Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is widely regarded as the foremost scientist and teacher in the field of consciousness that the world has ever known. He completely restored the thousands of years-old scattered Vedic Literature for the total significance of its theory and practice, and organized it in the form of a complete science of consciousness.

Maharishi Vedic Science and Technology unfolds the full potential of Natural Law in human consciousness as the basis of improving all areas of life. The Transcendental Meditation^® program, the subjective technology of Maharishi Vedic Science and Technology^SM, is the most widely practiced and extensively researched program of self-development in the world.

The achievements of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi are profound in the field of knowledge and immense in the field of action. During the past 50 years, more than five million people have learned the Transcendental Meditation technique and are rising to enlightenment through their twice-daily practice. Maharishi has trained over 40,000 teachers, opened thousands of teaching centers, and founded hundreds of schools, colleges and universities. Maharishi Vedic Science programs are being applied in private businesses, public institutions and homes in every country. For more information on the TM program, please visit TM.org.

Maharishi was interviewed countless times by the world press during his more than 50 years of teaching the Transcendental Meditation technique in all countries. Here are a few sample questions from the press with Maharishi’s answers.

• What is Transcendental Meditation, exactly?

  Maharishi: Transcendental Meditation is a simple, natural program for the mind, a spontaneous, effortless march of the mind to its own unbounded essence. Through Transcendental Meditation, the mind unfolds its potential for unlimited awareness, transcendental awareness, Unity Consciousness — a lively field of all potential, where every possibility is naturally available to the conscious mind. The conscious mind becomes aware of its own unbounded dignity, its unbounded essence, its infinite potential.

  Transcendental Meditation provides a way for the conscious mind to fathom the whole range of its existence — active and silent, point and infinity. It is not a set of beliefs, a philosophy, a lifestyle, or a religion. It's an experience, a mental technique one practices every day for fifteen or twenty minutes.

• What are some of its practical benefits?

  Maharishi: Scientific experiments with people who practice Transcendental Meditation indicate that it tends to produce normalization in all areas of life. It reduces stress, improves health, enriches mental functioning, enhances personal relationships, and increases job productivity and job satisfaction.

• Why do you need to be taught if it's so natural?

  Maharishi: Through instruction. What happens is that the mind, in its active state, learns to experience its own less active states, experience its progressively minimized active states, until eventually it cognizes the transcendental state of consciousness.

  But in learning to do this, we must remember that the mind has usually been allowed to wander around so long in the realm of knowledge or power or the pursuit of happiness that it must be taught how to know itself again. That's why teaching becomes necessary. After learning Transcendental Meditation one knows what the natural state is. But to realize this, one has to be liberated from unnatural programs, performances and experiences.

  Most people have no experience with Transcendental Consciousness, pure consciousness, the pure nature of the mind. They are aware of active mind, which is the waking state of consciousness. They are also aware of the complete forgetfulness of the mind, the sleep state. And they are aware of the middle stage, the dreaming mind. But they are not aware of pure or Transcendental Consciousness. So the experience of that consciousness is taught in Transcendental Meditation, though it's nothing other than the very nature of the mind.

• What if someone is concerned about gaining such deep rest?

  Maharishi: No, No. Everyone knows sleeping is very natural. No one has to work hard to sleep. So resting is a natural process. One rests, one feels better, one feels relaxed. 'Work hard' is a wrong principle. Instead, one should draw the mind inward, pull the arrow back and release. This is the way to fulfill our desires. The desiring mind should be pulled back to a state of silence, and there, in that Transcendental Consciousness, the desire will get fulfilled. It is a great science of life, which does not require hard work. Enjoy and fulfill your desires.

• How is TM different from other forms of meditation?

  Maharishi: The basic difference is that Transcendental Meditation, in addition to its simplicity, concerns itself only with the mind. Other systems often involve some additional aspects with which the mind is associated, such as breathing or physical exercises. They can be a little complicated because they deal with so many things. But with Transcendental Meditation there is no possibility of any interference. So we say this is the all-simple program, enabling the conscious mind to fathom the whole range of its existence.

