Inspirational Quotes by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (Indian Hindu Religious Leader)

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1918–2008) was an Indian spiritual guru who introduced Transcendental Meditation to the West. He achieved world renown by inspiring the Beatles and persuading them to give up drugs.

Maharishi Yogi transformed his interpretations of Hindu scripture and traditional Indian thought into a multimillion-dollar global empire with millions of followers who aspire to achieve his higher state of consciousness.

Born Mahesh Prasad Varma in Jubbulpore in British India, Maharishi attended Allahābād University, where he began practicing yoga with Swami Brahmānanda Sarasvatī. Two years after his master’s death, Maharishi launched a Spiritual Regeneration Movement intended for the spiritual revival of humanity by spreading the teachings of Transcendental Meditation (TM.) He undertook world tours and introduced a three-year plan to introduce TM to all the countries of the world.

At first, the movement met with little success, until the Beatles pledged to him their faith in 1967. The pageant of the Maharishi bestowing flowers to the pop stars became one of the defining images of the ’60s. The Beatles spent some months at Maharishi’s International Academy of Meditation at Rishikesh in the Himalayan foothills. A decade of growth followed. Many celebrities began TM in the hope of benefiting from its claims for a life of “success without stress.” The TM movement reached its height of popularity in the ’60s and ’70s.

Maharishi declared that only a qualified teacher could teach the correct practice of TM. He established teacher-training centers in many parts of the world. Although the TM movement is formally a non-profit organization claiming to invest proceeds on educational programs in the third world, it’s a multi-billion-dollar international business replete with a satellite television channel peddling TM courses, TM merchandise, and spiritual products.

Throughout his career, several controversial allegations were made about the Maharishi’s personal life. In his later years, he lived in the Netherlands.

The TM movement has produced a large body of literature, but Maharishi’s writings are found in only three books: an introductory text called Transcendental Meditation: Serenity Without Drugs (1968; previously published as The Science of Being and Art of Living (1963,)) a commentary On the Bhagavad-Gītā: A New Translation and Commentary: Chapters 1–6 (1967,) and a collection of the Meditations of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1968.)

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