🪷 Jesus and Yoga • What is LA's Self-Realization Fellowship? (Featuring WARD RADIO)
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- Опубликовано: 29 июн 2024
- Let's try something a little different.
In the past, I've received requests to visit other worship centers of different faiths and religions. For visit number 8, we team-up with @WARDRADIO's Cardon Ellis and Luke Hanson with a visit to the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine just blocks from the Pacific Ocean in the L.A. suburbs.
We called ahead to book an appointment, expecting to attend some sort of meditation stretching service mixing Jesus Christ with yoga.
Welp, that didn't actually happen.
Instead, we walked through a natural amphitheater containing waterfalls, fountains, flower beds, statues, and white swans gliding across the lake.
There also were a strange range of landmarks.
The first sight was a golden lotus archway in front of a Gandhi World Peace Memorial that apparently housed some of his ashes. We then sat quietly in a Mississippi-style houseboat in front of a picture of the Self-Realization Fellowship's guru founder, Paramahansa Yogananda. After that, we then went inside an authentic reproduction of a 16th-century Dutch windmill that served as a chapel. Inside, people were meditating in front of six images - one of Jesus Christ, a second of Bhagavan Krishna, and then four exalted yogi masters (including Yogananda).
We finished at the Court of Religions, which displayed symbols of five principal religions of the world (Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism). Before we left, one of the signature sights is a life-size statue of Jesus Christ looking over the Lake Shrine above a waterfall.
I knew nothing coming in, and even when filming our reaction, I couldn't pronounce Yogananda's name. After the visit, I learned that he believed in an underlying harmony of all faiths with a mediation technique called kriya yoga. Yogananda teachings started in India, then introduced them to the West in 1920. His influence spread throughout the world, most notably in California with various temples being built in prime real estate locations.
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▶️ Timestamps:
0:00 LA
0:30 Ward Radio Collab
1:15 St. Jude
2:03 Jesus and Yoga?!
5:06 Look at SRF Lake Shrine
6:41 First Reactions
10:55 Mix of Faiths
13:39 Houseboat
20:21 Windmill Chapel
27:43 Final Impressions
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🎵 Music:
Mhern - By The Harbor
• Mhern - By The Harbor ...
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Change-up for this one compared to other videos. Thanks to Cardon and Luke with WARD RADIO for joining me.
With the Gift of the Holy Ghost, you are now able to regularly extract True principles from any source (as is commended by the 13th Article of Faith). I believe that you, uniquely have this as a "Gift of the Spirit". Love you my brotha!
GREAT visit! - so cool! -
The temple grounds are open to everyone! I have gone to just to sit and reflect without going in before.
I admire your respectful yet honest assessment of each church you feature.
Reminds me of a saying, "All truth will be circumscribed into one whole." I am not quoting verbatim, but pulling from my memory.
12:05 what a wonderful video. Beautiful! You all are great too. I just wanted to mention Our Church does do this and offers it to the public daily. It's called the Temple Grounds. Just saying😁
YES!!
I was going to say the same.
Yah, but compared to that beautiful garden with the pond, some temple grounds could expand and upgrade. More grottos, more houseboats. 🙂
DONATE, MY PEEPS :)
I’m amazed at your ability to truly appreciate all that these different churches have to offer. So many people can’t look at the good in things that are different or a little weird compared to what they’re used to
LDS Temple grounds have beautiful, peaceful surroundings, especially at the "front door", not the entrance.
I was worried the Ward Radio guys were going to ruin this video. But it turns out I enjoyed everything Cardon had to say, he was really the star of this video.
Yeah, Cardon is usually a little 'Bro-tier', but he's a good guy and was reserved in this instance.
I was going to say the same thing!!
8:00 our church does do this Cardon. It’s called the Outer gardens of the temple.
Amen! The Sacred Grove, Adam-ondi-Ahman, Temple Square, Nauvoo, every single church and temple property, This is the Place, our own private homes of worship… I’m just getting started! Are we really having this conversation?
Glad you recognized the pagan aspects of Mormonism !!!
@@davidjanbaz7728 it isn’t pagan. In the Bible the outer court of the temple was for the gentiles.
in my opinion it isnt the same experience. When I visited the sites around temple square there were missionaries at every site asking for names of people they could visit. I really just wanted to learn about the church history there and knew no one in my family would be open to visits. It felt very pushy to me,if it was just once that would be one thing but it happened many times a day at every location. At a meditation garden like this place this doesn't happen. They just want you to be able to commune with the creator, which is a beautiful thing.
Hello Brothers. I have been there and I enjoy every time I visit this place. But when we are in communion with God every place is good to meditate.
I may push back on a lot of theology - but these episodes outside the studio are well-done. 👌
Nice new format!!! Go Mr, 52!! I would so go there. Peaceful, reverent place to reflect on world peace and love.
Thank you, David.
Pretty cool! Maybe you guys can get Thomas Mckonkie onto your show. He left the church when he was younger, studied buddism for a long time and then eventually returned to the church. Its interesting how he incorporates meditation and eastern philosophy with the restored gospel.
