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Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
The Maharishi in Puna in 1973.
Born	January 12, 1914 Jabalpur, Central Provinces and Berar, British India
Died	February 5, 2008 Vlodrop, Netherlands
Years active	1939 - 2008
Parent	Father: Sri Ram Prasad

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (Template:Lang-hi) born Mahesh Prasad Varma (January 12, 1914 - February 5, 2008) developed the Transcendental Meditation technique, and was the leader or "guru" of the Transcendental Meditation movement, that has been defined as a new religious movement. Varma's given name was Mahesh, while maharishi and yogi are honorifics. Varma was known as "Maharishi Mahesh Yogi" beginning around the year 1960. His devotees referred to him as "His Holiness", and he became known as the "giggling guru".

He became a disciple and assistant of Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, who was the Shankaracharya (spiritual leader) of Jyotir Math, located in the Indian Himalayas from 1941 to 1953. The Maharishi credits Saraswati with inspiring his teachings. Beginning in 1955, the Maharishi began to introduce the Transcendental Meditation technique (also known as TM) and other related programs and initiatives to the world. His first global tour began in 1958.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he achieved fame as the guru to the Beatles and other celebrities. In the mid-1970s, he started the TM-Sidhi program, which offered practitioners the ability to levitate and to create world peace. His followers started the Natural Law Party in 1992, which ran campaigns in dozens of countries. He moved to Vlodrop, the Netherlands, in the same year. In 2000, he created the Global Country of World Peace, a country without borders, and appointed its leaders. In 2008, he announced his retirement from all administrative activities and went into mauna (spiritual silence) until his death three weeks later.

According to his movement, millions of people have learned the TM technique worldwide and tens of thousands have learned the more advanced techniques. His initiatives include schools and universities with campuses in several countries including India, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. The Maharishi, his family and close associates created charitable organizations and for-profit businesses that include nearly 1,000 TM centers, schools, universities, clinics, health supplements and organic farms. Estimates of the value of the Maharishi's empire range from the multi-millions to the billions of dollars.

Biography

Birth

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was born as Mahesh Prasad Varma into a Kayastha caste family living in the Central Provinces of British India. Various accounts give the year of his birth as 1911, 1917 or 1918. Biographies by Paul Mason, William Jefferson, and Elsa Dragemark (quoting his uncle Raj Varma) say that he was born January 12, 1917 in Jabalpur, Central Provinces. The place of birth given in his passport is "Pounalulla", India. The name of his father is given as Sri Ram Prasad, his birth date as 12 January 1918.

A different name appears in the Allahabad University list of distinguished alumni, where he is listed as M.C. Srivastava. The name "Mahesh", an epithet of Shiva, indicated that the Maharishi came from a Shaivaite family.

Early life

He studied physics at Allahabad University and earned a degree in 1942. In 1941, Varma became a secretary to the Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math, Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, who gave him the name Bal Brahmachari Mahesh. Besides indicating his family faith, Coplin says the conferred title "identified him as a dedicated student of spiritual knowledge and life-long celibate ascetic". Mahesh remained with Swami Brahmananda Saraswati until the latter died in 1953. In 1953, Brahmachari Mahesh moved to Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand in the Himalayas. Although Mahesh was a close disciple, he could not be the Shankaracharya's spiritual successor because he was not of the Brahmin caste. Canadian author and journalist Paul Grescoe reported in 1968 that Mahesh was "so disappointed at not being named successor" he filed a lawsuit, which was unsuccessful. According to the Maharishi, his Guru Dev gave him the mission of finding a meditation technique that would be embraced by the masses.

Tour in India (1955-1957)

In 1955, the Maharishi left Uttarkashi and began publicly teaching what he stated was a traditional meditation technique that he learned from his master Brahmananda Saraswati, which he called Transcendental Deep Meditation and later renamed Transcendental Meditation. The Maharishi traveled around India for two years. At that time he called his movement the "Spiritual Development Movement", but renamed it "The Spiritual Regeneration Movement" in 1957, in Madras, India, on the concluding day of the Seminar of Spiritual Luminaries. According to J. Lynwood King in his book Fundamentals of Maharishi Vedic Science, the feedback Maharishi received from the diverse population that learned his technique suggested to him that it could be of wide benefit.

The Maharishi was criticized by other Yogis and more devout Hindus for oversimplifying their art and practices, who argued angrily that achieving spiritual peace without penance or asceticism was contrary to the tenets of traditional Hindu belief and without foundation in the Bhagavad-Gita. They also criticized him for charging fees for instruction in Transcendental Meditation, which they deemed to be the unethical selling of "commercial mantras". Guru Dev's successor, Swami Swaroopanand, states that, as a member of the trader class and merely Guru Dev's bookkeeper, the Maharishi had no right to teach meditation or to give mantras, and that "Gurus don't sell their knowledge, they share it."

World tours (1958-1968)

In 1958, the Maharishi began the first in a series of worldwide tours. Of the purpose of the tours, the Maharishi wrote: "I had one thing in mind, that I know something which is useful to every man".

The Maharishi's 1986 book, Thirty Years Around the World, gives a detailed account of his world tours. The first world tour began in Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar) and included the countries of Thailand, Malaya, Singapore, Hong Kong and Hawaii. According to that book, the Honolulu Star Bulletin reports: "He has no money, he asks for nothing. His worldly possessions can be carried in one hand. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is on a world odyssey. He carries a message that he says will rid the world of all unhappiness and discontent." The Maharishi reports that, in 1959, he lectured and taught the Transcendental Meditation technique in Honolulu, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, New York and London.

When he came to the U.S., his movement was renamed Transcendental Meditation. While in Los Angeles, Maharishi became a guest at the home of Roland and Helena Olson and their daughter Theresa, who wrote several books about their experiences. He continued to visit the Olsons' home over the next few years.

In 1960, the Maharishi traveled to many cities in the countries of India, France, Switzerland, England, Scotland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Africa. He lectured, taught the Transcendental Meditation technique, and established administrative centers where practitioners could gather for meetings in his absence. During his visit to England, the Maharishi gave a lecture at Caxton Hall in London and met Leon MacLaren, the founder and leader of the School of Economic Science (SES). While in Manchester, England, the Maharishi gave a television interview and was featured in many English newspapers such as the Birmingham Post, the Oxford Mail and the Cambridge Daily News. This was also the year in which the Maharishi trained Henry Nyburg to be the first Transcendental Meditation teacher in Europe.

In 1961, the Maharishi continued his travels by visiting the countries of Austria, Sweden, France, Italy, Greece, India, Kenya, England, USA and Canada. While in England, the Maharishi appeared on BBC television and gave a lecture to 5,000 people at the Royal Albert Hall in London. In April 1961, the Maharishi conducted his first Transcendental Meditation Teacher Training Course in Rishikesh, India with 60 participants from various countries. Teachers continued to be trained as time progressed. During the course, Maharishi began to introduce additional knowledge regarding the development of human potential, and began writing his translation and commentary on the first six chapters of the ancient Vedic text, the Bhagavad Gita.

