As the release date for Kabali inches closer, building up to the climax of months of excitement and expectation, superstar Rajinikanth spent his Sunday with his daughter Aishwaryaa R Dhanush at Yogaville or the Satchidananda Ashram in Virginia, US.
The Ashram was celebrating the 30th anniversary of its Light Of Truth Universal Shrine (LOTUS), and Aishwaryaa shared pictures of their visit on social media.
Appa n I @ his guru Satchidananda's
— Aishwaryaa.R.Dhanush (@ash_r_dhanush) July 17, 2016
"Lotus all faiths temple" 30th anniversary Yogaville Virginia #BlessedSunday pic.twitter.com/wAPKpUb4py
Rajinikanth is said to be a regular at Yogaville, founded by Swami Satchidananda, a spiritual leader, in 1979 "to serve as a residential community, a teaching center, a spiritual sanctuary, and as headquarters" for the institution.
Indeed, Rajinikanth’s “Baba” immortalised Swami Satchidananda, and was produced by a company floated by Rajinikanth which was named Lotus Productions. The spiritual leader passed away in Chennai in 2002.
In an article for The Washington Post, Bettina Lanyi writes that "when artist Peter Max brought integral yoga teacher and spiritual guide Sri Swami Satchidananda here in 1979, hoping to lure him to America, the monk fell in love with the views of the mountains and decided to stay."
The community at Yogaville practices the teachings of Integral Yoga, "a comprehensive system aimed at the harmonious development and integration of every level of the individual— physical, emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual".
Completed in 1989, the LOTUS temple is said to be unique in the world because it has altars for all the world faiths. It was built as Swami Satchidananda, "was inspired to create a permanent place where all people could come to realize their essential oneness".