Consciousness-Based Education - Maharishi University of ...

consciousness-based education and governmentWe note further that Maharishi (1967), in the Gita commentary,describes the nature of the path by which enlightenment is achieved: Itis “a field of increasing happiness” (p. 27). Unhappiness or suffering arenot held to be aspects of this path. On the contrary, as we have seen,they arise in the context of the increase of the destructive value of naturallaw returning the results of negative, or nonevolutionary, actions tothe doer. Maharishi does not associate the necessity for suffering, theconcept of gain from suffering, or of learning from mistakes, with thepath of evolution. He emphasizes that the path of evolution is a path ofhappiness; and it is, in fact, a path of increasing, rather than fixed, happiness.This increase accords with Maharishi’s definition of evolutionas always progressive.In describing Maharishi’s unique contributions to the understandingof the role of dharma in the growth to enlightenment, it is worthnoting the difficulties other translators have found in dealing withthe notion of dharma. It has been variously translated, for example,as “righteousness” (Radhakrishnan, 1948), “truth” (Mascaro, 1962),or “virtue” (Sargeant, 1984). As Maharishi’s commentary makes clear,while all these ideas are implicit in the notion of dharma, none of themdoes justice to its range and significance, to its role in supporting thepath of natural evolution. The essence of Arjuna’s dilemma—how eventhe righteous cannot seem to live a life free from suffering—and theanswer to it rests on the full understanding of the nature of dharma,as applied to practical life. It is therefore evident that the value of suchtranslations and commentaries on the Bhagavad-Gītā as those quotedabove must be limited.In summary, Maharishi’s commentary on this verse presents a fundamentaland comprehensive account of the inner mechanics of nature’sfunctioning, and of the nature and goal of human life. These are absoluteprinciples: They are true for all times and all places, regardless ofhistorical period or of cultural or geographic context. As Maharishi (1967)remarks later, “Here is a great teaching of vital importance which hasbeen missed for centuries. It sets a standard for any society” (p. 69).These principles arise from Maharishi’s direct investigation into theunified basis of nature’s intelligence on its own level, the field of pureconsciousness, through the subjective techniques of the Vedic tradition(described below). A theory of society based on these principles will110