https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-05/muom-gpo052219.php 
<https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-05/muom-gpo052219.php> 

News Release 23-May-2019
Group practice of Transcendental Meditation dramatically reduced violence in 
Cambodia, new study shows 

Researchers find group meditation can positively impact society

Maharishi University of Management

 <https://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/201722.php>
IMAGE: Students at Maharishi Vedic University in Cambodia practice the 
Transcendental Meditation technique twice a day. view more  
<https://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/201722.php>
Credit: Maharishi Vedic University, Cambodia

The group practice of the Transcendental Meditation® and TM-Sidhi® programs in 
Cambodia between 1993 and 2008 was associated with a 96.2% decline in 
sociopolitical violence in that war-torn country compared to violence in the 
preceding three years, according to a new peer-reviewed study published in 
Studies in Asian Social Science.

According to the study, the likelihood that this reversal in the rising 
1990-1992 trend of violence occurred randomly was one chance in 10 million, 
suggesting that meditation can indeed have a coherence-creating effect on 
society.

Effect recognized by government officials

"Maharishi Vedic University was established by Maharishi in Cambodia on January 
1, 1993, for the declared purpose of bringing peace and prosperity to 
Cambodia," said study author Lee Fergusson. "The positive influence of the MVU 
meditating groups was recognized by officials of the Cambodian government."

The late King Norodom Sihanouk was quoted as saying, "Maharishi Vedic 
University is playing an important role in human resource development and in 
[the] restoration of peace and expansion of prosperity throughout the country."

Up to 1,250 students participated

The reduction in violence began in January 1993, when more than 550 students 
began practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique together twice daily 
in a group at Maharishi Vedic University in Cambodia. Also, 100-200 students 
practiced the TM-Sidhi program together twice a day in a group as part of their 
Consciousness-BasedSM education curriculum starting in 1994.

Across three MVU campuses, up to 1,250 students contributed to increased 
coherence in collective consciousness through their daily group Transcendental 
Meditation practice during 1993-2008.

The study is the first to use an explanatory mixed-methods research design to 
explore the growth of social coherence using time series analysis and 
qualitative content analysis of news articles. The researchers analyzed monthly 
data on the level of sociopolitical violence obtained from automated 
content-analysis of news reports performed by a leading independent research 
organization. 

Other research shows reduced poverty

Other published research 
<http://www.academia.edu/attachments/56767838/download_file?s=portfolio> by Dr. 
Fergusson, professor and founding director of Maharishi Vedic Research 
Institute, Australia, documents the dramatic economic and social transformation 
of Cambodia after the founding of MVU. 

In 1990, Cambodia, devastated by decades of war, was the poorest country in the 
world. After establishment of MVU, Cambodia's gross domestic product (GDP) 
growth rates averaged 8.9%, and poverty was reduced by 63% between 1994 and 
2008. By 2010 Cambodia was ranked 63rd out of 152 countries on the 
international scale of poverty, an unprecedented jump of 89 places in less than 
one generation. 

###

Reference: L. C. Fergusson & K. L. Cavanaugh (2019). Socio-political violence 
in Cambodia between 1990 and 2008: An explanatory mixed methods study of social 
coherence. Studies in Asian Social Science, 6(2), 1-45. A PDF of the article 
may be downloaded at 
http://www.sciedupress.com/journal/index.php/sass/issue/view/789 
<http://www.sciedupress.com/journal/index.php/sass/issue/view/789>. 

The study was sponsored by Maharishi Vedic Research Institute, Australia.

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