Yoga and Meditation: Yoga and meditation are very popular all over the world. Most of the scientific research done on meditation has accepted that it has positive physical and mental effects. Almost all religions and spiritual leaders have emphasized the importance of meditation. But few people pay attention to the fact that there can be many different methods of meditation. In this technique, the emphasis is on the pronunciation of the sound of a mantra at the time of meditation. One of these is Transcendental Meditation, the work of propagating it all over the world was done by Mahrishi Mahesh Yogi whose death anniversary is on 5th February.
Dispute over name and place of birth
Different things are found on where Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was born. Somewhere his place of birth is said to be Panduka village near Rajim town in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, while at some places Jabalpur is also said to be his place of birth. While his original name was Mahesh Srivastava or Mahesh Prasad Verma, there has been a debate on this too. He was born on 12 January 1917 and belonged to the Kayastha community, there is no difference on this.
Disciple of Shankaracharya
Maharishi Yogi, a graduate in Physics from Allahabad University, was a disciple of Shankaracharya Swami Brahmanand Saraswati of Jyotirmath for 13 years. Swami Brahmanand Saraswati gave him the title of Bal Brahmachari and gave him the name of Mahesh Yogi. He had talked about giving his throne to his disciple Mahesh Yogi in his will, but because of being a Kayastha, he was not given that throne.
From Meditation to TM Movement
After this Mahesh Yogi got his way. He kept a silent fast for two years, after which he started teaching Transcendental Meditation. He started his campaign all over the world which turned into the TM movement and he became recognized as a yogi who spread the Indian meditation tradition across the world.
what is transcendental meditation
Transcendental meditation or transcendental meditation is such a technique in which the seeker has to sit quietly and chant mantras. In this technique of meditation, more emphasis is given on sound. It is said that with this meditation a person feels comfortable and calm, due to which he can increase his concentration.
celebrities among disciples
The disciples of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi included celebrities from all over the world. From former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to spiritual teacher Deepak Chopra were included in these. But among his most popular disciples was the rock group Beatles, who visited his ashram in Rishikesh in 1968. It is said that even after this he became popular in the western world.
had run a different currency
Mahesh Yogi, who achieved the status of a global yoga guru, had built a huge empire of spirituality all over the world. He had also introduced a new currency named Ram, which is still in circulation in some parts of Europe. His organization ‘Global Country World of Peace’ issued this currency in 2002. It was also given legal recognition by the Netherlands in 2003. Ram Mudra had notes of 1, 5 and 10. At that time, these notes used to run in more than 100 shops in some villages and cities of the Netherlands. Ram Mudra was also prevalent in the Maharsha Vedic City of Iowa, America.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi had formed his own political party called Natural Law Party or NLP in 42 countries. This party also participated in the elections of America and Britain. Not only this, he also entered politics in India by establishing Ajeya Bharat Party and won a seat in Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, but later distanced himself from politics.