What is "prakashananda"

Swami Prakashananda is the founder and Acharya of Chinmaya Mission of Trinidad and Tobago.

Swami Prakashananda was born in California, Trinidad. While studying for a bachelor's degree in political science and philosophy from York University in Toronto, he met Swami Chinmayananda during Chinmaya Mission's jnana yajna. He soon joined Chinmaya Mission started studying the scriptures at Mumbai in 1991.

Upon completion of his studies he was named Brahmachari Prem Chaitanya in 1994 and was assigned to give discourses at various Mission centers in India and Nepal. Premji returned to Trinidad in 1997 and started Chinmaya Mission. Swami Tejomayananda initiated Premji into Sanyasa as Swami Prakashananda on Mahashivaratri in 2005.

Swami Prakashananda travels extensively in Trinidad, the Caribbean, the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom for spiritual discourses. His itinerary is available online.

Prakashananda(1874-1927) was a direct monastic disciple of Vivekananda and a swami monk of the Ramakrishna Order who played a major role in propagating and promoting the Vedanta philosophy and Vivekananda's message in India and America. He worked closely with Trigunatitananda, a direct disciple of Ramakrishna for Vedanta Society of San Francisco, later renamed as Vedanta Society of Southern California, and later became its president.