Author: thakur

I have been thinking about questions and answers. Way back when, there was a group of us young people who spent all our free time in the company of Swami Swananda, then head of the Vedanta Society of Berkeley. One of his many remarkable qualities was open-mindedness. Once somebody asked him”Swami, how did you become so open-minded?” He answered, “I didn’t ask questions.” Instead, he tried to work out the answers for himself. Fast forward about 25 years when Swami Swahananda said to me,“In all these years I have never answered any of your questions. Do you know why?” I rarely asked him questions anyway but he was correct; if I did ask a question he either replied “Figure it out yourself!” or supplied many answers, or a ridiculous answer.  He told me, “You see, you have to look at questions from many perspectives and try to work out an answer for yourself, especially because you will be talking to many people with different ways of approaching God.”

Fast forward another 15 years and I say there are NO answers in spiritual life, at least not of the intellectually based kind. The German poet Rainer Maria Rilke once asserted that questions are best LIVED with the hope of one day LIVING into the answers. Brahman,the Self, God, the Mother can never be intellectually understood, can never be captured in words or concepts. Realization is experience, not some kind of mind-based understanding. We ask questions to clarify our spiritual path, to strengthen our resolve to go forward with our intention to’ realize God.’  Like Swami Swananda and Swami Swahananda, we should deeply consider our questions before we ask them and be open-minded about answers, remembering that the same question can be answered from many perspectives. We should beware of seeking THE answers. We should not accept pat answers and glib statements about the nature of reality. We should strive to push our understanding out to its very boundaries, to live ‘on the edge’ as it were. What is that edge? Where mind can’t go and ultimately falls apart into realization. Our questions vanish and we LIVE our way into that Divine Consciousness that is the very basis of our existence.

Visiting Ridgely

This year we are happy to report that we have had more visitors than ever before. The local community has been using the retreat as a quiet place to walk, sit outside, or to meditate in the shrine. We have many people coming for tours and a growing number of overnight guests. 

Here is a FAQ about visiting the retreat for those who might be new:

Anyone is free to walk on our roads and on the shrine trail during daylight hours You need to avoid the properties of our neighbors who share our internal road (known as Ridgely Drive). Please be aware that we live in an area where the ticks carry Lyme and other diseases. If you are going to walk on our shrine trail or sit on the grass anywhere here you need to spray yourself with a DEET based insect repellent or natural equivalent. 

If you would like a tour of the property you need to call at least 2 days in advance to schedule. Our tour guides have many other responsibilities and aren’t always available. Ridgely isn’t like a museum. Tours usually take about 2 hours. Masks may be required so please bring one.

Regarding overnight stays: You need to book overnight stays at least 5 days in advance. You can do this via phone or by email (info@ridgely.org)We do not allow children under the age of 17 to stay overnight at the retreat. Families w/young children can book a room in a nearby hotel and visit during the day. We are still requiring that each person take a home Covid test before coming. 

We open the Manor House at 6am and close it at 7pm. During our open hours people may come to the shrine to sit, meditate, pray. If it is your first visit to the shrine, please call ahead. We will show you where to leave your shoes etc. After the first time you are free to come and go during the open hours w/o notifying us. Group meditations are from 6-7:15am and 6-7pm.Masks may be required as Covid cases are on the rise here in NY.

We close the retreat at 7pm.

Retreat With Swami Yogatmananda Sept. 2-3

Swami Yogatmananda, Head of the Vedanta Society of Providence, will be giving a retreat here on Saturday, Sept. 2-Sunday September 3. His subject will be Gems From Meister Eckhart. Many of you know that Swami Yogatmananda gives a retreat here every year over the Labor Day weekend. His retreats are very popular and , as of today, all the overnight spaces for men are filled. There are still a couple spaces for women left. We won’t be restricting the number of people who attend all or part of this retreat, so it is still possible to attend as a day visitor. All are welcome.We hope to see you that weekend.

