JMVRI Issue Number 2
JMVRI Issue Number Two includes three papers that were originally presented at the MVRI First Regional Conference on Maharishi Vedic Science: Atma—Ved—Vishwa—Brahm. The first paper presents a deep reading and research of the book Maharishi’s Absolute Theory of Government, the second examines the value of the practice of Transcendental Meditation for the health disorders and diabetes mellitus. The third article presents the impact of Maharishi Vedic University in Cambodia on the nation’s economic and social indicators from 1980 to 2015.
JMVRI Paper 2.3
The Impact of Maharishi Vedic University on Cambodian Economic and Social Indicators from 1980 to 2015
Author: Lee Fergusson
This paper can be downloaded via the following link:
Citation: Fergusson, L. (2016). The impact of Maharishi Vedic University on Cambodian economic and social indicators from 1980 to 2015. Journal of Maharishi Vedic Research Institute, 2, 77-135.
Abstract
This descriptive research paper examines the impact of Vedic Science- based education on the economic and social development of Cambodia between 1980 and 2015. Specifically, the long-term impacts of a large- scale social renewal and healthcare program begun in 1992 and the establishment of an innovative university, called Maharishi Vedic University, at the beginning of 1993 are considered using the Social Impact Assessment model.
Prior published research, both in Cambodia and elsewhere throughout the world, has suggested that the applied programs of Vedic Science can play a vital part in personal, social and educational renewal and in the removal of poverty. In Cambodia, ranked the poorest country in the world in 1992, the contribution of Vedic Science-based education has been significant, not only in the lives of thousands of students but also in the welfare of the broader community. For example, research has found that a Vedic Science-based approach to higher education in Cambodia increased non-verbal intelligence, reduced anxiety, depression and the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, and improved the general health of university students when compared to students at other universities.
It has also been shown that in the 1990s, 70 nations sought to change their systems of government to multi-party democracy. Of these, 33 nations did not experience war either before or after their transition to democracy, nine had civil war both before and after elections, and 26 nations had no war prior to democratic elections but bloody civil conflict soon thereafter. Only three nations out of 70 during this period had war before, but peace after, democratic elections—Cambodia, Mozambique and Namibia. All three of these countries benefited from intervention of Vedic Science-based education, health and social-welfare programs. This paper explores the economic and social impact of this phenomenon in Cambodia beginning in the early 1990s with the establishment of a “coherence-creating group” of students at Maharishi Vedic University.