His 1962 world tour included visits to Europe, India, Australia and New Zealand. The year concluded in California where the Maharishi began dictating his book The Science of Being and Art of Living. In Rishikesh, India, beginning on 20 April 1962, a 40-day course was held for "sadhus, sanyasis, and brahmacharis" to introduce TM to "religious preachers and spiritual masters in India".

The Maharishi toured cities in Europe, Asia, North America and India in 1963 and also addressed ministers of the Indian Parliament. Twenty-one members then issued a public statement endorsing the Maharishi's goals and meditation technique. His Canadian tour generated news articles in the magazine Enjoy and in the Daily Colonist, Calgary Herald and The Albertan.

The Maharishi's fifth world tour in 1964 consisted of visits to many cities in North America, Europe and India. During his visit to England, he appeared with the Abbot of Downside, Abbot Butler, on a BBC television show called "The Viewpoint". In October of that year, in California, the Maharishi began teaching the first Advanced Technique of Transcendental Meditation to some experienced meditators. While traveling in America, the Maharishi met with Robert Maynard Hutchins, the head of the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions, and U Thant, the Secretary General of the United Nations. During this same year, the Maharishi wrote his book The Science of Being and Art of Living, which sold more than a million copies and was published in 15 languages.

In 1966, the Students' International Meditation Society was founded and, according to The Times, it was a “phenomenal success”.

In 1967, he wrote: "Being happy is of the utmost importance. Success in anything is through happiness. Under all circumstances be happy ... Just think of any negativity that comes at you as a raindrop falling into the ocean of your bliss".

In 1968, the Maharishi announced that he would stop his "public activities" and instead begin the training of TM teachers at his new global headquarters in Seelisberg, Switzerland.

Interaction with the Beatles

While the Maharishi began to advertise his Transcendental Meditation to a western audience from 1958, successfully establishing a number of branches for his movement, his worldwide success-story began in 1967 with his association with The Beatles. This association was brief, ending in the "Indian Summer" of 1968 at the International Academy of Meditation at Rishikesh.

The Beatles met Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in August 1967, studying with him in Bangor, Wales, and in early 1968, traveled to Rishikesh, India to "devote themselves fully to his instruction". Starr and McCartney left after a few weeks because of food and other personal reasons. Lennon and Harrison departed two weeks later after hearing a rumor that the Maharishi had made sexual advances towards Mia Farrow and a few other women. Lennon wrote the song "Maharishi" (with the lines: "what have you done? You made a fool of everyone") as he was leaving. Later, at the request of George Harrison or to avoid a possible libel suit, the title and lyrics were changed from "Maharishi" to "Sexy Sadie".

The New York Times reported that the influence of the Maharishi and going to Rishikesh to meditate, weaned The Beatles from LSD and inspired them to write many new songs which later were recorded on the White Album. While the Beatles were in India, they recorded a version of a song called “Spiritual Regeneration”, reported to be a "theme song" for the Maharishi’s program. In a press conference on April 3, 2009, prior to his performance at the David Lynch Foundation benefit concert ”Change Begins Within”, Paul McCartney commented that Transcendental Meditation was a gift the Beatles had received from Maharishi at a time when they were looking for something to stabilize them.

In the book, Paul McCartney; Many Years From Now, Barry Miles says that for the media, the Maharishi was well cast with "liquid eyes, twinkling but inscrutable with the wisdom from the East" and that Robert Crumb lampooned the Maharishi in his most famous character, Mr. Natural, the bearded, robed, and sybaritic guru. Miles goes on to say that in spite of the media's skepticism for the Maharishi's spiritual message, they seized upon him because young people seemed to listen to his pro-establishment, anti-drug message. Deepak Chopra, who later became a "disciple of the Maharishi's", says that the Maharishi had a "falling out with the rock stars when he discovered them using drugs".

The New York Times reported in 2008 that Harrison and McCartney reconsidered the accusations. McCartney said that the rumors of sexual impropriety were raised by Alexis Mardas who "had agendas of his own, and may have fabricated (or at least exaggerated) the story". Harrison commented, "Now, historically, there's the story that something went on that shouldn't have done — but nothing did". Farrow's autobiography is ambiguous about the incident: she describes "panicking" and fleeing after the Maharishi put his arms around her in a dark cave, immediately after a private meditation session. In their obituary of the Maharishi, Rolling Stone states that the rumor of impropriety was never proved. Yoko Ono said in 2008 that if Lennon were alive he would have reconciled with the Maharishi.

Other popular culture contacts

Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithfull, the Beach Boys, Kurt Vonnegut and Vidal Sassoon also studied with the Maharishi. Because of his involvement with many wealthy celebrities, the Maharishi began to be ridiculed for the display of his love of luxury, such as his habit of touring in a Rolls-Royce, and his business acumen. Alexis Mardas, head of the Beatles' Apple Electronics, noted the luxurious infrastructure at the Rishikesh ashram. Neil Aspinall, the Beatles' road manager, recalled his opinion in reference to obtaining rights for a feature film that, "This guy knows more about making deals than I do. He's really into scoring, the Maharishi". Private Eye ridiculed the guru with a character named "Veririchi Lottsa Money Yogi Bear". The Maharishi was also parodied by comedians Bill Dana and Joey Forman in the 1968 comedy album "The Mashuganishi Yogi", and by comedian Mike Myers in the movie The Love Guru and in the character "Guru Maharishi Yogi" featured in the BBC sketch Goodness Gracious Me.

John Densmore relates in a Rolling Stone obituary of the Maharishi how several members of The Doors met at a TM lecture. "There wouldn't be any Doors without Maharishi," the obituary quotes Densmore as saying.

Further growth of his TM movement (1970-1990)

The Maharishi achieved prominence due to his association with the Beatles.

In 1970, the Maharishi held a TM teacher training course at a Victorian hotel located in Poland Springs, Maine with 1,200 participants. Later that year, he held a similar four-week course at Humboldt State College in Arcata, California. About 1,500 people attended and it was described as a “sort of a crash program to train transcendental teachers”.

A 1972, a TM training course was given by the Maharishi at Queens University and attended by 1,000 young people from all over the USA and Canada. At the start of the course the Maharishi encouraged the attendees to improve their appearance by getting haircuts and wearing ties.

In 1974, Maharishi International University was founded. In October 1975, the Maharishi was pictured on the front cover of Time magazine. He made his last visit to the Spiritual Regeneration Movement center in Los Angeles in 1975, according to future film director David Lynch who met him for the first time there. Newspapers, detractors, and even followers began referring to him as the "Giggling Guru", in part due to his habit of laughing during television interviews.

