A Holy Shrine near Santa Monica

         

    

                                                                                                                (Golden Lotus Archway)

              

   Most of you, interested in yoga, might have read the famous book"Autobiography of a yogi"(1946) which  reveals the innermost feelings and thoughts of a great spiritual master and also the hidden powers and mysterious secrets of the soul experienced by enlightened persons only. Swami Yogananda's unique contribution to this world lies in showing a path to world peace by his universal and harmonious approach to religions through the powerful instrument of Kriya Yoga suitable for all men of all ages.Paramahamsa Yogananda (1893-1952) established his first self-realization centre in Mt.Washington in  Los Angeles.Recently I got a chance to visit his peaceful spiritual retreat "Lake Shrine" established by him in 1950 in Pacific Palisades,just  three miles from Santa Monica towards north, and nearly twelve miles from Malibu.

  We started from Malibu to visit the holy "Lake Shrine" located in an affluent residential area where many Hollywood celebrities reside. On the way we saw many beaches with cafes,snack bars and shops selling souvenirs and refreshments.Some people were surfing while others were standing in knee deep waters to enjoy the cool laving touch of ripples of the pacific ocean.

     As we entered the "Lake Shrine" to our left we saw a beautiful garden with religious symbols, called "the Court of Religions" representing the five important religions of the world.(the star for Judaism, the cross for Christianity, the the star and crescent for Islam, the wheel of law for Buddhism and the sacred latter Om for Hinduism). The beautiful surroundings with shady trees, rocky slopes, water falls and marble statues and arches made us feel as if we had entered the real abode of peace far from wordly commotion.The statue of Madonna with infant Christ near the gift shop attracted our attention. We entered the gift shop and found many books, photos, holy rosaries, idols and photos. As we moved on, the statue of Jesus Christ near the waterfall was seen as if welcoming us to slake our thirst with eternal love. The statue of the Buddha in the dark groves suffused with silence seemed a suitable place for peaceful meditation. The statue of Lord Krishna is another center of attraction with His valuable teaching of Gita engraved beneath "He who perceives me everywhere / and beholds every thing in me/ never loses sight of me / nor do I ever lose sight of him."

   A big archway beside a lake is another important feature of this holy shrine. The Golden Archway is trimmed with blue tiles and five gold lotus blossoms are seen on the top of the arch. These lotus blossoms symbolise spiritual awakening and enlightenment. This arch serving as an entrance to a temple without any walls signifies a universal shrine open to all without any boundaries of race, religion and creed. On the other side of the lake we saw an open shrine called Gandhi World Peace Memorial.A portion of Gandhiji's ashes were kept here in a one thousand year-old
Chinese sarcophagus flanked by two statues of Guan Yin,the Chinese goddess of mercy.The ashes of Mahatma Gandhi had been sent by Dr.V.M.Nawle, a publisher and journalist from Pune and a friend of Swami Yogananda .This is only place where Gandhiji's ashes were seen outside India. Swami Yogananda met Mahatma Gandhi at Wardha in 1935 and at his request initiated him in the science of Kriya yoga.

   We saw a boat house on the lake and we were informed that Sri Yogananda used to spend hours together in meditation in this floating residence. The gardens and rocky slopes with dense growth of shrubs  around with white swans and ducks on waters present a picturesque view of the lake shrine. The two decked white Missisipi house boat with tiny apartments provides a silent and spiritual retreat for meditation amidst scenic surroundings. We sat in the house boat and spent some time looking at the herons and floating swans.

   Later we visited the "Windmill Chapel" a  replica of the 16th century Dutch windmill with a residential hall and a wooden bridge over a small lotus pond near it. Here memorial and prayer services are held. Visitors may pray here silently . The photos of Swami Yogananda and his spiritual masters could be seen in the chapel. Before the construction of the new temple prayers and meetings were held in this chapel only. A box was kept there for dropping slips in which one can ask doubts and questions and they would be spiritually answered. Mr. Mc Enroy, asst. superintendent for 20th Century Fox Studios purchased this site filled with water and weeds, and constructed this chapel in the model of a Dutch windmill with a peaked roof and carved figure heads to serve as his temporary residence. There are benches all along the way with quotations form Vedas and other religious books engraved on plaques to make visitors imbibe the essence and universal truths of all spiritual paths with one and same goal that is self-realisation. Here visitors may sit and meditate without any distractions amidst sylvan surroundings.

