As we approach the completion of one full year since the Palisades Fire devastated much of the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles, where Paramahansa Yogananda’s beloved SRF Lake Shrine is located, we want to bring you the latest updates on the reopening of this spiritual sanctuary. We also have news of a special event being planned for the Lake Shrine congregation and larger Palisades community to mark this anniversary with a sense of hope and strength for the future.
As we have reported in earlier posts, the great majority of the Lake Shrine buildings — and all of the legacy structures around the lake — survived the immediate impact of the wildfire. Nevertheless, significant remediation work on most of the buildings has been ongoing since that time, so that we can gradually and safely reopen the entirety of the 10-acre property. We were grateful to be able to make the SRF Lake Shrine Meditation Gardens again available to visitors this past August and are delighted that the Windmill Chapel is now again open for use (see more below).
A Day of Remembrance and Renewal at the Lake
Our hearts remain with all residents of Los Angeles who were severely impacted by the various wildfires in January of 2025, as they continue to work to rebuild their homes and livelihoods.
On January 7, 2026, the Lake Shrine will be hosting “A Day of Remembrance and Renewal” on the anniversary of the fires. All are welcome, and our Lake Shrine neighbors and congregation are warmly invited to come and enjoy the sanctuary of peace that is the Lake Shrine — to meet and greet one another, share memories, reflect, and stand together as a community in the process of recovery, rebuilding, and renewal.
Reflecting on those coming to the Meditation Gardens since their reopening, Brother Satyananda, minister-in-charge at Lake Shrine, said: “We see people quietly absorbing the energy when they visit. We’re seeing a lot of people experimenting with meditation — they’re trying to feel something and are coming here for a sense of relief — from the world, and from the losses of the fire. We often hear, ‘Thank you. I really needed this.’”
We hope that this special day of remembrance will give a chance for many to experience the same sense of upliftment and hope at Lake Shrine. You can find additional details on the Lake Shrine website about the January 7 event.
Windmill Chapel Reopened to Visitors
The Lake Shrine’s Windmill Chapel is again open to the public for meditation for the first time since the fire.
The Windmill Chapel holds a special place in the history of Lake Shrine and in the hearts of SRF members and friends who come from around the world to visit and meditate there. This quaint Dutch windmill was on the Lake Shrine property when Paramahansa Yogananda acquired it in 1949, and here he often meditated and communed with the Divine.
We are also very pleased that we will be able to begin offering Sunday services for the Lake Shrine congregation at the Windmill Chapel starting soon (until remediation work on the main temple is completed and it can be reopened). Other areas of the Lake Shrine will continue to open in the coming months, and we will keep updating you on that process as it unfolds.
Your Financial Assistance Is Welcome
We deeply appreciate and welcome your support — in all its many forms — of Lake Shrine during this time of rebuilding and remediation. We are grateful to all who have contributed prayers, volunteer service, or material contributions. Your generosity will assist all our efforts to preserve this unique sanctuary for generations to come.
Donations can be made when you visit, or online. (Complete plans for replacing the buildings that were destroyed, including those that housed some of the Lake Shrine monks, are still in process, and we will share more about this when information is available.) Thank you.
Visiting the SRF Lake Shrine Meditation Gardens is free, and all are welcome. To plan your visit, please use the online reservation system on the SRF Lake Shrine website. Please note that for the special “A Day of Remembrance and Renewal” on January 7, 2026, no reservations are required.
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Thank you for this update. I am delighted that the Windmill Shrine is open, I have had such wonderful meditations there. I await the opening of the retreat center and hope to be there again ini the not too distant future. Jai Guru!
My heart is full, hearing the progress that has been made toward reopening the Lake Shrine. It is truly a miracle that this sacred shrine, dedicated to all world religions, was saved, even though with so much devastation all around it. With gratitude...
We are grateful, after losing our family home of 60 years in the Palisades fire on 1/7/25, that the beloved Lake Shrine was untouched by flames. Thank you so much for hosting the Day of Remembrance and Renewal last week. It was a beautiful event, everyone was very kind and welcoming. The gazebo where a written memory could be placed with a rose for prayers was especially meaningful.
My question to you is: Are Meditation and Services being conducted now at the Windmill Chapel ? If not yet, when could they start?
Thankyou for all that you do. And much love to all.
As mentioned in the article, the windmill chapel is open now for personal meditation. Sunday services will begin soon, but I haven't seen a date when they will begin.
Thank you very much for the update. The Lake Shrine is very dear to me and my family for more reasons than one. Unfortunately I missed the Jan 7 Day because Lake Shrine is an hour and half away. I dont drive out of town anymore and my son was busy that day.
Anyways, I did visit the Gardens once as I was very keen to pay homage to The Lake Shrine and the Pacific Palisades region. I felt very deeply about all that happened due to the fire. I am not sure exactly how much I prayed for lake Shrine because in my mind was the thought always, " How can Lake Shrine ever not be there ? "
I was to visit the Lakeshrine retreat last year, but just 2 weeks prior the fire struck…. Since then I have been praying and waiting for retreat to open.thanks for updating…. Like Mother Centre, this place is charged with Guruji’s presence…. God bless all involved in the required work for it.
I am happy to hear that the beautiful Mediation Gardens have opened to feel the peace and serenity there. I can't wait to also visit the Windmill Chapel to mediate with more zest, meaning, and purpose. I'm pleased also that the Windmill Chapel will be open for services soon, a place that our Guru loved to feel closer to the Divine. I feel this reopening after a year of waiting is truly a spiritual renewal and reward for all of us so we can all appreciate more deeply our own relationship to our Guru and the Divine.
It is so heartening to read about reopening of this beautiful retreat. We had visited in March’24, and had felt immensely fortunate; and memories of prayers in temple on samadhi anniversary of great Gurudev still soothes the heart. Had followed the blogs on fire-time events and the developments thereafter. It was sad to see damages in Palisades, whereas it is exhilarating to hear about the recovery. Thanks to all those who protected and revived. Firm resolve & vision of respected Brother Chidananda and blessings of Gurudev! Greetings to all!
Thank you for the update! I am grateful that the recent flooding and mud slides in the area have not caused any further problems for the Lake Shrine!
So uplifting to read that Lakeshrine has been celebrating this special day of remembrance and renewal with all the neighbors and others of P. Palisades, in united spirit of hope and support for each other. The monastics at Lakeshrine are expressing a deeply needed loving, caring spirit for humanity and this will spread around the world. My best wishes to all the people who have endured so much, may all of you find solace in kind brotherhood and upliftment and new strength and trust at this holy place.
Best wishes for recovery to all and in gratitude, from Austria
Thank you for these updates! For those of us living outside Los Angeles, it is especially inspiring. Even though I live in another state, I feel connected to the Lake Shrine community because of these kinds of blog posts. Sending love and healing to all Monastics, Lay People, Volunteers and Lake Shrine community members.
Wonderful news about the Windmill Chapel! I used to be a volunteer chapel sitter in the Windmill Chapel many years ago and know how inspiring that beautiful place can be to those seeking solace and peace! Jai Guru!
Hello,
Do you know when the retreat center will reopen?
Thank you,
Ellen Schrier
Dear Ellen Schrier, thank you for your question. The Retreat and other indoor areas are undergoing remediation work and will open over the coming months. We will continue to update you here as the reopening unfolds. We understand your eagerness to visit the Retreat and thank you for your patience.
Thank you so much for this update on Lake Shrine! Jai Guru!