25 September 2002 Press Conference Highlights
Opening Remarks
Maharishi: ‘Jai Guru Dev. Dr Hagelin, the top physicist of the world of this generation, has introduced the whole philosophy and programme of my worldwide Movement, and we can take the questions from the press directly.
‘The purpose is to create a problem-free world—a world of permanent peace and happiness and freedom from conflicts. That is our purpose. On small scales, experiments have been made during the past twenty, thirty years, and they have all come to conclude that it is possible to have every country’s government enjoy real freedom—and freedom from conflicts, freedom from problems.
‘It’s possible through the programme that trains peace-creating individuals; and when they are put in groups here, there, everywhere throughout the world, every area of our dear world will be coherent, and there will be a lack of negativity sprouting in any part of the world. Let’s have the questions from the press.’
Question: On Possible Events Indicating a Better Time for the World
Dr Dillbeck: ‘The first question is a follow-up of a point made by Dr. Hagelin last week. It says, "Maharishi, you have said that your peace plan will bring a more positive, harmonious world within six to nine months. Do you envision some big events ahead, like the collapse of the Berlin wall in 1989, to indicate that a better time for mankind is coming?" ’
Maharishi: ‘I don’t make prophecies. We make an effort and see how much positivity it creates in the world consciousness, and how the world events are moulded in that positivity. Prophesying is not my trade. No.
‘We create an effect and let the world enjoy the effect. The effect has been proven so many times, through so much scientific research on groups practising Yogic Flying in so many different parts of the world for the last twenty years. So it’s not a matter of my saying something. It’s a matter of the world experiencing the objective that we have set forth for ourselves, to create an effect’
Question: On Creating a Group of 40,000 Experts in Yogic Flying
Dr Dillbeck: ‘This question is from a writer in Freiburg, Germany. Maharishi, you have been telling the world that only a big group of 40,000 experts in Yogic Flying and other Vedic Technologies will save the world from further destruction. Could you please tell us what are the achievements so far in building this group and the time span that is still needed to accomplish this goal?’
Maharishi: ‘The time taken will depend upon how the people of the world respond. If nobody responds, there could be thousands of years of suffering in the world. If people respond quickly, it could be next week. It’s a matter of lighting the lamps, and when the lighted lamps are enough, there won’t be darkness in any corner.
‘So it’s not a matter of proclaiming the time or anything, no. It’s a matter of doing it, experiencing it, and enjoying it.’
Question: On the Relationship between USA and Germany
Dr Dillbeck: ‘Three days ago, the German Chancellor was re-elected, and it’s widely acknowledged that the decisive factor that enabled him to win was his stand that Germany is strongly opposed to any military action against Iraq.
‘It seems good for world leaders to speak out against the possible invasion of another country. At the same time, the Chancellor’s outspoken criticism of the US administration and the statement by one of his Ministers that Bush’s policies were similar to Hitler’s, caused an unusual disturbance of the German-US relationship.
‘How should Germany behave especially since the economic situation in Germany is rather difficult right now, should Germany strive for more independence from the United States?’
Maharishi: ‘I think every sensible country, that can breathe its own breath, should get away from the US and the US’s destructive policy. For any nation whatsoever—it’s not only a matter of Germany. Every sensible country that can save itself from committing the sin of killing should do the same thing that the Germans have.’
Question: On Advice for President Bush
Dr Dillbeck: ‘This question is from a writer in Geneva, Switzerland. A well-known Swiss politician recently said that President Bush is a much greater threat to world harmony, the economy or the environment, than Saddam Hussein. Today we see President Bush still pushing for military intervention in Iraq, even though Saddam Hussein is showing more willingness to collaborate with the United Nations. What advice would you give President Bush?’
Maharishi: ‘I have been giving advice to every country to keep away from sinning, to keep away from destroying—whether it is Bush today, or yesterday it was Hitler, or third day it was Alexander [the Great] or something. Destructive invasion of any country by any country has always been, and will always be, the act of sinning.
‘Someone who wants to sin, fine. Who can prevent him? But the well-wishers of the USA would always advise the US policy to be supportive to life, supportive to life.
‘Strength should be used for protection. Strength is wiser when it protects life. Strength is wild and sinful and awful if it is to destroy others.
