Happy Birthday
Entertainment News and Features
Entertainment Web Guides
Meditation Guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Dies
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Celebrity spiritual adviser and founder of the transcendental meditation movement Maharishi Mahesh Yogi died Tuesday, aged 91, at his mansion in the Netherlands.
30-Second Summary
Although he originally planned to be a physicist, the Maharishi decided to make a career of introspection after studying under the Guru Dev in the 1940s.
He then developed his trademark transcendental meditation, a method of relaxation centered on silently focusing on a mantra, a word or sound used to aid concentration. The practice gained international popularity after the Beatles took it up in 1967.
Many other celebrities of the era, including fellow musicians Donovan, Marianne Faithfull, and the Rolling Stones soon began to follow the Maharishi’s teachings.
However, many of them jumped ship when rumors began to circulate in 1968 that the yogi had made improper advances towards actress Mia Farrow.
The Beatles’ song “Sexy Sadie” is about the incident. The lyrics mention a person who “made a fool of everyone."
The yogi continued to attract followers, however, including such big names as Indian medical doctor and self-help author Deepak Chopra and film director David Lynch, who says transcendental meditation affords him an “ocean of tranquility.”
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the two surviving members of the Beatles, spoke kindly of the Maharishi in the days following his death. In an official statement on his Web site, McCartney said, “I will never forget the dedication that he wrote inside a book he once gave me, which read; ‘radiate, bliss, consciousness.’”
The Maharishi was jeered in 2002 when he claimed he could fight war and terrorism if he had $1 billion to train expert meditators. According to the BBC, courses in transcendental meditation led by followers of the Maharishi cost $2,500 each.
He then developed his trademark transcendental meditation, a method of relaxation centered on silently focusing on a mantra, a word or sound used to aid concentration. The practice gained international popularity after the Beatles took it up in 1967.
Many other celebrities of the era, including fellow musicians Donovan, Marianne Faithfull, and the Rolling Stones soon began to follow the Maharishi’s teachings.
However, many of them jumped ship when rumors began to circulate in 1968 that the yogi had made improper advances towards actress Mia Farrow.
The Beatles’ song “Sexy Sadie” is about the incident. The lyrics mention a person who “made a fool of everyone."
The yogi continued to attract followers, however, including such big names as Indian medical doctor and self-help author Deepak Chopra and film director David Lynch, who says transcendental meditation affords him an “ocean of tranquility.”
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the two surviving members of the Beatles, spoke kindly of the Maharishi in the days following his death. In an official statement on his Web site, McCartney said, “I will never forget the dedication that he wrote inside a book he once gave me, which read; ‘radiate, bliss, consciousness.’”
The Maharishi was jeered in 2002 when he claimed he could fight war and terrorism if he had $1 billion to train expert meditators. According to the BBC, courses in transcendental meditation led by followers of the Maharishi cost $2,500 each.
Headline Link: 'Founder of Meditation Movement Dies'
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is credited with bringing transcendental meditation (TM) to the West by way of the Beatles. The meditation movement inspired a host of celebrities, including the Rolling Stones, Deepak Chopra and film director David Lynch. The practice involves focusing on a mantra, or simple sound, for 20 minutes, allowing people to engage in self-contemplation.
Source: The Wall Street Journal (registration may be required)
Background: From guru to object of ridicule
The Maharishi was born in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh studied meditation under the Guru Dev. As his method of transcendental mediation grew in popularity, he and his followers began teaching courses in the practice for $2,500 each. In 1990, he moved into a 200-room mansion in Vlodrop, a village in the southern Netherlands.
Source: The BBC
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi tells the BBC in an interview that the Beatles “were young men of very great potential in life.”
Source: The BBC
In the late 1960s, the Maharishi was visited by numerous celebrities of the day, including Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithfull, Donovan and Mia Farrow. Allegations that the yogi made unwelcome advances towards Farrow in 1968 resulted in his falling out with many stars. John Lennon wrote the song “Sexy Sadie” about the Maharishi. The lyrics describe a character that “made a fool of everyone.” In 2002 he became an object of ridicule when he claimed that he could fight war and terrorism if he could find $1 billion to train 40,000 expert meditators.
Source: The Times of London
Opinion & Analysis: Remembering the yogi
Writer Mallika Chopra, daughter of New Age medical writer Deepak Chopra, says the Maharishi was someone she “idolized.” She studied under the yogi for a decade, starting at age 13. One day, when her parents told her that the family’s studies with the guru had come to a close, she “realized in that moment the wonderful gift that Maharishi had given … the ability to connect … to laugh and feel connected to something universal.”
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
Beatles frontman Paul McCartney said in remembrance of the yogi, “He was a great man who worked tirelessly for the people of the world and the cause of unity. I will never forget the dedication that he wrote inside a book he once gave me, which read, ‘radiate, bliss, consciousness.’”
Source: Paul McCartney’s official Web site
Ringo Starr said in an official statement, “One of the wisest men I met in my life was the Maharishi. I always was impressed by his joy and I truly believe he knows where he is going."
Source: The Press Association
Reference: The Yogi’s works
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s 1963 book “Science of Being and Art of Living” describes transcendental meditation.
Source: findingDulcinea’s Bookstore
Related Topics: Maharishi University of Management
The Yogi founded the Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, in 1971. Entering students must take a course on the principles of transcendental meditation as part of their degree requirements. The university’s dining halls only serve all-vegetarian, all-organic meals.
Source: Maharishi University of Management
Most Recent Beyond The Headlines
© 2012 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
