May 2009

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Maharishi speaks about
'In the beginning was the Word'

(29 May 2009) During his Global Press conference on 12 February 2003, a question was asked to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Founder of the Global Country of World Peace, to please comment on 'In the beginning was the Word', from the Bible.

Maharishi answered that the Word is the reverberation of the ultimate reality, and the ultimate reality is Atma in Sanskrit, or the Self in English. 'It is the Self, the Atma, Transcendental Consciousness, the Unified Field. It is a Unified Field; it's a Unified Field, which is self-referral—self-referral Unified Field, eternal silence.'

Maharishi explained that because it is eternal, 'from here to there', then in the relative sense, when we say from here to there, then there is a sense of flow. There is a sense of continuity. 
 

'The sense of flow is the flow of silence,' Maharishi continued. 'Here is the secret of Being becoming—Being, the pure field of self-referral Unified Wholeness, silence, pure silence flowing. Pure silence flowing; in the Sanskrit language this is called Atma—the Self—this is the Vedic word for that ultimate reality.'

'Wherever there is a flow, there is a vibration,' Maharishi continued. 'Wherever there is a vibration there is a word. And this what the Bible says, there was a word and the Bible was referring to this silence in flow, silence in flow. And that is the reverberation; and that is the word. And the word was God. God means Creator, Maintainer, Sustainer—all those values that we give to the Almighty.'

Maharishi said that this silence and dynamism is not manmade; 'It is not made by anyone. It has made everything. That is why it is uncreated. In the Sanskrit it is called Nitya Apaurusheya. Apaurusheya means unmade by anyone. Not made by anyone.'

'And the Word was God':
'It is beautifully expressed in these words of the Bible,' Maharishi continued. 'The Word was God. That means the Word itself was the expression of the Consciousness. It is the Creator itself. It is science and technology both together.'

Maharishi explained that in our ordinary science and technology, a scientist is needed. Science and technology are separate; it needs a scientist, a technologist. 'But on that level where silence is dynamic in its own unmanifest nature, it itself is the actor; it itself the action; it itself is everything,' he said. 'It is the cause; it is the effect. Because the cause is silence, the effect is dynamism, and both are one together. They are one together. That is the ultimate reality. That is the Word. That is what is described in the Bible. . . .'

In the Vedic Language it is called Swara, Maharishi said. 'Swa means Atma—the Self. Ra means reverberation. Reverberation of Atma. It reverberates itself. It doesn't need any other energy or intelligence to reverberate it. It is its own science, its own scientist; its own technology, its own technologist. It is the Total Creative Intelligence. And we say Cosmic Creative Intelligence. It has to be Transcendental. . . .

'Everything created is its expression; everything created is its expression. So the word is given the most primary thing. . . . So silence and dynamism, silence and dynamism. The two are the basic values of the same one value. And the same one value is silence.'

Later in his address Maharishi said, 'This is what the Bible says—if it says there that it is not made by anyone, it is not made by anyone, it is eternal.

'That is why it says that the Word was God. Who made God? God made everything. Who made God? God made everything. Who made God, God made everything. So the Word was on its own, that is the reality.'

From the vibrations of consciousness,
the human physiology has come up

(30 May 2009) Continuing his address on 'In the beginning was the Word', (above) from the Bible—responding to a question in his Global Press Conference on 12 February 2003—Maharishi Mahesh Yogi explained that, thanks to the research of the great physiologist of this scientific age, Maharaja Adhiraj Rajaraam—now First Ruler of the Global Country of World Peace*—it has been shown that human physiology is the expression of consciousness. From that field of Total Knowledge, we want to reconstruct our society; we want to reconstruct the life on earth. Human life on earth is a very precious, total expression of Natural Law.

Maharishi said that the whole Vedic Literature is imprinted in the nervous system. All the nerves and all the structures of the physiology are the physical expressions of the verbal sounds of the Vedic Literature. 'This is what is meant by ''Veda is Nitya and Apaureshya.'' It is not manmade, it is eternal. This is what the Bible says—if it says there that it is not made by anyone, it is not made by anyone, it is eternal.'

Maharaja Adhiraj Rajaraam has shown that the human body is the expression of consciousness. 'It is not a myth; it is not a faith,' Maharishi said. 'It is a tangible reality. It is a tangible physical reality. This is the reality whose knowledge is very clear to us—Totality.'

'And from that field of Total Knowledge, we want to reconstruct our society; we want to reconstruct the life on earth. The life on earth, human life on earth, is a very precious, total expression of Natural Law. It's a total expression of Natural Law—it is not the result of a myth.

'That is why I have heard Christians telling me, ''Man was made in the image of God.'' That is also somewhere in the Bible. ''Man was made in the image of God.'' It is the God—the Word was with God and the Word was God.'

Maharishi then explained that it is from the word [or the vibrations of consciousness], that the body has come up. 'It is from the vibrations of consciousness that the human physiology and the physiology of any creature has popped up,' he said.

'We are in the grip of Total Knowledge of Natural Law—from unmanifest to its manifest creation, to ever-manifesting, ever-evolving, physical galactic universe. Veda is the basic reality which for its meaning is also true, as it is true for its existence. Consciousness is true; its expressions are true for its meaning.'

When we say Vedic Literature, Maharishi said, we have the knowledge with ultimate authenticity of its reality, total reality. 'And we have not made it up,' he continued. 'It is there in the Bible. It must be in the Koran. It must be in every religious text. And all these religious texts have sprung two thousand years ago, or sixteen hundred years ago, or ten thousand years ago—they all are the expressions of the eternal reality of Being. Say God. The unmanifest total reality.