 Here is the tentative schedule:

Saturday, Sept, 2

10am-12:45 Morning sessions

1-2 Lunch

2:15-5 Afternoon sessions

Sunday Sept. 3

10am-12:45 Final sessions

1-2 Lunch

 

About Meditation

Meditation. It’s an important part of our spiritual practice. It is better to sit every day and be utterly unable to control our thoughts than to skip our meditation altogether. When we sit to meditate we must remember that MEDITATION IS NOT ANOTHER ACTIVITY. It is a non-activity. In the US we live in a culture that prioritizes activities that produce results. We cannot come to our meditation with that kind of attitude. We might sit down for a certain time, make our seat comfortable, take some deep breaths, pull out our mala/rosary and start counting. If we don’t adjust our thought process to simply BE beforehand, all these actions are interpreted by the mind as more activity. We are still in action mode and we wonder why we can’t seem to ‘control our thoughts’. Another activity-I have to control my thoughts. No. We need to learn to ignore them and slowly a deeper kind of consciousness begins to manifest on its own. We don’t have to produce it; it is already there. The Self/God is not somewhere else; it is always present. All we have to do is ‘enter the silence’ of our own essential nature. That’s where we encounter the Divine. It’s not about how long we meditate or how many mantras we recite. It is about that deep presence that can be touched only when mind is not buzzing away in activity mode. Yes, we might repeat a mantra or use some kind of visualization but we should look at those activities as a doorway into the mystery, the doorway between ourselves and the Divine. If meditation is frustrating, before you sit down remember: no activity, no results, JUST BE.

Upcoming Events and Activities at Ridgely

Sept. 2-3 Retreat with Swami Yogatmananda GEMS FROM MEISTER ECKHART

Oct. 21 Durga Puja

Nov. 3 TENTATIVE Retreat with Swami Sarvadevananda and friends

Nov. 12 Kali Puja

We will send more details about all these events later in the summer

Ridgely’s Ongoing classes

ZOOM

Sundays 5:30pm Eastern  ASK THE SISTERS

 Sisters from Calif. and Ridgely answer questions and sometimes get wildly off topic. We don’t know what the questions are in advance so we can’t plan answers. We love this class-the chance to get together with many sisters and friends from all over the US.

Wednesdays 5:30pm Eastern. GITAPRANA’S SHAKTA CLASS

Looking at the tradition and philosophies of of the Divine Mother. Currently we are finishing a study of the Devi Mahatmyam. We will most likely take up the study of the Lalita Sahasranama/1000 Names of Lalita next.

Please email us if you wish to receive the links for either of these classes. We don’t post them to YouTube or any other site online.

Saturday mornings at Ridgely

9:30 volunteer work mornings followed by a bag lunch.

 Lately we have been rained or smoked out but we are hoping the weather will not continue this way forever. Most of our work is outside so outside clothes are needed. Gloves and a hat too.

Sundays at Ridgely

 Once again we are going to try to resume our Sunday program here at the retreat.

9:30-10:30 Chandi chanting/reading

10:30-12 Class facilitated by Gitaprana. We usually use a text. We might start with the Kena Upanishad.

1pm Lunch

Vivekananda Retreat is open

March has been a month of snow and ice, forcing us to close the retreat temporarily. We are now back open. If you wish to visit as a day visitor you must call us to schedule a tour. If you wish to stay overnight, we need at least 5 days notice. We still have some Covid restrictions in place. Masks are required. Overnight visitors must take a Covid home test before coming. We do not allow people who have travelled internationally to visit the retreat overnight until they have been in this country 5 days and test Covid negative. Please remember, we live here and share our space with visitors. Children under the age of 17 are not allowed to stay overnight at the retreat.

Our regular schedule is currently in place.

Saturdays: 9:30am Chandi reading

10:30am -1 volunteer service (please call us if you wish to join us. Weather sometimes forces us to cancel)

Sundays: Bhagavad Gita study group 11am

Our shrine room is open for meditation every day from 6am to 7pm. Group meditation times are 6-7am and 6-7pm. If you have never been here before, please call us to schedule a time for shrine orientation. After that you may come and go during our open hours w/o contacting us.

