Maharishi's Wish for the World

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is considered by many to have been the foremost authority on meditation — "an Einstein in the field of consciousness." He is known for his practical, scientific approach and his lifelong endeavor to relieve human suffering and bring the benefits of meditation to people everywhere.

He did not fashion himself as a "guru" with personal followers, but served as a teacher and restorer of Vedic knowledge. "I have no followers," he once remarked to a journalist. "Everyone follows their own progress."

"A rediscovery to fulfill the need of our time"

Maharishi revived the ancient meditation technique of "effortless transcending" — long lost to society even in India, the land of its origin — and reestablished the technique's original effectiveness (naming it "Transcendental Meditation"). He systematized the teaching of the technique into a seven-step course so that teachers could be trained to teach it in every language and the technique would give consistent, all-positive results for people everywhere — preserving the TM technique for this and future generations.

The stale, once common belief that effective meditation is arduous and requires many years of practice to succeed — and that the full benefit of meditation is available only to recluses or monks — was the age-old misunderstanding that Maharishi proved wrong and turned on its head.

Always emphasizing and honoring the Vedic tradition, Maharishi gave all credit to his teacher and the tradition.

Over the years as he traveled the globe lecturing on meditation and training thousands of teachers, Maharishi met with many of the greatest minds of the era — many of whom practiced Maharishi's meditation technique or sought discourse with him during symposia on his theory of consciousness. Maharishi discussed the futureof technology with Dr. Harvey Brooks of Harvard, molecular chemistry with Nobel Laureate Melvin Calvin, environmental design with R. Buckminster Fuller, quantum mechanics with Nobel Laureate Dr. Brian Josephson, thermodynamics with Nobel Laureate Dr. Ilya Prigogine, and many others.

Maharishi's success as a meditation teacher is unprecedented: Never before in recorded history, even as far back as the birth of Zen Buddhism, has a meditation technique been learned by so many people (6 million) during its teacher's lifetime — and with such demonstrable results.

Transcendental Meditation has spread naturally and effortlessly throughout the world — one person experiences the benefits and tells another. And it's happening only because of the authenticity and effectiveness of the technique. No meditation technique could be this effective and successful unless its founder possessed a clear, comprehensive knowledge of consciousness and human potential.

Maharishi's further accomplishment was to establish the practical benefits of this meditation on the solid ground of modern science — lifting spiritual development from the realm of mysticism and misunderstanding.

"May good belong to all the people in the world.
May the rulers go by the path of justice.
May the best of men and their source prove to be a blessing.
May all the world rejoice in happiness.
May rain come on time and plentifulness be on earth.
May this world be free from suffering and the noble ones free from fear.
May good belong to all the people in the world.
And may all the world rejoice in Enlightenment."

—Maharishi's wish for the world as he inaugurated the dawn of a new, enlightened era for humankind in 1975


Source:
http://meditationasheville.blogspot.com/2010/12/who-was-maharishi-mahesh-yogi-and-what.html