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MAHARISHI MAHESH YOGI (1911– )
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is one of the most recognized spiritual leaders of the world. Almost single-handedly, the Maharishi (meaning great sage) brought Eastern culture into Western consciousness. He emerged in the late 1950s in London and the United States as a missionary in the cause of Hinduism, the philosophy of which is called Vedanta—a belief that "holds that God is to be found in every creature and object, that the purpose of human life is to realize the godliness in oneself and that religious truths are universal."
By 1967, the Maharishi became a leader among flower-children and an anti-drug advocate. The Maharishi's sudden popularity was helped along by such early fans as the Beatles, Mia Farrow, and Shirley MacLaine. These people, and many others, practiced Transcendental Meditation (TM), a Hindu-influenced procedure that endures in America to this day.
When the 1960s drew to a close, the Maharishi began to fade from public view. The guru still had enough followers, though, to people the Maharishi International University, founded in 1971. One of the main draws of Maharishi International University was the study of TMSidha, an exotic form of Transcendental Meditation. Sidhas believe that group meditation can elicit the maharishi effect—a force strong enough to conjure world peace.
KEY TERMS
Dervish—A member of the Sufi order. Their practice of meditation involves whirling ecstatic dance.
Mantra—A sacred word or formula repeated over and over to concentrate the mind.
Transcendental meditation (TM)—A meditation technique based on Hindu practices that involves the repetition of a mantra.
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Author Info: Linda Chrisman, The Gale Group Inc., Gale, Detroit, Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, 2002 |
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