Thelappanda Chengappa (Swamy Shambhavaananda)

Thelappanda Chengappa, an Eminent kodava was born in 1894 in Halugunda village. He was a disciple of Swami Brahmananda and ordained into sannyasa in 1924. He took Sannyasa under Shree Nirmalanandaji in 1918 and became Swamy Shambhavaananda.

Education

He did his secondary education in Mysore and college at Bangalore. When he was studying, he met Ulsoor Ashramas Swamiji Yogeshwaraanandaji and as days passed he started liking Shree Ramakrishna Ashrama.

Achievements

• After becoming Swamiji, in 1927 Chengappa built Sharadashrama at Ponnampet and became the first President of the same. In 1941.
• He became the President of Shree Ramakrishna Ashrama, Mysore and continued till his demise in 1972.
• He was a trustee of the Ramakrishna Math and a member of the governing body of the Ramakrishna Mission.
• He built a residential school for boys in Mysore during his service.
• He was the founder of Ramakrishna Institute of Moral and Spiritual Education (RIMSE).
• His was an efficient administrator, a strict disciplinarian, and a visionary educator.
• Ages ago, when Malaria was hitting Coorg, Chengappa worked hard to eradicate the problem by singing “Solle Paatte” from one place to another and educated people about the cause and eradication.

In 1928, he started working for modern beekeeping in Coorg and witnessed for starting country’s first beekeepers co-operative society in 1936 at Virajpet. He died in 1972.