And they have put their time into finding spirituality in religion outside of the Western tradition. Like those Groups, the Science of the Soul center is a product of its time: Its founders built wealth in a business that was once out of the mainstream. There was Thomas Lake Harris' center at Fountaingrove at the end of the 1800s and, in the 1960s, Lou Gottliebs's Morningstar Ranch off Graton Road. Groups centered on a charismatic leader are nothing new in Wine Country. The center will be empty for most of the year except for small meetings Thursdays and Sundays that attract no more than 150 to 200 members, one reason why it generated virtually no opposition during the county approval process. They have just completed a complex valued at $3 million that will serve as a gathering place in winter, and again in spring, for thousands of seekers of enlightenment through daily meditation and a disciplined lifestyle. This is where people come to listen to lectures, to be inspired,' Berliner said. Over the past five years, with the help of volunteer workers on the same spiritual path, gleaming silver barn-like structures including a mammoth hall, four linked buildings, two barns and two caretaker homes have risen from a flat parcel surrounded by rolling green hills dotted with cow, sheep and llama corrals.Д«ehind a tree-dotted berm off Old Adobe Road, a religion and a complex unlike any other in Sonoma County has become a reality almost without notice.

The Science of the Soul center was launched in 1996 after Andy Berliner, 56, president of Amy's Kitchen, a leader in the frozen natural foods industry, and Jim Rosen, 54, who founded Fantastic Foods, purchased 77 acres on the outskirts of Petaluma. Two Sonoma County vegetarian food entrepreneurs have created a church complex the size of a shopping center in east Petaluma for the Indian guru they have followed since the 1970s. Science of the Soul followers come for lectures, inspiration (The Sunday Press Democrat, USA, March 3, 2002) вЂ“ In a search for enlightenment, two natural-food entrepreneurs develop a sprawling meditation center for their leader, Gurinder Singh. | Print Guru's followers build vast Petaluma complex Guru's followers build vast Petaluma complex - RSSB Newspaper Articles

Science of soul study center