Systematic training of Maharishi Vedic Pandits
From a young age, students from the traditional Vedic families of India follow systematic training to become peace professionals – Maharishi Vedic Pandits. From the age of 10 to 20 they follow a special programme of study designed by Maharishi. It includes learning the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programme as well as Yogic Flying, studying Sanskrit, and gaining proficiency in performing Yagyas, the traditional Vedic performances that bestow good fortune and peace. Their daily studies earn credits towards Bachelor, Masters and Ph.D. programs conferred by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Vedic Vishwavidyalaya, a statutory university established by the State Government of Madhya Pradesh in 1995.
Experts in yoga – transcendental meditation and yogic flying
For several hours each day, the Maharishi Vedic Pandits at the Brahmasthan practise the essence of Yoga – the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programme. The TM-Sidhi programme including Yogic Flying was derived by Maharishi from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali – the central text of Yoga philosophy. This programme develops the ability to act from more silent and coherent levels of consciousness. As the Pandits grow in the capacity to act from subtler levels of consciousness, they become highly effective in performing their daily Vedic performances for world peace.
The principal Vedic text of Yoga — the Yoga Sutras — describes how peace can be created through the experience of transcending:
Tat sannidhau vairatyagah
“In the vicinity of Yoga
(the experience of the Transcendental Consciousness, the Unified Field)
hostile, conflicting tendencies are eliminated.”
– Yoga sutra 2.35
When, through advanced meditation, Transcendental Consciousness is enlivened by a sufficiently large group, the ‘vicinity of Yoga’ – the region benefiting from the peaceful influense – extends to the whole world. This is the strategy of the Global Peace Initiative.
Experts in yagya – extensive training in vedic performances
In numerous small villages around India, Maharishi created a network of instruction for students wishing to become Maharishi Vedic Pandits. In each village, teachers known as Guru Ji’s begin training Pandit students from the age of 10. At age 14, they have the opportunity to join one of many regional facilities across India and receive instruction under the supervision of accomplished acharyas (teachers). The students follow a systematic and detailed training program designed by Maharishi that includes videotapes and computer-aided study to ensure that every Pandit receives a high and standardized level of training. When they graduate at about age 20, they are accomplished in performing Yaygas. Yagya is a timeless technology from the Vedic tradition. Yagyas are performed by Pandits to enliven the laws of nature that administer the universe in specific ways and for specific needs, in order to help achieve a chosen desire. For instance, each day at the Brahmasthan of India, 1,331 Pandits come together to perform Atirudrabhishek, the powerful Yagya for world peace. UNESCO has officially described Vedic recitation as an intangible heritage of humanity.
SOUNDS AND SIGHTS
To get an impression of Maharishi Vedic Pandits in action here is a slideshow with audio track of Pandits performing Yagyas.
