.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Jee, whose original name was Mahesh Prasad Verma was born on Friday, January 12, 1917 into a comfortably well-off family. Although it is thought by many that Maharishi’s family hail from Jabalpur, it has been suggested that he was in fact born some little distance away in the village of Chichli near Gadawara in Madhya Pradesh some 150 Kms east of Bhopal.
Maharishi Jee received an above average education. Evidently he showed a certain promise in the scientific disciplines. Offered the rare opportunity to engage in higher education, he undertook degree courses in both physics and mathematics at Allahabad University. There, the acquisition of so much information only accentuated his hunger for deeper fulfillment. He would always feel disturbed on seeing the miseries of the people around and ponder on the question as to : ‘‘If God is Omnipresent and God is Almighty and God is merciful and in the heart of everyone, why should a man suffer having God within himself ? And what is the value of oneself if he keeps suffering ?’’ He was completely dissatisfied with what He studied in college as He knew ‘‘This can’t be the whole knowledge’’. He was searching for something complete and this search finally brought him to his Guru Dev His Divinity Jagat Guru Shankaracharya Bhagwan Swami Brahma Nand Saraswati Jee Maharaj around 1939, who was Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math from 1941 to 1953. Maharishi Jee then described his first vision of Guru Dev, in the deep darkness of the night, illumined only by a brief flash of light from a car some distance away. But that glimpse was all that was needed. In his own words :
‘‘In that one moment, the whole life was surrendered’’.
On the 20th May 1953 Guru Dev is believed to have summoned Maharishi Jee and explained to Him that, as a dying father’s unfinished business is dealt with by his sons, the same is true for the Guru and his disciple. He directed Him to pass the knowledge of the Vedas to the suffering mankind and relieve them of their sufferings. It was this concern of Guru Dev to enlighten all men everywhere that resulted in the foundation of the world-wide Spiritual Regeneration Movement in 1957 by Maharishi Jee. The movement was started from Madras. The sole aim of the movement is to provide a simple and easy method of meditation called Transcedental Meditation (TM) and infuse this system in the daily life of everybody everywhere on earth to make Heaven on Earth. To meet this end, this Movement had been started to work for the construction of meditation centers everywhere in every part of human habitation. And Maharishi Jee worked for it till last.
Maharishi Jee started a world tour to benefit the mankind across the globe in 1958. His tour of Southeast Asia in spring of 1958 included Malaysia. Singapore and Hong Kong. Everywhere he went, he was greeted enthusiastically by people from all walks of life. Finally the momentum of the tour took him to the island of Hawaii and from there on to America. Since his global tour in 1958, Maharishi’s teachings for human development have been, and continues to be, taught worldwide. He continued to focus on making all aspects of the Vedic Literature widely available. Starting in 1990, Maharishi Jee conducted his global activities from his residence in Voldrop, Holland.
To pass on the benefits of the Spiritual Regeneration Movement to the people in the state of J&K, Maharishi Jee paid his first visit to Kashmir valley in the year 1958. He contnued his visits in the subsequent years also till 1969. His visits to the valley were marked by his visits to the holy places of Amarnath Jee, Hari Parbat, Khir Bhawani and many such places. He also used the Valley to go in for deep meditation at many places. During his visits to Kashmir Valley, Maharishi Jee met many a great saint of that period and discussed various spiritual matters with him.
On January 11, 2008, Maharishi Jee announced his retirement from his normal activities. He said : ‘‘Invincibility is irreversibly established in the world. My work is done. My designated duty to Guru Dev is fulfilled.’’ Less than a month later He attained Nirvana on the Feb 5, 1008 at Voldrop Holland and the Panch Boot Villay took place at Priyag Raj, Allahabad on Feb 11, 2008-exactly a month later after His declaration. His teachings are eternal. These shall continue to uplift the mankind from their sufferings to reach higher levels of consciousness. In the words of Swami Lakshmanju who was the last Acharya of the Kashmir Shaiva Siddhanta tradition: ‘Maharishi Jee’s teaching starts where mine ends and it goes from there to Infinity. Maharishi Jee is the greatest saint to walk the Earth in ten thousand years.