‘So it doesn’t matter. Whatever the nation, all those who make remarks, make remarks from their level of understanding; all those who do action, they do action from their own level of consciousness.
‘It’s the level of consciousness that decides what one should do, what one should not do. And there are religious concepts; and there are political etiquettes: ‘Help thy neighbour.’ All these political, economic, religious, social values are there; they can be used for destroying, for destruction, or they can be used for protection and help to life, like that.
‘We are not fond of commenting on the events; we are fond of correcting the basis of all events. The basis of events is the consciousness of the individual; the collective consciousness of a nation; the collective consciousness of a continent.
‘It is that we want to purify; it is that we want to harmonize, to integrate, so that in the light of the highest level of consciousness, the negative trends will not sprout in the world.
‘We are working out on a very positive level: sowing the seeds of purity; sowing the seeds of prevention from crime, prevention from conflicts, prevention from all negativity.
‘Our profession is prevention. We ring the bell of prevention all the time. And we think that virtue, as the proverb goes, "Virtue triumphs."[a Sanskrit expression, Satyameva jayate, "Truth alone triumphs."]
‘We feel we are on the virtuous level, and there is no doubt the virtue will prevail on earth. And these little things here and there, they will disappear themselves, out of their own reactions; they’ll just drop out of life.
‘So we don’t waste time on verbal criticism or anything. We believe in lighting the lamp and we don’t think it is of any use to fight with the darkness.
‘Fighting negativity is not in our manual of action. It’s not in the etiquette of our behaviour. In our manual of performance, the thing to do is to create harmony, to create stress-free individuals, to create problem-free individual life, social life, national life, world life, like that.
‘Our message to the press in every part of the world is to dedicate themselves more to the promotion of positivity, and not so much to the news of destruction, because it excites the people and it’s not in good spirit; its not human decency, even for the press to create excitement, excitement’
Question: On Transcendental Meditation Creating Paradise on Earth
Dr Dillbeck: ‘This question is from a journalist at Radio-TV Eclair in Guadeloupe. Maharishi, do you think really that Transcendental Meditation can change the whole world and that Paradise can dawn on earth? Could you elaborate on this point? Thank you.’
Maharishi: ‘The individual is the unit of the world population. Those who practise Transcendental Meditation do lose their stress and strain and rise to higher consciousness.
‘That which raises the individual to higher consciousness, that raises social consciousness or collective consciousness of a nation; that raises national consciousness to a high level of harmony, positivity, and all good to everyone.
‘It’s a matter of long-proven results of Transcendental Meditation. It’s 50 years we have been doing it in the world, and some young press people are asking today—it’s all right, it’s all right. But long before you were in the field, this establishment came out to be real: that those who practise Transcendental Meditation, they lose their stress and strain; they rise to higher consciousness; their behaviour is more pious, more cordial to others; they behave with higher citizenship values.
‘So it’s an old story for Transcendental Meditation. It has changed the individuals, and the individual is the unit of the world.
‘Now we have come to consider groups of individuals: one big group in India—40,000, 20,000, a big group in India—and some small groups in different parts of the world in all those 3,000 Peace Palaces in the world.
‘And the whole programme for this has been chalked out that those who create Peace Palaces in their country, they will gain some profit as they gain from any investment. This will be an investment.
‘The whole programme has been made for the business people to make business now through world peace. It’s not a matter of charity; world peace can’t be established through charity. No, no. Nobody bothers about charity. It’s very small, little here and there. It’s a waste of time.
‘So the programme has been set out and has been circulated around the world, that the construction of Peace Palaces in the world and groups of 200 or 300 peace-creating groups there doing their morning and evening Yogic Flying, will automatically maintain a high level of collective consciousness in the country; and that will spontaneously create coherent national consciousness in every country.
‘So we are doing it; and it’s very good that the press is meeting with me week after week and clarifying any thinking they may hear from their local people. It’s a good sign; it’s a good sign. And we have every hope to succeed in our efforts to make the world a very problem-free world.’
Question: On Natural Law-based Government and Human Government
Dr Dillbeck: ‘This question is from a journalist at La Vanguardia in Barcelona, Spain. How will the government based on Natural Law be compatible with the human law-based government? Won’t Natural Law sometimes conflict with the interest of the human government?’
