Maharishi first introduced the Transcendental Meditation technique to the west in the 1950’s. He dedicated his life to reviving the ancient Vedic traditions of India—the tradition of total knowledge and life lived in accord with Natural Law—with the purpose of bringing enlightenment to every person and invincible peace to every nation.

Before Maharishi, experience of higher states of consciousness was generally considered by many to be an abstract esoteric field available only to monks and spiritual recluses. With the TM^® technique, Maharishi introduced a systematic way for all people to transcend (experience samadhi, the deepest level of the mind) and unfold their full potential of life.

Scientific Validation

Maharishi was unique among spiritual teachers because he exposed the TM program to scientific scrutiny, inviting scientists to review the mechanics and benefits of this program for self-development. He was confident that research would demonstrate that the TM technique is the most useful method for health and well-being.

Over 600 studies, including 365 peer-reviewed scientific studies on the Transcendental Meditation program, have been conducted during the past four decades by researchers at more than 200 independent research institutions in 30 countries, including more than $24 million of research funded by the National Institutes of Health. Research was conducted at renowned institutes and universities including Harvard Medical School, Princeton University, Stanford Medical School, the University of Michigan Medical School, University of California at Berkeley, University of California at Los Angeles, York University in Canada, the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, the University of Lund in Sweden, the University of Groningen in The Netherlands, the University of New South Wales in Australia, the Institut de la Rochefoucauld in France, the National Institute of Industrial Health in Japan, and the Moscow Brain Research Institute of the Academy of Medical Sciences in Russia.

A Movement to Enlighten the World

From the TM movement’s quiet beginnings in India in 1955 to the establishment of TM centers worldwide, over six million people have had the benefit of Maharishi’s one-pointed focus. Wherever the TM program is introduced, it has an immediate positive influence. Maharishi’s programs are being applied in government, the military, private businesses, public institutions including schools and prisons, and homes in every country.

Maharishi’s goal was to enlighten all the individuals of the world and to create world peace. On many occasions, he organized large gatherings of Transcendental Meditation practitioners in order to create coherence in the collective consciousness of society, so as to prevent and reduce war and disasters that plague humanity.

Maharishi’s success as a meditation teacher is unprecedented. Never before in recorded history has a meditation technique been learned by so many people during the teacher’s lifetime—and with such a broad range of demonstrable benefits.