Voluntary League Appeal F a l l 2 0 1 5 Spread the Self-Realization teachings. Spread them with your spiritual force. One of the greatest services you can render is to concentrate on helping the cause of Self-Realization Fellowship. Remember, without your assistance the work cannot go on. Live this truth...work for Him. Paramahansa Yogananda Dear Friend, It is our joy to report that we have completed an important project: the restoration and renovation of the Windmill Chapel at the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine. We deeply thank you for your support over the past three years, which helped us to preserve and protect one of the significant landmarks from Paramahansa Yogananda s life. One letter from a donor described how just being in the Windmill Chapel kindled her love for God: After reading the Summer [2012] Voluntary League Appeal, every fiber of my being urged that I help in some way to preserve the beautiful Windmill Chapel. While living in the Los Angeles area nearly thirty years ago, it was at the Lake Shrine where I first felt the flood of my Guru s overwhelming blessings. It was in the Windmill Chapel where my heart opened wide to the loving guidance of my beloved Paramahansa Yogananda. Countless afternoons were spent meditating on the grounds, evening satsangas with Brothers Turiyananda or Ramananda, Sunday services, including the gentle wisdom imparted by Dennis Weaver all this inspired a lifelong (and, yes, eternal) link of loyalty to the Master and the path of Self-Realization. The inspiration and gratitude experienced at that sacred place on Sunset Boulevard defy description. Thanks to the help of members and friends like you, the Windmill Chapel will continue to inspire generations to come. In the enclosed newsletter you will learn about the fascinating behind-the-scenes story of this project, as well as hear about other preservation projects at the SRF Mother Center that your generosity has made possible. With your support, Self-Realization Fellowship is carrying out another critical initiative: a seismic retrofit and remodeling of the main SRF nuns ashram (located at the Mother Center in Los Angeles). Introduced in previous newsletters, the project is now about half complete; and we hope to finalize all the necessary work by late 2016. We thank all of you who have responded to our appeal: it will help ensure that this main center of our nuns monastic order endures for many years to come. We again invite your assistance and want you to know that your loving and loyal support whether through material contributions, prayers, or your personal efforts to grow spiritually are critical to the dissemination of Paramahansa Yogananda s teachings. May you always perceive the blessings of God and the Great Ones that your selfless gifts and determinations are surely drawing to you and your loved ones. In divine friendship, SELF-REALIZATION FELLOWSHIP Mother Center SRI MRINALINI MATA, PRESIDENT INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS: 3880 SAN RAFAEL AVENUE, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90065-3219 TEL: (323) 225-2471 FAX: (323) 225-5088 www.yogananda-srf.org IN INDIA: YOGODA SATSANGA SOCIETY OF INDIA
Voluntary League Newsletter A R e p o r t o n O u r R e c e n t A c t i v i t i e s F a l l 2 0 1 5 The Windmill Chapel at the Lake Shrine: Restoring a Beloved Pilgrimage Place After two years of loving and meticulous labor, we recently completed a comprehensive restoration, renovation, and earthquake retrofit of the Windmill Chapel at the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine. The reopening took place on July 27 during a special event attended by hundreds of SRF members and friends. Paramahansa Yogananda blessed this beloved shrine with his presence on numerous occasions (see photos next page). Today, it is a tranquil haven for the thousands who come here each year to meditate and pray. Some visitors, upon entering the refurbished sanctuary, have wondered, What did they do? It looks just the same as before. This is actually the sign of a successful restoration project, noted one key professional involved with the work. Although nearly every part of the weatherworn building (constructed circa 1945) was repaired, replaced, or refurbished, painstaking care was taken to preserve its original appearance. SRF monks skilled in carpentry and construction helped to plan, guide, and execute much of the project. Dedication and enthusiasm permeated the additional team of professionals, SRF employees, and volunteers. Reflecting on this, one monk said: In an earthquake retrofit, architects and engineers usually accept that added structural steel will have to be at least somewhat visible. However, our professionals took it upon themselves to find a way to completely conceal the seismic structural elements added to the Windmill Chapel. They appreciated that this is a unique and special place, whose appearance deserved to be kept absolutely free of unsightly changes. They felt much gratified that they were able to protect the building without impacting its appearance in any way. Also, stoneworkers offered to work long days and reschedule other commitments in order to complete new landscaping elements in time for this year s Convocation. There were other signs, too, of something special in the air that invisibly directed the project as it unfolded: There was a spark, a monk said. I always felt that the guidance and help of the Guru were present...[for instance,] whenever there was an urgent need to complete a project, a volunteer with just the skills needed at that time would suddenly show up and stay as long as needed. It was uncanny. Crucial coincidences like these started happening even before work started. Installing one of the reconstructed windmill sails.
