the maharishi technology of the unified field in - dillbeck-msvs

8/3/2019 The Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field in - Dillbeck-msvs

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INTRODUCTION:

EDUCATION FOR THE FULL

DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN LIFE

The study of education grew out of a desire to improvethe quality of schools and universities. The knowledgeavailable in this area of study, however, has not given anyeducational system what it needs to produce wise, mature,and fulfilled citizens or a peaceful world. Students are dis-satisfied, teachers are discouraged, and the public is nothappy with the results. Hundreds of published reports overthe past centurydozens in the last few yearshave iden-tified the failures of education but have not provided themeans to assure its success. Clearly, if the knowledge avail-able in this field is responsible for its outcomes, more pro-found knowledge is needed.

Over the past 30 years, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi hassuggested that the solution to the problems in education liesin developing the limitless inner potential of students andteachers. Toward this end Maharishi has revived from thetradition of ancient Vedic Science the knowledge for sys-tematically unfolding the full range of human consciousness.This knowledge is the Maharishi Technology of the UnifiedField, and includes the Transcendental Meditation (TM) andTM-Sidhi program.

Transcendental Meditation is the foundation of Maha-rishis educational programs. This technology has beenfound to prepare students to learn and teachers to teach by

increasing their intelligence, creativity, and vitality. TM hasbeen learned by more than three million people worldwideand implemented in public and private educational institu-tions in over 20 countries. Extensive research and experiencedemonstrate that this program is uniquely effective in en-abling educational systems to realize their highest aims.This article discusses Maharishis contribution to educa-tion in the following sections:

1. Overview of Maharishis Theory of Education;

2. Analysis of the Educational Process: Knower, Known,and Process of Knowing;

3. Realizing the Full Potential of Education through the

Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field: The Maha-rishi Unified Field Based Integrated System of Educa-tion;

4. Validation of the Success of Unified Field Based Edu-cation: Results of Scientific Research and Applications;

5. Meeting Current Educational Challenges;

6. New Principles of Education Based on Knowledge andExperience of the Unified Field.

1. OVERVIEW OF MAHARISHIS

THEORY OF EDUCATION

A few fundamental principles form the basis of Maha-rishis approach to education. These ideas, briefly intro-duced below, are explained more fully in subsequent sections.

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THE MAHARISHI TECHNOLOGY OF THE UNIFIED FIELD IN

EDUCATION: PRINCIPLES, PRACTICE, AND RESEARCH

SUSAN LEVIN DILLBECK AND MICHAEL C. DILLBECK

Maharishi University of Management, Fairfield, Iowa, U.S.A.

Reprinted from Modern Science and Vedic Science, vol. 1, no. 4, 1987, pp. 383431, by permission ofMaharishi University of Management.

This paper presents evidence that the highest goals of education can be achieved by adding the Maharishi Technology of

the Unified Field to the existing curricula of schools and universities. This technology, which is used in the Maharishi Uni-

fied Field Based Integrated System of Education, develops the full value of the three fundamental aspects of education: the

knower, or student; the known, or subject matter; and the processes of knowing, which connect knower to known. The first

section gives a brief overview of the basic principles from Maharishis Vedic Science that are the foundation of this approach

to education. Section 2 analyzes knower, known, and process of knowing. It suggests that the deficiencies in education to-

day result from the knowers limited experience of his or her own infinite potential, and that these deficiencies can be elim-inated by stabilizing in the awareness of student and teacher the experience of the full potential of the mind, transcenden-

tal consciousness. Section 3 describes how the theory and experience of transcendental consciousness, which are provided

by the Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field, are applied in an educational system. Section 4 reviews the scientific re-

search documenting the success of unified field based education. Sections 5 and 6 describe how this approach solves cur-

rent educational problems and is giving rise to new, more powerful principles for guiding educational practice.


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(1) The creative potential of the mind is unlimited, hav-

ing its source in the field of pure consciousness.

Maharishi explains that the thoughts and feelings of theconscious mind are limited expressions of a vast, unboundedreservoir of creative potential at the basis of all thought. Thebasis of thought, he explains, is the field of pure conscious-

ness or pure intelligence, the most fundamental level of ex-istence in man and nature. Only by experiencing pure con-sciousness can individuals use their full mental and physicalpotential in daily life. As long as that basic field of creativeintelligence does not come to the conscious level of themind, life does not become as strong or as powerful as is itscapacity to be (lecture, February 12, 1971).

(2) The field of pure consciousness is the unified field of

natural law.1

Progress in quantum physics during the past twenty

years has led to theories that describe the complete unifi-cation of all particles and forces of nature in a single uni-fied field. Physicists characterize the unified field as self-interacting, self-sufficient, and infinitely dynamic, creatingfrom within itself all the laws of nature governing the uni-verse. These and other characteristics have led Maharishi andprominent unified field theorists to conclude that the unifiedfield being investigated today by modern science is thesame field known by Vedic Science for thousands of yearsas pure consciousness (Hagelin, 1987).

Maharishis Vedic Science describes the unified field as

the unmanifest, unchanging basis of all subjective and ob-jective existence, a field of infinite creativity and intelligencecontaining all the laws of nature in seed form. Maharishidescribes the unified field as the concentrated source of allthe innumerable qualities in the universe that guide life ina progressive and evolutionary direction (Maharishi MaheshYogi, 1986, pp. 2427).

(3) The unified field, or pure consciousness, can be ex-

perienced through the practice of the Maharishi Tech-

nology of the Unified Field, which includes the Tran-

scendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program.

Transcendental Meditation (TM) is an easily learned, nat-ural technique during which the individual experiences theunified field of natural law in his own awareness as tran-

scendental consciousness (Alexander, Boyer, & Alexander,1987). As Maharishi states,

In Transcendental Meditation the conscious mind comes tothe simplest form of human awareness, where conscious-ness is open to itself. This self-referral state of conscious-ness is the unified field of natural law. (Maharishi Inter-

national University, in press, p. 1)

The TM-Sidhi program is an advanced practice of theMaharishi Technology of the Unified Field. This programtrains individuals to think and act while their awareness isestablished at the level of the unified field; it greatly enhancesthe coordination between mind and body and the ability tofulfill ones desires.

(4) As the individual repeatedly experiences transcen-

dental consciousness the functioning of the entire nervous

system becomes more integrated and efficient, leading to

improved mental abilities, health, and social behavior.

Through the regular practice of Transcendental Medita-tion for 1520 minutes twice daily, the infinite creativity andperfect orderliness of the unified field become increasinglylively in daily life. At the same time the TM technique givesdeep rest and releases stresses that impede optimal func-tioning of mind, body, and behavior (Wallace, 1986).

Over 350 scientific research studies conducted in the past17 years confirm that the Maharishi Technology of the Uni-fied Field benefits physiological, psychological, and socio-logical development2 (Maharishi International University,

1984a). (See Section 4 of this paper.)

(5) Continued practice of the Maharishi Technology of

the Unified Field develops higher states of conscious-

ness in which one enjoys a permanent state of fulfillment

while spontaneously benefiting oneself and society.

According to Maharishi, when transcendental con-sciousness is experienced as a continuous reality along withwaking, dreaming, and sleeping, individuals spontaneouslyuse the full potential of the mind, easily accomplishing theirgoals without damaging themselves or the environment.

Maharishi explains that this capacity is inherent in the hu-man nervous system: The structure of life is complete;that completeness has only to be lived. And this is the goalof education, to make the individual be at least what heistotal life (lecture, February 12, 1971).

Maharishi calls the culmination of human developmentunity consciousness: the unbounded field of transcen-dental consciousness is present in every boundaryin everyperception, thought, and feeling. This gives an unbrokenwholeness or unity to life; every object, event, and personis experienced as a blissful expression of oneself.

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1 In the terms of Maharishis Vedic Science the unified field of natural lawis the field of Veda and the Vedic Literature, the fundamental impulses ofnatural law, whose self-interacting dynamics give rise to the innumerablelaws of nature governing the orderly evolution of the universe. Under theguidance of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Professor Tony Nader, M.D., Ph.D.,has discovered that the 40 fundamental aspects of Veda and the Vedic Lit-erature correspond precisely in structure and function to the fundamentalaspects of human physiology; and that the planetary bodies and constel-lations have their counterparts in the structures of the human brain. Dr.Naders conclusion from this discovery is that inherent in every human be-

ing is the total intelligence of natural law, unlimited creative potential. TheMaharishi Technology of the Unified Fieldthe Transcendental Medita-tion and TM-Sidhi programis the procedure to systematically unfold thispotential in daily life. Please refer toHuman Physiology: Expression of Vedaand the Vedic Literature, 2nd ed., by Tony Nader, M.D., Ph.D. (Vlodrop,The Netherlands, Maharishi Vedic University Press, 1995.)

2 By 2000 (13 years after this article was written), more than 600 scien-tific research studies, conducted at over 200 universities and research in-stitutes in 30 countries have validated the benefits of this technology forindividual life and society.


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(6) Practice of this technology in large groups creates an

influence of coherence and positivity in the whole society,

reducing negative trends and improving the quality of life.

