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Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (born Mahesh Srivastava January 12 1917) is the founder of the TM Movement. He brought Transcendental Meditation to the western world. Maharishi is believed to have been born near Jabalpur, India and graduated from Allahabad University with a degree in physics. He was secretary for thirteen years with Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath. In 1955, after spending two years in silence in Uttar Kashi, in the Himalayan foothills, he began teaching a basic meditation technique which he later dubbed "Transcendental Meditation". In 1957 he founded The Spiritual Regeneration Movement, the first of several organizations collectively known as the TM Movement, and began the first of many tours to teach the Transcendental Meditation technique around the world.

The Beatles were among his students, as were the Beach Boys (singer Mike Love in particular), who recorded an album at his Maharishi International University in the 1970s. Singer-songwriter Donovan befriended the Maharishi, who appeared with him on the back cover of A Gift from a Flower to a Garden. Comedian Andy Kaufman and magician Doug Henning were also Maharishi students, while Clint Eastwood and David Lynch are two notable directors who practice TM.

The Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation has been taught worldwide to over 5 million people. Maharishi has written a number of books on Vedic wisdom and the Vedas as the science of consciousness. He uses modern technology to spread his teachings—he has created the Maharishi Open University as an online teaching outlet, holds a weekly video press conference, and uses satellite and the Internet for his Maharishi Broadcasting. He has also started numerous centers of Consciousness Based Education including the Maharishi University of Management and the Maharishi School for the Age of Enlightenment.

As of 2005, he lives in Vlodrop, the Netherlands.

Controversy

There has been much controversy surrounding the life of Mahesh Yogi. It appears from numerous sources that the name "Maharishi" was definitely not bestowed by his master Swami Brahmananda Saraswati but rather self-proclaimed.

There have been numerous, consistent rumors regarding sexual activity with Mahesh Yogi and his female students. Considered by many a form of spiritual abuse or "spiritual incest", this was brought to light mostly by former male secretaries who observed this occurring and the women themselves. Most prominent of these claims was made by John Lennon of the Beatles. Lennon even went on to pen two songs, Sexy Sadie (originally titled Maharishi) and The Maharishi Song all deriding Mahesh Yogi for his sexual activity with students.

Other controversies include: money scandals and attempting to copyright a commonly known and ubiquitous form of meditation known as "manasika-japa" (mental use of mantra for meditation). That Transcendental Meditation is not unique was proven in court, with reputable practitioners of this tradition attesting to this fact. Use of pseudoscience is another controversial business and deceptive marketing tactic often utilized by Mahesh Yogi and his movement, often for selling expensive meditation techniques and other services.

External links

About Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Trivia

Maharishi was nick-named "Sexy Sadie" by the Beatles in a song they wrote about him. [[1]]

Pop culture

One measure of a public figure's impact is satirical reference. In 1968, comedian Joey Forman recorded a comedy album, a mock news conference, portraying a character called "The Mashuganishi Yogi" ("mashuga" being Yiddish for "crazy"). At his side was a sitar player named "Harvey Shankar", an obvious takeoff on Ravi Shankar.

Centers of Consciousness Based Education

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 There has been much controversy surrounding the life of Mahesh Yogi. It appears from numerous sources that the name "Maharishi" was definitely not bestowed by his master Swami [[Brahmananda Saraswati]] but rather self-proclaimed.
-There have been numerous, consistent rumors regarding sexual activity with Mahesh Yogi and his female students. Considered by many a form of spiritual abuse or "spiritual incest", this was brought to light mostly by former male secretaries who observed this occurring and the women themselves. Most prominent of these claims was made by [[John Lennon]] of the [[Beatles]]. Lennon even went on to pen two songs, ''[[Sexy Sadie]]'' (originally titled ''Maharishi'') and ''The Maharishi Song'' all deriding Mahesh Yogi for his sexual activity with students.
+There have been numerous, consistent rumors regarding sexual activity with Mahesh Yogi and his female students. Considered by many a form of spiritual abuse or "spiritual incest", this was brought to light mostly by former male secretaries who observed this occurring and the women themselves. Most prominent of these claims was made by [[John Lennon]] of the [[Beatles]]. Lennon even went on to pen two songs, ''[[Sexy Sadie (song)|Sexy Sadie]]'' (originally titled ''Maharishi'') and ''The Maharishi Song'' all deriding Mahesh Yogi for his sexual activity with students.
 Other controversies include: money scandals and attempting to copyright a commonly known and ubiquitous form of meditation known as "manasika-japa" (mental use of mantra for meditation). That Transcendental Meditation is not unique was proven in court, with reputable practitioners of this tradition attesting to this fact. Use of [[pseudoscience]] is another controversial business and deceptive marketing tactic often utilized by Mahesh Yogi and his movement, often for selling expensive meditation techniques and other services.