An extra supply of rare, salvaged old-growth redwood acquired in 2004 when monks at the Lake Shrine constructed a new entrance gate proved to be the perfect material needed to reconstruct the Windmill Chapel s aged wooden elements. And then, as planning for the project got underway, SRF received a surprise offer: One of the monks was shopping for a CNC (Computer Numerical Control) router a sophisticated (and expensive) device that makes precise woodcuts with extraordinary speed in hopes of being able to use it to replicate much of the Windmill Chapel s intricate but worn and decayed woodwork. However, several attempts to locate a model within SRF s price range were unsuccessful. Finally, he called a company in Boston, identifying himself only by first name and stating his company name merely as SRF. The owner answered the phone, and in the course of Above left and right: One of the most poignant moments in the Windmill Chapel s history was the Guru s Last Supper with a group of monks on March 6, 1952, the day before he left his body. In the words of a monk who accompanied Paramahansaji that day: Master sat before the organ and played several of his chants and other Indian music...our hearts were filled with rapture. A real devotee of God was singing to the Divine Mother, and we felt his love and devotion and the bliss flowing from his hallowed temple.his eyes were radiant with joy. their conversation said, You are Self-Realization Fellowship you teach meditation, correct? I read Autobiography of a Yogi only three weeks ago...since you are nonprofit, would you mind if I gave you a 45% discount? That discount made the purchase possible, the monk said. The CNC router was critical in enabling our small team of carpenters to carry out this large project in a timely fashion and to accurately and efficiently reproduce the wooden elements. The alternative would have been to purchase less expensive equipment that would have enabled us to do the same work, but not nearly with the same degree of speed or safety. We are profoundly grateful to all who helped make possible the restoration of the sacred Windmill Chapel work that should preserve the building for many years to come. Together we have been able to offer God and Gurus a beautiful gift: the preservation of this blessed sanctuary that will continue to inspire and uplift those who will come seeking spiritual renewal. Soon an inspiring video about the Windmill Project will be available on our website at www.yogananda-srf.org. Look for an upcoming announcement on our homepage and in a future enewsletter. What your funds helped us to accomplish: Seismic retrofit that should enable the building to withstand a major earthquake. New windmill sails, window frames, fascia boards, and other wooden elements that are exact replicas of the originals, and are made of termite- and weather-resistant redwood. Re-engineering of the rusted mechanics of the windmill, which allows the previously immobile sails to rotate. (This is important, as periodic rotation of the sails will help even out weathering of the wood.) Repair of past water and termite damage, and waterproofing of the building. Repair or replacement of the roofs, the skylight, and several other elements of the building. Major upgrades to the heating, security, fire alarm, and audio systems. Improved access for the disabled. New terraced landscaping and wrought iron railings.
