In 1960, a small but an ardent group of Mission devotees hired a room in a slum area in Murphy Town, Bangalore. Therein, they began conducting a biweekly medical clinic for the poor and needy. This was the humble beginning of today's 200-bed capacity of Chinmaya Mission Hospital (CMH).
When Swami Chinmayananda heard about the Murphy Town project and its volunteers, who included Sushila Purushottam, Kamala Reddy, Prafulla Iyengar, Mrs. Dassanachar, and Mrs. Yogam, he was pleasantly surprised. Pleased with their service, he gave them a cheque for Rs.500! He said, "Why not! This gives me an idea of starting a hospital," and this is how the seed for CMH was sown. Funds were collected, land was purchased, construction was planned, executed, and in 1970, Swami Chinmayananda officially inaugurated CMH.
The number of beds increased to 50 in 1979, and the paediatric ward commissioned an additional 13 beds in 1981. As the years passed, there was a growing need to expand the facilities to serve more patients. In 1993, CMH became a 100-bed hospital, serving all who walked through its doors.
Once, when discussing expansion and funding, Swami Chinmayananda said, "An organization needs funds and workers. Our Mission has workers, but we are always in need of funds. However, our faith in the goodness of our programmes is so powerful that we have never hesitated in launching programmes. The Lord always drives His messengers to reach us with the required funds at the most appropriate time. This has been our experience over the last 40 years!"
On November 6, 1999, CMH extended its ceilings, floors, walls, staff, and heart to become a 200-bed hospital with the most modern equipment and facilities.