  We were escorted to the new temple on the hill by the custodian who gave a lengthy lecture about philosophy in general .We had to stand nearly for one hour so that a batch of visitors would be led together. After climbing 106 steps we saw the 58-foot high 4000 square-foot temple crowned with a golden lotus.The white octagonal building has a big auditorium with a seating capacity of four hundred persons and is equipped with video facility.There is provision for conducting Sunday school class rooms, and for studying in the book room.  As Windmill chapel was not spacious enough to accommodate all people Swami Yogananda expressed his wish that a new shrine should be built. In 1996 this new hill shrine was constructed thereby fulfilling his wish. After reaching the new shrine the custodian gave a lengthy introduction about the training and service-oriented activities of the Self Realization Fellowship organization. On the walls we saw the portraits of Swami Yogananda and his spiritual preceptors. We had to return in the middle of  the lecture due to some personal problems. We thought that it would have been better if the custodian had directly approached the topic of Kriya Yoga  without her lengthy introductions making most of the visitors feel exhausted.

   As we were returning we learnt that once this place had been a barren canyon called Santa ynez. Alphonzo Bell Sr. a real estate magnate bought this land in 1927 and tried to level the canyon. During the levelling process a natural spring-fed lake called Santa ynez lake was formed in the part of the canyon that had not been levelled. Mr.Everett Mc Elroy, Asst.Supdt. of construction for 20th century Fox Studios, purchased the property,cleared the ground,dredged the lake and set up a boat house on the lake as his temporary residence. Later he built a mill house to stay in and rented the boat house for movie stars and other celebrities to stay in. Mc Elroy built another residence in the model of a 16th century Dutch windmill near a pond. In the late 1940's he sold the property to an oil company president who planned to build a hotel complex there. He dreamt three times that his property would become a place to serve as a church of all religions.Referring to the telephone book he learnt that there was only one institution with that name"Self Realisation Fellowship Church of all religions"in Hollywood. He wrote a letter to its founder,Swami Yogananda offering to sell the property. Even before the letter reached him,Swami Yogananda answered the telephone call asking the owner when he could come to see the property offered for sale.Thus as divine providence ordained,the beautiful Lake Shrine was established in 1950 under the masterly supervision of Swami Yogananda who used to stay in the Mississippi house boat and personally saw to the creation of a holy shrine with befitting natural scenery and symbolic patterns near the surrounding Santa Monica hills. We came out of   this peaceful retreat which is the meeting point of all religions and races showing a  universal path for upliftment of all mankind.

"He who is persistent will realize God. So try your best to make meditation a regular experience in your life."  

     --(Paramahamsa Yogananda)
                                                                                                                          

20th December, 2011                                                                                 Soma Gutala

The Enchanted Castle in San Simeon

                                             
                                          The Enchanted Castle in San Simeon

   
     Some of you might have heard of the fabulous summer palace in Xanadu built by Kubla Khan , the famous Mongolian emperor.S.T.Coleridge immortalised the beauty of that palace"a stately pleasure dome" surrounded by "sunny spots of greenery" in his fragmentary poem "Kubla Khan" composed in 1797.  Such a wonderful palace one can see here built amidst beautiful scenic surroundings near the coast just twenty-three miles from High Way No.1 California that is "Hearst Castle", a palatial building, one of the National Historic land marks in U.S.A.

   After paying entry fee, we were asked to see a forty-minute I.max film briefing the life history of Mr.William Randolph Hearst who undertook this Herculean task of constructing a castle on the top of a hill at a height of 16,00 feet from sea level.We were also shown some of the highlights of the castle which was built in a rare combination of various styles of architecture found in European countries. The swift movement of images on the screen with changing points of focus and view points made us feel as if we were lifted up and down. Later we travelled in a luxury bus through winding paths of hills with vast tracts of hilly slopes . Here and there we saw the vestiges of past glory like log cabins, cages and enclosures meant for keeping wild animals.
 
  After travelling five miles we reached our destination , a huge mansion with towers surrounded by a
 esplanade decked with various sculptures, fountains and antique art objects. An agile, beaming
 gentleman introduced himself as a guide and ushered us into the castle after climbing steps. We were  allowed to see "Casa Grande"(The main castle) , that too , only a few rooms on the first floor. The
 guide,though enthusiastic, went on talking in a jovial manner without giving information in a brief
  and specific manner. He spoke mostly about the luxurious and fashionable life led by Mr. Hearst.

 The first hall is the drawing room with a raised platform in one corner which might have served as
 a place for delivering speeches . Costly paintings and art objects were seen in the room . The second
 hall was meant for dining. A long dining table with rows of chairs is seen with a neat arrangement of
 porcelain plates and cutlery with crystal and silver bowls containing fruits and refreshments. Hearst
 used to entertain many guests in his palatial mansion. Celebrities and political dignitaries like   Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin, Cary Grant, Mark Twain and others used to attend his parties. The dining room looked gorgeous with sparkling chandeliers and richly embroidered tapestry  with a carved wooden ceiling showing various saintly figures. In another hall Hearst used to sit with a limited number of friends and relatives and take his breakfast. There is also a big hall for the guests to entertain themselves by playing games like snooker and bridge. We were not shown the kitchen in the adjacent room as our tour did not include viewing it. So what we saw was a very little portion of the castle which has nearly 165 rooms.