I love the Lake Shrine. I first read The Autobiography of a Yogi over twenty years ago. I would have to say that it had as profound of an impact on me as the BoM. Since that reading, I have been studying Hinduism in its many forms, along with many other faiths. Adding meditation to my practice was a game changer; much more to the SRF than just mediation.
I was waiting to see y’all actually DO YOGA! Fun that you guys get to hang out and explore So Cal together and visit spiritual places. It is a little hard for me to see Jesus Christ mixed in with these other people that they worship. But of course Jesus Christ is who I worship and he is the center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!
So no one actually led a meditation?! Yoga is one of the classes I teach among my other fitness classes and I do lead a meditation. Also I look at the celestial room in the temple AS a major place to meditate and ponder. Also going on “prayer walks” like David does are a time I meditate and ponder. I also do while I am driving too. It’s very important to ponder and meditate! I’ve received important knowledge from God in those times.
Cool and interesting video. Will you do one about the LA temple? I’ve been to the temple on my way home from vacation but we have not done any temple work there yet. We need to.
Very interesting David. A preparation for this visit would have been to read "The Autobiography of a Yogi." by Yogananda. Through meditation one comes into the realization that the "kingdom of God, the allness of God, is within us! It's not found in churches or temples, spirituality is found within.
Love the whole group analysis. Love David's western shirt
You now have a studio. Congratulations to you David.
Very fun!
Great Episode!
What a beautiful place! ❤
It really is!
I don’t know why you would be angry that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints doesn’t create places like this. How often had you heard to “Create your own Sacred Grove?” They create Temple grounds that incorporate the best of nature and water where all are welcome to enjoy.
Agreed. I stopped watching at this point in the video because it felt like a very ignorant analysis of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and all they do to provide beautiful spaces for everyone to “come and see”.
We can appreciate the good qualities of other churches without talking down our own. David always does a beautiful job at this which is why I usually love his channel.
@@ahatch7534come on. Be kind. This guy has only been a member for a short time and we have also been encouraged from the pulpit at General Conference to have righteous envy when we find that which is good in other religions. Individual members should be engaged in creating these spaces privately as well
We have the Sacred Grove
@@TheAnzianoJones most of us don't live anywhere near there tbh
@@RowanBlake true but our homes should be those spaces as well. It doesn’t have to be done by the church HQ only
The painting of Jesus is by Heinrich Hofmann
You guys went to SRF! No way. That is amazing 😊
Yoga!!!!
It is interesting that you would do this video now because I recently purchased Yoganandas books on the second coming of Christ out of curiosity and had been thinking of learning to meditate with this group. Thank you for the information.
Talk about perfect timing!
Changing the blessing on the food stat. 👀
I visited the self-realization shrine before. Look, the gardens and all are peaceful and calm. However, it was an unpleasant vibe I felt at the windmill shrine, I will never forget.....
Please, anyone, can any attest or validate this, but when I walked in there and sat down on the bench, I immediately felt an overwhelming negative sensory overload. it was the heavy-mounting pressure on my head. I remember the chapel was lightly lit and all of these frames of different religious frames in the front. I couldn't stay there for longer than a minute because of this mounting pressure on my head. Like all of these negative, dark vibes suffocating and running through my body and skin.
When I left that sensation lingered for a few days. It was the complete opposite sensation I received at temples: peace,harmony, light, clarity.
No disrespect to the shrine or the founders there, the place and grounds are stunning and beautiful, but did anyone else get that vibe inside the windmill? This sort of heavy pressure?
@@gfalconis you were probably sensitive to some of the energy there that likely wasn't the best. It's interesting in the video David mentioned no filming was allowed in that section. I've never been there, but have had some similar sensations/impressions while touring some historic locations and being in certain places that seem otherwise perfectly fine...like being weighed down and a feeling of doom where I've had to leave the area or place immediately. So I totally understand what you are talking about. It would be interesting to see if anyone else who has been there has had a similar experience as you.
Are you a fundamentalist Christian? Some Christians preach very bad radicalized views about Eastern religions.. I wonder if subconsciously you were holding some of those feelings within yourself... The windmill chapel is so holy, absolutely beautiful and the vibration within the chapel is love and divine peace... Maybe you are carrying some kind of fear or judgements to have that experience... In all respect your experience has nothing to do with the windmill chapel... Blessings
@realilty lol haha no, I am not. I've felt this similar feeling in other Christian chapels, too, but not the same intensity. I am culturally aware of Easter traditions and beliefs, but this chapel did not feel holy nor light. There was tremendous pressure and heavy sensation felt inside. I know this is my subjective experience, but that's what I felt inside.
@@h.r.1523 The windmill chapel is holy ground, that's why filming isn't permitted inside, however sometimes people project their own subconscious inner fears and judgements onto places... Is it possible that that is what was happening? The grounds are of God and very uplifting, especially the windmill chapel. So beautiful and peaceful. The lake shrine is like a glimpse of heaven on earth.
