[Raja John Hagelin] <http://invincibleamerica.org/> India and Beyond
Dear Fellow Governors, Sidhas and Meditators, I am writing to you from Allahabad, after three of the most profoundly transformational days of my life. I wanted to share with you some of the events of these days, together with a few of my personal experiencesplus my vision of how we will move forward from here. The ceremonial events associated with Maharishi's physical remains have transpired with the utmost sanctity and dignity, in strict accordance with the Vedic prescriptions laid out for a jagad guru (world teacher) of Maharishi's extraordinary stature. As I hope many of you were able to witness over the Maharishi Channel, the Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math, Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati Maharaj, presided at the Vedic cremation ceremony, and orchestrated every detail of the Vedic rites, in consultation with the leaders of Maharishi's Indian Movement and Maharaja Adhiraj Rajaraam, First Ruler of the Global Country of World Peace. The Vedic ceremony of cremation was performed on the foundation of the Rig Veda temple on the grounds of Maharishi's ashram, overlooking the Sangamthe point of convergence of the holy rivers Ganges, Jumna and the transcendental Saraswati. Maharishi was granted a State Honor by the government of India, befitting a great national hero, with an honor guard of soldiers and a helicopter showering flower petals from above. Spiritual and political dignitaries of India and tens of thousands of others from around the world, including many hundreds from the United States, gathered to pay their respects to our incomparable and beloved Maharishi. Every day, the national press featured major stories as the events unfolded, highlighting Maharishi's global achievements and carrying the news that Maharishi's vision and legacy of enlightenment and world peace would be fully realizedboth through the global leadership structure that Maharishi has put in place and through the dedicated efforts of all the enlightened Governors, Sidhas and Meditators throughout the world. After the ceremony, on successive days, the ashes of Maharishi's mortal remains were scatteredfirst in the Sangam, in the presence of hundreds of boats filled with thousands of people, and then in Varanasi, at the precise spot where Maharishi arranged for Guru Dev's mortal body to be submerged after his Mahasamadhi 55 years ago. We now await the final phase of the Vedic ceremony, to be held on February 20 in the presence of the Shankaracharya, commemorating Maharishi's ascent to the Supreme abode, the field of Universal Being. Personal Reflections I am sure many of you have heard reports of the deeply moving experiences of those who have been here. I'd like to share two of my experiences that I found especially transforming. First, on the day before the cremation, we held a huge press conference, for which I prepared a press release with our new National Director of Expansion, Bob Roth. It was an intensive day of organization and interviews, and when I was finally afforded a moment to rest, upon closing my eyes, I felt the overwhelming presence of Maharishimore powerfully and palpably present than at any time I had ever served him over these past 30 years. Liberated from the constricting influence of his mortal physiology, Maharishi's awareness seemed more universal and powerful than ever before. It became so clear to me: Maharishi is with us! On the following day, it was intensely poignant and, frankly, painful to witness Maharishi's tender and divine physiology placed upon the funeral pyre to be consumed by flame with the Vedic rites and recitations. But in the end, when all that remained were pure, white ashes, I witnessed the most surprising transformation of all. At first, it felt like Maharishi was completely liberated from any restriction from the confines of the human physiologywith its finite dimensions and frailties of age. It felt like Maharishi was suddenly completely unbounded, immortal, eternally youthful. But then I realized that Maharishi, in truth, was never bound by his mortal physiology. It was only my perception of him that was bound. But now that misperception was shattereddestroyed before my very eyes. I realized that it was I who was liberated from any remaining misperception that Maharishi was localized. Maharishi is TotalityBrahm. He was always Brahm. He resides within our most quiet, most tender, most abstract, blissful inner core. He is our very Self. And he is guiding each of us to the extent that we are awake to our inner Beingthat we are in tune with our inner Self. This is how Guru DevTranscendental Being, Total Natural Lawwas so ever present for Maharishi, and quietly guided Maharishi's every move, spontaneously achieving everything. And this is how Maharishi will guide us. This is Silent Administration through Natural Law. Moving Forward Now is the time for all of us to come together to fulfill Maharishi's glorious legacy for the world. Maharishi has given us all the knowledge, all the techniques, all the programs, and all the inspiration and guidance needed to bring Global Raam Rajenlightenment, invincibility and peace to the world. Fortunately, during these past months, Maharishi has carefully put in place an ideal organizational and leadership structure for his global Movement. This includes, at the international level, our highly enlightened Maharaja Adhiraj Rajaraam, his 27 Rajas and 8 Purusha Rajas, his Prime Minister, and his 12 Global Ministers. This new leadership structure also includes, at the US national level, an Executive Director of Operations and an Executive Director of Expansion, plus 12 National Directors and 12 Co-Directors. And it includes an Executive Director and 12 Directors at the regional, state and local levelsalong with all our highly dedicated Peace Palace Directors, Maharishi Invincibility Center Directors, and full-time and part-time Governors. In addition, we have the highly competent financial administration of Dr. Benjamin Feldman and his team, with whom we will work closely in order to streamline administration and communication. And we are also very fortunate that the 12 former US Rajas have offered to provide their continuing guidance and support for the many key initiatives they have begun. I am extremely excited about this new leadership. It is the most dynamic, highly qualified and experienced team in the history of our US Movement. We are designing a national expansion and outreach program to bring Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation to hundreds of schools, businesses and other organizationsa program that will keep all our precious Governors fully engaged teaching in the field. We are also focusing on building up MUM and our Fairfield / MVC super-radiance community, starting with a huge "David Lynch Weekend" at MUM on April 2527, and we hope to recruit as many as 300 new students by September. During the next few weeks, I will introduce to you our national leadership team via the Maharishi Channel and Internet webcast, at which time we will lay out some of our exciting plans for expansion. For now, the most important thing to realize is that each and every one of us has a vital role to play in completing Maharishi's legacy for the world. Maharishi has truly done it allthe momentum of peace is irreversible. Together, we will effortlessly and blissfully fulfill Maharishi's vision, which is now our proud and fortunate destiny to fulfill. With my very best wishes, Jai Guru Dev, John Hagelin Raja of Invincible America source: http://invincibleamerica.org/emailing/2008_02_14.html
