Adventure No. 5: Self-Realization Fellowship

It’s clear that Paramahansa Yogananda knew what was up. Firstly, he was the founder of the Self-Realization Fellowship – a worldwide spiritual organization based on Yogananda’s teachings – Kriya Yoga, meditation, and the Worldwide Prayer Circle, which is a network of groups that pray for world peace and harmony. Secondly, the SRF is based and was founded in 1920 in Mt. Washington, one of my favorite pockets of anywhere I’ve ever been – and I’m sure it was even more gorgeous in 1920. Yogananda is also known as the Father of Yoga in the West. Sounds like a pretty cool dude, right?

Of course, there is way more information on Yogananda and the SRF, and if you’re interested in the backstory, or you’d like to learn more about the foundations of the SRF, then you should really browse the Web. It’s out there.

But for us, SRF’s International HQ, tucked away in the quiet woodland neighborhood of Mt. Washington, is another sweet spot in the City of Angels for our father and daughter adventures.

How it went:

The day after Halloween: It was kind of quiet, the world was a little tousled, and one felt a bit more settled into fall, a perfect day for adventure time with my girl. There were no obstacles in getting from point A to B, and in L.A., that’s a rarity. A welcome one.

We took off into the autumn glow around four in the afternoon, coming from Glassell Park. From our apartment, by street, it took a total of eight minutes. Having been to our destination before, there was no getting lost. We wove through the canyon neighborhoods, getting vistas of the Glassell and Highland Park’s Spanish and Craftsman style homes compacted into the hillsides.

You wouldn’t know the SRF was there unless you were told to look for it. The neighborhood of Mt. Washington is a pretty posh, upper-middleclass one I’d assume, with nice two-story homes, gates, and lion statues. From the outside, the SRF looks a bit like Daddy Warbucks’s casa. A big white gate for the driveway and some kind of garden wall for the perimeter; fancy, but inoffensive.

We parked on the street. There is parking on the property, but I thought we could use the extra jaunt. Although we’d been here before, I wanted to get a little info from the Visitors’ Center (for the sake of the blog), so I could at least appear to have some journalistic intent.

The Visitors’ Center is just inside the gate and to the left. I didn’t catch the concierge’s name, but she was cordial and helpful in directing us to locations on the property, although she gave me a look of, “What are you doing here with that baby, if not to meditate and self-realize?” Understandable.

There is a paved private road with a sidewalk that runs down the center of the property. The Visitors’ Center, main house, koi pond, and wishing well are off to the left. Along – and at the end of – the road there are parking spaces. Beyond, there are employee living quarters. To the right there is a big grass lawn with benches and a variety of plant life; a tennis court with tables, benches and other sitting apparatus; and, through a cluster of trees, a path that leads to a few small garden meditating zones to get zoned out in.

We chose the right. Insert metaphor.

The lawn area was pleasant, but we were told no sitting on the grass, ‘cause that’s what the benches were for. Cool, no biggie.

It was QUIET. No cars passing by. No dude with his shirt off, on his marathon training run where you either eat his dust or get spun like a turnstile. No ladies on their power walk chatting loudly about their jobs and husbands. Just quiet.

The clear view of downtown is at the tennis court, so we headed over. There’s something very English about it all. It looks like the set from A Room with a View or some Kenneth Branagh period piece. At the tennis court, I can picture Englishmen in white suits playing a set while the ladies sit at the tables sipping on some Earl Grey.

The tennis court is very well kept, but it doesn’t even look like it’s being used. There are benches and tables to sit at and enjoy the peace. This day was particularly smoggy/hazy and downtown was but a dream. We moved on.

Through a cluster of trees is an enchanted garden forest with little annexes for meditating. Streams of sunset were bolting through the trees. We were alone. It was so mellow.

I took Riv out of the baby carrier and held her in my arms for a while. No fuss. She thrives in the outdoors. I think she’s going to be a nature girl, just like her mommy and daddy. She loves to look at everything.

It was getting late and we wanted to catch the main house where the old chapel and library are located. Unfortunately, we were too late, and told (very nicely) that it was time to go.

We bid farewell to the kindly robed man and woman getting into their car. They were high on life and so were we.

Pros and Cons:

As soon as you walk onto the property you feel like you’re in Utopia. Everyone who works the grounds seems to have some enlightenment high, and the estate is aesthetically manicured and beautiful. It’s like a sanctuary within the safe zone of Mt. Washington. When Riv is up and running I’d like to take her back there to give her legs the workout they deserve on that lawn.

Except … that probably won’t happen. The Self-Realization Fellowship’s not really intended as a park for toddlers to run around in. It’s a place to be quiet and self-realize. Our presence there didn’t seem to bother anyone, but I would feel a bit anxious toting a wild one around while seekers were zoning out in the gardens.