[FairfieldLife] Re: obituary from The Guardian (UK)
Wow, what journalist wrote this obit? Is pretty good really, for a short number of words. -Doug in FF. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Obituary Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Malise Ruthven Wednesday February 6, 2008 Guardian Unlimited Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, often known simply as Maharishi or The Maharishi, achieved world renown as the Indian guru who inspired the Beatles and was said to have persuaded them to give up drugs. He has died has died at his home in the Dutch town of Vlodrop, and is believed to have been around 90. In the summer of 1967, the year of Flower Power and Sergeant Pepper, he made headlines when the four Beatles, with their wives and girlfriends, as well as Mick Jagger, Jane Asher and Marianne Faithful, followed the whiskered Swami from London to Bangor in Wales to sit very publicly at his feet imbibing his message of universal love and peace. The Beatles announced that they had decided to abandon LSD: We think we're finding new ways of getting there. Article continues Though disillusionment soon set in for everyone except George Harrison - John Lennon's song Sexy Sadie (You made a fool of everyone) is said to refer to Maharishi - the guru's reputation continued to thrive. A gifted publicist, as well as a charismatic religious teacher of a more traditional kind, he carefully directed his teachings to suit changing fashions in the West. As the era of flower power and psychotropic revelation faded into the hard-nosed commercialism of the Reagan-Thatcher years, Maharishi's message became more focused. While he never abandoned his claim to be transforming humanity's consciousness in the direction of universal harmony and peace (he was happy to claim credit for ending the cold war), he built a highly successful empire out of selling the spiritual techniques practised by yogis and brahmins for millennia to companies as aids to stress management. With executives who learned to meditate, improving their performance and productivity, large corporations such as IBM and Toyota had no more qualms about sending staff on transcental meditation courses than they had about the development of other personal skills. Known from his early days in India as the giggling guru because of his sparkling eyes and bubbling witticisms, Mahesh succeeded in making TM his personal trademark, netting for his organisation assets that came to be measured in billions. As is often the case with those who have entered the religious life in India, details about Maharishi's early life are sketchy. Various dates have been given for his birth (1911, 1917 and 1918), in the central Indian city of Jabalpur, in Madhya Pradesh, though the celebration of his 80th birthday in 1998 made 1918 official for his followers. He was born Mahesh Prasad Varma. His father was a member of the kshatriya, or warrior caste, and worked as a mid-level official in the department of forestry. After completing his secondary education, Maharishi attended Allahabad University, where he read mathematics and physics. It was here that he began to practise yoga with Swami Brahmananda Saraswati Maharaj (known by his more familiar name of Shri Guru Deva). In April1941, while Maharishi was still at university, Guru Deva became the Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math, one of the four main leaders of the Hindu community. Maharishi wanted to abandon his studies to become the new Shankaracharya's disciple, but Guru Deva demanded that he graduate first. After leaving university, Maharishi spent more than a decade with Guru Deva at his retreat at Uttar Kashi in the Himalayas. A follower of Sankara, India's most famous religious teacher, Guru Deva belonged to the Advaita Vedanta tradition of philosophy which teaches that spiritual ignorance or illusion is caused by the superimposition of a false self onto the true self, considered to be ontologically identical with the absolute (brahman). Liberation (moksa) achieved through meditation enables one to distinguish between pure being and worldly phenomena. While true liberation may only be achieved by adepts who follow their masters in a rigorous programme of ascetic disciplines and spiritual techniques, Maharishi realised that some of these techniques could be used to beneficial effect outside the confines of the Advaita Vedanta tradition. Two years after the death of Guru Deva in 1955, he travelled south to Kerala, where he began to broadcast his message. On January 1 1958, at a conference in Madras, he announced the formation of a world-wide Spiritual Regeneration Movement aimed at the spiritual revival of humanity by spreading the teachings of Transcendental Meditation. Shortly afterwards, Maharishi left India for a round-the-world tour that took him to Burma, Malaya, Hong Kong and Honolulu. He spent most of 1959 in the US, where he worked on a three-year
