Create peace in yourself and the world through Transcendental Meditation

(3 December 2002) His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who has spent nearly 50 years bringing his Transcendental Meditation to millions of people to promote enlightenment and peace in the world, has advised students to spend their precious school years constructively focused on developing higher states of consciousness - and not waste their time in political protests in the streets.

"Opposition is a waste of time - just like it's a waste of time to fight darkness," Maharishi said. "The only way you can eliminate darkness is to bring light. The only way you can eliminate violence and war is to create peace within your self and in the world as a whole."

Maharishi's comments came during a recent international news conference about his programmes to alleviate global poverty and create world peace. Maharishi will hold his next news conference on Wednesday, 4 December 2002, at 4pm UK time. The news conference will be broadcast live via satellite, Internet webcast (www.globalcountry.org), and teleconference call. Members of the student press are invited to participate and to ask Maharishi questions by email at WorldPeace@Maharishi.net. (See page 3 for further details.)

Maharishi said students should gain the total knowledge of Natural Law to promote thinking and behaviour that is of maximum benefit to themselves and society. "Look to yourself - and deep within yourself is the cosmic creative intelligence which administers the infinite diversity of the universe with perfect order. Practise Transcendental Meditation and you will spontaneously use your cosmic potential to enjoy freedom, bliss, and success in life. Grow in that supreme ability. Don't waste one moment of your life with political slogans in the streets. Participate positively in the administration of society after your studies are complete."

Maharishi's programme to create world peace offers students a practical way to promote peace while focusing on their studies. Maharishi is calling on university and college presidents worldwide to establish a Faculty of World Peace to provide students with one lesson a week in the mechanics of creating world peace and to include, as part of their academic routine, the practice of Transcendental Meditation. Such a programme, Maharishi said, would transform every university and college into "a lighthouse of peace" for the surrounding community and the world.

Transcendental Meditation is a simple, effortless procedure that has been learned by over six million people worldwide. The technique provides the experience of the fourth major state of consciousness, Transcendental Consciousness, which is the experience of absolute peace within.

The benefits of this experience have been documented by more than 600 scientific studies conducted at over 200 independent universities and research institutes in 33 countries during the past 30 years. This research shows that Transcendental Meditation develops total brain functioning, improves creativity and intelligence, eliminates stress and stress-related disorders, and creates a peaceful, coherent influence in the surrounding society. The National Institutes of Health in the United States has awarded over $20 million to study the beneficial effects of Transcendental Meditation on heart disease, hypertension, and stroke.

Extensive published scientific research has also found that group practice of Transcendental Meditation and the advanced Yogic Flying technique eliminates the acute social stress that fuels violence and conflict, and promotes coherence and harmony in society.

Maharishi's programme to create world peace is based on these research findings. The plan calls for immediately establishing several large peace-creating groups of 8,000 Yogic Flyers throughout the world, including one larger group of up to 40,000 experts in India. The plan also includes building 3,000 Peace Palaces in the world's largest 3,000 cities, including 51 in the UK - each Peace Palace will be home to a group of 100 to 200 Yogic Flyers.

"These groups will enliven the deepest level of Nature's functioning - the Unified Field of Natural Law - and create a coherent world consciousness," Maharishi said. "They will put an end to the legacy of conflict and suffering that has gripped the world for thousands of years. Problems will disappear as darkness disappears with the onset of light."

Maharishi has founded hundreds of successful schools, colleges, and universities worldwide during the past 50 years, including, in the United States, the flagship campuses of the fully accredited Maharishi University of Management (www.mum.edu), and Maharishi Schools of the Age of Enlightenment in Skelmersdale, England, and Fairfield, Iowa. These universities and schools offer Consciousness-Based education and serve as a model of ideal education for students and educators worldwide.