Research has repeatedly shown that when the MaharishiTechnology of the Unified Field is practiced in one place bya relatively small group of peopleon the order of the

square root of one percent of a populationcrime, accidents,sickness, violence, and other negative trends in society de-crease, and positive trends, such as economic vitality, in-crease. (See Section 4 of this paper.) This finding, which hasbeen replicated many times worldwide, has practical sig-nificance for educational institutions. Any school or uni-versity of sufficient size can be a source of coherence andharmony for the nation as a whole, and if the group is largeenough, for the world.

Maharishi summarizes the results of using the knowledgeand technology of the unified field in education:

The creative genius of the student blossoms as his aware-ness is identified more and more fully with the unified fieldof all the laws of nature. Instinctively his thoughts are right;he does not make mistakes; his behavior is spontaneouslyevolutionary. He grows in ideal citizenshipthe ability tofulfill his own interests and promote the interests of soci-ety simultaneously. The natural simplicity of his life radiatesthe dignity of higher states of consciousness. (MaharishiInternational University, 1984b, p. 34)

2. ANALYSIS OF THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS:

KNOWER, KNOWN AND PROCESS OF KNOWING

Maharishi describes education as having three basic

components: the learner, or knower; that which is to belearned, or the known; and the process of knowing or learn-ing, which connects the knower with the known. Theprocesses of knowing include sense perception, thought,intellectual analysis, and intuition (see Figure 1).

This model of knower, known, and knowing is useful for

analyzing the strengths and limitations of educational prac-tice. Educators throughout history have recognized howweakness in any of these three areas creates weakness in theentire process of imparting knowledge. For example, stressin students lives, superficial or incoherent content, teach-ing that fails to stimulate deeper thinking processestheseare signs of weakness in knower, known, and process ofknowing that ultimately preclude the educational systemfrom achieving its goals.

Unfortunately, most educators have not understood theprimary importance of the knower in the interaction of these

three components, nor how to improve all three simultan-eously, nor what to expect when the potential of each is fullyrealized. This section describes the consequences of in-complete development of each of these three aspects of theeducational experience. It also outlines how MaharishisVedic Science fully unfolds and unifies knower, known,and process of knowing, thereby making education most re-warding and complete.

THE KNOWERIn Maharishis analysis, educationalsystems have organized formal schooling without completeknowledge of the creative potential of the individual or how

to develop it. Research suggests that students enteringlevels of cognitive and emotional development largely de-termine their success in school (B. Bloom, 1976). Yet pro-grams for improving these aspects of the students liveshave not been found by research to be consistently suc-cessful. As a result, students who graduate with high moti-vation and intelligence are the same students who entered theschools and universities with these qualities, and generallythose who came without them leave without them (Astin,1977).

Of equal concern is the failure of our institutions to fos-ter in the student the traits and values that uphold the integrityand progress of societyenlightened self-interest, ratio-nality, compassion, justice, breadth of vision (A. Bloom,1987). These more subtle values have long been associatedwith liberal education. Yet no educational system has beenable to consistently produce graduates who embody thehighest qualities of human life. It is evident that without morefundamental knowledge of human potential, society willalways be hindered by what John Goodlad (1984, p. 57) callsthe education gap: the distance between mans most noblevisions of what he might become and present levels of func-tioning.

Maharishi has said that to make these highest ideals a real-ity, education cannot depend solely on teachers, curriculum,and parents. The students themselves must develop their ownenormous untapped potential. When students are not grow-

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FIG. 1. This figure illustrates the levels of the mind and the relationship among knower,process of knowing, and known. The level of awareness of the knower determinesthe corresponding process of knowing, as well as the nature of the knowledgegained. Education traditionally trains the knower to use deeper levels of the mind to

gain more useful and fulfilling knowledge. When the deepest level of the mind, theunified field, is lively in the knowers awareness, all levels of the knower and allprocesses of knowing are integrated and functioning at their full potential. Knowerand known are united on the ground of transcendental consciousness. The result iscomplete knowledge of natural law, and on that basis, thought and action are spon-taneously most effective.

KNOWER PROCESS OF KNOWING KNOWN

TRANSCENDENTAL CONSCIOUSNESS

UNIFIED FIELD OF NATURAL LAW

(Unified State of Knower, Process of Knowing, and Known)

senses

mind

intellect

feeling

perception

thought

analysis and

synthesis

intuition

sensoryknowledge of

concrete objects

knowledge ofrelationships

rational and

abstract knowledge

intuitive knowledgeof natural law


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ing in receptivity, depth, inner discipline, or enthusiasmfor learning, they themselves become frustrated, teachers be-come exhausted, and the whole environment suffers fromlack of creativity, coherence, and progress.

Without this vitality in the schools many teachers enteringthe profession with a high level of commitment and high

standards find it difficult to maintain their initial level of en-ergy. From his extensive study of high schools, which in-cluded 1350 teachers, Goodlad (1984) reports:

The teachers in our sample, on the whole, went into teach-ing because of these inherent professional values. However,they encountered in schools many realities not conduciveto professional growth. . . . Even if the best in pedagogyis practiced for a few years, the demands on teachers aresuch that some will turn to routines that make the leastphysical and emotional demands. (p. 194)

Even in higher education, where students are more mo-

tivated to advance in their chosen specialization, it is rareto find students whose educational experience is contribut-ing to the growth of their own wisdom, happiness, andholistic development:

Most professors are specialists, concerned only with theirown fields, interested in the advancement of those fieldsin their own terms. . . . They have been entirely emanci-pated from the old structure of the university, which at leasthelped to indicate that they [the specializations] are in-complete, only parts of an unexamined and undiscoveredwhole. So the student must navigate among a collection ofcarnival barkers, each trying to lure him into a particularsideshow. This undecided student is an embarassment tomost universities, because he seems to be saying, I am awhole human being. Help me to form myself in my whole-ness and let me develop my real potential, and he is theone to whom they have nothing to say. (A. Bloom, 1987,p. 339)

Face to face with the graduates of our educational sys-tem, the public has come to expect not much more than read-ing, writing, and arithmetic from its schools, and no betterproduct from its universities than a qualified specialist. Inan address at the 1973 annual conference of the AmericanAssociation for Higher Education, Maharishi defined the

problem and offered a solution:It is obvious that education has been facing problems fordecades, for centuries. It has not been satisfactory. . . . Whatis lacking should be obvious to all. If we look into theprocess of gaining knowledge we find there are two sidesto knowledgethe object of knowledge and the subject ofknowledge, the knower. What the present system of edu-cation provides is knowledge of the object; what it missesis knowledge of the subject, knowledge of the knower.

To Maharishi, knowledge of the knower includesmore than being aware of ones thoughts and feelings. Itrefers to the individuals direct subjective experience of

the full range of his own consciousness, from the most ac-tive surface level of thought to the deepest inner silence oftranscendental consciousness, the field of the total potentialof the mind (Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, 1986). (See Figure 1.)

Education until now has offered no procedures to givestudents access to the full range of the mind. Though occa-sionally experienced by exceptional individuals, the deep-est reservoirs of creative intelligence are not lively in the dailyexistence of millions of students in the world. And this lack,from Maharishis perspective, impoverishes life:

When the attention is always kept on the outer sphere oflife and not drawn to the inner, the link between the innerand the outer life is obviously missing, and the harmonybetween the two is lost on the conscious level of appreci-ation. This makes the outer life devoid of the glories of in-ner life, and the worldly life becomes a struggle, full of ig-norance and suffering. The tree becomes dry and dullwhen the connection with the roots is not maintained.(Maharishi Vedic University, 1986, p. 258)

In Maharishis view, lack of access to the deepest, non-changing level of the mind is the source of widespread per-sonal dissatisfaction among students:

The foundation of knowledge is the consciousness of theknower. If the knower is in doubt, if the knower doesntknow himself, then the whole structure of knowledge hasno basis to it. And such baseless knowledge can only benon-fulfilling. (1973)

According to Maharishi, when the expanding under-standing of the outer world does not bring expansion ofpersonal fulfillment and self-knowledge, a continuous thirstdevelops that is never satisfied. There are persistent doubtsand unanswered questions: Where is this going? To what end?These questions arise not only in students. Even highly ed-

ucated people often find that the satisfaction and mastery theygain from their particular areas of expertise are not experi-enced in the rest of their lives.

Maharishi describes transcendental consciousness as thetotal potential of the individuals creativity and intelligence,as a field of unbounded awareness, as the common groundunderlying both knowledge and knower, as the home of allknowledge, and as a field of inner bliss. As the student reg-ularly experiences this field through the practice of Tran-scendental Meditation, the problems of education that arisefrom limited experience of the self disappear. Maharishi(1973) states:

Here is a technique, a clue, to satisfaction, even if one can-not go through the study of all subjects and through that basisbecome proficient in every field of life. If ones consciousmind is open to the field of pure consciousness the homeof all knowledge is structured on the level of ones aware-ness, and on this basis it becomes possible to be at home witheverything. This can be the overall gift of education.

