"Love is to the human heart what sunshine is to the flowers." Being the visionary that he was, Swami Chinmayananda saw that in the hi-tech urban civilization both sunshine and love would be hard to come by. Anticipating this need, he started the Bala Vihars. A group of 10 to 25 children meet at a certain place on a weekly basis and the children and the sevaks/sevikas learn the art of living in love, the Hindu way. The idea is to provide an environment where the personality of the child blossoms in a spontaneous way. Good conduct, emotional refinement, intellectual finesse and spiritual awareness are developed by mature sevaks through fun and play, and through stories and bhajans. Sometimes it is through tears, but more often through smiles; sometimes through strictness, but mostly by persuasion. The children are encouraged to be responsible, alert and sensitive members of society. Swamiji believed that just as the strength of a wall depended on the quality of each brick, so too, the health of a society depended on the individuals. If the individuals are healthy, the society is healthy. His strategy for building a new society was to "Catch them early and young."

Bala Vihars are conducted according to the following schedule:

Atlanta Center (At Hindu temple of Atlanta)
Web Page: http://www.chinmayaatlantabalavihar.org
Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to Noon
Location: Hindu Temple of Atlanta
Contact : Mrs. Geetha Raghu at 478-922-9710

Gwinnett Bala Vihar
Web Page: www.chinmaya-atlanta.com/gwinnett.html
Sunday, 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Location: Berkmar High School 405 Pleasant Hill Rd NW Lilburn, GA 30047
Contact : Anu Swaminathan at 678-641-1430 or aswamina2003@yahoo.com
              Seema Jani at 770-664-5055 or gwinnett@chinmaya-atlanta.com


Chinmaya Mission Alpharetta
Website: www.chinmayamissionalpharetta.org
Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Location: South Forsyth Middle school 2865 Old Atlanta Rd., Cumming GA 30041
Contact : Sudha Malhotra at 678-566-5018 or balvihar_centerne@hotmail.com
              Bhavana Subramanian at 770-410-1261
              Click here to obtain a full list of contact persons.



If you are interested in starting a Bal Vihar in the Metro Atlanta Area,
Please contact Dr. G. V. Raghu at 678-922-9710 or atlanta@chinmayamission.org