Preserving Artifacts of Our Guru s Mission Preserving important articles associated with Paramahansa Yogananda s life and historic mission is an ongoing part of SRF s stewardship. Thanks to your continuing help, we are able to hire professionals to advise on and perform specialized conservation tasks. Recently, SRF nuns worked closely with a team of respected conservators to refurbish and repair two intriguing heirlooms in the Mother Center meditation gardens. Both of these are significant for their personal connection to our Guru, and mark important milestones in the growth of his mission. The first is a bronze sundial that sits on a flagstone pedestal in a central area of the gardens (see photos above left and right). Acquired soon after Yoganandaji established the Mother Center as SRF s permanent headquarters, it was engraved with the following inscription: Presented to My Beloved Los Angeles Students with Blessings by Swami Yogananda, Jan. 1 st, 1926. Sun-Like Regularity in Daily Yogoda Exercises. Earlier this year, the sundial was cleaned, repaired, and refinished (see photo above). Reinstalled just in time for this year s Convocation (see photo right), for many years to come it will inspire visitors with our Guru s loving encouragement to be faithful in practicing the liberating SRF methods of yoga. The Mother Center gardens feature another unique antique an artistic faux bois ( false wood ) concrete table with matching chairs. Parama hansaji acquired the furniture sometime in or before 1942, and made it a focal point of the grounds of the newly established Hollywood Temple. (See photo below, in which the Guru is seated at the table.) It was subsequently moved to the Mother Center, where it invites visitors to sit for meditation or relax in the shade of the surrounding trees. R e c e n t l y, conservators repaired cracks in the base of the table and added stabilizing elements for additional protection (see photos right).
These and the many other items from Paramahansa Yogananda s life symbolize in a tangible way the many years of personal, hands-on effort he put into establishing the SRF work for the lasting benefit of us all and his ongoing support and presence, so strongly felt to this day. Thank you for helping us to maintain the many such artifacts, and the shrines where they are kept, as a perennial source of inspiration for the many devotees who come on pilgrimage to feel his ever-living blessings. Progress Report: The Gyanamata Ashram at the Mother Center We offer our sincere gratitude to all who have contributed to the retrofit and remodeling of the nuns Gyanamata Ashram at the Mother Center. Without your help, we could not have undertaken this large and critical project, which was necessary to bring the building in compliance with current earthquake safety codes (not in existence when the building was constructed almost fifty years ago). Work continues according to plan, with the second phase of the project coming to an end and the next phase scheduled to begin later this year. We ask your continued prayers for the project s successful completion by the scheduled date of fall 2016. The Guru s Sadhana: The Path of the Divine Warrior Through your spiritual efforts and material support not only of the specific projects described above, but of the myriad other services and activities that rely on your ongoing donations you are helping the spread of the Self-Realization Fellowship teachings around the globe. And as you apply Paramahansaji s how-to-live principles in your own daily lives, you exemplify the spirit of the divine warrior, so beautifully described here by SRF s president and sanghamata, Sri Mrinalini Mata: [Gurudeva Paramahansa Yogananda] insisted that we be divine warriors. That is what sadhana means that we become divine warriors, ready to face any trial that comes to us with indomitable will, indomitable determination, saying: Lord, You have allowed this circumstance to come to me.teach me; show me what I am to learn from it...i will overcome, by using that soul force with which You have endowed me that divine understanding and discrimination and love, that faith which tells me that You are ever by my side and within me as the very power which moves this body and mind and spirit. If you keep on with your spiritual efforts, practicing regularly the sadhana our Guru has taught, you will see that you are becoming a divine warrior, one who is supremely victorious in life. May God and Guru bring each one of you to that victory. Jai Guru! SELF-REALIZATION FELLOWSHIP 3880 San Rafael Avenue Los Angeles, California 90065-3219 U.S.A. www.yogananda-srf.org Contributions in response to Self-Realization Fellowship s Fall 2015 Voluntary League Appeal are for SRF s general support and can be utilized for SRF s spiritual work as the Board of Directors may determine. Donations received later than approximately twelve months after the mailing date will Copyright 2015 Self-Realization Fellowship. All rights reserved. Printed on recycled paper c 10264-J3891 be credited to the most recent Voluntary League Appeal. Self-Realization Fellowship is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service and the State of California as a tax-exempt organization. Accordingly, donations are taxdeductible as permitted by law.