Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (born Mahesh Prasad Varma, 12 January 1918
[Yogi's passport](_blank)
paulmason.info – 5 February 2008) was an Indian
yoga guru
Modern yoga gurus are people widely acknowledged to be gurus of modern yoga in any of its forms, whether religious or not. The role implies being well-known and having a large following; in contrast to the old guru-shishya tradition, the modern ...
known for developing and popularizing
Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent mantra meditation advocated by the Transcendental Meditation movement. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi created the technique in India in the mid-1950s. Advocates of TM claim that the technique promotes a ...
(TM), and for being the leader and
guru
Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverentia ...
of a
worldwide organization that has been characterized in multiple ways including as a
new religious movement
A new religious movement (NRM), also known as alternative spirituality or a new religion, is a religious or spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin or th ...
and as non-religious. He became known as ''
Maharishi
Maharishi is a Sanskrit word, written as "महर्षि" in Devanagari (formed from the prefix mahā- meaning "great" and r̥ṣi - sage, poet or a singer of sacred hymns), indicating members of the highest order of ancient Indian sages, po ...
'' (meaning "great seer")
and ''
Yogi
A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297-299, 331 Th ...
'' as an adult.
[ Mason (1994), p. 28]
After earning a degree in physics at
Allahabad University
, mottoeng = "As Many Branches So Many Trees"
, established =
, type = Public
, chancellor = Ashish Chauhan
, vice_chancellor = Sangita Srivastava
, head_label ...
in 1942, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi became an assistant and disciple of
Swami
Swami ( ; sometimes abbreviated sw.) in Hinduism is an honorific title given to a male or female ascetic who has chosen the path of renunciation (''sanyāsa''), or has been initiated into a religious monastic order of Vaishnavas. It is used eith ...
Brahmananda Saraswati (also known as Guru Dev), the
Shankaracharya
Shankaracharya ( sa, शङ्कराचार्य, , "Adi Shankara, Shankara-''acharya''") is a religious title used by the heads of amnaya monasteries called mathas in the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism. The title derives from Adi ...
(spiritual leader) of the
Jyotir Math
Uttarāmnāya Śrī Jyotish Pītham or Jyotir Math is one amongst the four cardinal pīthams established by the 820 CE philosopher-saint Śrī Ādi Śaṅkara to preserve and propagate Sanātana Dharma and Advaita Vedānta, the doctrine o ...
in the Indian Himalayas. The Maharishi credits Brahmananda Saraswati with inspiring his teachings. In 1955, the Maharishi began to introduce his Transcendental Deep Meditation (later renamed Transcendental Meditation) to India and the world. His first global tour began in 1958. His devotees referred to him as ''His Holiness'', and because he laughed more frequently in early TV interviews he was sometimes referred to as the "giggling guru."
[
The Maharishi trained more than 40,000 TM teachers, taught the Transcendental Meditation technique to "more than five million people" and founded thousands of teaching centres and hundreds of colleges, universities and schools,] while TM websites report tens of thousands learned the TM-Sidhi programme. His initiatives include schools and universities with campuses in several countries including India, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. The Maharishi, his family and close associates created charitable organisations and for-profit businesses including health clinics, mail-order health supplements and organic farms. The reported value of the Maharishi's organization has ranged from the millions to billions of U.S. dollars; and, in 2008, the organization placed the value of their United States assets at about $300 million.[
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Maharishi achieved fame as the guru to ]the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
, the Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...
, and other celebrities. In the late 1970s, he started the TM-Sidhi program
The Transcendental Meditation technique (abbreviated as TM) is the technique associated with the practice of Transcendental Meditation developed by the Indian spiritual figure Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The practice involves the use of a private m ...
me, which proposed to improve the mind-body relationship of practitioners through techniques such as Yogic flying
The Transcendental Meditation technique (abbreviated as TM) is the technique associated with the practice of Transcendental Meditation developed by the Indian spiritual figure Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The practice involves the use of a private m ...
. The Maharishi's Natural Law Party
The Natural Law Party (NLP) is a transnational party founded in 1992 on "the principles of Transcendental Meditation", the laws of nature, and their application to all levels of government. At its peak, it was active in up to 74 countries; it con ...
was founded in 1992, and ran campaigns in dozens of countries. He moved to near Vlodrop
Vlodrop ( li, Vlórp, ) is a village in the south-eastern part of The Netherlands in the municipality of Roerdalen. The village is situated near the German border, about 8 km southeast of Roermond.
