A whole of life spiritual vision
In December 1995, a group of about 30 eminent citizens of Allahabad voiced concerns over India's fast-growing population of elderly people. A potential solution was to empower them through a specially designed education curriculum to make best use of the 25-30 years of post-retirement life.
A Third Age Institute was set up with its Headquarters in Chinmaya Naveen Seva Ashram Nyas (CNSAN) under the banner of Chinmaya Mission. The institute was named as Chinmaya Vanaprastha Sansthan (CVS) - ‘Vanaprastha’ standing for the third stage of life and ‘Sansthan’ for institute.
Developed by Swami Shankarananda, as the first ever educational course for the elderly in India, Vridhavastha Samadhan Shivir was inaugurated at Allahabad on 11 August, 1996. It was a national, residential camp, attended by 43 delegates from different parts of the country.
In 1998, CVS formally came under the Central Chinmaya Mission Trust (CCMT), and it now operates nationally as a wing of CCMT for senior citizens under the name - Central Chinmaya Vanaprastha Sansthan (CCVS).