Maharishi explains that experience of the full potentialof the mind in transcendental consciousness not only bringsinner satisfaction but confers mastery in the field of action;thought and action are more powerful and effective. Edu-

cation has always aspired to develop in the individual in-creasing mastery over life. In the words of the educationaltheorist Paul Hirst, education should have the effect offreeing reason from error and illusion and freeing mans con-

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duct from wrong (1974, p. 31). The National Institute ofEducations 1984 report on higher education recognized theneed for education to culture such broad abilities:

. . . no one knows precisely how new technologies will af-fect the skills and knowledge required by our future laborforce. We thus conclude that the best preparation for the

future is not narrow training for a specific job, but ratheran education that will enable students to adapt to a chang-ing world. (p. 43)

From Maharishis perspective, the most effective wayto prepare for a changing world is to develop the spontan-eous ability to think and act correctly in every situation. This,he has explained, naturally occurs when awareness is es-tablished in the transcendental field in which reside . . . thelaws of nature responsible for the whole manifest uni-verse (Maharishi Vedic University, 1985, p. 101). Whenones awareness is open to this fundamental field thenthoughts are always in harmony with the orderly and evo-

lutionary trends of natural law. Ones decisions and ac-tionsin ones discipline or profession, in relationships withothers, in every aspect of lifeare spontaneously right forthe individual and for the environment. In every case theylead to progress. Inherent in the human brain is this capacityto think without error (Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, 1986, pp.32, 9798).

This section has proposed that fulfillment of our high-est educational goalswhether intellectual, moral, or so-cialrequires more complete development of the knower.This is most effectively attained through the experience of

the full potential of the mind, transcendental conscious-ness. How this experience reveals the full value of the ob-

ject of knowledge, the known, is discussed next.

THE KNOWNThe known is the content of the dis-ciplines, the objects of knowing. For centuries, Westernthought has been directed toward investigation of the objectsof knowing. In this approach the investigator views natureas separate from himself. He attempts to minimize the roleof subjectivity in gaining knowledge, because the subjec-tive approach to knowledge has not proved reliable. The ob-

jective approach has been formalized in the concepts and

methods of modern science. Using increasingly refinedtools of inquiry, scientists explore the outer world, bringingto light subtler levels of natures functioning.

Objective knowledge, as embodied in the course contentof curricula, has received the most systematic and sus-tained attention from educators; education today focusesmainly on the known. As schools and universities continueto incorporate the methods and findings of science in theircurricula, society has continued to progress in knowledgeof the outer, objective field of life.

Maharishi points out, however, that exclusive emphasis

on the known in our educational systems without com-mensurate development of the knower has several unfor-tunate consequences: the knowledge students possess willnever be sufficient to make them competent in every area

of their lives; their knowledge can never be wholly reliable,complete, or fulfilling; and individuals can never be sure thattheir knowledge will have only good effects in society.

This section elaborates these points and suggests how theexperience of transcendental consciousness can resolve theproblems arising from limited comprehension of the known.

Educational institutions are dedicated to offering theknowledge students need to become self-sufficient membersof society. But as society becomes more complex and areasof knowledge become increasingly specialized, schoolsteach less of all there is to know.

More and more young people emerge from high schoolready neither for college or for work. This predicament be-comes more acute as the knowledge base continues itsrapid expansion. The number of traditional jobs shrinks, andnew jobs demand greater sophistication and preparation.(The National Commission on Excellence in Education,

1983, p. 12)

Maharishi observes that by teaching only the content ofthe disciplines, we cannot give students what they need tofully prepare them for life. They can learn in one lifetime onlya few of the innumerable laws of naturea few from chem-istry, physics, grammar, or mathematics. This, in Maha-rishis terms, is an education that gives partial knowledge ofnatural law, as contrasted with knowledge of the totality ofnatural law available in the subjective experience of theunified field (Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, 1986, pp. 3133). Asdiscussed in the previous section, it is the repeated experi-

ence of the totality of natural law that develops competencein every sphere of activity. Maharishi (1973) explains thatby offering only partial knowledge of natural law, educationcannot hope to give the students mastery over their lives:

An educated person is expected to be proficient in everyphase of his life and his environment. Yet the time does-nt allow all disciplines and aspects of life to be mastered.And with continued scientific research, knowledge is in-creasing rapidly in every field.

Maharishi offers the solution to this problem of incom-plete knowledge of the laws of nature.

Now Vedic Science offers the knowledge to develop afully integrated individual, whose mind, body, intellect, andbehavior are in perfect accord with all the laws of nature. . . Human awareness has the ability to identify completelywith the total potential of natural law . . . and spontaneouslyexhibit natural law in daily life. Thereby all aspects of lifecome to be always in the direction of evolution. . . . (Maha-rishi Mahesh Yogi, 1986, p. 32)

Maharishi has also pointed out that only when the indi-viduals awareness is established in transcendental con-sciousness is his knowledge completely reliable. Otherwiseperception of the object varies, depending on the fluctuat-

ing awareness of the perceiver. Scientific methodology is de-signed to reduce the effects of the observers variable sub-

jective states on what is observed. But even in the physicalsciences, which have been most successful in applying this

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objective approach, the observer still has been found to in-fluence the object of observation.

Maharishi (1973) explains:

When we consider consciousness, there are different statesof consciousness. We are aware that consciousness changesfrom night to morning to noon to evening. Sometimes

were dull, sometimes asleep, sometimes very wide awakein the morning. Consciousness is a changing value. Andknowledge changes with the changing value of con-sciousness.3 . . . Different states of consciousness have dif-ferent values of knowledge. There has to be a way to havereliable knowledge. Otherwise, as the values of con-sciousness change, knowledge is apt to change. And in thechanging spheres of knowledge one finds inconsistency,chaos, confusion. A stable level of consciousness is re-quired, one that will not change, so that the knowledge ofan object could be reliable. A non-variable level of con-sciousness has to be structured in the level of ones aware-ness. There is a level of consciousness that can be made

to be non-variable. That is transcendental consciousness,unbounded awareness.

With repeated experience of transcendental conscious-ness one begins to maintain it as a continual background ofawareness throughout the changes of waking, dreaming, anddeep sleep. This more integrated and stable style of func-tioning, which is called cosmic consciousness, establishesreliable knowledge of any object on the foundation of thenonchanging consciousness of the knower.

Education that pursues objective knowledge alone hasanother limitation: it cannot deliver complete knowledge of

the object. Maharishi points out that as sophisticated asscientific tools become they will not be able to penetrate tothe deepest laws of nature that structure the object. This isbecause the ultimate reality of what is observed cannot beknown as separate from the observer; both observer and ob-served have their basis in the unified field of natural law. Itis a fundamental precept of Maharishis Vedic Science thatin order to fully know any objectits manifest and un-manifest structure and functionthe knower has to knowthe basis of the object, the unified field, experienced as thesimplest form of the knowers own awareness.

In this state, according to Maharishi, one fully knows therose, from the surface appearance of its yellow petals, to theunmanifest laws of nature that give rise to the rose. Fur-thermore, one experiences it not as a phenomenon apart fromoneself, but as expressions of ones Self,4 of the unboundedinfinity of the observer (Maharishi Ayur-Veda, in press).

In a lecture on this topic given in London in 1959,Maharishi said,

All the universities are simply hovering on the surface ofknowledge. If, along with the study of each subject, the ex-

perience of [pure consciousness] is taught to the students,then they will be able to fathom the deeper levels of thatsubject, and the whole range of that subject will be stud-ied properly. When the two extremities of that subjectthegross, expanded value and the transcendental valueareconnected, then the field of that subject will be complete,and the study of that subject will bring something real and

useful in life. (Maharishi Vedic University, 1986, p. 269)

Maharishi further explains that only when one experi-ences the transcendental reality at the basis of the subject ofstudy, can one cognize the most fundamental laws of naturegoverning that subject. These laws are discovered in onesown most settled state of consciousness, when one realizesthe deepest reality of the object to be one with the deepestreality of the Self. With this level of awakening ones mas-tery of natural law extends from one area of study to all ar-eas of life:

Knowledge of the universe cant be gained fully and pre-

cisely unless the underlying unified reality is known. Thevery word universe indicates variety and unity coexist-ing; the huge variety of the universe is sustained in unifiedwholeness. Knowledge of the universe is necessary for any-one to be successful in the universe. You must know the ter-ritory you are in if you want to be master of it. The betteryou know the territory, the better you govern it. (MaharishiMahesh Yogi, lecture, November 8, 1983)

The practical value of gaining knowledge of the territoryis that one gains greater organizing power. For example, ifchildren with a chemistry set try to carry out a chemistry ex-periment with no set procedures and no formula, they have

little organizing power. When students follow an estab-lished procedure they gain greater organizing power. Know-ing chemical laws so thoroughly that they can conduct theirown experiments brings even greater organizing power; butto know how the unified field gives rise to those basic lawsof chemistry yields the greatest organizing power. That is whyMaharishi urges schools and universities to offer the know-ledge of the unified field:

Knowledge has organizing power. The unified field is thefield of all knowledge in seed form. All the laws of natureare absolutely vital on that level. It is the source of all or-ganizing power, the source of all streams of power. Oncehuman awareness is open to the field of all knowledge inthe unified field, then human awareness is lively in all theorganizing power of nature. (Lecture, November 8, 1983)

Maharishi explains that unified field based knowledge ofthe object is not only complete; it is personally fulfilling. Itbrings bliss to the subject, the knower, while conferring thefull range of organizing power available at that finest levelof natural law. For all the above reasons Maharishi (1986)recommends that modern science expand its areas of in-vestigation:

If progress is to continue, a shift is required from the sci-ence of one category to a total science. Vedic Science is thattotal science. It uncovers the knowledge of the total potentialof natural law in its completeness. . . . The very method-ology of gaining knowledge through Vedic Science is such

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3 Maharishi (1972) expresses this fundamental relationship as know-ledge is structured in consciousness.4 Self refers to transcendental consciousness, the universal level of in-dividual existence, as contrasted with self, which refers to the indivualego or personality.


