CALIFORNIA, U.S., June 15, 2021 (India Currents by Partha Sircar): I have been making a trip to the Shanti Ashrama every year on the last Saturday of April for nearly 15 years now. Vedanta Society of Northern California organizes a retreat there every year on this day, which, I am told, they have been doing for the last 45 years or so. In fact, I really look forward to it. While the ashram was largely destroyed by fire years ago, many regard it as one of the iconic centers of the Ramakrishna Vivekananda Movement in the United States of America, at par with the Hall in Chicago where delivered his lecture in 1893. The importance of the place may be appreciated all the more by the fact that a replica of the wooden Meditation Cabin in Shanti Ashrama (the original is in the photo above) is prominently displayed in the Ramakrishna Museum adjacent to the Belur Math.
The location is a 160-acre area in the San Antonio Valley between San Francisco and San Jose. Despite being located between Highway 101 and Interstate 5, the area is difficult to reach, desolate and surrounded by dry hills all around. The unique setting lends itself wonderfully for the retreat, in which several eminent Swamis deliver their uplifting lectures. There is also a Puja for Ramakrishna, Sarada Devi, Swami Vivekananda, and others.