 

Vivekananda Retreat is Open/ Kali Puja Oct.24 6pm

It is Fall here at Ridgely. It seems like we will have a gorgeous leaf season.We are open for overnight guests and day visitors until snow/ice force us to close for the winter. Please follow there guidelines:

You must be vaccinated and masked at all times

Overnight guests need to make reservations at least 2 weeks in advance. We require overnight guests to take a home Covid test before arrival.

Day visitors need to make an appointment at least a day in advance. Many of our visitors believe Ridgely is a museum. No. We live here, so you need to have someone take you on a tour through the main house.

We are not giving tours to drop-in visitors

Kali Puja 

We will be performing our annual Kali Puja at 6-11pm on the amavasya/no moon night, Monday, Oct. 24. This is an elaborate ritual worship of the goddess Dakshina Kali, the dark mother who is the source of all. 

Here is the approximate timing:

Puja:6pm

Homa:9pm

Flower Offering: 10pm

Prasad Meal: 10:30pm

You are welcome to attend all or part of this celebration. We are again limiting the number of attendees so you need to register by email or phone. Our phone 3: (845) 687-4574

Email: gitaprana@ridgely.org

Ice Storm Disaster Feb. 2022

As many of you know, our area suffered a disastrous ice storm in the beginning of February. Weighed down by almost an inch of ice, branches and even entire trees came crashing to the ground every 30 seconds for 24 hours. Both the Manor House and the Casino had the power lines torn away from the house by falling branches. Almost the entire village of Stone Ridge was without power. Nearly all local roads were covered with fallen branches and downed power lines. All 3 of our houses narrowly missed being hit by huge falling limbs.

 All 3 of our houses had minor equipment damage caused by power surges before the power went out for 4 days. We had to rely on our generators to keep the critical utilities running-the boilers (to keep some kind of warmth in the houses and the pipes from freezing) and the water systems. The generators had difficulty running when the temperature fell below zero at night and had to be coaxed back into service. Our staff did a wonderful job coping with every emergency that arose, and there were many!

As of today we have fixed most of the damage from the ice storm. It is no exaggeration to say that there were thousands of fallen branches and huge tree limbs all over our property. We are slowly cleaning them up. The Manor House still needs to have some electrical work done by a professional. We also have scheduled a qualified arborist to come and take care of damage to our old maples and to take down the ‘widow-maker’ branches that have not quite broken off and are dangling high in the trees, presenting a potential danger to people, power lines and cars.

Thank you to our friends who have volunteered time and funds to help us clean up from this disaster!

Vivekananda Retreat Will Open April 1, 2022

We are happy to welcome you back to the retreat. We will remain open to  day visitors and overnight guests unless the Covid cases rise to high levels in our area and in the NE in general. To visit you must be vaccinated. Masks are required inside at all times.

 Our shrine is open from 6am-7pm for anyone who wishes to meditate. If it will be your first tine to use the shrine, please call us. All others may come and go without letting us know.

Please call at least a day in advance us to schedule a tour/day visit. You cannot just drop in without scheduling. Since we live here in the houses you will visit and most of us fall into the high risk Covid category, we do not allow people to take tours without one of us as a guide.

Overnight guests need to schedule at least five days in advance. Please note that we do not allow children under the age of 17 to stay overnight at the retreat. Visitors with young children can book a local hotel room and spend the day at Ridgely. To make a reservation, please call us. We have not scheduled any organized programs/retreats at this time. We hope to begin these programs in May/June.

The retreat’s phone # is (845) 687-4574.

Vivekananda Retreat is Open in a Limited Way

Vivekananda Retreat is currently open in a limited way. For tours and overnight stays, vaccination and masks are mandatory. Right now we are not allowing children under 12 years of age to visit the retreat. For tours, you MUST call us to schedule. No drop-in visits. We are allowing limited overnight guests. You must call us at least 2 weeks in advance to book an overnight stay.

DURGA PUJA. We will be celebrating the Devi Durga on Saturday, Oct. 9, 10:30am-2pm. We are limiting the number of people so you must call us to register to attend.

KALI PUJA. This year we will be holding our annual Kali Puja on Nov. 4, 6-11pm. Please note that we have switched to an earlier time. Again, we will limit the number of people present, so you must call to register.

Our phone # is (845) 687-4574