Maharishi: ‘If human government or human law conflicts with Natural Law, then the suffering will belong to human law, to human beings. There is no escape from it.
‘Natural Law is simple and straight. "As you sow, so shall you reap"—a very cosmic law. "As you sow, so shall you reap," that’s all.
‘If this does not meet with any doing of the individual, then the individual will reap the consequences of his doing. If he does good, he will have good results. If he does not right, then he’ll be punished by Natural Law. There is no escape from the effect of Natural Law. It’s cosmic; it’s impartial; it is the Will of the Merciful Father. Natural Law is the Will of God.
‘Those who surrender to it, those who act according to the Will of God, they enjoy the Grace of God. Those who do the other thing, they suffer from their doing, whatever they want to do.
‘We are believers in religion, whatever religion, doesn’t matter what. There are so many different branches of the same one big, huge tree of Natural Law. A mango from the northern branch or southern branch or eastern branch or western branch—mango will be mango. It doesn’t matter from what branch the mango comes to our basket. It’s a mango. It’s a mango.
‘So it doesn’t matter to which religion we belong, so long as we act according to the advice of our promoters. And no religion would admit its followers to do harm to others. Every religion teaches all good values, and destruction is avoided by every religion, whatever religion it is.’
Question: On the Way to Become Free from Sin
Dr Dillbeck: ‘This is a related question. Maharishi, in recent press conferences you have consistently said that killing is sin, and sinners have an open gate to hell. Most religions and spiritual traditions, in addition, offer some means to overcome sin or cross over it. Do you also offer a way to become free from sin?’
Maharishi: ‘With Transcendental Meditation one transcends from all relativity and gets to the absolute field of what Dr. Hagelin has said, "Unified Field of Natural Law." It’s a transcendental reality.
‘If you eat a raw mango, you will have the taste of that raw mango. If you eat a ripe mango, you will have the taste of a ripe mango. You can’t eat raw mango and think that you will get the taste of ripe mango. To do something wrong on the basis of ‘I’ll ask for pardon,’ ignorance of law is no excuse. Pardoning is through the effect that you have created through your work. It won’t be very healthy to think that I can do what I want and tomorrow I’ll go to my temple and ask for pardon from God, and God will forgive you.
‘Every action has very deep consequences. This is fooling around. You can’t fool around God. It is inside you, your own Self. Your own Self is the field of the Almighty. Your Self is cosmic Self. Your Self is the sum-up of all the innumerable laws of nature. You can’t escape your actions; you have been given freedom to act, but once you have done an action, reaction has to come to you. You can’t escape it, no.’
Question: On Committing Sin
Dr Dillbeck: ‘This is a follow-up question by the same person. If leaders of war-mongering countries were to take advantage of your programmes, is it possible that they could become free from sin?’
Maharishi: ‘They’ll not commit sin, that’s all. They’ll not commit sin now, but what they did yesterday and last week, and last month, and last year, they have to bear the consequences of it. There is no hiding from there.
‘If we have not lit up the lamp, what else is there other than darkness? Just that example of light and dark, of light and dark, lamp and dark, is completely enough.
‘Throughout the ages, this one example alerts a man, if he has any slightest sense of responsibility, any sense of duty; that one example is enough for him. He doesn’t have to hear the same thing again and again.’
Question: On Counteracting Effects Created by the International Media
Dr Dillbeck: ‘This question is from La Vanguardia, Barcelona, Spain. It is well known that if a message is repeated a number of times, those receiving the message start to believe it. Does Maharishi think it possible, through the effects of Transcendental Meditation, to counteract all the warmonger effects that are being created by the international media?’
Maharishi: ‘People have to bear the effect of it; in future if they don’t issue such arrows of negativity, then of course there is no negativity. But what they have done in the past, they have to bear the consequences. There is absolutely no escape from it.’
Question: On How the People Can Influence their King
Dr Dillbeck: ‘This question is from a local government administrator in Aberdeen, Scotland. Maharishi, this is a follow-up question to the point you made last week about the reason you chose to have a King as head of your Global Country of World Peace. You said that a King can best embody the role of a parent and be a leader whose attitude and actions are fully nourishing to the people. My question is how can ordinary men or women communicate with and influence a King in this kind of government?’