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that as one sees the knowledge of natural law on the in-tellectual level one begins to live that natural law in dailylife in a most spontaneous way. . . . If human intelligenceis to proceed on the more fulfilling levels of knowledgeand existence on earth, now is the time for the completeknowledge of life to be brought to human awareness. (pp.3235)

Disproportionate emphasis on objective knowledge notonly leaves the individual inept in many areas of life, butgives rise to imbalance in the whole collective conscious-ness of the nation or world. Knowledge of the electronic andnuclear levels of natural law, for example, has led to ex-pansion of destructive nuclear power without commensu-rate expansion of the ability to create harmony and lastingpeace. As in the previous cases, Maharishi (1986) locatesthe source of this problem in insufficient knowledge:

If survival is perceived as a problem, it is because mod-ern science has only the objective approach to knowledge

of natural law. If the existence of the world is threatened,it is because the knowledge of natural law is superficial;it is knowledge of only the electronic and nuclear levels.(p. 32)

How is it possible to use the laws of nature only for thegood of the world, never for the destruction of life? The his-tory of this century demonstrates that this competence can-not be gained only by the objective study of laws of nature.According to Maharishi (1986), the ability to spontaneouslygain and apply knowledge in a manner that always nourishesoneself and the whole environment has its basis in know-

ledge and direct experience of the unified field:. . . the conscious mind identifies itself with the self-referralunified field, the fountainhead of all streams of activity innature. As we gain more and more familiarity with that self-referral performance, our thoughts and actions spontan-eously begin to be as orderly and evolutionary as all theactivity of nature. (p. 97)

This quality of action naturally results from one who fath-oms the full range of the object of knowledge, the known.Maharishi (1977, p. 144) states that a single individual pos-sessing this knowledge does a lifetime of good in society;and that many such individuals can reset the trends of his-tory, establishing the conditions for creating and perpetuatingan ideal society.

THE PROCESS OF KNOWINGThe processes ofknowing are the different perceptual and cognitive systemsthe knower uses to assimilate the known. These can bearranged hierarchically, from least to most powerfulprocesses of knowing: sense perception, thought, intellect,and intuition. (See Figure 1.) This section describes thetypes of knowledge that can be gained from these differentprocesses of knowing, considers the limits to which currenteducation develops the knowing process, and describes thefull development of the process of knowing, as found inMaharishis Vedic Science.

Maharishi has pointed out that the subtler the process of

knowing, the greater command over natural law it confers.For example, the senses perceive the sun sinking into the sea.Knowledge of the sun gained from this level of sense per-ception doesnt bring much mastery, since on a cloudy daythe sun cannot even be located. Through thought, a subtlerprocess of knowing, one can know that the earth movesaround the sun whether the eye sees it or not. The discrim-inating intellect understands the equations describing the plan-ets orbits around the sun; finer processes of knowing bringgreater reliability and predictive power, and therefore greatermastery.

Intuition, a process of knowing using a still more refinedlevel of intellect and feeling, can yield insights into theworkings of the cosmos that transcend and unify previousknowledge of individual laws of nature. An example is theinitial intuition of Newton that planetary motion and motiondue to gravity on the surface of the earth are both expressionsof a single force. The intuitive level of knowing is spon-

taneously employed by the greatest minds of every age,and bestows a level of mastery and satisfaction that is rare.Even though these insights still must be validated, intuitionis a powerful source of original and fruitful ideas in all ar-eas of human activity.

As indicated in Figure 1, each of these processes ofgaining knowledge involves particular physiological andpsychological structures of the knower. Jean Piagets workhas shown that cognitive abilities develop in stages from in-fancy to adolescence in the direction of more abstract, morepowerful processes of knowingfrom senses to mind to in-

tellect (Piaget & Inhelder, 1969). The sta-ges of growth incognitive ability also are associated with measurable de-velopments in brain maturation (Epstein, 1974, 1980).

Educators sequence learning experiences to culture moresubtle processes of knowing. In learning mathematics, forexample, the student progresses from manipulating colorfulblocks, to adding and subtracting numbers, to proving the-orems. Yet even the most advanced instructional techniqueshave not been successful in fostering the most subtleprocesses of intellect and intuition in the general populationof students. This is unfortunate because research indicates

that the most creative and innovative people in every areaof life rely on their intuition and fine level of discriminationto guide their thinking (Ghiselin, 1952; Maslow, 1968).

Furthermore, it is rare to find, even among these people,creative inspiration continuously bubbling up; dry spellsare common. One works hard and hopes for the illuminat-ing aha; but it is the common experience of great scien-tists and artists that their deepest insights into natural law andtheir most sublime artistic expressions occur unexpectedlyand briefly (Ghiselin, 1952).

These moments of great awakening have been in the past

regarded as fortuitous accidents because the knowledge ofhow to produce or sustain them has not been available. Theeducational challenge, therefore, is to develop in the studentsthat refinement of the nervous system that can permanently

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sustain the most refined and powerful processes of know-ing.

Maharishi (1986) has said that it is possible to establishthe awareness of the individual permanently in its mostcreative state, in the completely self-referral state of pure con-sciousness:

The self-referral state of pure consciousness, while re-maining uninvolved with the creative process in nature, isan infinitely dynamic, inexhaustible source of energy andcreativity. On that basis the whole creation goes on per-petually in its infinite variety, multiplying itself all the time.. . . Human awareness can identify itself with this most ba-sic, self-referral value of consciousness in the state of . .. transcendental consciousness. (pp. 3031)

Maharishi further explains that when the awareness ispermanently identified with the unified field, the use ofany process of knowingsenses, mind, intellect, intu-

itionenlivens the unified field, bringing bliss and great sat-isfaction to learning.

The process of knowing is never satisfied unless everythingis known. . . . When [pure consciousness] is enlivened inthe student, in the process of gaining specific knowledge,what is getting enlivened is infinity, self-sufficiency, un-bounded affluence, fulfillment. (Lecture, November 8,1983)

According to Vedic Science, experience of the unifiedbasis of knowing also develops the full potential of eachprocess of knowing; each gains in efficiency and power. Us-ing the full potential of the senses as an example, Maharishihas said that when a person in unity consciousness hearssomeone speak, he will experience the total range of themeaning of the word, experiencing it as a fluctuation fromthe field of bliss consciousness. The great advantage of thisrange of perceiving is that it saves the energy of the listener;he gains life and energy from waves of bliss. When we canhear the full value of the word, it nourishes our heart andsoul (lecture, July 25, 1977).

Maharishi has described a classroom when students andteachers are both processing information at this level of unity:

The impulse of thought of the professor and the impulseof thought of the student are no longer strangers. Whatevermeaning is contained in what the professor says is re-ceived without distortion by the student, because the basisof the professors thought, that abstract value of pure in-telligence [transcendental consciousness], is lively in thestudents awareness. Knowledge becomes a delightful ex-change of friendly waves of life. (lecture, February 12,1971)

Maharishis Vedic Science describes extremely refinedprocesses of knowing that are not fully available until theindividual experiences the total range of the mind. Ritambhara pragya is defined by Maharishi as a level of infalli-ble intuition, a level of knowing that realizes only truth(lecture, May 1, 1975).

This quality of knowing occurs spontaneously when

awareness is able to operate at the junction point betweentranscendental consciousness and its expression into thoughts.(See Figure 1.) Because transcendental consciousness isthe seat of all the laws of naturein Maharishis words, themain switchboard of natural lawthe faintest desire toknow something sets in motion the specific laws of natureto bring fulfillment to that desire. Maharishi (1972) ex-plains the practical advantage of this subtle process of know-ing for effective action:

[Transcendental consciousness] supports a thought with allthe necessities that will enable the thought from its sprout-ing to accomplish its purpose. . . . [It provides] the com-puting that makes any particular thought most life-sup-porting for the thinker and for the environment. . . . Thesprouting of the thought will include the values which arenecessary for its greatest productivity and maximum use-fulness. (pp. 2417, 2418)

According to Maharishi, when this process of knowing

is a permanent feature of life, the individual becomes afountainhead of creativity. Every thought is useful. Newsolutions and insights, creative responses to changing cir-cumstances, and efficient conversion of thought to action arethe reality of daily life. No longer does one wait and hopefor flashes of clarity; the field of inner awareness is perma-nently lit.

