Elvis Presley’s mansion, Graceland, has become a haven for music fans around the world. But before it became a popular tourist destination, it was a family residence. Elvis envisioned Graceland as a haven from the rigors of touring. One of Graceland’s most unique elements is its meditation garden, which was inspired by an unlikely source.
The inspiration for Elvis Presley’s meditation garden came from a California sanctuary
One of the most unique features of Elvis Presley’s Graceland mansion is the Meditation Garden, a tranquil backyard area modeled after a sanctuary that the King of Rock and Roll would often visit during his visits to California.
According to Architectural Digest, Elvis was a frequent visitor to the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine in California while filming the film. The Los Angeles sanctuary is home to some of Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes.
The meditation area is serene, with plenty of places to meditate quietly and respect all religious groups. It is said that Elvis was so impressed with the look of the shrine that he wanted to build the same type of place on the Graceland grounds.
The King of Rock and Roll commissioned Elvis Memphis architect Bernard Grenadier to design a space in Graceland’s backyard, and just beyond the pool area is an area where Elvis could have had the same experience he had in his Californian sanctuary.
When did the Meditation Garden become a cemetery?
Graceland was such a busy home that Elvis Presley would often frequent the gardens to find some quiet time, and the area was later designed with a circular pergola and a central fountain.
But he never intended for the Meditation Garden to become a burial ground for the Presley family — rather, he wanted it to be a place of quiet contemplation amid the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
But if the Meditation Garden had originally been planned as a family cemetery, Elvis likely would have buried his beloved mother, Gladys Presley, at home rather than at Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis. Gladys died on August 14, 1958.
After Elvis died in 1977, he was buried in the same cemetery as his mother. However, after reports of attempts to steal the bodies, both Elvis and Gladys’ remains were permanently moved to Graceland and the Meditation Garden.
Lisa Marie Presley spoke about her family’s cemetery in her song “Lights Out.”
According to a report by Express, Lisa Marie Presley sang about her family’s burial site being at Graceland, thus revealing her ambivalent feelings about the area.
“The backyard of Graceland is basically a cemetery. How many people have family graves in their backyard? How many people remember their fate, their mortality and everything? [expletive] “What day is it today?” she said.
Elvis and Priscilla Presley’s only daughter expressed her feelings about the now-iconic area in her 2003 song “Lights Out,” in which she sang, “Someone turned out the lights in Memphis. That’s where my family is buried, that’s where they died. The last time I was there, I found a space left in that damn backyard of Memphis, in the vacant lot next to them.”
Lisa Marie added that she would probably be buried there too, according to the Express. “The graves are all lined up and there’s a spot waiting for me right next to my grandmother,” she said.
“I don’t have anything planned. I’m sure I’ll end up there. Or maybe I’ll shrink my head and put it in a glass box in my living room. That would bring more tourists to Graceland,” Lisa Marie said.
Lisa Marie Presley was buried at Graceland in January 2023 next to her only son, Benjamin Storm Keough. She was buried directly across from her father, grandmother Gladys, grandfather Vernon, and great-grandmother Minnie Mae Presley.
