(18 February 2003) With the world’s leaders beset by problems and the people consumed with the threat of war, His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi presented to the world press his Vedic science and technologies of consciousness that promise to lift the world out of the grip of problems and suffering and usher in a new era of peace, prosperity and happiness for all mankind.

"Our target is prevention," Maharishi said during a global news conference last Wednesday that was broadcast live via satellite, Internet webcast, and teleconference call. "If we keep the lamp lit, the darkness will never come. If we enliven in world consciousness the supreme intelligence of Total Natural Law – the Will of God – then problems and suffering will never come."

Maharishi emphasised that prevention is the only solution to the world’s ills, and presented his Vedic technologies of consciousness to raise every individual to higher states of consciousness and make every government as orderly, stable, and efficient as the Administration of Natural Law, which governs the infinite diversity of the universe with perfect order.

Maharishi’s next global news conferences will be held on Wednesday, 19 February, and Thursday, 20 February 2003.

Maharishi said that the knowledge that will save the world is the same knowledge that has been coming on throughout ages – the knowledge of Total Natural Law, the knowledge of God. "God is not new, Natural Law is not new, human life is not new, and our message is not new. What is new is the darkness that has enveloped our world."

Maharishi also said that this knowledge is within the Self of everyone. "Your Self is divine – your Self is that almighty power of Natural Law which rules the universe. The possibilities are enormous for individual achievement and the transformation of our dear world. But what can the knowledge do if it’s not used – if education does not provide it? You remain a beggar on the street with a huge treasury that remains unused at home."

At the basis of Maharishi’s programmes to create permanent world peace is the discovery of the Unified Field of Natural Law – the unified basis of the infinite diversity of the ever-expanding universe – by both modern science and the Vedic science of ancient India.

"Our strength is the discovery that Total Natural Law is eternally humming in every grain of creation, and that this same Total Natural Law is lively within the human brain and physiology of everyone," Maharishi said. "This means that through proper education, which enlivens Total Natural Law in human awareness, it is possible to bring individual and national life into accord with the evolutionary power of Natural Law, so that no one makes mistakes or causes problems for himself or society."

Maharishi added that it is the duty of the parents and the government to educate a child in this knowledge to create permanent world peace. "We are establishing Universities of World Peace in every country to offer Consciousness-based education, so that everyone will develop their total brain functioning and enliven their cosmic creative potential. In addition, we are establishing groups of peace-creating experts in every country to create an atmosphere of peace and harmony in national and world consciousness which will prevent negativity from rising up anywhere in the world."

Maharishi said that His Majesty Raja Raam, First Ruler of the Global Country of World Peace, is doing everything to create world peace as soon as possible – and Maharishi invited support from governments, philanthropists, and well-wishers of peace to create this heavenly life on earth. His Majesty Raja Raam is the great scientist whose research revealed that the entire physical universe, including human physiology, is the expression of consciousness.

"Let’s all join hands together and accomplish this overnight," Maharishi said, and then he asked: "Is it possible to achieve so quickly? The answer is ‘Yes.’ There may have been darkness for 100 years, but the darkness will disappear instantly if we bring the light. We are fortunate in this scientific age that from the Vedic Tradition of India we have the total knowledge of Natural Law and the practical programmes to create a world free from problems. So why not create it?"

Maharishi concluded the news conference by reflecting on the success of his worldwide Transcendental Meditation organisation in bringing enlightenment to millions of people in all countries during the past 50 years. "We are happy and we are never tired – even though we are working day and night to enliven the field of bliss and peace within everyone. Those who listen to us will always be all right. Those who don’t listen to us today will listen tomorrow, or in the next decade, or in their next birth. But they are all destined to listen and to come along, and we will create a happy, healthy, affluent, and peaceful world."