'God stands for the ultimate; why not God? Whether you say God, or say Will of God, Natural Law, Constitution of the Universe, regulator of the universe, creator of the universe, maintainer of the universe—all, you can attribute everything to it. That is not manmade, it's not manmade.'

Maharishi explained that the textbooks of religions have their own time—2,000 years, 10,000 years, 500 years or 1500 years or what. Religions keep on 'popping up' in time. 'The source of religion is Veda, pure intelligence, that silence and dynamism together expressed by the word [syllable] A, the first syllable of the Veda. . . .

'It is a very systematic thing,' Maharishi continued. 'It is not a matter of faith, whether you believe it or not. If you believe, believe; if you don't believe, don't believe. If you believe in light, you will be in light. You don't have to face darkness. If you don't believe in light, it is your choice. Remain in darkness.

'Complete knowledge is there, and man is born to enjoy the total invincibility, infinity, diversity and unity together. What a beautiful creation of the Almighty, Merciful God.

'Every man has an inborn right, it is his heritage. . . . So the knowledge is there absolutely within the Self of everyone. The knowledge in which we take pride is the birthright of everyone in his own existence, something separate, nothing far away from him. What can the knowledge do if you don't use it? It is there within you.

'If your education does not unfold it, it is not its fault. Your Self is divine. Your Self is that source of all Laws of Nature. Your Self is that almighty power. Your Self is all that. If you don't use it you don't use your own treasury.'

* Maharishi has explained that the functioning of Maharaja Adhiraj Rajaraam's administration of the Global Country of World Peace, supporting the creation of invincibility in 192 countries of the world, is that of administration through silence—the full awakening of total Natural Law and its infinite organizing power in the consciousness of every individual and in the whole collective consciousness of every nation and the entire world.
 

Benefits of Consciousness-Based Education
stir great interest among hundreds
of educators in Lebanon

(23 May 2009) A major campaign is in progress to let the whole country of Lebanon know about the value of Consciousness-Based Education: for unfolding the total creative potential of the student, for total brain development, and for developing the ability to achieve anything.

Very well-attended conferences on Consciousness-Based Education have been held, and presentations have also been made at the Ministry of Education.

In a recent report, Dr Ziad Dakdouk, National Director of Education of the Global Country of World Peace for Lebanon, said that during the last few months they have met with many top educators and school principals, presenting the unique benefits and advantages of Consciousness-Based Education in schools and universities. The response has been extremely positive, both in terms of education and in the understanding of the value of student groups of Yogic Flyers to create peace for the nation and for the whole Middle East.

A presentation was made to several hundred educators and principals at an education conference organized at the UNESCO Palace in Beirut. Two television presentations have also been made that were very successful.

Hundreds of educators have received materials at all their presentations, in many schools and at an educational foundation—including pamphlets, brochures, and DVDs. The pamphlets present the scientific research and articles about Consciousness-Based Education.

The population of Lebanon is four million, so the required number of Yogic Flyers to create invincibility for the nation is 200. Dr Dakdouk said that any small school could fulfil this role, and that they 'do not see it as very far away now', as funding is now being organized for several schools that are ready to introduce Consciousness-Based Education.
 

Prevention begins within:
Prevention of cardiovascular disease
in youth through
the Transcendental Meditation Programme

(1 May 2009) Scientific research shows that the Transcendental Meditation Programme helps normalize high blood pressure in high school and college students—reducing the risk of adult hypertension by 50 per cent.

These findings were presented at a major press conference* by Robert Schneider, MD, FACC, FABMR, a specialist in hypertension and preventive medicine who has been awarded more than $20 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States for his pioneering research on natural approaches to prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

There is a tremendous demand for a new approach to health for young people today, Dr Schneider said. The leading cause of death, disability, and healthcare cost in the US today is cardiovascular disease.

Prevention at an early age is important because the cardiovascular disease process begins in childhood. 'At least 50 per cent of all children in the United States have one or more risk factor for cardiovascular disease', he said. Childhood risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes track into later adulthood.

Dr Schneider cited two studies on
Transcendental Meditation and young people.

A two-month study conducted at the Medical College of Georgia showed that high school students practising the Transcendental Meditation Technique had significantly reduced blood pressure compared to a group not practising the technique.

These students also had 'reduced physiological reactivity to stress'.

A second study presented by Dr Schneider was a randomized controlled trial on the effects of Transcendental Meditation on high-risk college students with high blood pressure.

Dr Schneider conducted this study along with colleagues at American University in Washington, DC. The results of the trial showed reductions in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure that were statistically and clinically highly significant. These results are 'associated with a 50 per cent reduction in risk for adult hypertension in these young people,' Dr Schneider said.

The study also showed changes in psychological stress in these same students, including reductions in total mood disturbance, anxiety, depression, anger, and hostility—as well as improvements in emotional coping and behavioural coping.

'These improvements in mental health were correlated with improvements in blood pressure, and therefore with physical health,' Dr Schneider said.

'School-based cardiovascular disease prevention programmes have the potential to make substantial contributions to improving child and adolescent health status . . . [and] can have significant impact on the nation's leading cause of death, ' Dr Schneider said.

'Prevention begins within,' he concluded.

Eminent doctors, celebrities, and educators spoke at a 3 April press conference preceding the historic Paul McCartney benefit concert on 4 April at Radio City Music Hall, New York City, USA. The extraordinary achievements and goals of the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace were presented at the press conference.

The 'Change Begins Within' benefit concert contributed funds to teach one million at-risk children Transcendental Meditation—giving them life-long tools to overcome stress and violence, and promote peace and success in their lives.

The concert was headlined by Paul McCartney, with special guests including Ringo Starr, Sheryl Crow, Eddie Vedder, Ben Harper, Moby, Paul Horn, Bettye LaVette, Donovan, and Jim James.