Chinmaya Mission Pittsburgh (CMP) was started in 1978 with the inspiration and blessings of Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda, after his very first Gita jnana yajna in Pittsburgh. Gurudev loved the city's green, rolling hills and said the merging of the three rivers - Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio - reminded him of Prayag. In all, Gurudev conducted two spiritual camps and three Gita jnana yajnas in Pittsburgh. The sounds of the grand Vishnu Sahasranama Puja that was conducted under his guidance, still rings in our ears.
At the CM National Camp held at Slippery Rock University in 1984, CMP collaborated with Sri Venkateswara Temple's Youth Center to organize various practical discussions for young Indians to voice their concerns. The attendees got highly motivated by CM activities. In 1988, CMP organized another family spiritual camp at Seton Hill College at Greensburg. As always, it was quite a rewarding experience just to be with Gurudev. A retreat in Butler, PA in the early 90s greatly moved a couple from Washington DC to start their own CM center in the DC area right away. Soon after, CM Washington DC and CM Pittsburgh hosted a joint yajna in Frostburg, MD.
In 2004, CMP organized a field trip to the Lotus Temple in Yogaville. In 2005, CMP organized a video yajna in Bridgeville, PA. In 2007, the center attended a retreat at Cook Forest, PA, where the main class was by Gurudev on video: Bhagavad Gita, Ch. 7. CMP also organizes festival celebrations (such as Mahashivaratri, Rama Navami, Guru Purnima, Janmashtami, and Dipavali) and regularly invites CMW acharyas to conduct talks in local areas.
Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayananda, former Head of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide, has visited Pittsburgh several times to speak on Ramayana or Bhagavad Gita. In 1988, Guruji enthralled a huge audience when he spoke at the local temple on Sundara Kanda from Tulasi Ramayana. In 2005, Guruji named CMP as "Chinmaya Sarveshvara." Swami Shantananda is the Acharya of CM Tri-State (NY, NJ, PA) and conducts talks for CMP devotees at least twice a year. Over the years, he has spoken on a variety of interesting topics and texts, including Rama Gita and Vibhishana Gita. Other CM acharyas who have conducted jnana yajnas at CMP in the past include Pujya Swami Purushottamananda, Swamini Pavitrananda, Swami Dheerananda, Brahmachari Krishna Moorthy, Acharya Gaurang Nanavaty, Swami Sharanananda, and Pujya Swamini Saradapriyananda.
CMP has conducted weekly children's classes and CMP jnana yajnas at various local temples. Festival celebrations unite all the families from all the venues. In 2008, CMP setup its own center at 3817 Northern Pike, Monroeville. Pujya Swami Tejomayanandaji of Chinmaya Mission International advised us to install Hanumanji's Murthy at this center and named the center Chinmaya Sanjeevani. The center was formally opened on August 3, 2008 by Pujya Swami Tejomayanandaji.