Maharishi: ‘If government has the policy to educate the people, . .then a government can give complete education to every single individual and enliven the cosmic creative potential within his consciousness.
‘This education will make every individual act according to Natural Law. "Act according to Natural Law" means every thought, speech, action is in the evolutionary direction. That is all that a government has to do in order to have all the people behave in the best spirit of good citizenship. He will not create wrong things, wrong feelings, wrong words, wrong actions, and the society will be mutually helpful.
‘This is the administration we want to generate in every country by creating these groups who will maintain harmony and coherence in the national consciousness in every country by one big group of Vedic performers in India and by Yogic performers, Yogic Flyers, throughout the world.
‘It’s a very good thing we are imagining, a very good destiny of the world—not far future destiny, but near, now, near, near destiny. It’s possible to have our world family free from stress, strain, sickness, problems, conflicts—all these wrong things. It’s possible to create, and we are going to create. That is our effort, that is our principle, that is our hobby. That is our hobby to create.’
Question: On Establishing the Rule of Natural Law
Dr Dillbeck: ‘This follow-up question is from the same local government administrator in Aberdeen, Scotland. With democracy we have the sense that we can directly communicate with and participate in our government, which we have been educated to think of as a much better way of government than a monarchy. Is there something missing in our perspective on this?’
Maharishi: ‘It’s a totally wrong perspective, because democracy means you have some people in your government who make the laws. There are other people, a part of the government, who oppose these laws. So it’s a mockery of administration.
‘You raise money from the people to give them a good administration and half the house is making some laws and the other half barking upon them like dogs. What happens to the public? The whole public is torn apart. There is no sequential progression in the traditional culture of the country.
‘The culture of every country has been torn apart; and that is the opposition in the democracy, opposition to the government. If a single man does not follow some law he is sent to prison, he is sent to death or something. But look at the dog-like fighting in almost every parliament, and that is a government? It’s mockery of administration, simple mockery of administration.
‘Don’t go by the word monarch or democracy. Democracy splits up the whole nation; it is split up. It’s not monarchy that I am establishing in the world against democracy.
‘I am establishing the rule of Natural Law and that rule of Natural Law is a permanent theme of the administration of a country. It’s permanent. It’s not the choice of any president, or any king, any individual, no.
‘Total field of Natural Law is the Constitution of the Universe, and that will be held in practical practice by a few people—100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000 people, depending on the population. That many—a few people following the functioning of Natural Law will spontaneously maintain coherence in the national consciousness.
‘It’s not a matter of democracy; it’s not a matter of monarchy; it’s not a matter of dictatorship or any kind [of government]. It’s not any kind. It is superimposition of the Administration of the Universe through Natural Law. So don’t mix it up. . . .
‘I do not mean I want some other system prevailing. Every system the world has seen during the last so many years, so many centuries, that one has been superceded by the other; one has been superceded by the other. The present system of democracy is a damage to human dignity, a damage to human dignity.’
Question: On What Maharishi Seeks to Create
Dr Dillbeck: This question is from a talk radio show in the United States. Without problems we don’t find any solutions. Is it a problem-free world you seek to create or is it relief from specific world problems such as the current state of affairs in the Middle East?’
Maharishi: ‘The Middle East or America or Britain—these are such small areas of consideration. I don’t want to spend a moment on these things. They are a shame to human dignity everywhere. What I am establishing is that supreme authority of Natural Law that is prevention-oriented administration.
‘Prevention-oriented administration is the administration of the universe. Prevention-oriented administration is what we want to have in our family of nations—prevention-oriented administration.
‘That is cosmic administration; that is administration of Natural Law, which governs with perfect order the innumerable galaxies in the universe. Why should man be so humiliated as to ignore that huge, cosmic prevention-oriented administration, which is only evolutionary for everything? It’s very narrow-minded. It’s a shame to human dignity.’
Question: On How Citizens Can Contribute to World Peace
Dr Dillbeck: ‘How do citizens that are military members currently serving their nations, how can they best contribute to world peace in Maharishi’s Peace Palace plans.’
