Swami Chidbhavananda

Swami Chidbhavananda (11 March 1898 – 16 November 1985) was born in Senguttaipalayam near Pollachi in Coimbatore District, Madras Presidency, India. His parents named him ‘Chinnu’. He studied in Stanes School, Coimbatore. He was one of the two Indians in his class, the rest being British. His parents wanted him to go to England after completing his degree in Presidency College, Chennai.
While making arrangements for his travel abroad, he came across a book about Swami Vivekananda’s philosophy. The book had a profound impact on his mind. He started visiting Ramakrishna Math in Mylapore often and had discussions with Swamijis. Finally, he decided to become a novice and went to Ramakrishna Mission in Belur, West Bengal. His guru was Swami Shivananda who was a direct disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.
As per the wish and advice of Swami Sivananda, he returned to Tamil Nadu and established an Ashram near Ooty. On 14 Jan 1937, he has started a Seva Sangh in a village (Athigaratty) near Ooty and named it Kalaimagal Seva Sangam (KMSSA). In the early forties (1942), he established Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam in Tiruparaithurai, Tiruchi district. Since then, Tapovanam has established several educational institutions in Tamil Nadu and propagates the ideals of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda through religious and social activities such as book publishing.
Swami Chidbhavananda has authored more than a hundred books in Tamil and English. His books address a variety of topics, ranging from deep philosophical enquiry to contemporary social life.
He wrote many dramas based on ancient Hindu scriptures that are performed by students. He died in 1985. C. Subramaniam, was his nephew.