Soma Matha Center Acquiring Land
We are pleased to announce that we have found a suitable property for our center in Mechanicsville, just East of the City of Richmond. We have a contract with the owner to purchase the property and will be closing around the 1st week of Feb., 2016. PLEASE DONATE TODAY
Our Services and the Need for SpaceWe have been teaching weekly Ayurveda classes, Yoga Classes, Mantra Classes, and Meditations, along with regular and special puja (prayer) services. To help raise money for the center, we have been making and selling premium-quality Ayurvedic herbal teas, which were recently featured in Richmond Magazine. We maintain our website and youtube channel, providing otherwise unavailable teachings on Vedic spiritual practices and Ayurvedic medicine.
Recently, the growth of our classes and events and the expansion of our tea production has created a need for additional space. We have the small apartment where Swamiji lives packed full of Ayurvedic herbs and puja implements: we have a storage space where herbs for special homam ceremonies are kept, we hold classes in several locations, and several students are currently keeping and tending to Ayurvedic herb plants. Yet we need more space to continue our efforts to serve the community. This need has led us to the plan to buy a farm house in Mechanicsville which has the potential to house all of our current projects and to provide plenty of possibility for future growth as we work toward building a traditional Agamic Temple and Vedic teaching Center on the land. We look forward to being able to open a dedicated space to the public, so like minded spiritual seekers can come together to learn, pray, discuss, and to simply enjoy the beauty of the space. Our goal is to have a physical center open as a retreat space for spiritual seekers in the near future. |
About the Property |
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Located in Mechanicsville, about 15 minutes East of Richmond, the property includes 14 acres of land, a beautiful, historic colonial-style house, and several useful out-buildings. The house needs a little bit of work, but the structure is sound and it has truly great potential. With a little bit of work, the existing buildings hold the potential to provide space for expansion for years to come. Yet we hope to pay off our mortgage quickly and to begin construction of a separate Agamic Temple building within a few years. Within the Year of 2016 we intend to use the property to house Swamiji as we begin to renovate the property. We will continue to offer teachings, and puja (prayer) services. We will be able to start again to grow many of our own herbs for use in our Ayurvedic teas. Doing this will also provide us an opportunity to teach more about growing, processing and using herbs for healing. We intend to construct a small greenhouse on the property to display our collection of rare Ayurvedic herb plants for the public to see. In time, we intend to welcome the public to visit our space and to meet with like-minded spiritual seekers. We are planning grand colonial-style gardens, showcasing Ayurvedic and Native American healing herbs and a hiking trail through the forest for people to enjoy the natural beauty of the spiritual space. We have plans to offer retreats for a reasonable cost where people can come and stay for a few days; participate in regular classes and prayer ceremonies, enjoy vegetarian meals and de-stress in the beautiful settings of the center. In short, our vision is to create a center which will provide a true retreat for all who visit. Full of mystique and intrigue, it will offer refuge from the grind of daily life and a place of spiritual shakti, capable of feeding the practice of seekers, connecting them inwardly to the divine. |