[FairfieldLife] Re: obituary from The Guardian (UK)
Excellent obit and fine review of Maharishi's history for the non- initiated. What a guy. ** --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Obituary Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Malise Ruthven Wednesday February 6, 2008 Guardian Unlimited Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, often known simply as Maharishi or The Maharishi, achieved world renown as the Indian guru who inspired the Beatles and was said to have persuaded them to give up drugs. He has died has died at his home in the Dutch town of Vlodrop, and is believed to have been around 90. In the summer of 1967, the year of Flower Power and Sergeant Pepper, he made headlines when the four Beatles, with their wives and girlfriends, as well as Mick Jagger, Jane Asher and Marianne Faithful, followed the whiskered Swami from London to Bangor in Wales to sit very publicly at his feet imbibing his message of universal love and peace. The Beatles announced that they had decided to abandon LSD: We think we're finding new ways of getting there. Article continues Though disillusionment soon set in for everyone except George Harrison - John Lennon's song Sexy Sadie (You made a fool of everyone) is said to refer to Maharishi - the guru's reputation continued to thrive. A gifted publicist, as well as a charismatic religious teacher of a more traditional kind, he carefully directed his teachings to suit changing fashions in the West. As the era of flower power and psychotropic revelation faded into the hard-nosed commercialism of the Reagan-Thatcher years, Maharishi's message became more focused. While he never abandoned his claim to be transforming humanity's consciousness in the direction of universal harmony and peace (he was happy to claim credit for ending the cold war), he built a highly successful empire out of selling the spiritual techniques practised by yogis and brahmins for millennia to companies as aids to stress management. With executives who learned to meditate, improving their performance and productivity, large corporations such as IBM and Toyota had no more qualms about sending staff on transcental meditation courses than they had about the development of other personal skills. Known from his early days in India as the giggling guru because of his sparkling eyes and bubbling witticisms, Mahesh succeeded in making TM his personal trademark, netting for his organisation assets that came to be measured in billions. As is often the case with those who have entered the religious life in India, details about Maharishi's early life are sketchy. Various dates have been given for his birth (1911, 1917 and 1918), in the central Indian city of Jabalpur, in Madhya Pradesh, though the celebration of his 80th birthday in 1998 made 1918 official for his followers. He was born Mahesh Prasad Varma. His father was a member of the kshatriya, or warrior caste, and worked as a mid-level official in the department of forestry. After completing his secondary education, Maharishi attended Allahabad University, where he read mathematics and physics. It was here that he began to practise yoga with Swami Brahmananda Saraswati Maharaj (known by his more familiar name of Shri Guru Deva). In April1941, while Maharishi was still at university, Guru Deva became the Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math, one of the four main leaders of the Hindu community. Maharishi wanted to abandon his studies to become the new Shankaracharya's disciple, but Guru Deva demanded that he graduate first. After leaving university, Maharishi spent more than a decade with Guru Deva at his retreat at Uttar Kashi in the Himalayas. A follower of Sankara, India's most famous religious teacher, Guru Deva belonged to the Advaita Vedanta tradition of philosophy which teaches that spiritual ignorance or illusion is caused by the superimposition of a false self onto the true self, considered to be ontologically identical with the absolute (brahman). Liberation (moksa) achieved through meditation enables one to distinguish between pure being and worldly phenomena. While true liberation may only be achieved by adepts who follow their masters in a rigorous programme of ascetic disciplines and spiritual techniques, Maharishi realised that some of these techniques could be used to beneficial effect outside the confines of the Advaita Vedanta tradition. Two years after the death of Guru Deva in 1955, he travelled south to Kerala, where he began to broadcast his message. On January 1 1958, at a conference in Madras, he announced the formation of a world-wide Spiritual Regeneration Movement aimed at the spiritual revival of humanity by spreading the teachings of Transcendental Meditation. Shortly afterwards, Maharishi left India for a round-the-world tour that took him to Burma, Malaya, Hong Kong and Honolulu. He spent most of 1959 in the US, where he worked on a three-year plan to