  Transcendental Meditation ranges from active mind-or performing mind-to quiet mind-or resting mind. In this resting mind, one has purity and simplicity, uninvolved with anything other than the mind, uninvolved with any other practice. In Transcendental Meditation, because we deal only with the mind, we nourish all expressions of intelligence. The mind meditates, gains Transcendental Consciousness and brings about transformation in different fields of manifestation. All fields of life, which are the expression of intelligence, are nourished or transformed and made better through experiencing Transcendental Consciousness.

  The mind, of course, is always concerned with other aspects, such as the physiology of the body, the environment, and the whole universe for that matter. But since Transcendental Meditation deals only with the performance of the mind, from its active states to its settled state, it remains unconcerned with those other aspects, though it deals with them all, because intelligence deals with them all.

• What do you mean by "enlightenment"?

  Maharishi: Enlightenment is the normal, natural state of health for the body and mind. It results from the full development of consciousness and depends upon the perfect and harmonious functioning of every part of the body and nervous system. When one is using the full potential of the mind and body in this way, every thought and action is spontaneously correct and life-supporting. This is life free from suffering, life lived in its full stature and significance.

  The goal of the Transcendental Meditation Technique is the state of enlightenment. This means we experience that inner calmness, that quiet state of least excitation, even when we are dynamically busy.

• What is the best question a journalist ever asked you?

  Maharishi: What you just asked: "What is enlightenment?" Because enlightenment is total knowledge, it is everything. That is the best question.

Some of Maharishi's Early Accomplishments

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  • founder of Transcendental Meditation® program and the worldwide Spiritual Regeneration Movement (1957);
  • introduced research in the field of consciousness and brought to light seven states of consciousness (1957-1967);
  • created a new science; the Science of Consciousness, the Science of Creative Intelligence®—and trained 2,000 teachers of this science (1972) [by now 40,000];
  • discovered the Constitution of the Universe—the lively potential of Natural Law—in Rik Veda, and discovered the structuring dynamics of Rik Veda in the entire Vedic Literature (1975);
  • celebrated the Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment on the basis of the discovery of the Maharishi Effect (1975);
  • introduced the TM-Sidhi® program and the experience of bubbling bliss in Yogic Flying to create supreme mind-body coordination in the individual and coherence in world consciousness (1976);
  • formulated his Absolute Theories of Government, Education, Health, and Defense to raise every area of life to perfection (1977);
  • brought to light the commentary of Rik Veda, Apaurusheya Bhashya, as the self-generating, self-perpetuating structure of consciousness (1980);
  • organized the centuries-old scattered Vedic Literature as the literature of a perfect science Maharishi Vedic Science and TechnologySM (1981);
  • brought to light the full potential of Ayur-Veda, Gandharva Veda, Dhanur-Veda, Sthapatya Veda, and Jyotish to create a disease free and problem-free family of nations (1985);
  • formulated the Master Plan to Create Heaven on Earth for the reconstruction of the whole world, inner and outer (1988);
  • brought to light Supreme Political Science, introduced automation in administration (1992);
  • inaugurated Global Administration through Natural Law (1993);
  • now establishing Maharishi Vedic Universities and Maharishi Ayur-Veda Universities throughout the world to offer mastery over Natural Law to every individual, and to perpetuate life in accordance with Natural Law—perfection in every profession-and create Natural Law-based problem-free government in even country—governments with the ability to prevent problems (1993-94);
  • discovery of the Veda and Vedic Literature in the human physiology which has finally estabIished the grand unity of all material diversity of creation, of all sciences, and of all religions (1994);
  • introduced programs to create a Prevention Wing in the Military to Bring Invincibility to Every Nation (1994);
  • established Maharishi Universities of Management (1995).