In 1975, the Maharishi embarked on a five continent trip to inaugurate what he called “the Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment”. The Maharishi said the purpose of the inaugural tour was to “go around the country and give a gentle whisper to the population”.

In the mid 1970s, the Maharishi's U.S. movement was operating 370 TM centers manned by 6,000 TM teachers. At that time, the Maharishi also began approaching the business industry via an organization called the American Foundation for SCI (AFSCI), whose objective was to eliminate stress for business professionals. The Maharishi's message was a promise of "increased creativity and flexibility, increased productivity, improved job satisfaction, improved relations with supervisors and co-workers". His TM movement came to be increasingly structured along the lines of a multinational corporation.

Claims made about the powers of TM included the reduction of crime by the practice of "Yogic flying". The teaching of TM and the Science of Creative Intelligence, in a New Jersey public school was stopped when a US court in 1977 declared the movement to be religious, and ruled adoption of TM by public organizations in breach of the separation of church and state (First Amendment).

During the 1980s, the Maharishi’s mass appeal waned and his organization was faced with accusations of fraud and pseudo-scientific deception. However, his meditation technique continued to attract celebrities.

The Maharishi made a number of property investments with the funds he amassed. In England, he bought Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, Roydon Hall in Maidstone, Swythamley Park in the Peak District and a Georgian rectory in Suffolk. In the United States, old resorts and hotels, many in city centers, were purchased to be used as TM training centers. Doug Henning and the Maharishi planned a magical Vedic amusement park, Vedaland, and bought large tracts of land near Orlando, Florida and Niagara Falls, Ontario to host the park. The Maharish commissioned plans from a prominent architect for the world's tallest building, a Vedic-style pyramid to be built in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and to be filled with Yogic Flyers and other TM endeavors. In later years, the Maharishi directed the purchase of properties in auspicious locations, such as islands and land at the geographic center of the continental United States and other countries.

In January 1988, the Maharishi's palace in India was raided by Indian police who reportedly confiscated $500,000 in cash, securities, and jewels. The raid occurred amidst a conflict with authorities over taxes and the movement was accused of lying about expenses. The Maharishi moved out of India following the tax audit.

Years in Vlodrop (1991-2008)

In 1990, the Maharishi relocated his headquarters from Seelisberg, Switzerland to a former Franciscan monastery in Vlodrop, Netherlands. He built what has been called the "largest wooden structure" in the Netherlands, reportedly at "vast expense". During his time in Vlodrop, he communicated to the public mainly via video and the internet. He also created a subscription-based, satellite TV channel, called Veda Vision, which broadcast content in 22 languages and 144 countries.

Deepak Chopra was "one of the Maharishi's top assistants before he launched his own career". Chopra wrote that the Maharishi collapsed in 1991 with kidney and pancreas failure. Chopra wrote that the illness was kept a secret by the Maharishi's family and that he tended to Maharishi during a year-long recovery. According to Chopra, the Maharishi accused him, in July 1993, of trying to compete for the position of guru and asked him to stop traveling and writing books, which led to Chopra's decision to leave the movement in January 1994. The Maharishi's last public appearance, as of 2001, was in 1991, in Maastricht.

Adherents of the Maharishi, led by Maharishi University of Management president Bevan Morris, founded the Natural Law Party in 1992. It was active in 42 countries. John Hagelin, the NLP's three-time candidate for U.S. president, denied any formal connection between the Maharishi and the party. The chief plank in the NLP's platform was funding the Maharishi's plan for thousands of Yogic Flyers who could create the Maharishi Effect and thereby insure invincibility for every nation. According to spokesman Bob Roth, "The Maharishi has said the party has to grow to encompass everyone". Critics charged that the party was an effort to recruit people for Transcendental Meditation, and that it resembled "the political arm of an international corporation" more than a "home-grown political creation". The only arm of the NLP to achieve electoral success was the Ajeya Bharat Party in India, which won one seat in a state assembly in 1998. The Maharishi shut down the political effort in 2004, saying, "I had to get into politics to know what is wrong there."

In 2000, the Maharishi founded the Global Country of World Peace (GCWP) whose self-described purpose is "to support existing governments and assist them in creating problem free administration for their nation". The GCWP unsuccessfully attempted to establish a sovereign microstate when it offered USD 1.3 billion to the President of Suriname for a 200-year lease of 3,500 acres (14 km) of land and in 2002, attempted to choose a king for the Talamanca, a "remote Indian reservation" in Costa Rica. Maharishi crowned Tony Nader as the Maharaja (king) of the GCWP in 2000.

In 2001, the Maharishi’s followers founded Maharishi Vedic City just a few miles north of Fairfield, Iowa. This new city requires that the construction of its homes and buildings be done according to the Maharishi’s principles of “harmony with nature”.

In a 2002 appearance on the CNN show, Larry King Live, the Maharishi said ""Transcendental meditation is something that can be defined as a means to do what one wants to do in a better way, a right way, for maximum results". It was the first time in 25 years that he had appeared in the mainstream media, and was occasioned by the reissue of The Science of Being and Art of Living. That same year, the Maharishi Global Financing Research Foundation issued the "RAAM" as a currency "dedicated to financing peace promoting projects".

In 2003, David Lynch began a fundraising project to raise USD 1 billion "on behalf of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi" to build a meditation center large enough to hold 8,000 skilled practitioners.

In 2007, the Maharishi purchased the American Bank Note Company Building near the New York Stock Exchange for his Maharishi Global Financial Capital. Its purpose is to create funding that will support the construction of 3,000 “peace palaces” around the world.

During this period, skeptics were critical of some of the Maharishi's programs such as a $10 trillion plan to end poverty through organic farming in poor countries and a $1 billion plan to use meditation groups to end conflict.

Death

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, concerned about his health, became increasingly secluded in two rooms of his residence. He communicated with even his closest advisors by closed-circuit television.

On January 12, 2008, Maharishi declared: "It has been my pleasure at the feet of Guru Dev , to take the light of Guru Dev and pass it on in my environment. Now today, I am closing my designed duty to Guru Dev. And I can only say, 'Live long the world in peace, happiness, prosperity, and freedom from suffering.'”

A week before his death, the Maharishi said that he was "stepping down as leader of the TM movement" and "retreating into silence." Maharishi Mahesh Yogi died peacefully in his sleep of natural causes on 5 February 2008 at his residence in Vlodrop, Netherlands. The Agni Samadhi Vedic rites were conducted on a high plateau on the grounds of a temple the Maharishi had been in the process of building in homage to his Master, overlooking the confluence of the Ganges in Allahabad, India. The funeral was carried by Sadhana TV station and was presided over by one of the claimants to the seat of Shankaracharya of the North, Swami Vasudevananda Saraswati Maharaj. During the military salute, the soldiers reversed arms but did not fire a salute, in honor of the Maharishi's life-long dedication to the creation of world peace.

