The Vedanta Society of Northern California‘s annual day-long retreat at its historic Shanti Ashrama occurred this year on Saturday, April 29, with attendance by Swamis and devotees from the Vedanta Societies of Sacramento and Berkeley, Swami Kripamayananda, head of the Vedanta Society of Toronto and with more than 160 devotees and friends attending. The program started at 11AM with a formal worship conducted in the meditation cabin by Swami Tattwamayananda, the San Francisco Vedanta Society’s Minister-in-Charge. This meditation cabin, which survived several natural calamities including the last California wildfire in 2018, is the first structure built in the Ashrama when it was originally established by Swami Turiyananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna in 1900. This original building was also used for meditation and classes by Swami Trigunatitananda during his many extended month-long visits with classes and was also visited by Swami Abhedananda.
This year’s celebration, in addition to the initial worship, included addresses by the Swamis on the topic of “Contemplation In Spiritual Life”, followed by a question and answer period, as well as devotional music. After this, a tour of the Ashrama was offered to give some acquaintance with the history of the Ashrama from the days of its initial concept as conceived by Swami Vivekananda and as developed by the other direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna.
View Photos in Google Album : Annual Shanti Ashrama Pilgrimage, April 2023
