Sadhaka Jayanatha writes to us from the road...
Today was probably our biggest day on this trip. We estimate to have presented to over 1,000 people. The first event was at the Chinmaya Mission Center in Tustin. It was their Chinmayananda Jayanti celebration, as well as their mothers day celebration. The center is quite large and the main hall holds several hundred or so people. Because of the amount of devotees, the event was held in two sessions. First, the priest and Swami Ishwarananda did a padapuja to Chinmayananda's silver paduka and then Arumuganathaswami gave his presentation. The sessions finished with the priest leading a puja to the mother goddess, for which the hall was set up so that all the mothers would sit in chairs and their children would perform a padapuja to their feet. As is true with many Chinmaya centers, this one had an adjacent shrine to its main hall which provided a short time in front of Siva between sessions. A much needed calm during travels through LA.
They fed us a quick lunch and we were back on the road again. 

Next we drove up to Chino Hills to the BAPS Mandir that was recently featured in Hinduism Today (the one that is built to be earthquake proof). Wow, what a beautiful temple. Every inch beautifully carved. It overwhelmed the senses with the smell of sandalwood, the sound of worship and the sight of the marble artwork and the large golden shrines. It showed us just how powerful a temple is when each part of the building itself is holy. We were given a lovely tour of the whole place. That was followed by our attending their weekly session of about 600 people which takes place in the afternoon. After talks by the BAPS swamis (all in Gujarati), Arumuganathaswami gave his presentation. It definitely interested many who attended and we found ourselves there until 8pm answering questions and having some brief prasad. Even their lecture hall has the most elegant ceiling, covered in wooden lotus carvings. Aum Namah Sivaya