The Maharishi was survived by a number of nephews and nieces. One nephew, Girish Varma, is chairman of the Maharishi Vidya Mandir Schools Group, chancellor of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Vedic University and chancellor of Maharishi University of Management and Technology in India. Other nephews include Anand Shrivastava, chairman of the Maharishi Group, and Ajay Prakash Shrivastava, president of Maharishi Vidya Mandir Schools.

Philosophy and teaching

According to Jacob Neusner, author of World Religions in America, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is one of a number of Indian gurus who brought Neo-Hindu adaptations of Vedantic Hinduism to the west. Author Meera Nanda calls neo-Hinduism "the brand of Hinduism that is taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Deepak Chopra, and their clones".

Transcendental Meditation

Over a 30-year period, the Maharishi held many advanced, in-residence courses and assemblies in North America, India and Europe for practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation technique. These courses consisted of long meditation sessions, lectures by Maharishi, discussions based on personal experiences of meditation, questions from course participants, and organizational meetings. This type of in-residence course style continues to this day. By the time of his death, there were nearly 1,000 TM training centers around the world.

In the mid 1970s, the Maharishi began the TM-Sidhi program, including Yogic Flying, as an additional option for those who had been practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique for some time. According to Coplin, this new aspect of knowledge emphasized not only the individual, but also the collective benefits created by group practice of this advanced program. This new program gave rise to a new principle called the Maharishi Effect. The Maharishi believed that this group practice of the technique benefited the environment.

Maharishi Vedic Science

Maharishi Vedic Science, or MVS, is based on Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's interpretation of the ancient Vedic texts. MVS includes two aspects, the practical aspect of the Transcendental Meditation technique and the TM-Sidhi Program, as well as the theoretical aspect of how MVS is applied to day to day living.

These applications include programs in: Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health (MVAH); Maharishi Sthapatya Veda, a mathematical system for the design and construction of buildings; Maharishi Gandharva Veda, a form of classical Indian music; Maharishi Jyotish (also known as Maharishi Vedic Astrology), a system claiming the evaluation of life tendencies of an individual; Maharishi Vedic Agriculture, a trademarked process for producing fresh, organic food; and, Consciousness-Based Education.

According to educator James Grant, a former Maharishi University of Management Associate Professor of Education and the former Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Maharishi brought out a "full revival of the Vedic tradition of knowledge from India" and demonstrated its relevance in many areas including education, business, medicine and government.

Publications

The Maharishi has written more than twenty books on the Transcendental Meditation technique and Maharishi Vedic Science.

In 1955, the organizers of The Great Spiritual Development Conference of Kerala, published The Beacon Light of the Himalayas, a transcribed, 170 page, "souvenir" of the conference. Authors Chryssides, Humes and Forsthoefel, Miller, and Russel cite this as the Maharishi's first published book on Transcendental Meditation, although Transcendental Meditation is not mentioned in the text of the book. The book is dedicated to Maharshi Bala Brahmanchari Mahesh Yogi Rajaram by his devotees of Kerala and contains photos, letters and lectures by numerous authors which appear in various languages such as English, Hindi and Sanskrit.

In his 1963 publication Bhagavad-Gita: A New Translation and Commentary, the Maharishi describes the Bhagavad Gita as "the Scripture of Yoga". He says that "its purpose is to explain in theory and practice all that is needed to raise the consciousness of man to the highest possible level." In 1964, the Maharishi attended the All-India Yogic Conference held in Calcutta, India, where he said that the teachings contained in the Bhagavad Gita were misunderstood in the current age, "the practice of yoga was misunderstood, misinterpreted, and misapplied", resulting in "weakness in the fields of thought and action". The Maharishi said that the source of his commentary was his master: "We are just an innocent means for the spontaneous flow of that knowledge – that's all."

While working on his translation and commentary of the Bhagavad Gita, the Maharishi began audio taping the text of the book Science of Being and Art of Living, which was later transcribed and published in 15 languages in 1963.

Other initiatives, projects and programs

Maharishi International University (renamed Maharishi University of Management (MUM) in 1995), the first university Maharishi founded, began classes in Santa Barbara, California, in 1973. Then in 1974, the university moved to Fairfield, Iowa, where it remains today. The university houses a library of the Maharishi's taped lectures and writings, including the 33-lesson, Science of Creative Intelligence course, originally a series of lectures given by the Maharishi in Fiuggi, Italy, in 1972. Described in the MUM university catalogue as combining modern science, and Vedic science, the course also defines certain higher states of consciousness, and guidance on how to attain these states.

The Maharishi Vidya Mandir Schools (MVMS), an educational system established in 16 Indian states and affiliated with the New Delhi Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), was founded in 1995 by the Maharishi. It has 148 branches in 118 cities with 90,000 to 100,000 students and 5,500 teaching and support staff.

In 1998, Maharishi Open University was founded by the Maharishi. It was accessible via a network of eight satellites broadcasting to every country in the world, and via the Internet.

The Maharishi also introduced theories of management, defense, and government, programs said to alleviate poverty, and introduced a new economic development currency called the RAAM. In 2000, the Maharishi began building administrative and teaching centers called "Peace Palaces" around the world, and by 2008 at least eight had been constructed in the US alone.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, in his farewell message on January 11, 2008, announced the establishment of the Brahmananda Saraswati Trust (BST), named in honor of his teacher, to support large groups totaling more than 30,000 peace-creating Vedic Pandits in perpetuity across India. According to Bevan Morris, the Prime Minister of the Global Country of World Peace, the BST is an endowment fund to "support the Vedic Pandits to perform Yagyas and Graha Shanti for all 192 countries of the world generation after generation". The Patron of the Brahmanand Saraswati Trust is the Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math.

Organizations and businesses

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is credited with heading charitable organizations, for-profit businesses, and real estate investments whose total value has been estimated at US$ 2 to 5 billion. The real estate alone was valued in 2003 at between $3.6 and $5 billion. Holdings in the United States, estimated at $250 million in 2008, include dozens of hotels, commercial buildings and undeveloped land. The Maharishi Group, an international conglomerate created by the Maharishi in 1959, is controlled by members of the Maharishi's family including his nephew, Anand Shrivastava (also spelled Srivastava). The group, which includes schools, solar power factories, health supplements, organic farms, software, jewelry, and many other businesses, was reported in 1999 to be worth $700 million. The Maharishi "amassed a personal fortune that his spokesman told one reporter may exceed $1 billion". According to a 2008 article in The Times, the Maharishi "was reported to have an income of six million pounds".

