Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was an Indian spiritual teacher who developed and popularized the Transcendental Meditation technique. He became a major figure in the counterculture of the 1960s after attracting prominent Western disciples, including The Beatles and Mia Farrow. His teachings, derived from the Vedanta tradition, led to the creation of a worldwide organization and numerous affiliated institutions focused on meditation, Ayurveda, and consciousness-based education.

Early life and education

Born Mahesh Prasad Varma in Jabalpur, he graduated with a degree in physics from the University of Allahabad. In the early 1940s, he became a disciple of Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math in the Himalayas. For over a decade, he studied under his guru, who was a leading figure in the Advaita Vedanta tradition. Following the death of his teacher in 1953, he spent a period of seclusion in a Himalayan cave before beginning his public mission.

Development of Transcendental Meditation

Emerging in Madras in 1955, he began teaching a simplified meditation technique he initially called Transcendental Deep Meditation. The practice was presented as a mental technique for reducing stress and accessing deeper levels of consciousness, distinct from religious ritual or complex yoga postures. He founded the Spiritual Regeneration Movement in 1957 to promote the technique, establishing his first international center in Los Angeles the following year. The method was later standardized under the name Transcendental Meditation and taught globally by trained instructors.

Global expansion and public figures

His international profile soared in 1967 after The Beatles attended a training course at his ashram in Rishikesh. This was followed by other celebrities, including Donovan, Mike Love of The Beach Boys, and actress Mia Farrow. These associations generated massive media coverage in publications like Rolling Stone and propelled the technique into Western popular culture. Throughout the 1970s, he established a structured global organization, founding Maharishi International University (later Maharishi University of Management) in Iowa and launching the World Plan to spread his teachings.

Spiritual and philosophical teachings

His teachings, which he termed the Science of Creative Intelligence, synthesized concepts from the Vedas with modern scientific language. He proposed that regular practice of Transcendental Meditation could produce a state of "restful alertness" and develop higher states of consciousness, such as Cosmic Consciousness. He also revived and promoted traditional Ayurveda through institutions like the Maharishi Ayur-Veda organization. In later decades, he articulated principles for ideal governance, founding the Natural Law Party in over 70 countries and establishing the Global Country of World Peace as a non-geographic sovereign entity.

Later years and legacy

From the 1990s until his death, he resided at the MERU headquarters in Vlodrop, where he guided his movement through videoconference. He oversaw the establishment of large-scale meditation groups, such as the Invincible America Assembly, aimed at creating a postulated "Maharishi Effect" of reduced societal stress. Following his death in 2008, leadership passed to figures like Tony Nader. His legacy includes a multimillion-dollar network of Transcendental Meditation organizations, ongoing scientific research on meditation, and continued patronage from celebrities such as David Lynch and Oprah Winfrey.

Category:Indian spiritual teachers Category:1918 births Category:2008 deaths