SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS OF 2019
from around the world

 

 

On 29 and 30 December 2019, Dr Bevan Morris, who worked very closely with Maharishi from the beginning of the movement, reviewed the accomplishments of 2019. The following are some highlights from his presentations.

 

 

UK

• The British journal Lancet Psychiatry published a paper reporting that TM had been found to be more effective in treating post-traumatic stress than the the previous best method - Prolonged Exposure - and much easier to administer. The study was funded by the US Army.

Europe

• The EU funded 'FRIENDS' project to introduce Transcendental Meditation into schools in four European countries, and conduct research into its effects, came to completion in December. Improvements in a wide range of measures, both for teachers and students, were presented at the conference in Brussells reviewing this project co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme for innovation in education.
• 1,300 pupils were taught TM in Portugal, Italy, UK and Belgium. 700 teachers and 300 parents learned TM too, as part of the project.
• In the UK, this was conducted in Alternative Provision Schools in Liverpool, Colchester, and Heybridge in Essex. All pupils have now returned to normal schools. Teachers, many of whom were initially sceptical, reported major benefits themselves, such as; "A real life changer for me", "I take less baggage home", "I am very much a different person".
• The greatest implementation was in Portugal, where 19 schools devote 50 minutes every morning to the Yoga Asanas and Pranayama together with TM every morning, and 15 minutes TM in the afternoon. Teachers there have approached the Ministry of Education proposing that all schools in Portugal adopt TM.
• Comments from pupils in Italy include: "I can think more clearly", "I don't feel so nervous any more", "I feel stronger in my personality, more able to socialise with my friends", "[TM] changed my life completely. I finally can look people in the eyes when talking to them".

Eastern Europe

• In Ukraine, a conference was  organised by the David Lynch Foundation, which has pioneered the use of TM in the treatment of post-traumatic stress (PTSD) in war veterans. Brain researcher Dr Fred Travis presented findings to delegates from the military state hospital, as well as US embassy medics.
• Plans for a new Maharishi Ayurveda treatment centre in the Russian Caucasus have been finalised and will be opened in 2020.

Asia

China

• A management college using TM and principles of Consciousness Based Education was opened in Shanghai with 27 MBA students and 13 PhD students. Courses include World Class Leadership, and Employee Health and Wellness.
• In Unan a facility has been donated for the teaching of TM.

India

• India recognised Maharishi as one of the country's Great Healers featured in a calendar and on a postage stamp. A street in the holy city of Ayodhya has been named after him.
• India continues to teach TM and TM-Sidhi programme to tens of thousands of children in schools, including 30,000 indigenous children in Kalinga area in south India alone.
• The All-India Institute of Medical Sciences had a visit from eminent TM researcher Dr Robert Schneider. Dr Schneider presented up-to-date research on the effect of TM on cardiovascular health. As a result, the entire research team at the Institute learned TM and will be conducting research on TM and related Ayurvedic modalities, in conjunction with Maharishi International University.
• Purusha, the special programme for single men that Maharishi established at Uttar Kashi in the high Himalayas celebrated its 20th year anniversary. This programme is devoted to creating enlightenment for these individuals, and at the same time world peace. This location is what Maharishi referred to as the "Land of Guru Dev" as it was where his master went at the age of 9 and gained enlightenment. Maharishi also spent 2 years there after Guru Dev passed on.
• Maharishi Vedic pandits in India performed 2,350 national yagyas or traditional Vedic performances to promote peace and well-being in the world, funded by 104 countries. 5,500 people donate regularly to this.

Nepal

• Consciousness-Based Education (CBE), which unfolds the full inner potential of the student through the practice of Transcendental Meditation as well as special teaching methods, is "spreading like wildfire" in Nepal.
• Facilities are being built above Kathmandu on the hillsides for CBE faculty training with four large buildings to be completed by March 2020.
• These facilities will also accommodate traditional Vedic Pandits trained under Maharishi's guidance.
• The President of Nepal inaugurated an initiative called "Nepal to Lead the World" using Maharishi Vedic Science. The former Prime Minister spoke on the occasion.
• The next annual International Ayurveda Congress will be hosted in Nepal in 2020. It was hosted in previous years by the UK, Brazil, The Netherlands and Slovenia.

Thailand

• The largest ever permanent facilities for the collective practice of Transcendental Meditation and its advanced programmes was opened near Bangkok.
• With a floor space of 6,000 square metres, this facility is the latest project of a lady Buddhist abbess. She has rescued over 1,000 young girls from severe poverty   providing them not only with an education, but exceptional personal development using the various Vedic technologies revived by Maharishi. She has become a teacher of TM and integrates it seamlessly with Buddhism. The school is winning many national awards for educational achievement, as well as  an award from the Crown Princess of Thailand.
• November saw 650 girls completing their TM-Sidhi Programme training. The goal is to maintain a large group of such advanced practitioners in order to help create for peace in whole region.
• Tiger Woods' mother, who is from Thailand, helped to fund the school.
• International TM Teacher Training courses in Chantaburi will see around 60 graduates in January and a similar number in the next intake.

Bali

• The uptake of TM gained further momentum with 14,000 people now practising the technique in 55 schools. So far, 1,000 have completed the TM-Sidhi Programme and another 1,700 are doing it at present.
• The present and past Governors of Bali opened and spoke at a conference 'Enlivening Vedic Bali' with the goal of achieving 10,000 school pupils practising the TM-Sidhi Programme daily.

Cambodia

• A study was published in 2019 in the journal Studies in Asian Social Science which reported that Consciousness Based Education colleges established in the 1990s had significantly helped reduce poverty and sociopolitical violence in the country. Between 1999 and 2008, 1,250 students in three campuses practising TM, and many practising the TM-Sidhi Programme daily together, was highly correlated to an unprecedented jump of 89 places in GDP ranking, in less than one generation. "The positive influence of the MVU meditating groups was recognised by officials of the Cambodian government", reports the researcher.

USA

• The David Lynch Foundation is shifting its emphasis to larger scale projects in USA with official government funding. It is currently sponsoring a study introducing TM to 4,000 young people in Chicago.
• A number of US congressmen, as well as in others in various government departments, have learned TM.
• The use of TM in military training at the prestigious Norwich University is now in its 9th year, with a two-year study showing reduced depression, and improvements in constructive thinking, coping, and resilience. The project is 80% funded by the college. The National Military University also offers TM to senior officers in training.
• Maharishi International University's Masters in Computer Science course is now the second largest in the country with an enrolment of 400. To date, it has graduated over 2,800 students from 93 countries. Transcendental Meditation and Consciousness-Based Education principles are integral to this course, as they are to all courses at MIU.

South America

Peru

• The growth of TM was particularly marked in Peru, where there are now 50,000 doing TM in 55 schools.

Paraguay

• A large amount of land was acquired by the TM organisation in a beautiful forest setting, and the building of a dedicated TM facility will commence this year.

Africa

• A study from Johannesburg, South Africa, was published in the international journal Mental Health Matters. It reports that students at the Maharishi Institute showed dramatic decreases in post-traumatic stress compared to a control group for the University of Johannesburg. They became non-symptomatic after 15 days and symptoms continued to decline for the 105 days of the study. The control group showed no change.
• In Uganda there are now three schools, among many other TM projects, with 390 students now practising TM, and 55 doing the TM-Sidhi Programme.
• In Tanzania, 2,500 of the Maasai tribe learned TM in a project led by the head ladies and mothers in each village.
• In Malawi a new Consciousness-Based Education institute has been opened in Lalongwe.