In his biography of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, The Story of the Maharishi( published 1976), William Jefferson suggests that the financial aspect of the TM organization is one of the greatest controversies it faces. He says the paradox of a movement whose concern is spiritual growth should have generated so much controversy about finances is unfortunate, and notes that other organizations handle finances differently than does the TM organization. Jefferson says that the concerns with money came from journalists more so than those who have learned to meditate. The controversy circles around the Maharishi’s mission, the comments from leaders of the movement at that time, and fees and charges the TM organization makes. According to Jefferson, Maharishi said in response to concerns about finances in the TM organization that, ”Money is never on my mind. When I created the world plan to establish centers in every country on earth, I didn’t consider whether we had the necessary money to do it, I saw only the possibility…" He also said, ‘We cannot take away the economic aspects of the movement…even though my message concerns the non-economic fulfillment of life. If initiations were free we could not cover the overhead for spreading the movement through out the world." According the to Times obituary, the Maharishi said he had no interest in wealth, "It goes to support the centres, it does not go on me. I have nothing."

Notable followers

According to the movement, four to six million people have been trained in the TM technique since 1959. Notable practitioners include The Beatles, David Lynch, John Hagelin, Mia Farrow, and Doug Henning. Former disciples who became spiritual teachers or self-help authors include Deepak Chopra, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, John Gray, and Barbara De Angelis.

Published works

• ISBN 8175230150 Celebrating Perfection in Administration
• ISBN 8175230134 Celebrating Perfection in Education – Dawn of Total Knowledge
• ISBN 8175230045 Constitution of India Fulfilled through Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation
• ISBN 9991160892 Enlightenment and Invincibility
• ISBN 9080600512 Ideal India – The Lighthouse of Peace on Earth
• ISBN 8175230061 Inaugurating Maharishi Vedic University
• Love and God (SRM: 1965; Age of Enlightenment Press: 1978) - currently out-of-print
• ISBN 8175230037 Maharishi Forum of Natural Law and National Law for Doctors – Perfect Health for Everyone
• ISBN 0140192476 Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on the Bhagavad-Gita – A New Translation and Commentary, Chapters 1-6
• ISBN 8175230088 Maharishi Speaks to Educators – Mastery Over Natural Law
• ISBN 8175230126 Maharishi Speaks to Students – Mastery Over Natural Law
• ISBN 8175230010 Maharishi University of Management – Wholeness on the Move
• ISBN 9071750175 Maharishi Vedic University – Introduction
• ISBN 8175230002 Maharishi's Absolute Theory of Defence – Sovereignty in Invincibility
• ISBN 8175230029 Maharishi's Absolute Theory of Government – Automation in Administration
• ISBN 0452282667 Science of Being and Art of Living – Transcendental Meditation

