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Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (born January 12, 1917) is the founder of the Transcendental Meditation or TM Movement.
Maharishi is believed to have been born in the village of Chichli, near Gadawara, Jabalpur, India and graduated from Allahabad University with a degree in physics. He was secretary for thirteen years with Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath. In 1955, after spending two years in silence in Uttar Kashi, in the Himalayan foothills, he began teaching a basic meditation technique which he later dubbed "Transcendental Meditation".
In 1957 he founded The Spiritual Regeneration Movement, the first of several organizations collectively known as the TM Movement, and began the first of many tours to teach the Transcendental Meditation technique around the world.
The Beatles were among his students. After some allegatoins against Maharishi, the Beatles left Maharishi. These allegations were unfounded, created by a person who wanted the Beatles to separate from Maharishi. When they realized that they had been fooled, they rectified this in their biographies and public statements. See for example the Beatles biography "Many Years From Now" by Barry Miles".
Maharishis Transcendental meditation has been taught worldwide to over 5 million people. Over 600 research studies have been made at universities in over 30 countries. They indicate that TM has positive health effects and leads to increasing harmony, increased creativity and better health. Its effects on stress tolerance and high bloodpressure has been confirmed by repeated studies sponsored by the US National Institue of Health (NIH). A controlled longitudinal study running over 18 years found that TM practitioners had a 23 percent lower death rate from all causes and nearly a third lower death rate from heart disease than those who did not practice it . Brain research has discovered unique positive effects on the integration of brain physiology (indicated by increasing EEG coherence), for a summary, see http://home.swipnet.se/tmdoctors/eng/tmunique.htm.
Maharishi has also developed programs with the purpose of promoting world peace. Over 50 research studies have confirmed that these programs are capable of reducing crime, violence, terrorism and war activities and promote peaceful and constructive tendencies, see http://www.permanentpeace.org/. Maharishis main focus is presently (2005) to create permanent world peace through the aid of these programs.
Maharishi has written a number of books on Vedic wisdom and the Vedas as the science of consciousness. He uses modern technology to spread his teachings—he has created the Maharishi Open University as an online teaching outlet, holds a weekly video press conference, and uses satellite and the Internet for his Maharishi Broadcasting. He has also started numerous centers of Consciousness Based Education including the Maharishi University of Management and the Maharishi School for the Age of Enlightenment
Maharishi has also initiated a new type of currency, the RAAM. It it is part of a global projects whose purpose is the eradication of poverty.
External links
About Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
- Page on Maharishi at popular TM portal
- Larry King interview with Maharishi on 5/12/02
- The Beatles' experiences with Maharishi
- The Maharishi: The Biography of the Man Who Gave Transcendental Meditation to the World