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Followers pay homage to Mahesh Yogi

          Allahabad: The followers of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the legendary spiritual guru, lined up in Allahabad on Saturday to pay homage to the mystic who took transcendental meditation to the West. Mahesh Yogi passed away in Holland on February 6. He was 91. The body of the Maharishi was flown in to Varanasi from Holland. It was then taken to his Guru Brahmanand Saraswati's ashram at Allahabad. The body will be taken in a grand procession to his ashram at Arail, where it will be kept for last respects till February 11. His funeral will be held in Allahabad on Monday.

           Maharishi Mahesh Yogi had set up universities and schools all over the world. His Natural Law Party, which promotes yogic flying (a practice that involves sitting in the lotus position and rising into the air), has campaigned in dozens of countries. Transcendental meditation, known as TM by its followers, involves reciting a 'mantra,' which according to practitioners helps the mind stay calm even under pressure. In 1990, the Indian mystic moved his headquarters to Vlodrop in Holland. The guru who introduced the Beatles to transcendental meditation, was died of natural causes. Born in Madhya Pradesh, the Maharishi trained as a physicist before devoting himself to spiritual enlightenment. He began teaching transcendental meditation in 1955 and brought the technique to the United States in 1959. By the time of his death, it had grown into a multi-million dollar empire. But the movement really took off after the Beatles visited his ashram in India in 1968, although he had a famous falling out with the rock stars when he discovered them using drugs at his Himalayan retreat. After 50 years of teaching, the Maharishi unveiled plans to use the power of group meditation to create both world peace and end poverty. Just last month, the Maharishi retreated into silence at his home in the grounds of a former Franciscan monastery close to the German border, saying he wanted to dedicate his remaining days to studying the ancient Indian texts that underpin his movement. In 1990, he moved into a 200-room mansion in the southern Dutch village of Vlodrop. Concerned about his fragile health, he secluded himself in two rooms, speaking only by video link even to his closest advisers in the same building.
February 9, 2008