References

1. New Religious Movements (University of Virginia) (1998), citing Melton, J. Gordon, 1993, Encyclopedia of American Religions. 4th ed. Detroit: Gale Research Inc, 945-946. Occhiogrosso, Peter. The Joy of Sects: A Spirited Guide to the World's Religious Traditions. New York: Doubleday (1996); p 66. O'Brien, J. & M. Palmer. The State of Religion Atlas. Simon & Schuster: New York (1993); pg. 35. O'Brien, J. & M. Palmer. The State of Religion Atlas. Simon & Schuster: New York (1993); p. 35. Petersen, William J. Those Curious New Cults in the 80s. New Canaan, Connecticut: Keats Publishing (1982), p 123.
2. Carlton, Jim (April 15, 1991). "For $1,500 a Head, Maharishi Promises Mellower Inmates --- Transcendental Meditation Goes to Prison as Backers Try to Lock Up Contracts". Wall Street Journal. New York, N.Y. p. A.1.
3. ^ Template:Cite web=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601091&sid=aXiUpQyKxGnI&refer=india
4. Richardson, Mark (October 12, 1993). "A leap of faith". The Ottawa Citizen. p. A.1.
5. ^ Woo, Elaine (February 6, 2006). "Maharishi Mahesh Yogi". Los Angeles Times.
6. Oates, Robert M. Celebrating the Dawn, page 40. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN 0-399-11815-2.
7. The New York Times
8. Gifts of the Global Country of World Peace
9. Humes, C.A. (2005)Maharishi Mahesh Yogi: Beyond the T.M. Technique, in Gurus in America, ed. Thomas A. Forsthoefel and Cynthia Ann Humes, SUNY Press, p. 61, ISBN 079146573X
10. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Spiritual Leader, Dies. Lily Koppel, New York Times, February 6, 2008
11. "Maharishi Mahesh Yogi". The Guardian. London. February 6, 2008. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
12. http://web.archive.org/web/20061011132039/http://allduniv.edu/hostels/gnjha/gnjha_alumni.htm
13. Coplin, J.R. (1990)Text and Context in the Communication of a Social Movement's Charisma, Ideology, and Consciousness: TM for India and the West. Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, San Diego, p. 48
14. Coplin, J.R. (1990)Text and Context in the Communication of a Social Movement's Charisma, Ideology, and Consciousness: TM for India and the West. Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, San Diego, p. 64
15. “Guru Dev represented the tradition well, for he did not allow anyone who was not of the Brahmin varna, the caste of the priesthood, to teach. Since Mahesh was born into a scribe caste (kayastha), he was not allowed to join the order of monks. Thus when Guru Dev died in Calcutta in 1953, Mahesh would not have been considered a candidate to replace him.” Transcenendent in America by Lola Williamson, page 84, New York University Press, 2010
16. Coplin, J.R. (1990)Text and Context in the Communication of a Social Movement's Charisma, Ideology, and Consciousness: TM for India and the West. Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, San Diego, p. 49
17. “What I knew of the Maharishi’s background I’d read here and there. ……A British magazine said his teacher was Jagad Guru Shankaracharya Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, or Swami Brahmananda Saraswati Maharaj, Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath, or Guru Dev for short. The Maharishi (Hindu for “great sage”; Mahesh is his family name) was his pupil for 13 years. When the Guru Dev died, the Maharishi was so disappointed at not being named successor, that he launched an unsuccessful lawsuit.”Grescoe, Paul, "Hail Holy Teacher" Montreal Gazette (August 16, 1968) p 3
18. "Beatles guru dies in Netherlands" USA Today (AP) (February 5, 2008)
19. Epstein, Edward, "Politics and Transcendental Meditation", San Francisco Chronicle (December 29, 1995)
20. Morris, Bevan "Maharishi’s Vedic Science and Technology: The Only Means to Create World Peace", Journal of Modern Science and Vedic Science Volume 5, Numbers 1–2, 1992 p 200
21. Rooney, Ben "Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, guru to Beatles, dies" The Telegraph (February 6, 2008)
22. Russell, Peter, The T.M. Technique: An Introduction to Transcendental Meditation and the Teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Routledge (1977)ISBN 0710085397, 9780710085399 p. 25
23. ^ Thirty Years Around the World, MVU Press, 1986, p. 199
24. King, J.L. (2007) Fundamentals of Maharishi Vedic Science, p.13.
25. McCloud, Sean Making the American Religious Fringe: Exotics, Subersives and Journalists, 1955-1993 UNC Press, 2004 ISBN 0807854964, 9780807854969
26. Gigler, Rich "Transcendental Meditation can be relaxing hobby", Pittsburgh Press (February 10, 1975)
27. "Obituary: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi", '"BBC News (February 6, 2008)
28. Regush, Nicholas "No bargains on road to enlightenment", Montreal Gazette (July 30, 1977)
29. Simon, Alyssa, "David Wants to Fly", Variety (February 14, 2010)
30. Thirty Years Around the World, MVU Press, 1986, p. 237 "Summary 1958: The first countries he visited on his first wold tour were Burma, Thailand, Malaya, Singapore, Hong Kong and the USA (Hawaii)."
31. Thirty Years Around the World, Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment, p. 236, ISBN 9071750027 "He has no money, he asks for nothing. His worldly possessions can be carried in one hand. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is on a world odyssey. He carries a message that he says will rid the world of all unhappiness and discontent."
32. Blume, Mary (July 8, 1995). "A Little Meditation on the Bottom Line". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2004-04-25.
33. Thirty Years Around the World, MVU Press, 1986, p. 275 "Summary 1959: In January Maharishi traveled to the USA for the first time, establishing the movement in Hawaii and then moving on to San Francisco and Los Angeles. Towards the end of the year, he once again visited Hawaii, the flew to the East Coast cities of Boston and New York"
34. Hermit in the House, p.44, Los Angeles, 1967
35. Thirty Years Around the World, MVU Press, 1986, pp. 318-320 Note: The source contains a 3 page itinerary of 40+ cities visited by the Maharishi with corresponding dates of visit ranging from 1/1/60 and 12/30/60, "Summary 1960: Maharishi brought TM to the countries of Europe and in his many lectures in England, Scotland, Norway, and Germany he...""In the first half of the year he visited France, Switzerland, Austria and Germany." "...then traveled to the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Denmark and Sweden."
36. Dorine Tolley (2009). The Power Within: Leon MacLaren, A Memoir of His Life and Work. BookSurge Publishing. ISBN 1-4392-1030-6.
37. Thirty Years Around the World, MVU Press, 1986, p. 305 "In Manchester, Maharishi gave a television interview which reached millions of people in the north of England" "In Cambridge, the Daily News carried headline: 'Maharishi shows a simple method of meditation', while the Oxford Mail reporter who asked Maharishi ...."
38. Thirty Years Around the World, MVU Press, 1986, p. 302 "Maharishi made Henry Nyburg his personal representative for Europe and gave him the training and authority to teach Transcendental Meditation, thus making him the first European teacher."
39. Thirty Years Around the World, Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment, pp. 318-344, ISBN 9071750027"From Chapter Titled '1961' pg 328 "The following day, BBC Television interviewed Maharishi and chose as the setting for the interview the Acropolis, one of the glories of ancient Greece." "On 20 April Maharishi inaugurated..."Maharishi then conducted the first international course to train teacher of TM" "The graduation ceremony of the course was held on 12 July and 60 new teachers of TM returned to their countries...."
40. Seven-step course in How to Learn the Transcendental Meditation program
41. Thirty Years Around the World, Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment, p. 400, ISBN 9071750027 "...it was on this course that Maharishi started his commentary on the Bhagavad Gita--a commentary later to be published..."
42. Thirty Years Around the World, MVU Press, 1986, p. 490-491 and p.503 "And in the final days of 1962, in the silent surroundings of Lake Arrowhead, California, Maharishi brought out yet another gift for the world--The Science of Being and Art of Living--a treasury of pure knowledge to guide mankind in its evolution to perfection."