In Maharishis exposition of Vedic Science, a process ofknowing even more powerful than ritam bhara pragya isavailable when individual awareness is permanently estab-lished in transcendental consciousnesswhen the unified

field of natural law permeates every perception. Then the uni-fied field is its own process of knowing; knower, known,and process of knowing are unified in one holistic structurewithin transcendental consciousness. Maharishi (1986) de-scribes this phenomenon, when transcendental consciousnessis fully awake within itself:

The functioning of transcendental pure consciousness is thefunctioning of natural law in its most settled state. The con-scious human mind, identifying itself with this level of na-tures functioning, gains the ability to perform in the stylewith which nature performs its activity at its most funda-mental level. Completely identified in transcendental con-

sciousness with the full potential of natural law, the humanmind is a field of all possibilities. (p. 31)

In this state, on the background of transcendental con-sciousness, the most subtle workings of nature are spon-taneously cognized. In Maharishis analogy, one is aware ofthe sap of the flower together with the transformations of thesap into red petal and green leaf. This is the culmination ofthe knowing process: awakening to the totality of natural lawand its organizing power within the wholeness of ones ownawareness:

The knowing process finds its fulfillment when the object

of knowing is known to the subject so thoroughly that theobject becomes the subject, the subject becomes the object.This is the climax of knowingto know the object as in-timately as one knows ones self. (Maharishi Mahesh Yogi,lecture, February 2, 1982)

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The preceding analysis of the three-fold nature of the ed-ucational process suggests that more effective education re-quires more profound development of human potential.Maharishis Vedic Science offers the knowledge and tech-nology to develop this vast potential, and thereby signifi-cantly raise the quality of knowledge, action, achievement,

and fulfillment in education and in society as a whole. Cen-tral to this development is a systematic method for stu-dents and teachers to experience the most silent and dynamiclevel of their own existence, pure consciousness.

Practical experience and theoretical knowledge of pure con-sciousness will eliminate the great lack in education. Thenboth sides of knowing, the knower and the object, will bein the light of knowledge. When both are open to onesawareness education will be complete and life will becomplete. (Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, 1973)

3. REALIZING THE FULL POTENTIALOF

EDUCATION THROUGH THE MAHARISHITECHNOLOGY OF THE UNIFIED FIELD:

THE MAHARISHI UNIFIED FIELD BASED

INTEGRATED SYSTEM OF EDUCATION

The Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programis used in unified field based education to enliven and sta-bilize transcendental consciousness in the awareness ofstudents and teachers. Extensive research and educationalexperience have established the value of this program forhuman development. (See Section 4.) These techniques aresimple, universally applicable procedures for improving

the functioning of the human nervous system. As a result ofcontinued practice, individuals think and behave with in-creasing competence, success, and benefit to others.

This section describes Maharishis unified field based ed-ucation as it is used in higher education and secondary andelementary levels. Unified field based education has threefeatures: the standard academic curriculum, the Transcen-dental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program, and the Scienceof Creative Intelligence, which integrates the different fieldsof study and includes specific teaching methods and ma-terials to help the students relate the objective knowledge

they are gaining to the expansion of their own creative in-telligence and inner happiness.

Maharishi has said that the discovery of the unifiedfield and the subjective technology for experiencing it pro-vide education with a profound new approach that enablesstudents to make use of the most unified and powerfullevels of natural law. He states:

Education is always progressive. When any new discov-ery about natures functioning is gained through modernscience it is immediately incorporated in education. Thishas been the basis of progress in every generation. Now

that the self-interaction of the unified field has been dis-covered as the most fundamental activity in nature, it is timefor a new basis to education. . . . It is time for science-basededucation to become unified field based education. (Amer-ican Association for Ideal Education, 1985, p. 6)

THE MAHARISHI TECHNOLOGY OF THE UNI-FIED FIELD AS THE FOUNDATION OF UNIFIED FIELDBASED EDUCATIONStudents learn the TranscendentalMeditation program from the age of 10; until then theylearn a technique suited to younger children. TM is practicedfor a few minutes at the beginning and end of the academicday, ideally in the classroom. Experience in over one hun-dred countries with people from all cultural backgrounds hasshown that the TM technique is practical for any educationalsystem. It does not require changing the schools estab-lished curriculum. It is easily learned in a few hours and issimple and effortless to practice. The positive effects of thetechnique, as demonstrated by research, begin immediatelyand are cumulative (Maharishi International University,1984a). TM is taught in a systematic, standardized way byprofessional Transcendental Meditation teachers of whichthere are more than 20,000 worldwide.

The practice of Transcendental Meditation requires nochange in belief or lifestyle and is effective irrespective ofeducational background, level of intelligence, or belief in itsreported benefits. It is not a religion; it is not a form ofprayer; it involves no contemplation of particular ideas, orconcentration. It is a universal, scientific approach to humandevelopment whose effects result from the body becomingdeeply rested and the mind experiencing more of its creativepotential.

The TM program has been introduced into public and pri-vate schools in many countries, including institutions withreligious affiliations. The St. Pauls School in Covington,

Louisiana, is an example. Its principal and headmaster,Brother Jeffrey L. Calligan, F.S.C., writes:

In my life and the lives of the students and teachers whopractice Transcendental Meditation in our school, weve no-ticed greater composure and peacefulness and more abil-ity to handle times of stress and difficulty. The students aremore in touch with themselves, their world, and one another.TM is a marvelous aid to balanced growth, and fits into anycultural or religious tradition. (American Association forIdeal Education, 1986, p. 7)

The TM-Sidhi program, the advanced practice of the

Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field, enhances the ef-fects of Transcendental Meditation by developing the indi-viduals ability to perceive, think, feel, and act while main-taining transcendental consciousness. Maharishi describesthe TM-Sidhi program:

Through Transcendental Meditation we experience tran-scendental consciousness, the perfectly balanced statewhere intelligence is open to itself. Through the TM-Sidhiprogram, we learn to operate in that state of absolutely bal-anced intelligence, which in its nature is immortal, eternalbliss, satisfaction, and fulfillment. It is a field of the totalpotential of natural law from where any desire is completely

supported by nature. . . . As the practice advances, that per-fectly balanced state of pure awareness becomes more in-fused in daily life. (Maharishi Ayur-Veda, in press)

Maharishi comments on how practice of the Transcen-

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10

HEAD OF STATE

MINISTRIES OF GOVERNMENT

MATHEMATICS SERVING ALL AREAS OF LIFE ADMINISTERED BY GOVERNMENT

MATHEMATICS

LEVEL

1

TOPOLOGYANALYSISALGEBRA

NUMERICAL ANALYSISDIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS &OPERATOR THEORY

REAL& COMPLEX ANALYSIS HARMONIC ANALYSISCOMBINATORICS NUMBER THEORY

ABSTRACT ALGEBRAIC THEORIES

MONOIDS, SEMIGROUPS, GROUPS, RINGS, LATTICES, FIELDS,MODULES, VECTOR SPACES, ASSOCIATIVE ALGEBRAS,

COMMUTATIVE ALGEBRAS, LIE ALGEBRAS, ETC.

CATEGORY THEORY ALGEBRAIC GEOMETRY

NATURAL SCIENCES

MATHEMATICAL PHYSICS

APPLIED COMPUTING

THEORETICALCOMPUTER SCIENCE

ENGINEERINGAND TECHNOLOGY

COMMUNICATION ANDCONTROL THEORY

SOCIAL SCIENCES

STATISTICS

BUSINESS AND FINANCE

OPERATIONS RESEARCH

ELEMENTS OF MATHEMATICS

AXIOMATIC SET THEORY

MEMBERSHIPRELATION

SET ELEMENT

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS METHODOLOGY FUNDAMENTAL STRUCTURES