History
The village was first mentioned in ...
, the Netherlands, in the same year.[ In 2000, he created the ]Global Country of World Peace
The Global Country of World Peace (GCWP) is a non-profit organization that claims to promote Transcendental Meditation, education, and the construction of "buildings for peace" in the world's major cities. Inaugurated by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, ...
, a non-profit organization, and appointed its leaders. In 2008, the Maharishi announced his retirement from all administrative activities and went into silence until his death three weeks later.
Life
Birth
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi belonged to the Kayastha
Kayastha (also referred to as Kayasth) denotes a cluster of disparate Indian communities broadly categorised by the regions of the Indian subcontinent in which they were traditionally locatedthe Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas of North India, the C ...
caste, a caste of scribes and administrators, of the Hindu religion. The birth name and the birth dates of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi are not known with certainty, in part because of the tradition of ascetics and monks to relinquish family connections.Coplin
Coplin may refer to:
People
* Amber Lynn Coplin, American murder victim
* Amanda Coplin, American novelist
* Bill Coplin, American professor
Places
* Coplin Plantation, Maine, United States, a census-designated place
See also
* Caplin (dis ...
, Ch. 2, Socio-Historical Context for SRM's Emergence, Footnote #73: "Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's caste background is a matter of some uncertainty because it is the tradition of yogis, ascetics, and renunciants to relinquish their family ties. His education and family status are known by many long-time movement members, however. Shrivastava is the family name of his cousins and nephews, and that name can be traced to the Hindu Kayasthas." Many accounts say he was born Mahesh Prasad Varma into a Kayastha family living in the Central Provinces of British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
.Humes
Humes may refer to:
*Humes, former name of Hume, Fresno County, California
* Humes (surname), people with the surname Humes
* Humes-Jorquenay, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Wes ...
, p. 61 A different name appears in the Allahabad University list of distinguished alumni, where he is listed as M.C. Srivastava and an obituary says his name was "Mahesh Srivastava".[
Various accounts give the year of his birth as 1911, 1917 or 1918.][ Authors Paul Mason and William Jefferson say that he was born 12 January 1917 in ]Jabalpur
Jabalpur is a city situated on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. According to the 2011 census, it is the third-largest urban agglomeration in Madhya Pradesh and the country's 38th-largest urban agglomeration. J ...
, Central Provinces, British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
(now Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
, India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
).[Kroll, Una (1974) ''The Healing Potential of Transcendental Meditation'', John Knox Press. Ch. 1: The Guru, pp 17–25. ][Jefferson, William (1976) ''The Story of The Maharishi'', Pocket Books. pp 7–21. ] The place of birth given in his passport is "Pounalulla", India, and his birth date 12 January 1918.[ Mahesh "most likely" came from an upper-caste family][ of the high-status ]Kayastha
Kayastha (also referred to as Kayasth) denotes a cluster of disparate Indian communities broadly categorised by the regions of the Indian subcontinent in which they were traditionally locatedthe Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas of North India, the C ...
caste
Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...
, whose traditional profession is writing.[Lewis, James (2001) Prometheus Books, ''Odd Gods, New Religions and the Cult Controversy'', pp 230–233,]
Early life
Mahesh studied physics at Allahabad University
, mottoeng = "As Many Branches So Many Trees"
, established =
, type = Public
, chancellor = Ashish Chauhan
, vice_chancellor = Sangita Srivastava
, head_label ...
and earned a degree in 1942. While a few sources say that he worked at the Gun Carriage Factory in Jabalpur for some time, most report that in 1941, he became an administrative secretary to the Shankaracharya
Shankaracharya ( sa, शङ्कराचार्य, , "Adi Shankara, Shankara-''acharya''") is a religious title used by the heads of amnaya monasteries called mathas in the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism. The title derives from Adi ...
of the Jyotir Math
Uttarāmnāya Śrī Jyotish Pītham or Jyotir Math is one amongst the four cardinal pīthams established by the 820 CE philosopher-saint Śrī Ādi Śaṅkara to preserve and propagate Sanātana Dharma and Advaita Vedānta, the doctrine o ...
, Swami Brahmananda Saraswati (also known as Guru Dev, which means "divine teacher")Humes
Humes may refer to:
*Humes, former name of Hume, Fresno County, California
* Humes (surname), people with the surname Humes
* Humes-Jorquenay, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Wes ...