Maharishi: ‘By resigning from their duty to die tomorrow. Military people—every military man knows he can certainly die, but he cannot protect the nation. Any military, you ask anyone in the military; you ask any general, you ask anyone in the military, can they protect the nation? If he is a true man he’ll say, "No, sir, we cannot." Because this is not the time of fighting duals. There was a time when the military were facing each other and fighting.
‘Nobody would know. Now, any moment in the midnight a few missiles here and there and the whole thing will go to ashes. What military in the world can say they can save the nation? It will be hypocrisy. No military, absolutely no military—they can certainly die, but to protect the nation is beyond the military power today. It is simply beyond.
‘And to think "My military has so many missiles, my military has so many missiles." Some other military also has so many missiles, and then there will be missiles, and there will be heaps of ashes the next day.
‘So, it’s a vain vanity for anyone to think that my military can save my country. Hypocrisy, absolutely unrealistic, shameful. No military can save any country.’
Question: On Maharishi’s Programme to Strengthen the National Economy
Dr Dillbeck: ‘This question is from a magazine writer in New York City. The New York Times reported today that the proportion of Americans living in poverty rose significantly last year for the first time in eight years, and the income in middle class households fell for the first time since 1991. The report also suggested that the gap between rich and poor continued to grow. Maharishi, you have outlined your plan to create world peace. What would you do to strengthen national economy?’
Maharishi: ‘My programme to improve the economy of every nation is to utilize the unused, fertile land in the country and grow Vedic organic crops.
‘Create good food. Everyone who would eat this good food will have a better intellect, will have better sense of life, will think better, will speak better, will behave better, will be a better citizen of the nation.
‘So my programme is to raise national life to a high dignity of human value, a high dignity of human value. That is our programme, and we think this is a sensible programme.
‘The programme as such is a good programme. Whatever time it will take us, our global organization, to reach all these farmers, who own the land, but are not yet using the land and suffering from poverty themselves, and not creating good food for others.
‘So our programme is to create a better mankind, a better human being—more developed, more sensible, more intelligent, more creative, more pious, more religious individuals in every country— and we think the programme is a very good programme. We enjoy floating it in the world market. . . .
‘Our Enlightenment Minister of the Global Country of World Peace, Dr Bevan Morris, could educate the press about this world economic programme to eliminate poverty.
‘Where is world peace as long as the population is poor? Peace requires a sound basis of a better economy. Therefore, when we are programming world peace on a permanent basis, we have to programme a better economy. So many millions of people are in utter poverty. So, we have a programme to take care of them also by using the unused agricultural land. Tell the press in short that we have not omitted that very essential part of world peace in our programme.’
Dr Morris speaks on the poverty removal programme.
Question: On the Vedic Health Care System
Dr Dillbeck: ‘This question is from a health writer: "Maharishi, I am interested in the effect of your technologies on the health sector. Spending on prescription drugs in the United States has been increasing 17% a year and reached $154 billion in 2001. Can we expect to see less sickness and less expenditure on health and generally improved health resulting at the same time that there is greater peace in the world or is health a different matter?" ’
Maharishi: ‘Health is intimately connected with the basis of peace. An unhealthy, stressed man will never be peaceful. We are coming out with the Vedic Health Care System, which will handle health from the basis of physiology.
‘The basis of physiology is consciousness of the individual. Self-referral consciousness is the Self of everyone, and this Self of everyone is the self-referral consciousness within everyone. The sounds of this self-referral consciousness reverberate to assume the role of physiological fibres. So it is the consciousness that assumes the role of human physiology.
‘We are coming out with very scientifically proven and highly scientific approaches of prevention and cure from the level of consciousness, which is the basis of all aspects of physiology.
‘There is no system in the world—let the press make a note of it, please—there is not yet in the world market—yet—a system of health care that handles health care from the basis of human physiology. That is the reason why allopathy and all other systems of health care that are prevalent in the world market are not able to either prevent diseases or completely cure diseases. Reports are full of the side effects of modern medicine.
‘We are soon coming out with the training programme for perfect health from the level of consciousness. Just as we have Consciousness-Based Education; just as we have Consciousness-Based Education, we are going to come out very soon now, within a few weeks or months, Consciousness-Based Health programme.
