Mission Statement
To improve people’s lives by teaching them to master their minds.
To raise funds to establish, support, and expand charitable projects that nurture the lives of children and people in need through education and skills development, the alleviation of suffering, and the offering of love and service.
Service In Satchidananda (SIS) is a non-profit international network of charities established in honour of Sri Swami Satchidananda and based on his core teaching of selfless service. SIS works together with a dedicated team of people, other non-profit organisations, donors, and well-wishers to positively impact the lives of children and families in need through established and new projects.
Founded by Nalanie Harilela Chellaram, one of Sri Swami Satchidananda’s beloved disciples, SIS exists to serve global projects that operate sustainably and give back to their local communities. These include SIS-India, which brought the first running water to the village of Chettipalayam, India, and assisted with rescue supplies during floods in South India. SIS has helped build earthquake-proof houses in Nepal following the devastating 2015 earthquake, refurbished the houses at a leprosy village in Tanzania, and supported local communities with basic needs.
SIS has offered educational sponsorships to children in India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, and currently supports children and young adults in Tanzania. Each Christmas, SIS-Spain/Gibraltar/Portugal, SIS-UK, SIS-USA, and SIS-Hong Kong provide food, clothing, and toys to families in need in their local communities.
SIS also funds the Satchidananda Prison Project, distributing free books on Yoga and spirituality to prisons in the USA, and has provided medical camps, including eye surgeries and heart bypass operations in India.
SIS is supported by donors, along with a team of international volunteers and affiliate organisations. These have included The Association for Kids in Need (AKIN), a charity registered in Gibraltar, Vida Util (a Spanish-based NGO providing education sponsorships and medical resources in Nepal), C.A.S.A. (a Portuguese charity supporting underprivileged families, the elderly, and the homeless), and The Swami Satchidananda Trust in India, which sponsors free medical camps and other services.
According to the science of Yoga, our thoughts shape everything, and when we learn to harness them, the mind becomes calm and relaxed. From this inner peace, we are able to make steady and wise decisions, bringing harmony not only to ourselves but also to those around us. SIS is therefore dedicated to promoting peace in the world through personal transformation, helping individuals live a meaningful, peaceful, and useful life. Nalanie Harilela Chellaram holds workshops around the world, with proceeds donated to SIS after expenses, encouraging others to serve, love, give, meditate, purify, and realise these values in their own lives.
Meet the Team
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Nalanie Harilela Chellaram
Nalanie Harilela Chellaram is a modern spiritual teacher, a true Soul Doctor dedicated to selfless service. She travels the world to spread a message of wisdom, compassion and love, based on the philosophy of Yoga.
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Les Anand Roberts
Les has been a devotee of Swami Satchidananda and the Integral Yoga Organization for over 20 years. In 2003 he founded “The Association for Kids In Need” (AKIN) charity, to aid underprivileged children and orphans in six countries. In 2005 Les acted as Founding Chairman of “Childline Gibraltar,” a telephone help-line service for children, and in 2010 he was appointed as one of the trustees of “RifCom” a charity serving the poorer communities in rural Morocco.
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Susanna (Shanti) Alman
Susanna is a disciple of Sri Swami Satchidananda and a certified Integral Yoga teacher. Her training includes Hatha Yoga Levels I & II, Raja Yoga, Cardiac Yoga, Yoga for the Special Child, Neuroscience, Yoga and Mindfulness, and Accessible Yoga. Shanti has assisted Nalanie with Hatha and Raja Yoga Teacher Training Courses over several years and is a certified Integral Yoga Hatha Level 1 Teacher Trainer. She is also actively involved in the Mind–Body–Soul Wellness Programme in Schools.
The inspiration behind SIS
Sri Swami Satchidananda (“Sri Gurudev”)
Sri Gurudev was born in South India in 1914, and studied with many of India’s greatest saints including his own spiritual master, Sri Swami Sivananda.
Swami Satchidananda was one of the first Yoga masters to bring the classical Yoga tradition to the West after he was invited to America in 1966 by Pop artist icon Peter Max. His contributions to the world through Yoga are pioneering, innovative, and enduring. Integral Yoga is a founding member of Yoga Alliance®.