JMVRI Issue Number 6
JMVRI Issue Number Six is a special issue on the theme of peace, beginning with a paper resenting Maharishi Vedic Science and Technology as the means to create permanent world peace. This is followed by a literature review and thematic analysis of Maharishi’s life-long work establishing foundational principles and programs for peace, which is followed by an article examining the contribution of Maharishi Vedic Science in creating peace in individual life.
JMVRI Paper 6.3
Peace and the Individual in Maharishi Vedic Science
Author: Geoffrey Wells
This paper can be downloaded via the following link:
https://www.academia.edu/36817163/Peace_and_the_Individual_in_Maharishi_Vedic_Science
Citation: Wells, G. (2018). Peace and the individual in Maharishi Vedic Science. Journal of Maharishi Vedic Research Institute, 6, 89-116.
Summary
In the more than five decades of Maharishi’s teaching of his holistic vision of the Veda and Vedic literature, the theme of peace is central. Maharishi taught that knowledge should be valued not just for its own sake but for the contribution it could make to human life, both individual and collective. In both arenas the search for peace has been perennial. Maharishi offered to the world his Vedic Science and Technology, through which alone this search on every level of human life could find complete fulfillment. Thus, of the Bhagavad-Gītā, which he describes as containing the essence of the ancient Vedic wisdom, Maharishi writes:
“The Bhagavad-Gītā is a complete guide to practical life. It will always be there to rescue man in any situation. It is like an anchor for the ship of life sailing on the turbulent waves of time…It brings fulfilment to the life of the individual. When society accepts it, social well-being and security will result, and when the world hears it, world peace will be permanent.”
Individual fulfilment, social well-being, security, and world peace are therefore in Maharishi Vedic Science seen as inseparably connected. In one sense modern theories of individual and social life have recognised this connection: peace, security, and social well-being are regarded as preconditions for the development of individual well-being. Maharishi Vedic Science, however, entirely reframes this understanding by viewing it from the fundamental level of Natural Law which governs all life. It explains that through the Technologies of Maharishi Vedic Science peace and fulfilment can be gained by any individual in his or her own right, and that from that secure foundation flows social well-being and world peace. Moreover, it explains that through these Technologies an influence of peace, inclusive of world peace, can be directly created at the collective level, benefiting all levels of international, national, and community life. An extensive international scientific research program of many decades standing has confirmed the practical reliability of these principles. This article reviews central aspects of the theme of peace in Maharishi Vedic Science, with an emphasis on the individual level.