ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, July 5, 1996 TAG: 9607050079
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BUCKINGHAM (AP)
SOURCE: MAURA SINGLETON THE DAILY PROGRESS
THE FOUNDERS OF Yogaville, otherwise known as Integral Yoga International, celebrate the "Vision of Peace" weekend at a site nestled away in central Virginia.
A painter applied a touch-up layer of ``Daydream Pink'' to the entrance arch of the Light of Truth Universal Shrine, a meditative figure on a Buckingham County back road.
Other workers moved languidly about this headquarters of Integral Yoga International last week, preparing the grounds for anniversary celebrations of LOTUS and Yogaville founder Sri Swami Satchidananda,81.
Hundreds of people, including religious dignitaries from around the globe, attended ``Vision of Peace'' events throughout the weekend.
Satchidananda, an Indian Yoga master, founded the Yogaville ashram in 1979. Seven years and 11/2 million Italian mosaic tiles later, LOTUS emerged along the banks of the James River.
Built in the shape of a lotus flower - an ancient symbol for the spiritual unfolding of the soul - the shrine is dedicated to all faiths. Inside, a column of light rises from the central altar to the top of the dome, where it divides into 12 rays to illuminate altars set within the petals of LOTUS.
``Truth is one, paths are many,'' reads a carved inscription.
``There's nothing much typical about it,'' observed Lewis Thompson, a retired general contractor and the project's superintendent. ``I've never done nothing like it in my life.''
The 72-year-old Cumberland County resident said he revisits the curious pink-and-blue shrine on occasion.
``The swami's quite a guy,'' he added.
Charles Metro of New Age Builders Inc. in Buckingham County, which handled painting, drywall and waterproofing of the LOTUS, said he hasn't had a contract like it since. Not only was the structure unique, but the construction site was unusually tension-free.
``It was the only job I've ever done where I was truly sad to see it end, because it was so much fun to work on,'' Metro said. ``The atmosphere of the job was peaceful; it was just fun that way.''
By most accounts, the Light of Truth Universal Shrine and Satchidananda's spiritual community off Virginia 604 have blended quietly into rural Buckingham County. About 200 people live at the ashram, but scores of others - including actors Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern - visit to participate in seminars or retreats.
As proprietor of the Wingina Store, Barbara Wood has grown accustomed to giving directions to lost out-of-towners in search of Yogaville, about five miles away.
Until the business changed from a general store to a crafts operation about five years ago, people from the ashram often came in for food and supplies. Satchidananda himself once popped in for ice cream, she said.
``Initially, people here didn't know what was going on or who they were,'' said Wood, but that apprehension quickly faded.
``They work and fit into the community well,'' she said. ``They're nice people.''
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Jo Anne Wohlmuth (center) and her two daughters, Piaby CNBWohlmuth (left) and Brigitta Wohlmuth, all from Bermuda, finish
their tour of the LOTUS (Light of Truth Universal Shrine) in
Yogaville on Sunday. color.