This shrine has been created for all religions, that all may feel the unity of a common faith. That is why Self-Realization Fellowship calls itself the ‘church of all religions.’ It doesn’t make any difference what outward creed you follow; the real question is, do you know God? Self-Realization teachings show how anyone of any faith can follow the spiritual highway to the Infinite and have God-communion.
Paramahansa Yogananda, from his address at the dedication of the SRF Lake Shrine, August 20, 1950
Since its opening to the public in 1950, the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine has been a spiritual sanctuary where people from all over the world can come and experience true peace in heart, mind, and soul. The year 2025 marks the 75th anniversary of Paramahansa Yogananda’s dedication of this beloved pilgrimage site.
The Lake Shrine property, in Pacific Palisades, California, has a colorful history. Initially owned by a silent film studio, it was later envisioned as a private coastal paradise with a Dutch windmill and a double-deck houseboat — both of which remain today.
In the late 1940s, the grounds were sold to an oil company president who had plans to construct a resort hotel complex. But one night he dreamed his new acquisition had become a “Church of All Religions.” Deeply moved, that morning he found in the telephone book the listing for “Self-Realization Fellowship Church of All Religions” in Hollywood. He contacted SRF with an offer to sell — and shortly thereafter Paramahansaji acquired the property.
Before opening Lake Shrine to the public, from his “temporary headquarters” on the houseboat the Guru personally directed disciples throughout months of construction and landscaping. And he spent many hours in deep prayer and divine communion, invoking God’s blessings on all who would come to visit from around the world in future.
Hundreds of thousands have indeed felt these blessings and the enduring peace of the spiritual vibrations bestowed here by Paramahansaji, as they strolled and sat quietly in the lakeside meditation gardens, or attended an inspirational service at the hilltop temple (envisioned by the Guru during his lifetime and later opened in 1996), or participated in a retreat for spiritual renewal.
A focal point at Lake Shrine is the Golden Lotus Archway, designed by Paramahansaji and unveiled by him at the dedication ceremony. Behind the archway, in a “wall-less” temple open to the sky, is the Mahatma Gandhi World Peace Memorial, where a portion of Gandhi’s ashes are enshrined in a thousand-year-old stone sarcophagus.
In the “Court of Religions,” each of the five principal religions of the world is represented by a monument bearing its symbol. During the dedication ceremony in 1950 Paramahansaji said, “We must recognize the unity of mankind, remembering that we are all made in the image of God.”
In addition to being a significant anniversary, the year 2025 also brought unexpectedly dramatic events to the Lake Shrine’s history when wildfires caused widespread devastation across Los Angeles, including the Pacific Palisades community. Miraculously, the legacy structures at the Lake Shrine were spared, and tremendous thanks go to the valiant efforts of firefighters and the prayers of SRF members and friends worldwide.
We are deeply grateful that the Lake Shrine will remain a sanctuary of peace, beauty, and divine solace — a place for many future generations to discover and benefit from the sacred, uplifting vibrations emanating from this spiritual oasis, as foreseen by Paramahansaji.
As we shared in a recent blog post, we are delighted to announce that the SRF Lake Shrine meditation gardens will again be open to the public starting on August 27, after being closed due to the wildfire. At first we will be opening the outdoor areas surrounding the lake, with its lush pathways and beautiful meditation nooks; other areas of the Lake Shrine — including the Windmill Chapel, Houseboat, and hilltop Temple — will open at other times over the coming months, due to remediation work across the 10-acre grounds.
And while ongoing work on the property means that we will not be able to hold an event to honor the 75th anniversary of the Lake Shrine this year, we are planning to have a beautiful celebration of this spiritual sanctuary — dear to so many — in 2026.
We invite you to enjoy taking a virtual tour of the Lake Shrine on our website — to immerse yourself in the peace and upliftment that Paramahansa Yogananda intended each soul to experience as they visited this sacred site.
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