Subject: Maharishi Vedic University to establish 3 campuses in the United States

(April 20, 2004) His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi announced during a global news conference last week that his Global Country of World Peace will soon establish three large campuses of Maharishi Vedic University in the United States. The campuses will be located in the Washington, D.C., area; Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa; and California. Each campus will be home to thousands of students who are expert in the peace-creating technologies of Transcendental Meditation and Yogic Flying. Their collective practice, Maharishi explained, will promote coherent national consciousness and prevent the violence and conflict that threaten to engulf America and the world.

Maharishi also issued an urgent appeal to the American people. "There is enough money in the U.S. to support a few thousand peace-creating students who will silently create a coherent atmosphere in America—and that influence of coherence will save the world from destruction. But everyone should contribute his share to sponsor the students today—because no one knows what will happen to America or the world tomorrow," Maharishi said.

In addition to the three large campuses in the United States, Maharishi said that the Global Country of World Peace will build campuses near other major U.S. cities and will also establish Vedic universities in every other country to create a permanent state of peace and harmony in the world.

Maharishi’s global news conference was broadcast live via satellite and Internet webcast on April 14 from the Capital of the Global Country of World Peace in Meru, Holland. Maharishi’s next news conferences will be held on April 21 and 22.

Dr. John Hagelin, President of the US Peace Government and Minister of Science and Technology of the Global Country of World Peace, said that the new campuses of Maharishi Vedic University in America will balance the global proliferation of military academies and graduate war colleges. "There must be at least one university in every country that is dedicated solely to the prevention of war and the promotion of peace, and to creating a new profession in the world—not of soldier, but of professional peacemaker—with the capability to prevent violence and conflict," Dr. Hagelin said.

Dr. Hagelin added that the plan to establish Maharishi Vedic University is highly practical. "There are hundreds of thousands of students in America who would be drawn to an ideal education where they can develop their full creative potential and, at the same time, serve as professional peacemakers. All that is needed is scholarship funding to support these students—and then overnight we can create an effective peace-creating force for the world," Dr. Hagelin said.

Maharishi announced that the Global Country of World Peace is also training administrators who will govern society from Unity Consciousness—the fully awake state of human consciousness. These administrators will raise the whole population to enlightenment and promote permanent world peace through Natural Law-based Vedic approaches to education, health care, economics, political science, administration, defence, agriculture, and architecture and city planning.

Maharishi emphasised that his time for talking about creating a better world is over—and now is the time to take action. "We are done giving discourses about perfection in life. We are now on a practical level of raising every individual to the highest state of human existence—Unity Consciousness—which is the cosmic dignity of everyone," said Maharishi, who then added, "We don’t mind how long the world has been in darkness—because now we are bringing the light."

Maharishi concluded by repeating his call to the American people to support the peace-creating students. "There is no time for discussion or arguments. You must control the wild growth of destruction. Use the knowledge that is now available from the Vedic tradition of masters," Maharishi said. "And for that it is easy. Just sponsor a few thousand students, and they will create a happy, prosperous, dignified world. But do it today—don’t wait until tomorrow, because ‘tomorrow never comes.’"