Ramagiri, California.

In early June I visited Tomales, which is an hour-and-a-half north of San Francisco, and is across the Golden Gate and near Napa country. It's a little one-street town and is less than a mile away from the site of Ramagiri, the community center of the spiritual teacher, Eknath Easwaran, and his followers.

Easwaran, came from India in the 1960s, and taught meditation to a tightly-knit community of loyal followers in Berkeley. He wrote amongst the most accessible translations of the Bhagawad Gita, the Upanishads, and the Dhammapada. Easwaran died in 1999. Today his wife, Christine and his close followers continue to live like a family in Ramagiri. They have dedicated their lives to Easwaran's teachings and are still an independent community. In the early days, they grew their own vegetables (which they still do), schooled their children, built their own houses, and even printed and bound Easwaran's books. It was inspirational to see people well into their 60s, 70s and 80s sticking to ideals and a path chosen almost 50 years ago, with enormous dedication and enthusiasm.