Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (born January 12, 1917) is the founder of the Transcendental Meditation or TM Movement.

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January 12 - 1917 - Transcendental Meditation

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Maharishi is believed to have been born in the village of Chichli, near Gadawara, Jabalpur, India and graduated from Allahabad University with a degree in physics. He was secretary for thirteen years with Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath. In 1955, after spending two years in silence in Uttar Kashi, in the Himalayan foothills, he began teaching a basic meditation technique which he later dubbed "Transcendental Meditation".

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Jabalpur - India - Allahabad University - Brahmananda Saraswati - Shankaracharya - Jyotirmath - 1955 - Uttar Kashi

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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.

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1957 - The Spiritual Regeneration Movement - TM Movement - Transcendental Meditation

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The Beatles were among his students. After some allegations of sexual abuse against the Maharishi, the Beatles left him, voicing their disappointment in some songs ("Sexy Sadie"). These allegations turned out to be unfounded, and former Beatles George and Paul (Larry King Show) voiced their support of Maharishi in later years. The Beach Boys also became students (singer Mike Love in particular), recording an album at his Maharishi International University in the 1970s. Donovan befriended the Maharishi, who appeared with him on the back cover of A Gift from a Flower to a Garden.

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The Beatles - Beach Boys - Mike Love - Donovan - A Gift from a Flower to a Garden

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The Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation has been taught worldwide to over 5 million people. Over 600 research studies have been made at universities in over 30 countries. They claim that TM has positive health effects and leads to increasing harmony, increased creativity and better health. The value of TM is becoming increasingly recognized worldwide. For example, the National Institute of Health of USA has sponsored research on the effects of TM on stress with over 20 million USD (NIH only sponsors methods whose effects are confirmed by high quality research).

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Maharishi has also developed programs, based on TM and the advanced TM-Sidhi program, with the purpose of promoting world peace. In fact, one Maharishi organization points to over 50 research studies that are purported to have confirmed that these programs are capable of reducing crime, violence, terrorism and war activities and promote peaceful and constructive tendencies, see http://www.permanentpeace.org/. They claim that some of these studies have demonstrated global effects on war and terrorism. The studies are purported to indicate that the effect is immediate. Maharishi's main focus is presently (2005) to use these programs to create permanent world peace.

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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 Consciousness Based Education including the Maharishi University of Management and the Maharishi School for the Age of Enlightenment.

Related Topics:
Vedic - Consciousness - Maharishi Open University - Maharishi University of Management - Maharishi School for the Age of Enlightenment

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Maharishi has also initiated a new type of currency, the RAAM. It it is part of a global project whose purpose is the eradication of poverty in the third world.

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