@realilty I walked inside that chapel with a clean, open-minded, unbiased slate of mind. Still, I felt an overwhelming heavy pressure immediately. But that's just me 🤷♂️
I felt it, so did my wife and cousin. However, my best friend, who's Catholic, said he felt no pressure at all. Maybe it has to do with this dark cathedral vibe that creates that entraped heavy energy 🤔
SRF believes that Krishna gave knowledge to Jesus, and Jesus gave knowledge to Babaji (who they believe has lived for hundreds of years), and Babaji gave knowledge to Lahiri (I hope I got that right along with the spelling), who gave it to Yukteshwar (sorry, probably misspelled), and he taught Yogananda. That’s why they have those six portraits. It’s their line of gurus.
That would make sense, appreciate it.
I've always thought that the church should adopt meditation. Meditation has changed my life and helped me a lot during one of the most critical moments I've had in the past. Today, I see it as fundamental for spirituality. I always wonder why meditation isn't part of the Restoration doctrine, considering how incredibly powerful it is spiritually.
We do. It's called "pondering."
Search, ponder, and pray. 🙂
@@rutht2023 Certainly pondering and praying is important, but silence of the mind and stopping thinking to just feel. We don't have these meditation practices, just something in the sacrament, but we are still encouraged to think not to silence the mind.
If we would all take the time to listen when we pray, as opposed to just praying to say words - but actually pray to communicate, we'd be doing more and better than meditation.
President Kimball used to talk about the need for mediation a lot. And we've been told to look for examples of people who know how outside the faith. I teach yoga and have gained a lot from learning to still my mind and my body.
Yogananda was credited with being one of the first to bring yoga to the west. He did not create yoga, but he helped to share it here. If you delve into yoga philosophy it is really interesting to read the Yamas and niyamas, because they remind me a lot of the 10 commandments. I love yoga, and I think it can be really helpful to the body and mind.
In the Spanish translstion of The Book Of Mormon, Moroni's promise of Search, Ponder, and Pray. The word for ponder is meditar. That sound very similar to the English word meditate. Besides the celestial rooms in temples, we also have many gardens outside out temples as well as the Sacred Grove that are opened to the public for quiet contemplation.
This was so interesting! I loved it. I hope that we get to see more collaborations with Cardon and Luke. I hope that it's not too weird to say, but you have really pretty hands, David!
I dunno. that guys in the Vans shirt kept trying so hard to be funny but just was distracting and it took away from the video.
@@brooksdurham5285I thought that Cardon was pretty reserved 😂
I guess that we all have different likes and dislikes.
You might want to check out the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, California.
Maybe we should start building these places beside a temple grounds.... one that allows non members to walk around and meditate, then for members to also do meditation before going into the temple. That would be neat.
Most temples already have gardens that you can walk around. The Meridian Idaho Temple has a beautiful pond and you can walk all the way around it. And it also overlooks a horse-training dressage course and then the river.
@@SuttonShimai but are there meditation gardens?
Sitting and pondering, reflecting, praying, etc. IS meditation.
@rutht2023 bbbb...bbbb... but but but...... OK you are so correct how may I ever get repentance for such heresy that I vomited
@@curtisdecker3175 🤣 lol. My comment wasn't meant to be mean. Just to point out that there is already a place to meditate.
This is an absolutely beautiful place, I can see how it would make praying and pondering come naturally. It gives me pause to wonder if Christianity is interpreted in India by those who are Christians as Jesus Christ being on the same level as some of their Yogis?? And while this place in California is beautiful and I would love to see it in person, it feels like some things are misplaced. Is yoga being elevated over Jesus Christ? And while HF created nature, is the worship of nature being elevated above he who created it? 😊💗
Anybody can walk around the temple grounds members or not.😊😊😊
the question doesn't need to be "why doesn't the church do this?" Not everything needs to be done by the church. Individual members could do this. You could do this. Just sayin....
Not just a shrine to Gandhi, part of his ashes are enshrined there.
Yogananda came to show the underlying unity between the teachings of Jesus Christ and Krishna - that is why Jesus and Krishna are in the center and the others are Gurus (avatars or ascended masters) of the Self Realization Fellowship path, Yogananda being the last in the lineage.
You can follow any true religion and SRF at the same time because there is no dogma/doctrine for SRF. Check out a Lake Shrine service. ruclips.net/video/ZPfpHilr20Q/видео.html&pp=ygUbc2VsZiByZWFsaXphdGlvbiBmZWxsb3dzaGlw
Be still and know that I am God - that is yoga. Learning to still the mind to experience a direct personal relationship with God.
Bless, Bless. Amen Christ, Om Krishna!
I love meditation and I love a lot of eastern philosophy especially after serving my mission in Japan. Though I don’t care for Yoga much. I like Tai Chi better
You guys should visit apologia church or paster Jeff’s church. 😂
The Denver Snuffer movement says the same thing: no required departure from your faith to enter ours. However, I cannot imagine that being the case in practice.
Donation really means do-nations any other donation is not what the word means
Knickers!!!!! Not knickerbockers!!!
Jesus and Yoga ?? ever heard of lust and how it curses
? Yoga isn't just so I'm not sure what you're trying to say here.