ALGEBRAICSTRUCTURES

CLASSICAL GROUPSAND LIE ALGEBRAS

PERMUTATION GROUPS& SYMMETRY GROUPS

MATRIX ALGEBRAS

QUATERNIONS ANDOCTONIONS

p-ADIC NUMBERS

ALGEBRAIC NUMBERFIELDS

FINITEFIELDS

POLYNOMIALRINGS

MODULAR SYSTEMS

ANALYTICSTRUCTURES

FUNCTION &DISTRIBUTION SPACES

NUMBER-THEORETIC

AND COMBINATORIALFUNCTIONS

CLASSICAL

DIFFERENTIALOPERATORS

& SPECIALFUNCTIONS

ELEMENTARY

TRANSCENDENTALFUNCTIONS

TOPOLOGICALSTRUCTURES

ALGEBRAICVARIETIES

FIBER BUNDLES

MANIFOLDS

HYPERBOLIC &ELLIPTIC SPACES

EUCLIDEAN

n-SPACE

FINITE GEOMETRIES& TOPOLOGIES

MATHEMATICAL LOGIC

INTUITIONISTIC LOGIC ANDCONSTRUCTIVE MATHEMATICS

LAMBDACALCULUS

CATEGORICALLOGIC

TOPOSTHEORY

NON-WELL-FOUNDED SETS

PROOF

THEORY

RECURSIVEFUNCTION

THEORY

MODEL

THEORY

POWERSET

SUBSET UNION INTER-SECTION

COMPLE-MENT

RELATIONORDEREDPAIR

PRODUCT PARTITIONFUNCTION

SET-THEORETIC CONCEPTS

METRICS

LOCALANDGLOBAL

STRUCTURES

TOPOLOGIES

TOPOLOGICALCONCEPTS

ALGEBRAICCONCEPTS

REPRESENTATIONS

ORDERINGS &EQUIVALENCE

RELATIONS

OPERATIONS

ANALYTICCONCEPTS

INTEGRATION

LIMITS

DIFFERENTIATION

METHODS

INTUITION

PROOF TECHNIQUES

GENERALIZATION AND ABSTRACTION

EXAMPLES AND COUNTEREXAMPLES

AXIOMATIZATION

DEFINITIONS

NUMBERS

CARDINALNUMBERS

ORDINALNUMBERS

NATURALNUMBERS

REALNUMBERS

INTEGERSRATIONALNUMBERS

COMPLEXNUMBERS

MORPHISMS SUBSTRUCTURES& QUOTIENTS

UNIVERSALCONSTRUCTIONS FUNCTORS

CATEGORICAL CONCEPTS

UNIVERSE OF SETS

NULLSET

LOGIC

AXIOMS THEOREMS

DYNAMICAL SYSTEMS

GLOBAL ANALYSISPROBABILITYTHEORY&STOCHASTIC PROCESSES

DIFFERENTIALGEOMETRY

PROJECTIVE GEOMETRY

EUCLIDEAN & NON-

EUCLIDEAN GEOMETRY

COMPUTATIONALGEOM ETRY

DISCRETE GEOMETRY

ALGEBRAIC TOPOLOGY

DIFFERENTIALTOPOLOGY

POINT SET TOPOLOGY

PROJECTIVEGEOMETRY

THEORIES

APPLICATIONS

UNIFIEDFIELD

of all t he Laws of Nature

UNIFIEDFIELD

of all the Laws of Nature

UNIFIEDFIELD


UNIFIEDFIELD


Pure Intell igence

LEVEL

3

LEVEL

2

LEVEL

4

LEVEL

5


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FIG. 2. These charts are usedas educational tools in insti-tutions that offer the unifiedfield based approach to edu-cation. The faculty createlarge Unified Field Charts forevery main area of study,mapping the field from itsunified foundation and ab-stract fundamental principlesto its applied areas that servesociety. The teacher uses thechart for about a half-minuteat the end of the lesson, con-

necting the lesson of the dayto the whole area of study,and to the source of all disci-plines, the unified field ofnatural law, which studentsexperience daily in their prac-tice of the TranscendentalMeditation technique. Thestudents are thus remindedthat the unified basis of sub-jective and objective know-ledge is their own self-refer-ral consciousness.

The latest version of the Uni-fied Field Chart (1999) showsmore details of the structureof the unified field, illustratedfrom the knowledge con-tained in both modern sci-ence and Maharishis VedicScience. The structure anddynamics of the unified fieldof natural law are shown to bethe 40 fundamental aspectsof intelligence expressed asVeda and the Vedic Litera-ture, This more detailed pre-sentation of the unified field,the field of TranscendentalConsciousness, inspires stu-dents to realize Total Know-ledge in their own awareness,and rise to mastery of Natural

Law.

11

NAT

IONAL

LAW

HAS

ITS

B

ASIS

IN

NATURAL

LAW

NAT

IONAL

LAW

HAS

ITS

B

ASIS

IN

NATURAL

LAW

NAT

IONAL

LAW

HAS

ITS

B

ASIS

IN

NATURAL

LAW

NAT

IONAL

LAW

HAS

ITS

B

ASIS

IN

NATURAL

LAW

NAT

IONAL

LAW

HAS

ITS

B

ASIS

IN

NATURAL

LAW

NATURAL

LAW

NATURAL

LAW

NATURAL

LAW

MAHARISHI TECHNOLOGY

OF THE UNIFIED FIELD

GOVERNMENTOF NATUREGOVERNSTHROUGH




NAT

IONAL

LAW

HAS

ITS

B

ASIS

IN

NATURAL

LAW

ALLOWS THE CONSCIOUS

NATURAL

LAW

NATIONAL GOVERNMENTGOVERNS THROUGH

NATIONALLAW

TRANSCENDENTAL CONSCIOUSNESS

PURE INTELLIGENCE

UNIFIEDFIELD

UNIFIEDFIELD

UNIFIEDFIELD

UNIFIEDFIELD

Through the Transcendental

M e di ta t io n pr o g r a m the

c o ns c io us mind , g a in ingTranscendental Consciousness,

identifies itself with the Unified

Field.

MIND TO IDENTIFY

ITSELF WITH THEUNIFIED FIELD OF

ALL THE LAWS OFNATURE, THE TOTAL

POTENTIAL OF

NATURAL LAW,

IN TRANSCENDENTAL

CONSCIOUSNESS.

The TM-Sidhi program enlivensthe Unified Field in the consciousmind and makes the total

potential of Natural Law and itsinfinite organizing power availa-ble in practical life.

TheTRANSCENDENTAL

THE TRANSCENDENTALMEDITATION PROGRAM

MEDITATION Program


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dental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program helps achieve afundamental goal of education:

The ideal of education is to give the fruit of all knowledgeto every student while he is still growing in specific know-ledge of the different disciplines. The fruit of all knowledgeis the ability to accomplish anything and to spontaneouslylive life free from mistakes. This results naturally from thedevelopment of full creative potential and full support ofnature brought about by the identification of the consciousmind with the unified field. (World Parliament of the Ageof Enlightenment, 1984, p. 4)

The practice of the TM and TM-Sidhi program benefitsthe society as well. Many studies in the past 15 years haveshown that sufficiently large groups practicing this pro-gram together in one place produce measurable positivechanges in the city, state, nation, and world (Orme-Johnson& Dillbeck, 1987a). The implications for society of a largeschool or university participating in the group practice of the

Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field are discussed inSection 4 of this paper, together with other education-relatedresearch findings.

TEACHING TECHNIQUES IN UNIFIED FIELDBASED EDUCATION THAT CONNECT THE KNOWERWITH THE WHOLENESS OF KNOWLEDGEUnifiedfield based education also includes a number of instructionalmaterials and techniques. These have been designed byMaharishi and the faculty of Maharishi International Uni-versity to help students relate the specific laws of nature theyare studying in the different disciplines to the deepest, most

universal level of natural law, which they experience astheir own Self during the practice of TM. Maharishi (1986,pp. 164165) has noted that with these teaching techniqueslearning becomes more personally satisfying; every point ofknowledge is integrated with the wholeness of life. Thestudents mind does not get absorbed in the limited detailsof any discipline to the extent of forgetting his own un-bounded possibilities.

Unified Field Chart: The Unified Field Chart is themost comprehensive of the classroom charts that connect theparts of knowledge with the wholeness of the Self. (See Fig-ure 2previous pages.) This wall chart is divided verticallyinto two main sections. The left side represents the objec-tive approach to knowledge through the modern sciences andother disciplines; the right side represents the subjective ap-proach to knowledge through Vedic Science.

The left side of the chart diagrams the whole disciplinebeing studied, from its most abstract foundational areas (atthe bottom) to its most applied areas that serve society (atthe top), and depicts how the whole discipline emergesfrom a unified basis of natural law. Each level gives rise tothe next more expressed and diversified level according toan ordering principle. For example, the Unified Field Chart

for physiology is organized hierarchically: DNAgives riseto RNA, proteins, cells, tissues, and organs. The chart forphysics is organized according to time and distance scales:the force and matter fields at the Planck scale of 10 33 cm

give rise to elementary particles and physical structures atmicroscopic and macroscopic scales. All the important prin-ciples or areas of the discipline can thus be located in the con-text of the whole structure of the discipline.

On the right side of the chart is a cone-shaped diagramrepresenting the experience of the Transcendental Medita-

tion and TM-Sidhi program, during which the mind settlesdown from its more excited levels to the least excited stateof awareness, transcendental consciousness. This subjectiveapproach to knowledge gives the direct experience of the uni-fied field. Both sides of the chart are visually unified by theband across the bottom of the whole chart, illustrating thatthe unified field of natural law is the common source of bothapproaches to knowledge.

The teacher uses the Unified Field Chart at the beginningof each course, and briefly during each class to locate the les-son of the day with reference to the whole discipline and the

source of the discipline, the unified field, which the studentsexperience twice daily in their practice of the Maharishi Tech-nology of the Unified Field.

