MAHARISHI PRESENTS PROPOSAL FOR PERMANENT WORLD PEACE, DURING INTERNATIONAL NEWS CONFERENCE

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) In his first press conference in seven years, His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, on Friday 28 September 2001, presented a field-tested, peaceful approach based on Vedic technologies of defence to eliminate terrorism and create permanent world peace.

Maharishi spoke live via satellite from Holland to a well-attended press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., with many thousands more connected by teleconference, live webcast, and satellite television.

Maharishi's proposal

Maharishi proposed the establishment in India of a group of 40,000 experts trained in proven Vedic technologies of defence, including Transcendental Meditation and related techniques, to neutralise the acute tensions and fears gripping the world today. These experts would generate an indomitable influence of peace and positivity in world consciousness, which will eliminate the enmity and hostility of people everywhere, including terrorists.

"We have the solution to the age-old problem of crime and negativity," Maharishi said. "Crime has been coming up in every generation, and every government has implemented punishments; but crime and punishment continue, generation after generation.

"Now we want to take recourse to that intelligence of Natural Law which in our scientific age is being realised as the most fundamental level of everyone's awareness. This is the time for us in this scientific age to make use of this most fundamental level of life, which is Transcendental Consciousness, and thereby all our thoughts and actions will be fully in accordance with the evolutionary direction of Natural Law."

Maharishi called for the creation of a World Peace Endowment Fund of $1 billion to sustain the 40,000 professional "peace-creators" on a permanent basis. The interest from the Fund would pay for housing facilities and living costs at about $200 per expert per month. Maharishi urged government leaders and the most prominent and successful individuals of America and other countries to support the implementation of this proven, preventive approach and avert the imminent threat of war.

Pursuing a military course of action is "insane"

Maharishi said it was "insane" to pursue a military course of action to try and root out terrorism. "I have all that is needed to stop, completely stop, all the wild gestures of America and its allies," he said. "I am convinced by now that this President is not an educated man; he doesn't know science.

"Who is this man who says, 'I can stop crime'? He is following the same procedures whereby crime has continued, generation after generation.

"The value of science and technology is to prevent all the mistakes that past generations have been committing," Maharishi said. "Prevention is the answer. Vedic performances can create a very strong level of harmony and integrity in all the countries, and that is the only way the tradition of culprits can be stopped. When these 40,000 people will generate coherence in world consciousness, then that coherent world consciousness will not allow negative tendencies to sprout. It is possible to create very strong coherence in the world, and this I am going to do."

In this context, Maharishi has subsequently expressed grave concern for the direction world events are now taking, where there is a very precarious balance between supportive power and destructive power. Maharishi has made his offer to create peace in the world, but points out that it will be possible to engage the 40,000 Vedic peace-creators and ensure world peace only when the Endowment Fund has reached its target of $1 billion.

Research physicist presents scientific validation

John Hagelin, PhD, Harvard-trained quantum physicist and the Natural Law Party's 2000 presidential candidate, chaired the news conference in Washington and outlined the theory and research supporting this peaceful approach. He said Maharishi's approach has been rigorously tested and scientifically shown, in extensive published research, to prevent violence and terrorism-and even to stop open warfare in war-torn areas, such as the Middle East. The dramatic results have appeared in leading scientific journals, such as Social Indicators Research and Yale's Journal of Conflict Resolution.

"These technologies of consciousness diffuse social stress and negativity and generate positive waves of harmony and unity in the collective consciousness of the world," he said. "They access and stimulate the most powerful level of mind and matter, identified by modern science as the Unified Field, the fundamental level of nature's intelligence that connects us all. We now have available a technology of peace, a truly defensive technology that attacks the problems of violence and negativity at their source. Research shows this works."

Responding to a question about the World Peace Endowment Fund, Dr Hagelin commented, "One billion dollars sounds like a lot, and philanthropically it is. But in the big picture, it's less than the price of one B-2 bomber-less than the Defense Department spends in one day."

Dr Hagelin said that a few families in America and Europe have already contributed $40 million to begin the training of Vedic experts in India, and facilities to house 16,000 experts are under construction and will be completed in the next few months if sufficient funds become available.

Military expert in anti-terrorism offers support

Major General Kulwant Singh, a highly decorated 35-year military veteran in India and an expert in anti-terrorism, also spoke at the news conference via telephone from India.

"Today, the world is looking for a solution to violence and terrorism," he said. "But bombs will never bring peace. Violence begets violence. I can speak this with the conviction of 35 years experience of fighting terrorism.

"America went to Vietnam, India went to Sri Lanka, all for peace. We bombed and bombed. Now we are watching NATO bomb for peace; how ironic! If you bomb a country looking for peace, you'll never get it. If you want to bring peace, you must reduce the cause of violence, and that is stress in society," General Singh said.

Summarizing his years of anti-terrorism efforts, General Singh said, "A military response is no response at all, because it does not get at the root cause of terrorism. Terrorism is a human problem, and it requires a human solution. Any retaliation will only make the terrorists harder. We cannot kill terrorism by any means other than prevention."

Maharishi's closing message to the press

Maharishi closed the news conference with an appeal to the national and world press, charging them "to proclaim the coming on of a very good time where no country will face problems and negativity".

"We have the solution," he said, "and now we are determined to do all our best to really eliminate the basis of all negativity in our world, and we'll have the blossoming of a very good fortune for the people and government of every nation.

"Give my best to all your leaders, and express to them that this is a real thing, and really effective, and we will succeed in creating a truly happy, peaceful, affluent world."

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For more information, or to arrange interviews, call the Press Office in Britain on 01622 815380.

The press may also like to talk to UK representatives of Maharishi's organisation who can describe the initiatives being taken in Britain to raise support for Maharishi's Endowment Fund for World Peace and to counter the danger posed by international terrorism.

Dr Geoffrey Clements, the leader of Maharishi¹s organisation in Britain, has offered to brief the Prime Minister and the Cabinet on this new approach. He said: "We need to caution the British government to avoid falling again into the vicious circle of attack and retribution. The present approach the Prime Minister is adopting is not a civilised one. Violence has never been, and can never be a means to secure peace. The only way to deal with terrorism is through a preventive approach. We want the Prime Minister to know that there is a practical and proven means to protect national security and eliminate the threat of global terrorism without having to take recourse to violence and destruction."

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