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Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

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Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

History

Early Life

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (born Mahesh Srivastava in 1917) is the founder of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) Movement. He brought Transcendental Meditation to the western world. Maharishi is believed to have been born near Jabalpur, India and graduated from Allahabad University with a degree in physics. He was secretary to Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath, for thirteen years. In 1955, after spending two years in silence in UttarKashi, in the Himalayan foothills, he began teaching a basic meditation technique which he later dubbed "Transcendental Meditation". He set up an "Asharam" (Hermitage)- called "Shankaracharaya Nagar" in Rishikesh, Northern India on the bank of the river Ganges. 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 Transcendental Meditation Movement

The Beatles were among his students, who visited him in India, before ultimately becoming disillusioned with him after he allegedly made a pass at a female member of their entourage ("Sexy Sadie", written by John Lennon, dealt with this disappointment). Other devotees included the Beach Boys (singer Mike Love in particular), who recorded an album at his Maharishi International University in the 1970s, and singer-songwriter Donovan who befriended the Maharishi and appeared with him on the back cover of A Gift from a Flower to a Garden. Comedian Andy Kaufman and magician Doug Henning were also Maharishi students, while Clint Eastwood and David Lynch are two notable directors who practice TM.

The official website for Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation program claims that Transcendental Meditation has been taught worldwide to over 5 million people. 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 what he calls "Consciousness Based Education" including the Maharishi University of Management and the Maharishi School for the Age of Enlightenment.

Current Situation

As of 2006, he lives in Vlodrop, the Netherlands.

Meditation Techniques

Transcendental Meditation

The basis of the Transcendental Meditation technique are "mantras" which are given to students. Maharishi claims that they are "meaningless sounds". In fact bija-mantras are one-syllabled Sanskrit letters, which originate in Tantra, and are there usually associated with Hindu gods. These meanings though, are not used and taught in TM practise today. This deviates from Maharishis earlier writings stating, "For our practice, we select only the suitable mantras of personal Gods. Such mantras fetch to us the grace of personal gods and make us happier in every walk of life." (Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, "Beacon Light of the Himalayas", 1955.)

The TM-Sidhi program

The 'Maharishi Effect'

Vedic Science

Maharishi Jyotish

Maharishi Ayurveda

Maharishi Sthapatya Veda

Books by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Official TM Sites

Ayurveda

Transcendental Meditation

Affiliated Wikipedia People

Related Wikipedia Articles

Misc external stuff

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