LAKE Shrine sits behind a small wall of foliage just before the the corner of PCH on Sunset. It's not a sparkling blue lake, in fact, it's murky at best, but the manicured gardens provide a quite public refuge where the five major world religions live harmoniously through the recognition of their inherent interconnected sense of spirituality.
My mother and I took a short walk around the water. Swan Lake, she used to call it on trips with her father over thirty years ago. "It looks pretty much the same" she told me.
We stop to admire the gardens and talk quietly on one of the many benches as we observe tourists snapping photographs and grounds keepers "shush" a pair speaking a just louder than a whisper.
The small Windmill Chapel at the entrance of the walk allows no photos and asks for complete silence - this is a place for meditation. As we walk in the small building has two rose of four chairs facing the front of the room. Here the images of six men are displayed, five of the religious leaders and one of the Fellowship's founder, Paramahansa Yogananda.
The lush gardens display pillars that recognize the five world religions and their principle symbols: Christianity,Islam, Judiasm, Hinduism, and Islam. The site is also home to the Mahatma Gandhi World Peace Memorial, a small temple containing a sarcophagus containing Gandhi's ashes.
The Fellowship leads weekly classes in meditation, both on the grounds and through literature, but is open every day except Monday. Tuesday through Saturday their hours are 9:00 am - 4:30 pm and Sunday from noon to 4:30. There is free public parking a small museum, gift shop, and visitor center, in addition to the Windmill Chapel.
--Sarah Kruberg
photo credit: Sarah Kruberg
I've lived here all of my life and I don't think I've ever been up to visit this, but was looking through old family photos a couple of weeks ago and found a photo with that little shrine-like structure with my grandparents standing nearby and i wondered:where on earth are they? and now i know. thanks, sarah, for posting this.
ReplyDeleteThis is really cool. I can't explain the feeling when you come across a place like this...it really is like a breath of fresh air. Whenever I find such serene places like this, I always feel more wide awake and sometimes I feel like my vision focuses because I want to take mental pictures of such places. You should visit this Buddhist Temple in Rowland Heights. It's a far drive, but it's worth the drive. It is so pretty and it reminds me of the pictures you posted! Great post!
ReplyDeleteRowland Heights... I will actually. It's tough for me to venture east without a destination because I feel so lost! Finding little gems like this around here isn't easy, but certainly feels "pat on the back" worthy when you do! Thanks for the suggestion :)
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