has grown leaps and bounds over the years, 23rd year since this chapter was seeded, welcoming people from all walks of life serving them in their spiritual quest. It tunes with Portland’s character one could even add ‘Keep Portland Spiritual’ with the mission enabling this journey for many Portland residents.

This year we have several exciting things to celebrate as well. We had a great fund raiser and with the efforts from an army of volunteers we made our latest addition of our annex into a reality. Go Volunteers! This is made possible with the true yagna sprit of the volunteers by pitching in time, money, service whatever way they can,  towards their goal. We had another first, a grand wedding at our facility.

In closing, yet another blessed year, growing and supporting a vibrant Portland community with love and service. Seeking God’s Grace and Blessing to keep us growing and serving to all in the Chinmaya Family and beyond!