Press release summarising Maharishi's message during his global press conference on Guru Purnima day, 24 July 2002
26 July 2002
GLOBAL COUNTRY OF WORLD PEACE
Station 24, 6063 NP Meru, The Netherlands
.
European press office, tel: +31-475-539-569
Email: PressOffice@Maharishi.Net
UK press office, tel: 01622 815380
- PRESS CONFERENCE REPORT -
MAHARISHI CALLS FOR TM IN EVERY SCHOOL
AND A GROUP OF YOGIC FLYERS IN EVERY CITY
"The only way to permanently stop crime and terrorism"
Announces Poverty Removal Programme for 40 poorest nations
(26 JULY 2002) His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi announced yesterday a
simple, practical formula to root out crime and terrorism and create
permanent world peace: Teach Transcendental Meditation in every school so
that students develop their full brain physiology, and establish in every
city a group of Yogic Flyers to eliminate acute social stress and crime and
to promote positivity and coherence throughout the world.
Maharishi delivered details of the plan during a news conference with
members of the world press that was broadcast live from Meru, Holland, via
satellite, Internet webcast, and teleconference call. The news conference on
24 July followed a global celebration honouring the Vedic tradition of
India, the custodians of the complete scientific knowledge of Vedic
Science-Total Natural Law-the knowledge of the full potential of life that
Maharishi has brought to millions of people around the world during the past
50 years.
The individual is cosmic
Maharishi opened the news conference by providing the Vedic perspective on
the unbounded dignity of human life: "Inherent in everyone is Total Natural
Law, the light of God. That means everyone's inner intelligence is cosmic,
and through Transcendental Meditation one can bring the cosmic value of one'
s own inner intelligence into all aspects of life. It's a very simple
technique to develop higher states of consciousness and live perfection in
daily life."
In contrast, Maharishi offered a one-sentence description of the non-Vedic
life: "They are the destroyers of the world-and there are many such
destroyers in the world today."
Maharishi announced that he will create in every country large groups of
people practising his Vedic technologies of consciousness to create a
powerful influence of harmony and coherence in society, thereby neutralising
the negativity of the "destroyers" and creating a problem-free world. "We
are out to create in every nation an atmosphere of peace and harmony, where
crime and negativity are absent and where man-made constitutions will be
supported by the God-made constitution-Total Natural Law."
Maharishi commented on the ineffectiveness of national constitutions,
saying, "Every government is administered by man-made laws, and because
man-made laws are humanly conceived, they will always have human weaknesses
and failings. This is why there is so much crime, punishment, and poverty
everywhere. Through our programme to establish groups of people practising
Transcendental Meditation, its advanced techniques, and Yogic Flying around
the world, we are raising man-made laws to be on a par with the supreme
efficiency and effectiveness of God-made law-which administers the
ever-expanding universe with perfect order and without a problem."
Punishment is criminal
Maharishi then turned to a discussion of crime and punishment. He shifted
the responsibility for criminal behaviour away from the individual and put
it on the government, calling the government's policy of punishing offenders
"sinful, criminal, and fraudulent".
"If two people fight on the street, whose fault is it? Who is the criminal?
It is the government's responsibility because the government has not
educated the people to not make mistakes. The people have inadequate,
incompetent education, so they make mistakes-and then government punishes
them! It is such a fraud," Maharishi said.
All knowledge in one brain
Maharishi targeted modern education as the primary cause of criminal
behaviour. "Education today develops only partial use of the brain because
it presents knowledge in a fragmented manner. Partial use of the brain means
partial achievements in life, and with only partial achievements, a man will
never be satisfied. He will keep creating problems for himself and for
others.
"Only the experience of Transcendental Consciousness-the experience of the
infinite, unbounded, unmanifest field of life-utilises the total brain and
thereby develops the brain fully," Maharishi said. "Government already
educates the people, so why not educate them to use their full brain
physiology?"
Transcendental Meditation in schools
One reporter asked Maharishi how he would stop crime.
"Prevention is the only way to stop crime and terrorism," Maharishi said.
"You kill one culprit today, and there'll be two more the next day.
Governments have tried to stop crime through punishment throughout the ages,
but crime continued in the past-as it will continue in the future if
punishment remains. Crime can only be stopped through a preventive approach
in the schools. You teach the students Transcendental Meditation, and right
away they'll begin using their full brain physiology-their thinking will be
sensible and they will not get sidetracked into wrong things."
Maharishi also responded to a recent news report from CNN showing that
nearly one in every ten schools in America has been classified as a "failing
institution."
"Since I first came to the US over 40 years ago, I have been saying, 'Put TM
in the classes. Put TM in the classes.' I am still saying the same thing
now-and if I live for thousands of years, I will say the same thing. But no
one listened then, and now they are reaping the consequences," Maharishi
said.
Groups of Yogic Flyers in every country
In addition to teaching Transcendental Meditation in the schools, Maharishi
said his plan calls for establishing coherence-creating groups in every
country and every major city in the world. He said that he spent 15 years
trying to convince governments to help but eventually realised that this was
a waste of time-and has now decided to create the groups on his own.
"Government leaders could not understand our message-they are not
knowledgeable about life; they don't know how the brain functions; they don'
t understand science or religion. So we are going ahead on our own-we are
establishing large coherence-creating groups in India and everywhere in the
world. These groups will purify world consciousness, and this will eliminate
crime, conflict, and war. The groups won't be involved with the day-to-day
man-made administration of the country. They will simply create the
desirable level of coherence in the collective consciousness, and that will
make things right and positive in the country."
In the USA, facilities are already under construction in Maharishi Vedic
City, Iowa, for 8,000 Vedic experts-primarily students and retired
people-who would move there from around the country to practise Maharishi's
Vedic technologies of consciousness together in a group, develop their full
brain physiology, and, as a side benefit, create a peaceful world.
In addition, Maharishi plans to establish in every major city one or more
smaller coherence-creating groups, from 20-30 people to 100-200 people. He
is encouraging local "well-wishers" of peace to support these groups. "If
these groups are established, the country will grow in prosperity and peace.
If they aren't, I don't know what will happen to the government and the
future of the country."
Maharishi's Poverty Removal Programme
For the 40 poorest countries in the world, Maharishi announced a new
programme that not only will establish a permanent coherence-creating group
but also will eliminate poverty. The Poverty Removal Programme of Maharishi'
s Global Country of World Peace calls for the cultivation of unused
agricultural land in these 40 nations to produce the world's healthiest
foods through Maharishi's Vedic organic agriculture-and with the profits,
sustain a group of Yogic Flyers in the country.
"The group will create coherence in the national consciousness-and the first
beneficiary will be the government, which will have more law-abiding,
sensible citizens. The God-made constitution will support and enrich the
man-made constitution-bringing automation in administration and prosperity
and peace to the whole nation," Maharishi said. "From my experience of 50
years in the world, this is the most sensible solution to the global
problems of poverty and negativity."
Maharishi invites press to convey message of peace
Maharishi concluded the news conference by answering a reporter's question
as to whether the knowledge and technologies of Vedic science had ever
flourished on earth-and created an ideal society.
"The history of Vedic knowledge records a very long stretch of time of ideal
life on earth," Maharishi said. "I am following those same footsteps. I am
going to create a long stretch of a very good time on earth. And I invite
the press to take the message of peace and happiness to every corner of the
globe."
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Maharishi's next global news conference
Wednesday, 31 July 2002
4.00 p.m. BST (British Summer Time)
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