Long ago, while I was traveling in Kashmir, I saw this building in a vision. Years later, when I came to Los Angeles and saw this place, I recognized it as the building in my vision, and knew that God intended it to be ours.
—Paramahansa Yogananda, speaking of the Self-Realization Fellowship International Headquarters Building at the Mother Center
May 2008
Dear Friends,
We have some important news to share with you about a major new undertaking — an extensive preservation project to protect our International Headquarters Building on Mt. Washington in Los Angeles. Because this project may affect the plans of many of you over the next few years, we wanted to let you know about it now — and especially to ask the prayers and positive thoughts of all of you as we begin.
An icon of the worldwide spiritual work founded by Paramahansa Yogananda, this structure is regarded as among the most sacred places on earth by followers of the great Guru — who lived, worked, and communed with God here for more than 25 years, and who disseminated from this building the liberating science of Kriya Yoga to all parts of the globe. Because of its long association with the work of Self-Realization Fellowship and its world-renowned founder, the building was officially designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument by the city in 2006.
The four-story building was originally constructed about 100 years ago. Despite continuous loving care over the decades — with the Guru's own hands in the early years, and continued by the close disciples to whom he entrusted his material and spiritual legacy — the building requires major "retrofitting" of its foundation and support structure to preserve it intact for future generations. (Situated in an active earthquake zone, the building has sustained structural damage from repeated earthquake shocks over its nearly 100-year span.)
At the request of SRF President Sri Daya Mata, a team of senior monastics and dedicated professional lay members has been working on the planning, funding, and execution of this far-reaching and very expensive undertaking. Additionally, one of the most respected firms specializing in renovation of historic buildings in southern California, Pfeiffer Partners Architects, has been retained to oversee the project. Among their recent accomplishments are the renovation of the famous Griffith Observatory and the Los Angeles Central Library.
We hope that the actual structural work on the International Headquarters Building will begin sometime in 2009. Before it can even start, however, a host of related issues must be addressed. For example: Since the building must be completely vacated for about two years during the retrofitting, additional housing must be acquired for the monastics who reside there. The many offices and departments in the building also have to be relocated — some permanently. This will require a significant expansion of office space at our Publications Center at the foot of Mt. Washington, which, in turn, has necessitated moving the shipping and warehouse operations currently at the Publications Center to a new facility nearby. Because the International Headquarters Building is the very hub of our worldwide work, having it closed for so many months is indeed complex! When all is said and done, there will be few areas in SRF that are not affected by this project in some way.
In giving the go-ahead for this long-hoped-for project, Sri Daya Mata and the other senior disciples on our Board of Directors wanted to be certain that we could assure all of you that the spiritual services you expect from Guruji's society will continue uninterruptedly. In particular:
All mailings of the SRF Lessons, magazines, and other materials will go out as usual.
Convocation will be held as usual during the project. However, the Mother Center Pilgrimage for 2009 Convocation may need to be cancelled. Should this be the case, we will let you know in advance.
Arrangements are being made so that throughout the project, our monks and nuns at the Mother Center will be able to continue to provide the same level of individual care and spiritual counseling to all who call or write to us — and the personal attention given to all requests for prayers for healing and divine help will go on as usual.
Mother Center support and guidance for our meditation groups worldwide will continue as normal.
For the many of you from around the world who visit the Mother Center especially to meditate where our Guru lived and to absorb the blessings of pilgrimage, we look forward to welcoming you with special love and friendship at the other shrines blessed by his physical presence — Encinitas, Lake Shrine, and the temples at Hollywood and San Diego — during the time the Mother Center grounds are closed.
Further details, including estimated costs and schedule, are now being finalized and will be announced this summer. As the project begins, Sri Daya Mata has expressed the following message to Self-Realization Fellowship members and friends worldwide:
"My dear ones, I know that Master's sacred ashram on Mt. Washington holds a beloved place in your hearts as it does in mine. Looking back on a blessed lifetime spent seeking and serving God here, my heart is filled with joy and gratitude that we now have the opportunity to preserve this shrine for all of you — and for the millions whose lives will be transformed in future generations by the blessings flowing from this Mother Center of our Guru's divine dispensation. I ask each of you to join me in praying for the complete success of this vital project, which is so very dear to my heart."
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