43. Thirty Years Around the World, Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment, p. 414, ISBN 9071750027 "Chapter Titled "1962": On 20 April, Maharishi in the presence of His Holiness Swami Shantanand Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of northern India, inaugurated a special course" "In the Prospectus, this special 40-day course was announced for 'sadhus, sannyasis and brahmacharis, and retired persons of energetic calibre'."
44. Thirty Years Around the World, MVU Press, 1986, pp. 544-545, "Twenty one members of parliament, representing each of the Indian states, issued a statement entitled a 'timely Call to the Leaders of Today and Tomorrow' for the speedy introduction of the system into the daily routine of national life." NOTE: the text of the 3 page statement from the parliament is also included in the book on pages 504-507
45. Thirty Years Around the World, MVU Press, 1986, p. 504-507 "Twenty one members of parliament, representing each of the Indian states, issued a statement entitled a 'timely Call to the Leaders of Today and Tomorrow' for the speedy introduction of the system into the daily routine of national life." NOTE: the text of the 3 page statement from the parliament is also included in the book on pages 504-507
46. Thirty Years Around the World, MVU Press, 1986, p. 530-536 "Tributes were later printed in the Canadian magazine, Enjoy"--"A front page news article in the local Daily Colonist newspaper" "The Calgary Herald reported an entertaining incident, which took place during an interview in Maharishi's hotel room". "The Albertan newspaper of Wednesday, 25 September quoted Maharishi as saying that there were now 1,000 meditators in Canada"
47. Thirty Years Around the World, MVU Press, 1986, pp 587-588 "ON his fifth world tour, Maharishi conducted a Meditation Guides Course in Norway, a course in London, where advanced techniques of TM were given for the first time, and Meditation Guides Courses in Austria, Canada, and Germany/"
48. Thirty Years Around the World, MVU Press, 1986, p. 553 "But the highlight of this London visit was the popular BBC television interview with Robert Kee, featuring Maharishi and the Abbot of Downside, Abbot Butler."
49. Thirty Years Around the World, MVU Press, 1986, p. 572"On his fifth world tour, Maharishi conducted a Meditation Guides Course in Norway, a course in London, where advanced techniques of TM were given for the first time, and Meditation Guides Courses in Austria, Canada, and Germany/"
50. Thirty Years Around the World, MVU Press, 1986, pp 576-577 "POn the 17th Maharishi went to Santa Barbara to meet with Dr. Robert Maynard Hutchins, head of the Centre for Democratic Studies. Maharishi left for NYC on 19 December to meet with U Thant, Secretary General of the United Nations."
51. ^ Beatles Guru, Stephanie Van Den Berg, Sidney Morning Herald Feb 7 2008
52. ^ Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Guru of transcendental meditation who used his association with the Beatles to create a hugely profitable global movement, The Times, 7 February 2008
53. ^ New York Times, "Meditation on the Man Who Saved the Beatles"
54. Wenner, Jann (2000) . Lennon Remembers. Verso, W.W. Norton & Co. p. 27. ISBN 185984376X. Yeah, there was a big hullabaloo about him trying to rape Mia Farrow or trying to get off with Mia Farrow and a few other women, things like that.
55. ^ Spitz, Bob (2005-11-01). The Beatles: The Biography (1St Edition ed.). Little, Brown and Company. p. 757. ISBN 0316803529. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)
56. ^ MacDonald, Ian (2007). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (3rd revised ed.). Chicago Review Press. ISBN 1-8441-3828-3.
57. Reuters, McCartney says meditation helped stabilize Beatles, Michelle Nichols, April 3, 2009,
58. ^ Barry, Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now, Macmillan, 1998 ISBN 0805052496, 9780805052497 p.401
59. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi dies, AP 2/5/2005
60. ^ Beatles Meditation Guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Dies, AP, Feb 6 2005
61. Toronto Star, Beatles Guru Lived Life in Bliss, Mike Corder, Feb 6 2008
62. The Beatles Anthology, Chronicle Books, 2000, pp. 285-86
63. "What Falls Away". Bantam. p. 128. ISBN 0553763342. ...I was blinking at his beard when suddenly I became aware of two surprisingly male, hairy arms going around me. I panicked, and shot up the stairs, apologizing all the way. I flew out into the open air, and ran as fast as I could to Prudy's room... I blurted out something about Maharishi's cave, and arms, and beard, and she said, It's an honor to be touched by a holy many after meditation, a tradition. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |firstname= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |lastname= ignored (help)
64. ^ "Maharishi Mahesh Yogi; Obituary". Rolling Stone: 16. 2008-03-06.
65. Tookey, Christopher, "The Love Guru: Not so groovy, baby!", Daily Mail (July 31, 2008)
66. "The Mashuganishi Yogi", Billboard (April 6, 1968) p. 66
67. Rolling Stone, March 6, 2008, Page 16
68. Lewiston Evening Journal, Associated Press writer Pat Sherlock, July 3, 1970
69. Montrial Gazette, Aug 2 1972
70. Hoffman, Claire (February 7, 2008). "David Lynch's Guru and His Art". Washington Post. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
71. Honigsbaum, Mark (August 15, 2005). "All you need is love and peace - but not in destructive Britain, so maharishi pulls out: Followers split as 95-year-old guru ends meditation teaching in 'scorpion nation'". The Guardian.
72. "Feeling Guru-vy.(current activities of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, promoter of transcendental meditation)". People Weekly. August 24, 1998. p. 73.
73. ^ Montreal Gazette, March 24, 1975, Don McPherson, Maharishi Claims Meditation Push Can Help Canada
74. The Evening Independent, March 27, 1975, Maharishi Carries Roses, Quiets World, Bethia Caffery
75. Braun, Frank Dirceu (August 7, 1999). "La Jolla resident involved with maharishi in plans for world's tallest high-rise, Brazil project expected to cost $1.6 billion". The San Diego Union - Tribune. p. A.12.
76. WATERS, SHAUN (April 11, 1988). "Canadians urged to help build guru's heavenly housing". The Globe and Mail. p. A.13.
77. JOHNSON, BRYAN (March 1, 1988). "INDIA 'Buried' holy man fosters skepticism". The Globe and Mail. p. A.8.
78. Richardson, Mark (October 16, 1993). "Natural Law confident its 'new knowledge' can solve the nation's problems". The Ottawa Citizen. p. A.9.
79. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, in peace, Martin Hodgson, Guardian, UK 2/6/05
80. Osborn, Andrew (December 4, 2001). "Real lives: Holy man of Maastricht: Since George Harrison's death, the papers have been full of pictures of him with his Indian guru in the 60s. So what is the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi up to these days? Andrew Osborn tracks him down - to Holland". The Guardian. Manchester (UK). p. 4.
81. Times Online, 2008
82. The Maharishi Years - The Untold Story: Recollections of a Former Disciple (2008)
83. Osborn, Andrew (December 4, 2001). "Real lives: Holy man of Maastricht: Since George Harrison's death, the papers have been full of pictures of him with his Indian guru in the 60s. So what is the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi up to these days?". The Guardian. London, England. p. 4.
84. Maier, Scott (September 22, 1992). "DON'T TAKE IT PERSONAL MEDITATION TECHNIQUE ADVOCATES BRING YOU NATURAL LAW PARTY". Seattle Post - Intelligencer. p. b.1.
85. ^ SCHULTE, BRIGID (June 23, 1996). "IMAGINE YOU ARE OUR NEXT PRESIDENT MEDITATION IS KEY IN THIRD-PARTY BID Series: Another in an occasional series of profiles of long-shot candidates for president". The Record. Bergen County, N.J. p. 32.
86. Howard, Phoebe Wall (January 8, 1996). "New laid-back national party calls philosophy only natural". The Fresno Bee. Fresno, Calif. p. A.1.
87. BRAVIN, JESS (September 12, 1992). "Laws of Nature Transcend GOP Ties for Beach Boys Politics: Group, which will perform in Costa Mesa, parts ways with Bush on environment". Los Angeles Times. p. 1.
88. COBB, CHRIS (October 30, 1993). "Party of the flying yogics gets a free ride from the taxpayers". The Vancouver Sun. p. A.10.
