Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Self Realization Center Los Angeles



  Hello!  Today I am sharing a few photos I took visiting the Self Realization Center in Los Angeles. It is a very beautiful and peaceful place. Ever since reading Autobiography of a Yogi I have wanted to pay it a visit. Here are a few paragraphs from the official website explaining the purpose of the center:
  

For more than 85 years, Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) has been dedicated to carrying on the spiritual and humanitarian work of its founder, Paramahansa Yogananda, widely revered as the father of Yoga in the West.
SRF is a worldwide religious organization with international headquarters in Los Angeles. As expressed in the Aims and Ideals formulated by Paramahansa Yogananda, the society seeks to foster a spirit of greater understanding and goodwill among the diverse peoples and religions of our global family, and to help those of all cultures and nationalities to realize and express more fully in their lives the beauty, nobility, and divinity of the human spirit.


  There is a beautiful trail winding around the lake on the property. There are beautiful gardens planted all along it. It actually reminds me a bit of the lake in my community which is my favorite place to go meditate/reflect/commune with nature. It doesn't have all of these amazing flowers though!  
  My friend and I arrived only an hour until the center was to close for the day so I did not have the time to take as many photos as I would have liked. The building with the windmill houses a chapel. There are also 2 gift shops on the property which sell the various teachings of Yogananda.  I highly recommend Autobiography of a Yogi, it is a fascinating story and contains a wealth of wisdom.

  Part of the book talks about Yoganandas visit with Ghandi.  This shrine contains a portion of Ghandi's ashes.

  This photo was taken from the other side of the lake the shrine is located behind the archway. The lighting on this area was horrible at this time of day so I had a hard time capturing what I wanted to here.


  There are separate gardens dedicated to the worlds major religions. Here are photos of the Jewish and Christian Gardens, there are also ones dedicated to Islam and Hinduism.


  Here are a few photos I took of the beautiful flowers at the center. This is a beautiful, peaceful, inspirational place and I am really glad I got to see it!




  The center is free to visit and is open every day except Monday. You can find out more information 
here.  If you are ever in Los Angeles looking for something a little different to see check it out!













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