Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Introduction

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, also known as Mahesh Prasad Varma, was an Indian yoga guru who is credited with creating and popularising Transcendental Meditation (TM). He was also the founder and spiritual guide of an organisation that has been variously described as a new religious movement or as nonreligious. He earned the name Maharishi, which translates to "great seer".

In 1942, after graduating from Allahabad University with a degree in physics, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi joined the Jyotir Math in the Indian Himalayas as Swami Brahmananda Saraswati's (also known as Guru Dev's) assistant and apprentice.

The Maharishi attributes his teachings to Brahmananda Saraswati. The Maharishi started spreading his Transcendental Deep Meditation, subsequently known as Transcendental Meditation, throughout India and the rest of the world in 1955. He started his first world tour in 1958. Because he laughed more frequently in early TV interviews, he was sometimes described to as the "giggling guru" by his followers, who called him His Holiness.

The Maharishi established thousands of teaching centres, hundreds of colleges, universities, and schools, as well as more than 40,000 TM teachers. He also taught Transcendental Meditation to "more than five million people". According to TM websites, tens of thousands have also completed the TM-Sidhi programme. His projects include colleges and universities with campuses spread throughout many nations, including Switzerland, Canada, India, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

The Maharishi founded philanthropic organisations and for-profit companies, such as health clinics, mail-order health supplement companies, and organic farms, along with his family and close friends. The Maharishi's organization's declared valuation has ranged from millions to billions of dollars; in 2008, the group estimated the value of their US assets to be over $300 million.

The Maharishi rose to renown as the guru of the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and other superstars in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He launched the TM-Sidhi curriculum in the late 1970s with the goal of enhancing practitioners' mind-body connections through practises like Yogic flying.

The Maharishi's Natural Law Party was established in 1992 and held elections in numerous nations. The same year, he relocated close to Vlodrop, Netherlands. He established the Global Country of World Peace as a nonprofit organisation in 2000 and chose its executives. The Maharishi announced his resignation from all executive duties in 2008 and then kept quiet until his passing three weeks later.