89. KAPICA, JACK (November 27, 1993). "VEDA LAND The New Incarnation of the Maharishi REJECTION BY THE VOTERS ONLY SERVES TO MAKE THE NATURAL LAW PARTY'S APPEALS MORE URGENT, ITS PLANS MORE GRANDIOSE, ITS CLAIMS MORE STRIDENT". The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ont. p. D.3.
90. "MADHYA PRADESH: STATE ELECTION OF 25 NOVEMBER 1998". Psephos. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
91. Keller, James (October 17, 2005). "Indian guru who taught the Beatles sets sights on Canada". The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ont. p. A.8.
92. Official Web Site
93. "Costa Rica: Secta divide a indígenas". La Fogata. July 24, 2002.
94. "It was obvious that they were promoting an independent state within Costa Rica, and we can't tolerate that" said the Central American nation's security minister Rogelio Ramos. "Costa Rica expels foreigners for naming king of remote Indian reservation". AP World Politics. July 18, 2002.
95. Newsvine, Beatles Guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Dies, AP, Feb 5 2005
96. Easterling, Keller (2007-10-31). Enduring Innocence: Global Architecture and Its Political Masquerades. The MIT Press. ISBN 0262550652.
97. The Guardian, Peace Man, Julian Borger, December 10, 2003
98. "A Guru's Goals Still Center on Peace and Love". The Washington Post. D.01. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |laast= ignored (help)
99. Koppel, Lily (February 6, 2008). "Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a Guide On the Beatles' Spiritual Path, Dies". New York Times. p. C.10.
100. "12 January 2008: Rejoicing in the supreme fulfilment of Invincibility for the world - Global Country of World Peace celebrates the dawn of administration of eternal silence" Press release, January 12, 2008
101. „Historic address of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on 11 January 2008“ Press release, January 11th, 2008
102. „Dear Fellow Governors, Sidhas and Meditators of America.“ Mailing from John Hagelin, „Raja of Invincible America“, 8. Januar 2008
103. Corder, Mike (February 5, 2008). "Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Dies". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
104. BBC News FEb 6 2008
105. "House mourns death of Mahesh Yogi, Goud." Central Chronicle, February 27th, 2008
106. (As reported by Sadhana TV station, 11 February 2008.)
107. Pradhanl, Sharat; Chatterjee, Madhusree. "Mahesh Yogi cremated as large gathering pays tribute". IANS.
108. "Veneration marks 'Shodashi Sanskar'". The Hindustan Times. New Delhi. February 20, 2008.
109. "Maharishi National Cultural Celebration - 2009" (PDF). E-Gyan. No. 5. November 12, 2009.
110. ^ "Human Dimension: Anand Shrivastava". UNEP-Tongji Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
111. Chopra, Deepak (February 13, 2008). "The Maharishi Years - The Untold Story: Recollections of a Former Disciple". Huffington Post. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
112. "About Chairman". Maharishi Vidya Mandir public school. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
113. Pradhan, Sharat (February 10, 2008). "Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to be cremated in grand ceremony". Rediff.com. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
114. Jacob Neusner, World Religions in America: An Introduction, Westminster John Knox Press, 2009 ISBN 9780664233204.
115. Nanda, Meera (2004). Prophets facing backward: postmodern critiques of science and Hindu nationalism in India. Piscataway N.J.; London: Rutgers University Press. p. 46. ISBN 9780813533575.
116. Meditators Fly For Peace
117. Coplin, J.R. (1990)Text and Context in the Communication of a Social Movement's Charisma, Ideology, and Consciousness: TM for India and the West. Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, San Diego, p. 71
118. Thirty Years Around the World, Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment, p. 450, ISBN 9071750027
119. Anna Bonshek, Corrina Bonshek, and Lee Fergusson.The Big Fish: Consciousness as Structure, Body and Space. Rodopi, 2007.
120. The Big Fish, Anna Bonshek, p. 6-9
121. Contemporary Ayurveda, Medicine and Research in Maharishi Ayur-Veda, H. Sharma MD and Christopher Clark MD, 1998, Title Chapter 13
122. Schneider, R and Fields, J: Total Heart Health: How to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease with the Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health, Basic Health Publications, Inc. 2006
123. The Physiology of Consciousness, Robert Keith Wallace, Ph.D.pp 99-102, Institute of Science and Public Policy 1986
124. Contemporary Ayurveda; Medicine and Research in Maharishi Ayurveda, H. Sharma MD, C. Clark MD, p. 143
125. The Physiology of Consciousness, Robert Keith Wallace, Ph.D.pp 107-109, Institute of Science and Public Policy 1986
126. Contemporary Ayurveda; Medicine and Research in Maharishi Ayurveda, H. Sharma MD, C. Clark MD, pp. 144-145 Churchill Livingstone 1998.
127. CBE web site
128. Grant James,The University in Transition, Jennifer Gidley, p.209, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000,
130. ^ Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Beacon Light of the Himalayas (1955)
131. Chryssides, George D., Exploring New ReligionsContinuum International Publishing Group (1999)ISBN 0826459595, 9780826459596 p 293
132. Forsthoefel, Thomas A. and Humes, Cynthia Ann, "Gurus in America" SUNY Press (2005)ISBN 079146573X, 9780791465738 p.77
133. Miller, Timothy, "America's Alternative ReligionsSUNY Press (1995)ISBN 0791423972, 9780791423974 p.193
134. Russell, Peter, The T.M. Technique: An Introduction Routledge (1977)ISBN 0710085397, 9780710085399 p.75
135. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. (1969) On the Bhagavad-Gita: A New Translation and Commentary. New York: Penguin Books, pp. 20-21.
136. Thirty Years Around the World, Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment, p. 587, ISBN 9071750027
137. Thirty Years Around the World, Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment, p. 348, ISBN 9071750027
138. Thirty Years Around the World, Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment, p. 459, ISBN 9071750027
139. Encyclopedia of Religion, p. 3, ISBN 0-02-865981-3
140. MUM Catalogue of courses Catalog 07-08-b
141. King, J.L. (2007). Fundamentals of Maharishi Vedic Science, p.14
142. Sulekha web site
143. K-12 Education web site the-lower-school
144. Ekikrat.in web site
145. "Man Fails to Fly, Sues Camelot Owner" By NANCY K. OWENS, Greater Tulsa Reporter
146. King, J.L. (2007). Fundamentals of Maharishi Vedic Science, p.15.
147. Forbes, "Queer as a three-raam bill"
148. New York Times, "Sites for ‘Maharishi Effect’ (Welcome to Parma) Spread Across U.S."
149. Maharishi's Obit, by Subhamoy Das, About.com Guide
150. ^ Global Good News web site
151. Harris, Chris (November 13, 2003). "The Maharishi's Hotel of Emptiness:Will the Beatles' former guru leave Hartford with a permanent blemish, or is there hope for the Clarion Hotel?". Hartford Advocate.
152. HAMILL, SEAN D. (February 22, 2008). "Sites for 'Maharishi Effect' (Welcome to Parma) Spread Across U.S." New York Times.
153. Mahalakshmi, BV (November 12, 2009). "Maharishi to acquire tech from German co". Financial Express. New Delhi.
154. "The 'Beatles' Yogi Became a Billionaire". Day to Day. March 4, 2008.
155. Jefferson, William, The Story of the Maharishi. Pocket Books (Simon and Schuster), New York, 1976.

Further reading

• Official List of Books by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi http://www.maharishi-programmes.globalgoodnews.com/publications/books.html
• Mason, Paul (2005) The Maharishi: The Biography of the Man Who Gave Transcendental Meditation to the World, Element Books Ltd, ISBN 1852305711
• Miles, Barry (1998) Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now, ISBN 0-7493-8658-4
• Spitz, Bob (2006) The Beatles—The Biography, Aurum Press, ISBN 1-84513-160-6
• Lennon, Cynthia (1978) A Twist of Lennon, W. H. Allen, ISBN 0-352-30196-1
• Wynn, Ned (1993), We Will Always Live in Beverly Hills; Random House Value Publishing, ISBN 0-517-10885-2

External links

• Transcendental Meditation/Maharishi
• Official List of Lifetime Achievements
• Larry King interview with Maharishi on 5/12/02
• Maharishi Channel on the Internet

Template:Persondata

• 1917 births
• 2008 deaths
• Indian religious leaders
• Transcendental Meditation movement
• Transcendental Meditation practitioners
• Allahabad University alumni
• People from Jabalpur
• People associated with The Beatles