Faculty who work with Unified Field Charts in sec-ondary and university classrooms have found them highlyeffective. The construction of these charts challenges themto think deeply about their fields; many teachers create a Uni-fied Field Chart for each course they teach. For the students,the chart puts the days discussion in the larger context of thewhole discipline. It connects them to the holistic basis of thesubject they are studying and reminds them of their personal,

directly experienced connection with the knowledge. Maha-rishi comments on the value of this chart:

Unless knowledge is learned with reference to the universeand to oneself, it will leave the mind in doubt. What is theconnection of this to everything else? And to me? Unlessthis is made clear the thirst for knowledge will never be sat-isfied. (Lecture, August 1, 1986)

When combined with the practice of the Maharishi Tech-nology of the Unified Field, Unified Field Charts developin the student a more intimate relationship with the disciplinesand a greater interest in understanding them more deeply. Thisapproach helps solve two persistent problems in education:students feeling dissociated from what they are studying andperceiving knowledge as fragmented (American Associationfor Ideal Education, 1985). These problems have been rec-ognized for at least fifty years:

Knowledge which is mainly second-hand, other mensknowledge, tends to become merely verbal. It is no ob-jection to information that is clothed in words; communi-cation necessarily takes place through words. But to the de-gree in which what is communicated cannot be organizedinto the existing experience of the learner, it becomes merewords: that is, pure sense-stimuli, lacking in meaning. . .. [Ones] acquisition of knowledge depends upon his re-

sponse to what is communicated. (Dewey, 1916/1966, pp.187188)

Students bound from course to course, year to year, lecturehall to lecture hall, term paper to term paper, quiz to quiz,

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participating in an unending series of discrete educationalevents. They are learning, for sure. . . . Education, indepth, however, is an experience of learning of a differentorder. (Association of American Colleges, 1985, pp. 2324)

Unified Field Charts help solve these problems by con-necting the knowledge presented to the students with the

most profound, intimate, and comprehensive level of theirown experience, pure consciousness. By understanding andexperiencing the unified basis of all disciplines as nothingother than their own Self, the process of being educated sat-isfies both mind and heart. The Unified Field Chart is oneof Maharishis great contributions to pedagogy.

OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNIQUES FORCONNECTING THE SUBJECT OF STUDYWITH THESELFMaharishis emphasis on connecting the parts ofknowledge with the wholeness of knowledge has led tothe development of several other instructional techniques for

unified field based education.

Main point chart: This is a wall chart of the three or fourmain ideas of the lecture from the discipline. To the right ofeach point is a corresponding point that gives a more uni-versal perspective on that idea (see example below). Thisbroader perspective, which relates the lecture topic more di-rectly to the students growth of consciousness, is providedby Maharishis Science of Creative Intelligence (SCI). SCIis the science of consciousness. It links objective and sub-

jective approaches to knowledgemodern science withVedic Science, through the use of principles that promote

orderly change both in nature and in human conscious-ness. These principles are found common to all areas of studyand to human life.

By identifying the main concepts of the lecture, mainpoint charts help students connect specific bits of informa-tion to the comprehensive ideas within the field; and then,through the SCI perspectives, students connect these ideaswith the dynamics of their own consciousness. See belowfor an example of a complementary pair of main points froma lecture on the Central Limit Theorem in an introductorycourse on statistics at Maharishi International University.

Unity chart: This chart, which is used at the conclusionof each lecture, is designed to summarize the main idea ofthe lesson from four different perspectives, each reflectinggreater subtlety and power.

The first two points present the perspective of the dis-cipline; the second two, the perspective of the Science of Cre-ative Intelligence (see example following). The first of thefour perspectives offers the common textbook under-standing of the main theme of the lesson; the second repre-sents a more subtle and profound perspective available in the

discipline. The third level relates the theme to the experienceof transcendental consciousness. The final level views thetheme from the perspective of the highest state of human con-sciousness, unity consciousness, when all activity is perceivedas the dynamics of ones own consciousnesswholenessmoving within itself. The arrow drawn up from the fourthlevel to the first level reminds the student that when unityconsciousness is a living reality every part of life, includingthe discipline, is experienced as an expression of ones Self.

Here is an example of a concluding unity chart from anopening lecture entitled Scientific Knowledge and the Sci-entific Enterprise, part of an MIU course on Philosophy ofScience:

13

Statistics

The Central Limit Theorem is the basis of the practical suc-cess of many areas of statistical inference. It states that whenmany equal-sized random samples are drawn from an infinitepopulation, the distribution of the sum or mean of each sam-

ple will always form a normal distribution. This theorem maybe taken as an explanation of why many phenomena in natureare normally distributed: they are the results of the sum of manyindependent factors.

SCI

The orderliness of nature is the basis of statistical infer-ence. This orderliness allows us to infer natures behavior. Ata deeper level, the ability to infer from the orderliness of na-ture is based on the common functioning of orderliness, or in-

telligence, in nature and in man. At the deepest level, thecommon basis of intelligence in man and nature is the unifiedfield of natural law, identified by SCI as the field of pure con-sciousness.

Connecting the Parts of Knowledge

with the Wholeness of Knowledge:

Gaining Scientific Knowledge

1. The scientist establishes objective facts andmakes reliable predictions.

2. In the interplay of theory and observation,the scientist uncovers deeper and deeper lawsof nature, without comprehending the totalrange of their application.

3. Transcendental consciousness is the foun-tainhead of natural law, the unified field of allthe laws of nature.

4. Wholeness moving within itself: Established inthe unbounded continuum of pure con-sciousness, the scientist perceives each law ofnature he discovers to be an impulse of hisown Self, and spontaneously contributes to thebalanced progress of civilization.

These charts have been used at MIU for almost 10 years.

Students appreciate leaving the classroom with the impactof wholeness, rather than the impact of parts. Like the othercharts described, the unity chart helps make the lesson self-referral: students relate the most important principles of thediscipline to the unfoldment of their own creative potential.


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THE SCIENCE OF CREATIVE INTELLIGENCECURRICULUM FOR ELEMENTARY AND SEC-ONDARY EDUCATIONElementary and secondary stu-dents participating in unified field based education take a Sci-ence of Creative Intelligence (SCI) course designed byMaharishi and other educators for grades 1 through 12. Inaddition to their usual academic classes students have classesin SCI three to five times per week for about 20 minutes. Thelaboratory component of this course is the twice- dailypractice of Transcendental Meditation.

The stated goal of the SCI curriculum is to provide un-derstanding and experience of creative intelligence andthereby develop the physiology and psychology of every stu-dent for full expression of creative intelligence in practicallife. . . . [The curriculum] unfolds in a sequence of themesthat expand the students awareness to encompass the en-tire range of life (Maharishi International University, 1974,p. 10). This deepened understanding of oneself and nature

is accomplished in the SCI class by focusing the students onprinciples and qualities of creative intelligence (explainedin the main points description above) stated in simple lan-guage, appropriate to the students grade level.

In the course of the whole SCI curriculum the studentslocate these universal principles and qualities in their ownlives, in the community, in nature, in myths, in the lives ofgreat men and women, in the different subjects of study, andin their practice of the Maharishi Technology of the UnifiedField. The materials, language, and learning activities of theSCI curriculum are suited to each age group. The SCI prin-

ciples for younger elementary students, for example, are con-veyed through stories, songs, and plays.

A lesson for tenth graders on the stable and adaptablequalities of creative intelligence, for example, might ask stu-dents to analyze these two complementary qualities asfound in the countrys political system: in the United Statesthe Constitution provides the stable principles on the basisof which the three major branches of government adapttothe changing needs and values of the American people.

The coexistence of stability and adaptability could alsobe found in the students relationships with others: on theground of stable friendships, they more easily accommodateto each others needs and differences. These complementaryqualities can be found in great tennis players, whose stablerepertoire of skills allows them to adapt to any unpre-dictable shot; or in the way that plants adapt to changing en-vironmental conditions on the basis of stable biologicalstructures. Finally, the class would typically discuss howthese qualities are more fully expressed in the studentsown lives as they rise to higher states of consciousnessthrough their practice of the Maharishi Technology of theUnified Field: as they become stabilized in the nonchang-ing field of pure consciousness, they more easily adapt tothe changing and unexpected circumstances of everyday life.

Here are some further examples of SCI principles andqualities taught at different grade levels:

Grades 13: The nature of life is to grow; Order is presenteverywhere; Life is found in layers.

Grades 79: Outer depends on inner; Thought leads to ac-tion, action leads to achievement, achievement leads to ful-fillment; Harmony exists in diversity; Rest and activity arethe steps of progress.

Grade 12: Introduction to 24 academic disciplines inter-connected and made relevant to the students experiencethrough the application of SCI.

The Science of Creative Intelligence curriculum thusprovides a framework of natural laws that help students in-terrelate the subjects they study and connect them to their ownlives. Teachers in schools where SCI is taught comment onthe studentsenthusiasm for these concepts and facility in us-ing them both in and out of the classroom.

The unified field based methods and curriculum outlined

above are quite simple; yet experience has shown that theireffect on both student and teacher is profound. Maharishisummarizes how this approach to education, which connectsthe part to the whole and the whole to the students Self, hasseveral advantages that contribute to academic success andpersonal satisfaction:

1. The students get the total picture of knowledge. Spon-taneously they maintain broad awareness when they are fo-cusing sharply in one area. This growth of the ability tomaintain the whole while attending to the part cultures idealcitizenship, the ability to fulfill individual interests with-out losing sight of the interest of the whole society.