 As we came out we noticed a beautiful pool filled with crystal-clear blue water surrounded by  ancient columns with a statue of the sea god (Neptune)  seen on the top of the temple. This Roman
 temple front was transported from Europe to beautify this swimming pool. Statues of nymphs and
 swans seen around the pool ("Neptune Pool") were carved by the famous French sculptor , Charles    Cassou.

 Just before we reached the way to exit we saw another big indoor swimming pool decorated with
 marble statues. The walls and the ceiling of the whole room were covered with glass mosaic tiles of
 blue and gold colour providing a grand spectacle of the pool which was designed in the style of a
 Roman Bath. The sunlight streaming through glass windows adds splendour to this shining pool.
 This  Roman Pool is based on the design of Mausoleum with its blue and gold colour scheme and  star  patterns. Around the castle we saw the marble statues of Roman gods , goddesses and heroes in  graceful postures. This castle was an inspiration for the "Xanadu" mansion of Orson Welles' film "Citizen Kane" in which Oheka Castle in New York was shown as a location.

 After coming out I could not but wonder to think of Mr.Hearst who successfully transformed
 his lofty dream of constructing this palatial residence on this isolated remote hill which has now  become one of the historic monuments of the U.S.A. We often use the phrase"building castles  in the  air". But here was a person who dared to build a dream castle of his aspirations spending
 all his wealth and boldly facing all the challenges with patience and perseverance. It took nearly  twenty-eight years(1919 to 1947) for Hearst to build this magnificent castle with 165 rooms, gardens  terraces , pools and walkways. Using his experience of visiting various castles in Europe, and after careful comparative study of various styles of other countries , he decided to build the  castle in the Renaissance and Baroque styles of Southern Spanish cathedrals and palaces. He also  tried to blend various styles in designing and decorating the castle by transporting or by shaping the  replicas of the beautiful structures and sculptures he had seen. He used his precious art collections in  adding more splendour to this wonderful work of artistic creation. At the same time Mr.Hearst took  much care to adopt modern techniques and provide modern facilities like water supply, electricity, sports, and a movie theatre. He also took keen interest in conserving and also in enhancing  the charm of the scenic surroundings by setting up his own private zoo with more than 300 animals of various exotic species in a fenced area of 2000 acres of his estate. Many varieties of plants and  trees like palms, citrous trees,dahlias,oleandars and roses were planted on the hill slopes. But during  the period of depression of 1930's Hearst could not maintain his zoo and so was compelled to donate  or sell his animals like zebras,mountain elks and bisons to public zoo's. Even now, a few animals like  goats and mountain elks are spotted in the ranch by visitors.                                                                                                      

 Mr. William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951) son of a rich miner and ranch owner, George Hearst,
 inherited nearly 2,50,000 acres of ranch at San Simeon . As a prosperous business magnate owning
 twenty-eight newspapers, eighteen magazines, several radio stations and movie companies, he led a
 a very busy life. He thought of building a decent bungalow to settle on the hill of Santa Lucia range.
 Julia Morgan (1872-1957) , an architect from San Francisco, took up this stupendous task of constructing this castle on a rocky terrain in an aesthetic and attractive manner in conformity with the lofty aspirations of Mr.Hearst. Really she deserves due applause and credit for giving shape to the dreams of a generous  person into solid reality. Hearst renamed the earlier known as Camp Hill as"The Enchanted Hill".

 The castle was built in an area of 127 acres with a built in area of nearly 90,000 square feet. The area of Casa Grande is 60,645 square feet . Three guest houses were built around the castle. After Hearst's demise in 1951, the Hearst Corporation donated the property to the State of California. Since then this historic monument is being managed by State Park Service. As the main estate is used as a museum, an older Victorian house in the estate has been used by Hearst's family as a retreat. This castle joined the National Register of Historic Places on June22,1972, and became a U.S.National Historic Landmark on May11,1976. Lord John Julius Norwich, the famous architectural historian, aptly said,"Hearst Castle is a palace in every sense of the word."

 On our return journey by bus down the hill, we saw a few wild animals roaming freely on the ranch while a few cages and empty enclosures were seen that once were the cosy shelters for exotic animals. The audio commentary in the bus during our journey was quite clear,informative and interesting. In the gift shop one could find many CDs,books,photos and souvenirs that would serve as reminders and tokens  of the grand masterpiece of this real dream castle.

                                              *************************
             10-12-2011                                                                                             Soma Gutala