, pp. 59–60.[ Williamson, p. 81] and took a new name, Bal Brahmachari Mahesh.[ Mason (1994), p. 22] Coplin refers to ''bala brahmachari'' as both a title and a name, and considers that it "identified him as a fully dedicated student of spiritual knowledge and life-long celibate ascetic."Coplin
Coplin may refer to:
People
* Amber Lynn Coplin, American murder victim
* Amanda Coplin, American novelist
* Bill Coplin, American professor
Places
* Coplin Plantation, Maine, United States, a census-designated place
See also
* Caplin (dis ...
, Ch. 3, SRM as Cultural Revitalization Text: "While his association with the illustrious Shankaracharya tradition served as vital letter of introduction throughout India, his title, "bala brahmachari" identified him as a fully dedicated student of spiritual knowledge and life-long celibate ascetic. Literally, the name means "childhood or boy" (bala) "student of sacred knowledge" (brahmachari), and it has signified from Vedic times one who has taken the vow of chastity." Brahmananda insisted that before accepting Mahesh as a pupil he must first complete his university degree and get permission from his parents. The Maharishi recalls how it took about two and a half years to attune himself to the thinking of Brahmananda Saraswati and to gain "a very genuine feeling of complete oneness". At first Brahmachari Mahesh performed common chores but gained trust and became Guru Dev's "personal secretary"[Chryssides, George D. (1999)]
Exploring new religions
London: Cassell. pp. 293–296. . Page 293 and "favored pupil". He was trusted to take care of the bulk of Swami Brahmananda Saraswati's correspondence without direction, and was also sent out to give public speeches on Vedic
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
(scriptural) themes. The Maharishi said his life truly began in 1940, at the feet of his master, when he learned the secret of swift and deep meditation.
Brahmachari Mahesh remained with Swami Brahmananda Saraswati until the latter died in 1953, when he moved to Uttarkashi
Uttarkashi, meaning Kashi of the north, is a town located in Uttarkashi district in Uttarakhand, India. Uttarkashi town is headquarters of the district. Uttarkashi is also known as Somya Kashi. Uttarkashi is a religious place for spiritual and ...
in Uttarakhand in the Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
where he undertook a reclusive life for two years. Although Brahmachari Mahesh was a close disciple, he could not be the Shankaracharya's spiritual successor because he was not of the Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
caste
Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...
.[ Williamson, p. 84: "Guru Dev represented the tradition well, for he did not allow anyone who was not of the Brahmin varna, the caste of the priesthood, to teach. Since Mahesh was born into a scribe caste (kayastha), he was not allowed to join the order of monks. Thus when Saraswati died in Calcutta in 1953, Mahesh would not have been considered a candidate to replace him."] The Shankaracharya, at the end of his life, charged him with the responsibility of travelling and teaching meditation to the masses, while he named Swami Shantananda Saraswati as his successor.
Tour in India (1955–1957)
In 1955,[ Brahmachari Mahesh left Uttarkashi and began publicly teaching what he stated was a traditional meditation technique learned from his master Brahmananda Saraswati, and that he called Transcendental Deep Meditation.][ Williamson, pp. 97–99] Later the technique was renamed Transcendental Meditation. It was also then that he was first publicly known with the name "Maharishi" an honorific title meaning "great sage" after the title was given to him according to some sources from "Indian Pundits" and according to another source the honorific was given along with Yogi by followers in India. Later in the west the title was retained as a name.[
He traveled around India for two years interacting with his "Hindu audiences" in an "Indian context".] At that time, he called his movement the Spiritual Development Movement, but renamed it the Spiritual Regeneration Movement in 1957, in Madras
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
, India, on the concluding day of the Seminar of Spiritual Luminaries. According to Coplin, in his visits to southern India, the Maharishi spoke English rather than the Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
spoken in his home area to avoid provoking resistance among those seeking linguistic self-determination, and to appeal to the "learned classes".Coplin
Coplin may refer to:
People
* Amber Lynn Coplin, American murder victim
* Amanda Coplin, American novelist
* Bill Coplin, American professor
Places
* Coplin Plantation, Maine, United States, a census-designated place
See also
* Caplin (dis ...
