‘India’s great gift is a universal gift’

It has been gratifying to have been a part of the process whereby the essential practical wisdom of the ancient Vedic civilization is now available in this country to the benefit of many people.

I refer primarily to the universal technique known as Transcendental Meditation (TM), which was first made available to the world back in the 1950s by Vedic scholar Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Through his studies as a young man in a Himalayan retreat, Maharishi had brought the process of “meditation” back to a simple, effortless and practical level through returning it to its pure, original form as prescribed in Vedic Literature. Practiced just 20 minutes each morning and evening, it was also available to householders and not just the domain of recluses who had retreated from worldly life. Maharishi inaugurated an organization in late 1957 to teach TM in India, and after a couple of years began traveling the world including a six-week trip to New Zealand in 1962 where he taught and lectured mainly in central Wellington. Throughout the 1960s TM gathered popularity in the West and Maharishi was running courses, initially at Rishikesh, India, then in Europe, to train instructors so they could carry on the teaching work in their own countries. By the late 60s, the Beatles and a number of other celebrities had become involved which brought extra media attention in the West.

The first results of independent scientific research on TM started to be published in medical and science journals to show the nature and scope of what happens both during and as a result of TM practice. Since then more than 600 scientific research studies at over 250 independent universities and research institutes in 33 countries have validated the profound benefits of TM for the individual and for every area of society, including health, education, business, industry, rehabilitation, defence, agriculture, and government. Over six million people in India, and millions more in all parts of the world and from all walks of life have learnt the TM technique. Over 20,000 teachers of the Transcendental Meditation Programme have been trained so far, and more are continuing to be trained.

That same year had seen the discovery of an extraordinary sociological phenomenon which scientists later named the Maharishi Effect. It had been found in an initial study in twelve USA cities that when the number of people having been taught TM reached one percent of that city’s population, there was a marked decrease in annual sickness, accident and crime rates. The study showed that crime reduced by about 10% annually compared with matched control cities where crime continued to track upwards along with the national average (there have been a number of similar studies since with results published in reputable journals).

What this meant was that the process of “transcending” during TM, or allowing the mind to experience pure consciousness, the experience of the basis of creation, unwittingly had a positive effective on the collective consciousness of the whole population when it reached a critical point … which was just a mere one percent. It was inspirational for me to return to New Zealand 35 years ago with the thought of what even larger percentages of involvement could do for the country, and for the world.

This program was initially brought out in the mid-seventies and to date more than 300,000 people in India and thousands more around the world are daily practicing the program which dramatically enhances all the benefits brought about by Transcendental Meditation for the individual, and creates a highly purifying influence in world consciousness.

The mathematics is that group practice of Yogic Flying by just the square root of one per cent of a given population is sufficient to bring the Maharishi Effect to that population. In New Zealand that means a group of not much more than 200 would have that effect for the whole nation … believe me we have been trying to arrange that for some time.

Several countries including the United States have recently achieved their target numbers and Maharishi had set in place a project to establish a permanent group of 10,000 Vedic pandits at the Brahmastan, or central point of India, to produce a peace-creating effect for the whole world.

Maharishi passed away early in 2008 aged 91. He frequently described the various technologies of Vedic science as India’s great gift to the world. Working with experts in the various fields, Maharishi in his time had also revived the science of Jyotish and Yagya, the natural health care system of Ayurveda, Ghandharva Veda music, and most importantly Vastu Vidya, Vedic architecture.

There are a number of Vastu residences in New Zealand now, especially in the Auckland region, and a fulltime Maharishi Ayurveda Products service operates from Mairangi Bay.

One of the most exciting developments in recent years here and overseas is the availability of the TM technique in public schools. When taken on by most of the students and staff, any given school undergoes a transformation as seen by marked declines in violence, bullying and anti-social behaviour along with a big improvement in academic and sporting achievements.

At least two NZ schools with high Maori populations have adopted the “Stress Free Schools” programme and experienced these benefits. I was involved with one of the schools which was in the Far North and was impressed with the naturalness which the local people displayed in regard to using and understanding the TM practice.

My time as an active TM instructor has brought me many inspirational yet humbling experiences. At the beginning of the four-lesson basic course of instruction we perform pooja which reminds us that we are merely handing on the knowledge of the real masters who go back to the earliest beginnings of time.

I have only taught a handful of Indians over the years but have always felt the desire to make the opportunity better known among the New Zealand Indian community. Perhaps my pakeha ethnicity holds me back, not wishing to appear rude or forward.

The significant thing though is that India’s “great gift” is a universal gift that can be adopted by any society regardless of its race, religion or culture. We are now seeing TM and its associated programmes spreading in heavily Catholic countries of Latin America (even to the point of Government support in schools and the military) and its growing acceptance in Muslim communities.

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