2. When every wave of knowledge gained is connected withthe Self, that knowledge becomes a living reality of dailylife. It develops ones feeling of being familiar and intim-ate with everything and everyone, so that no sphere oflife remains strange to the students. This growth of self-con-fidence and self-sufficiency creates a balanced and inte-grated personality.

3. Every discipline becomes a means to develop the cre-ative potential of the conscious mind, to enliven the Self.Whatever the students study, in the process of gainingspecific knowledge of different subjects, they grow in theawareness that the center of all knowledge is present within

themselves. This means that if they study 30 different dis-ciplines, then 30 times the Self is connected with the dis-cipline, and with this, all the knowledge remains intimatelyconnected with the knower.

4. Since the Self is the unified field of all the laws of na-ture, the intellect becomes more and more surcharged withthe totality of knowledge. The conscious mind becomesfully alert and lively in creative intelligence, more famil-iar with the total potential of natural law. The result is thatthe students become capable of meeting successfully withany situation. Their thoughts will always be evolutionaryand positive and they will not make mistakes. They will notpollute the environment. Their behavior will be ideal. (Per-sonal communication, July 26, 1983)

THE ENDPOINT OF EDUCATIONAL DEVELOP-MENT: UNITY CONSCIOUSNESSThe ultimate goalof Maharishis integrated approach to education is to develop

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students and teachers to the highest level of consciousness,to full enlightenment, and through this process of develop-ment to create an ideal society. Maharishi (1977) describesenlightenment as the total awakening of human conscious-ness, a psychophysiological state of perfect mind-body in-tegration and balance. The depth and power of knowledgeconferred by this state of consciousness raise the individ-ual to heights of mastery and bliss that have rarely beenknown in modern times. In the state of enlightenment theknower, known, and process of knowing are experienced asone unified wholenessas pure knowledge. In the state ofpure knowledge the knower perceives the transcendentalreality of the known and experiences it as his own con-sciousness. One sees the rose; but at that level of awaken-ing what dominates perception is not the difference be-tween the rose and the viewer, but the sameness at the basisof the rose and the viewer (Maharishi Ayur-Veda, in press).Established in that fully awakened state of unity, one cog-

nizes all the diverse laws of naturethose giving rise to therose, to the knower, to the whole universeas the dynam-ics of ones own consciousness. Maharishi comments on thevalue of such holistic awareness:

Here, in this state of transcendental consciousness, intel-ligence finds the source of all divergence. . . . If we wantto control at will all the laws of nature engaged in the cre-ative process, we had better sit at that level where the to-tal potential of natural law is available. From there, withinourselves, we command all the diverging values of naturallaw. Once we have command over the laws of nature,everything will go well in the direction of evolution.(Maharishi Ayur-Veda, in press)

How can we know that such a level of mastery and im-mense organizing power will always be directed towardsgood, towards progress? Maharishi explains that within theunified field all the laws of nature are unfolding in perfectsequence, forming the basis for the orderly display of nat-ural law in the infinite variety of the universe. When the in-dividuals awareness is identified with these dynamics of theunified field ones thought and action will always support life,spontaneously expressing the creativity and orderliness of nat-ural law (Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, 1986, p. 32).

Maharishi (1977) also describes the characteristics of asociety in which the people are rising to higher states of con-sciousness. He emphasizes that this description is not merelya projection of hope or good will, but is based on ancientVedic knowledge, observed results, and scientific validation:

Society . . . will be characterized by the development ofself-sufficiency leading to invincibility in a natural stateof balance and orderliness. In this state, all activity will besupported by the laws of nature. Trends of life in societywill spontaneously remain positive, progressive, and ful-filling. Negative tendencies of sickness, crime, and otherweakening habits will naturally fall off, saving national en-

ergy and resources to structure the steps of fulfillingprogress. Accidents, conflicts, and rivalries will disap-pear; morals and virtues will grow freely; and pure con-sciousness will guide the destiny of society for all good toeveryone. In this environment of harmony and progress,

community leaders will spontaneously make right decisionsand steer the course of society in a right direction. Societywill grow in its ability to give maximum to, and take max-imum from, neighboring societies. Every community willbecome a joy to every other community. Harmony and hap-piness will naturally prevail everywhere. (p. 59)

Maharishi founded unified field based education as themost practical and effective way to advance toward thishighest state of individual and social development.

4. VALIDATION OF THE SUCCESS OF UNIFIED FIELD

BASED EDUCATION: RESULTS OF SCIENTIFIC

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS OF THE

MAHARISHI TECHNOLOGY OF THE

UNIFIED FIELD IN EDUCATION

A wide range of research has documented the effective-ness of the Maharishi Unified Field Based Integrated Sys-tem of Education. This research gives compelling evidencethat the Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field, whenadded to the academic day of any school or university, cancreate academic excellence and a high quality of life for thestudents and teachers and can promote positive trends in thewhole society.

The research studies on unified field based education fallinto three groups. The first group of studies evaluates the ef-fect of practice of the Transcendental Meditation techniqueamong elementary, high school, and college students who be-gan the practice as individuals independent of a formal aca-demic program. A second group of studies investigates the

effect of a class of students beginning the TM program asan additional part of their curriculum, including the study ofthe Science of Creative Intelligence (SCI) (Maharishi Ma-hesh Yogi, 1972).

Finally, a number of studies have been performed on amodel educational system that implements unified fieldbased education throughout the institution at the elementary,secondary, and post-secondary levelsMaharishi Interna-tional University (MIU) and Maharishi School of the Age ofEnlightenment (MSAE) in Fairfield, Iowa, offering educa-tion for kindergarten through grade 12 on the MIU campus.

These institutions were founded by Maharishi to fulfill thehighest goals of education. They add to the traditional studyof the academic disciplines the twice-daily practice of theMaharishi Technology of the Unified Field by everyone oncampusstudents, faculty, and administrators. The acade-mic and professional attainments of the students and grad-uates, their own enthusiasm for their education, and thecomments of visiting evaluators and educators attest to theextraordinary effectiveness of these institutions.

EFFECTS OF THE TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITA-TION PROGRAM ON INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS6

Many studies of the effects of the Transcendental Medita-

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6 Recent neuroscience research indicates that these holistic benefits can beunderstood as the expression of the systematic development of total brain

Continued on next page


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tion program have used secondary and college students as

subjects. These studies verify that the cognitive, affective,and physiological characteristics of the student that contribute

to effective learning are enriched as the result of practice of

the TM technique.

Educational research has shown that alertness, memory,

intelligence, field independence, and abstract reasoning

ability are associated with improved academic performance(Anderson, Spiro, & Montague, 1977; Good-enough, 1976;Saltz, 1971). Similarly, the affective characteristics of highself-esteem and emotional stability contribute significantlyto classroom performance (e.g., Eriksen, 1974). These cog-nitive and affective qualities also have physiological corre-lates, such as flexibility and stability (resistance to stress),which are crucial to effective learning. Educational re-searchers have found that studentscognitive and affective

entry characteristics noted above account for 75 percent oftheir outcomes on academic achievement measures, whilethe quality of instruction accounts for only 25 percent (B.Bloom, 1976).

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TABLE 1

IMPROVEMENTS IN COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE, AND PHYSIOLOGICAL

STUDENT ENTRY CHARACTERISTICS THROUGH

THE MAHARISHI TECHNOLOGY OF THE UNIFIED FIELD

Cognitive

Increased alertness (1, 2)

Improved memory (3)

Increased fluid intelligence (47)

Increased field independence (5, 8)

Increased creativity (6, 9)

Improved reasoning ability (10, 11)

Increased academic achievement (12, 13)

Affective

Improved self-concept (1416)

Increased self-actualization (1719)

Reduced depression, neuroticism, and

anxiety (2023)

Reduced aggression and dominance (24)

Increased tolerance (6, 24)

Physiological

Increased restful alertness

reduced breath rate (25, 26)

increased EEG coherence (2729)

Reduced stress hormone (3032)

More adaptive response to stress (33, 34)

Reduced hypertension and hypercholes-

terolemia (35, 36)

1. Appelle & Oswald, 1974

2. Holt, Caruso, & Riley, 1978

3. Miskiman, 1976

4. Aron, Orme-Johnson, & Brubaker, 1981

5. Dillbeck, Assimakis, Raimondi, Orme-Johnson, & Rowe,

1986

6. Shecter, 1978

7. Tjoa, 1975

8. Pelletier, 1974

9. Travis, 1979

10. Dillbeck, Orme-Johnson, & Wallace, 1981

11. S. Nidich, 1976

12. Kember, 1985

13. Kory & Hufnagel, 1976

14. Hanley & Spates, 1978

15. Nystul & Garde, 1977

16. Turnbull & Norris, 1982

17. Berg & Mulder, 1976

18. S. Nidich, Seeman, & Dreskin, 1973

19. Seeman, S. Nidich, & Bant

the maharishi technology of the unified field in - dillbeck-msvs

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