, Ch. 2, Socio-Historical Context for SRM's Emergence: "In South India Maharishi spoke in English because his Hindi would not only be little understood outside of the North, but it would provoke hostility among many who were fighting for linguistic self-determination in the period immediately following Independence. The use of English, however, had greater connotations, as it presumed an audience of Indians familiar with British administration and education. More significantly, it appealed to the 'learned classes', mostly brahmins, but also lower caste officials whose families had escaped their more humble backgrounds by means of acquiring an English education."
World tours (1958–1968)
According to William Jefferson, in 1958, the Maharishi went to Madras to address a large crowd of people who had gathered to celebrate the memory of Guru Dev. It was there that he spontaneously announced that he planned to spread the teaching of TM throughout the world. Hundreds of people immediately asked to learn TM. In 1959, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi began his first world tour,[ writing: "I had one thing in mind, that I know something which is useful to every man".]
The Maharishi's 1986 book, ''Thirty Years Around the World'', gives a detailed account of his world tours, as do two biographies, ''The Story of the Maharishi'', by William Jefferson, and ''The Maharishi'' by Paul Mason. The first world tour began in Rangoon, Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
(now Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
) and included the countries of Thailand, Malaya, Singapore, Hong Kong and Hawaii. He arrived in Hawaii in the spring of 1959 and the ''Honolulu Star Bulletin
The ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'' was a daily newspaper based in Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the second largest daily newspaper in the state of Hawaii (after the ''Honolu ...
'' reported: "He has no money, he asks for nothing. His worldly possessions can be carried in one hand. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is on a world odyssey. He carries a message that he says will rid the world of all unhappiness and discontent." In 1959, the Maharishi lectured and taught the Transcendental Meditation technique in Honolulu, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, New York and London. While in Los Angeles the Maharishi stayed at the home of author Helena Olson,[ and during this period he developed a three-year plan to propagate Transcendental Meditation to the whole world.] Though most of his audience consisted of average middle class individuals, he also attracted a few celebrities, such as Efrem Zimbalist Jr.
Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (November 30, 1918 – May 2, 2014) was an American actor known for his starring roles in the television series ''77 Sunset Strip'' and ''The F.B.I.'' He is also known as recurring character "Dandy Jim Buckley" in the se ...
, Nancy Cooke de Herrera
Nancy Cooke de Herrera (born Nancy Veitch, 1922–2013) was an American socialite, fashion expert, and author of three books, including ''All You Need Is Love: An Eyewitness Account of When Spirituality Spread from the East to the West''. As the ...
and Doris Duke
Doris Duke (November 22, 1912 – October 28, 1993) was an American billionaire tobacco heiress, philanthropist, art collector, Horticulture, horticulturalist, and socialite. She was often called "the richest girl in the world". Her great wealt ...
.
When the Maharishi came to the U.S. in 1959, his Spiritual Regeneration Movement was called Transcendental Meditation. That same year he began the International Meditation Society and other organizations to propagate his teachings, establishing centres in San Francisco and London.[ For years, the sole teacher of Transcendental Meditation in America was a San Diego woman named Beulah Smith.]
In 1960, the Maharishi travelled to many cities in India, France, Switzerland, England, Scotland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Africa.
While in Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, England, the Maharishi gave a television interview and was featured in many English newspapers such as the ''Birmingham Post
The ''Birmingham Post'' is a weekly printed newspaper based in Birmingham, England, with a circulation of 2,545 and distribution throughout the West Midlands. First published under the name the ''Birmingham Daily Post'' in 1857, it has had a s ...
'', the ''Oxford Mail
''Oxford Mail'' is a daily tabloid newspaper in Oxford, England, owned by Newsquest. It is published six days a week. It is a sister paper to the weekly tabloid ''The Oxford Times''.
History
The ''Oxford Mail'' was founded in 1928 as a success ...
'' and the ''Cambridge Daily News
The ''Cambridge News'' (formerly the ''Cambridge Evening News'') is a British daily newspaper. Published each weekday and on Saturdays, it is distributed from its Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, Waterbeach base. In the period December 2010 – June ...
''. This was also the year in which the Maharishi trained Henry Nyburg to be the first Transcendental Meditation teacher in Europe.
In 1961, the Maharishi visited the United States, Austria, Sweden, France, Italy, Greece, India, Kenya, England, and Canada. While in England, he appeared on BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. In April 1961, the Maharishi conducted his first Transcendental Meditation Teacher Training Course in
, India, with sixty participants from various countries.