Consciousness-Based Education - Maharishi University of ...

CONSCIOUSNESS-BASED EDUCATION AND Governmentin turn effects every individual participating in that level of collectiveconsciousness (p. 124).Clearly this understanding has profound implications for the study ofhuman behavior, for it defines a unique relationship between individualand community. One principle that emerges is that behavior is stronglyinfluenced by a greater wholeness, supporting the notion that, for example,a criminal environment adversely influences behavior while a harmoniousand nourishing environment upholds more favorable conduct. Inaddition, the relationship between individual and collective consciousnesssuggests that every individual bears responsibility for the effects ofhis or her actions on every level of society, no matter how seemingly isolatedan action may appear to be. This is not to suggest that collectiveconsciousness is the sole determinant of individual behavior, but ratherthat it provides a significant and empirically verifiable influence.The influence of increased coherence and harmony in collective consciousnessas a result of the practice of the Transcendental Meditationand TM-Sidhi programs is termed the Maharishi Effect, in honor ofMaharishi who first foresaw the influence, and predicted it in 1962(Maharishi Vedic University, 1986, p. 430). In 1976, after introducingthe advanced TM-Sidhi program, including Yogic Flying, Maharishipredicted that only the square root of one percent of a population practicingthis more powerful technology in a group was necessary to createworld peace. 8 The introduction of this program has provided greateropportunities for empirically verifying Maharishi’s prediction, forexperts in the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs haveperiodically assembled in large groups to create the extended MaharishiEffect. The results of their collective practice have been documented onevery level of society (Maharishi International University, 1990).The Shiva Saṃhitā, an aspect of the Vedic literature, describes thebeneficial effects of Yogic Flying for collective life:yog7 pÀ;snSqoŒip .uvmuTsOJy vtRtev;yuisiÖStd; Dey; s’s;r?v;Ntn;ixn78The square root of one percent was based on the observation that other coherent systems (suchas laser beams and superconductors) rely on the coherence of the square root of one percent oftheir constituent elements (electrons in the case of a laser beam or superconductor).158