[FairfieldLife] Re: obituary from The Guardian (UK)
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Marek Reavis [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Excellent obit and fine review of Maharishi's history for the non- initiated. What a guy. ** Yes, in a nutshell: While rooted in the discourse of Sankara and his disciples, Maharishi took issue with interpretations of Hinduism that stress renunciation and asceticism over the call to this-worldly action. Far from leading to worldly renunciation, the call to Transcendental Meditation he saw was central to the message of the Bhavagad-Gita represented a dynamic philosophy intended to inspire a disheartened man and strengthen a normal mind ... he who practises Transcendental Meditation and becomes acquainted with the inner divine consciousness truly enjoys the greatest fruits of action in the world. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 feste37@ wrote: Obituary Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Malise Ruthven Wednesday February 6, 2008 Guardian Unlimited Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, often known simply as Maharishi or The Maharishi, achieved world renown as the Indian guru who inspired the Beatles and was said to have persuaded them to give up drugs. He has died has died at his home in the Dutch town of Vlodrop, and is believed to have been around 90. In the summer of 1967, the year of Flower Power and Sergeant Pepper, he made headlines when the four Beatles, with their wives and girlfriends, as well as Mick Jagger, Jane Asher and Marianne Faithful, followed the whiskered Swami from London to Bangor in Wales to sit very publicly at his feet imbibing his message of universal love and peace. The Beatles announced that they had decided to abandon LSD: We think we're finding new ways of getting there. Article continues Though disillusionment soon set in for everyone except George Harrison - John Lennon's song Sexy Sadie (You made a fool of everyone) is said to refer to Maharishi - the guru's reputation continued to thrive. A gifted publicist, as well as a charismatic religious teacher of a more traditional kind, he carefully directed his teachings to suit changing fashions in the West. As the era of flower power and psychotropic revelation faded into the hard-nosed commercialism of the Reagan-Thatcher years, Maharishi's message became more focused. While he never abandoned his claim to be transforming humanity's consciousness in the direction of universal harmony and peace (he was happy to claim credit for ending the cold war), he built a highly successful empire out of selling the spiritual techniques practised by yogis and brahmins for millennia to companies as aids to stress management. With executives who learned to meditate, improving their performance and productivity, large corporations such as IBM and Toyota had no more qualms about sending staff on transcental meditation courses than they had about the development of other personal skills. Known from his early days in India as the giggling guru because of his sparkling eyes and bubbling witticisms, Mahesh succeeded in making TM his personal trademark, netting for his organisation assets that came to be measured in billions. As is often the case with those who have entered the religious life in India, details about Maharishi's early life are sketchy. Various dates have been given for his birth (1911, 1917 and 1918), in the central Indian city of Jabalpur, in Madhya Pradesh, though the celebration of his 80th birthday in 1998 made 1918 official for his followers. He was born Mahesh Prasad Varma. His father was a member of the kshatriya, or warrior caste, and worked as a mid-level official in the department of forestry. After completing his secondary education, Maharishi attended Allahabad University, where he read mathematics and physics. It was here that he began to practise yoga with Swami Brahmananda Saraswati Maharaj (known by his more familiar name of Shri Guru Deva). In April1941, while Maharishi was still at university, Guru Deva became the Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math, one of the four main leaders of the Hindu community. Maharishi wanted to abandon his studies to become the new Shankaracharya's disciple, but Guru Deva demanded that he graduate first. After leaving university, Maharishi spent more than a decade with Guru Deva at his retreat at Uttar Kashi in the Himalayas. A follower of Sankara, India's most famous religious teacher, Guru Deva belonged to the Advaita Vedanta tradition of philosophy which teaches that spiritual ignorance or illusion is caused by the superimposition of a false self onto the true self, considered to be ontologically identical with the absolute (brahman). Liberation (moksa) achieved through meditation enables one to distinguish between pure being and worldly phenomena. While true liberation may only be