‘This organic agriculture also has Consciousness-Based Agriculture, Consciousness-Based Agriculture. So our insight into consciousness, which is the field of Natural Law, is so complete that now we are coming to promote Consciousness-Based Education for perfect education; Consciousness-Based Health for perfect health, for prevention and cure both; and Consciousness-Based Agriculture.
‘And again, we would extend it to Consciousness-Based Defence. Consciousness-Based Defence is Vedic Defence, which calls for "Prevent the birth of an enemy"—Heyam Dukham Anagatam. This is the Vedic exhortation for perfect, preventative defence programme.
‘Countries will not need military, big military powers, for the defence of their country, no, because that whole thing has proved to be a fraud. No military can save or defend any country. Our programmes are: Consciousness-Based Education, Consciousness-Based Health Care, Consciousness-Based Agriculture programme; Vedic Organic Agriculture programme is to create food, to create nectar, not create food that is poison; not create medicine that has side effects.
‘All these faults in different aspects of human care will be amended very soon, and it is on this basis that we are going to create prevention-oriented administration. Prevention-oriented administration will utilize total Natural Law for prevention and cure of negative trends and tendencies in the world.
‘So we have a programme for a very bright future of life in our dear world, and I invite the press to come with me, ask any questions, but promote this scientifically proven health care, education care, defence care, agriculture care, administration. Let’s have an ideal administration for every country now. [Inform every] nation that in our esteem, our programmes in the world are destined to create a problem free world.’
Question: On Vedic Detoxification Procedures
Dr Dillbeck: ‘A recent front page story in Ottumwa Courier said that a research study from Maharishi University of Management shows that fat soluble toxins from agricultural chemicals, including chemicals that are currently banned, are reduced in the blood by about 50% by the centuries-old Maharishi Vedic detoxification procedures. The article said that these procedures came from the ancient Vedic Texts. The author of the article in the Ottumwa Courier is asking if these pesticides have only been around at the most for 100 years, then how did the ancient Vedic doctors and Seers know how to treat modern pesticide problems before these man-made chemicals ever existed?’
Maharishi: ‘No, no. There is nothing new in the world. Poison has always existed. Nectar has always existed. So it’s nothing new that was not before. It goes on like that, like that, like that.
‘Poison, all kinds of poison, have been there in the past; and all kinds of nectars have been in the past. From point to infinity ranges each of these magnitudes.
‘So that is not the thing that this is a new sin, or that was an old sin and old sin was there and new was not there. No, no. . . .’
Question: On the Definition of a Saint
Dr Dillbeck: ‘Previously you spoke about the saints knowing the value of silence. How do you define a Saint?’
Maharishi: ‘Saint in one word we define as a sanctified person, a saintly person, a pious man, who will not injure others and who would not do wrong. Saint means saintly person. The word is very commonly used. Pious, pious, simple, pious, natural, more simple, more simple.’
Question: On Health and Higher States of Consciousness
Dr Dillbeck: ‘Do people with serious health problems or disabilities have any chance of gaining higher states of consciousness or do they need to be healthy in order to do so?’
Maharishi: ‘On their path to recovery they have a chance to become healthier, healthier, healthier. Enlightenment is the healthy state of body and mind and environment and response of others and all that. It’s a very comprehensive programme.’
Question: About Groups that Harm Society
Dr Dillbeck: ‘In our work in inner cities, we find that there are always groups or segments of society that organize themselves apparently to harm the society. How can these groups be removed or be held accountable for their actions?’
Maharishi: ‘I think the law in every country is to disallow the presence of such harmful societies and all that. The law takes care of it. But when the collective consciousness is contaminated, the protectors of law ignore these things that happen, and then they create a mess in society.
‘Practice of Transcendental Meditation is the way for everyone. And it is for the law-protecting agencies in the government and in the social fabrics of any nation that they should have this practice of Transcendental Meditation everywhere.
‘And that is the best thing that we know, the simplest and easiest for everyone to develop his life in the most sensible manner, in the most productive manner, in the most intelligent manner.
‘So thank the press and we will meet them next week. Jai Guru Dev.’
