“I will fill the world with the light of knowledge and create Heaven on Earth.” With these words, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi came to the West from India, visiting the USA and then Great Britain.
On 13 December 1959 he arrived in London to a whirlwind of radio and TV interviews, and within months he had taught hundreds of people his simple technique of Transcendental Meditation.
Now, 50 years on, Transcendental Meditation is the world’s most thoroughly researched and popular self-development technique and hardly a month goes by without another medical paper being published on its benefits.
Up and down the country on this coming 13 December, hundreds of people who practise Transcendental Meditation – and its Advanced Techniques including Yogic Flying – will gather in large groups to celebrate this anniversary and give a boost to world consciousness. And what better time to do so than during the UN Climate Change Conference, to provide a coherent foundation for the world’s decision-makers?
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Transcendental Meditation, which was brought to the UK by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in December 1959, has recently been found to lower heart attack, stroke, and death rates by nearly 50 per cent in heart disease patients (American Heart Association annual meeting), and a study published in this month’s Journal of Hypertension has shown that Transcendental Meditation reduces blood pressure significantly in university students at risk of hypertension.
And the ancient technique has enjoyed a renaissance among young people, with 100,000 learning the technique in the Americas thanks largely to David Lynch who was inspired after meeting Maharishi to set up a charitable foundation to bring Transcendental Meditation to at-risk school children.
David Lynch’s Change from Within concert in New York last April inspired Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, Moby, Donovan, Jerry Seinfeld, and other well known performers, who have benefited from the technique themselves, to give public support to teaching Transcendental Meditation to one million school children worldwide, including the UK.
Now in Britain, plans are being announced by Maharishi Foundation to use Transcendental Meditation to combat under-achievement in schools, spiralling health care costs, social issues associated with the economic downturn, crime, and terrorism. At the same time – and to also commemorate Maharishi’s contribution to British life in the past 50 years – plans will be presented for a national monument and exhibition centre for London (see below).
Dr Peter Warburton, Chairman of Maharishi Foundation, says: “Transcendental Meditation is unique and extraordinary. Our expansion of activity in Britain is driven by the fact that the technique has been established in numerous scientific studies to be the most beneficial system of meditation – validating Maharishi’s assertion that this ancient technique is fundamentally different, in principles and practice, from all other systems of meditation. It is also the most easily learned and the most enjoyable.
“Our projects for the next three years and beyond have been inspired by the published results of hundreds of applications of Maharishi’s programmes throughout the world – notably in health, education, business, and agriculture. They offer peace, prosperity, enlightenment, and ultimately invincibility, to Great Britain.”
Maharishi Tower of Invincibility
The Maharishi Tower of Invincibility will be a 12-storey building containing exhibits on the knowledge of Total Natural Law and how it can be applied to fulfil all areas of life. A state-of-the-art planetarium and interactive electronic displays will provide a lively, entertaining, and informative experience for visitors.
Celebrations to follow in Scotland in Wales
Similar launches to that in London will take place next year in Edinburgh and Cardiff, commemorating Maharishi’s first visits to Scotland and Wales.
