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Formation | October 7, 2000 |
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Founder | Maharishi Mahesh Yogi |
The Global Country of World Peace (GCWP) is a non-profit organization that aims to promote Transcendental Meditation, education, and the construction of "buildings for peace" in the world's major cities. [1] [2] Inaugurated by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of Transcendental Meditation, on October 7, 2000, [3] the GCWP was originally conceived as "a country without borders for peace-loving people everywhere." [4] It has issued a currency called the "Raam" and its leader is neurologist Tony Nader. [5]
In 2002, the GCWP was incorporated in the state of Iowa, USA [6] with its headquarters in Maharishi Vedic City. [6] [7] [8] It has administrative or educational centres in the U.S., the Netherlands and Ireland.
According to a report from Bloomberg, the GCWP's tax filings describe its mission as the creation of world peace 'by unifying all nations in happiness prosperity, invincibility, and perfect health'. [9] The mission of the US-based division of the GCWP, according to a 2005 article, is to promote "enlightenment, good health, and peace through the practice of Transcendental Meditation" and to build palaces of peace in 3000 of the world's major cities. [1]
Raam is a bearer bond and local currency issued by the Global Country of World Peace. [10] It was designed for the development of agricultural projects and to combat poverty in third world countries. [10] As of 2003, it had limited acceptance in some European and U.S. cities. The currency has been used in Iowa and has been also given approval in The Netherlands where more than 100 Dutch shops, department store chains, in 30 villages and cities, are using the notes at a fixed rate of 10 euros per raam. [10]
The Raam is issued in denominations of 1, 5 and 10 Raam, with one Raam equal to 10 Euros in Europe, and one Raam equal to 10 dollars in the U.S. [11] Raam notes are printed by Joh. Enschedé. [11] [12] In 2002, Maharishi Vedic City Mayor Bob Wynne estimated that there was $40,000 worth of Raam in circulation. [12] The Raam differs from other complementary currencies because its focus is on the export of products rather than improving local circulation to benefit the lives of local people. [11] According to the Minister of Finance for the Global Country of World Peace, the Raam "could be used" for agricultural projects in developing nations. [10] [13] CATO Institute currency expert James Dorn expressed doubt about the viability of the plan, suggesting that other economic approaches would be a better way to establish a network of collective farms. [13] According to the issuer, the Raam is also a bearer bond that earns a total of 3% interest after five years (0.6% simple interest annually). [14]
The Raam was used, as of 2003, alongside Euros in accordance with Dutch law in more than 100 shops in the Netherlands. [10] The Raam was convertible in the Netherlands at the Fortis Bank in Roermond. [11] As of 2003, the Dutch Central Bank estimated that there were approximately 100,000 Raam notes in circulation. [10] It also had limited acceptance in the Iowan cities called Maharishi Vedic City and Fairfield. [15] [16] According to Maharishi Global Financing, agreements were made in 2004 with a farmers' association in South America and with traditional leaders in Africa to start using the Raam for agricultural development projects. [11]
Maharishi Vedic City is the "Capital of the Global Country for World Peace." [17]
The city's plan and building code follow principles of Vedic architecture. [18] Architecture professor Keller Easterling says that Maharishi Vedic City reflects the GCWP's interest in achieving a "benign form of global sovereignty". [19]
From 2004 to 2010 the GCWP owned the American Bank Note Company Building in New York City, USA which it called The Financial Capital of the GCWP. It was intended to be an administrative center for a project to raise funds for 3,000 peace palaces, [20] and hospitals, organic farms, and clinics in developing countries, but over time, its primary use was as a Transcendental Meditation center. When the building became a financial burden it was sold in 2010 and the organization's $5.5 million profit were earmarked for a new Manhattan teaching center and other programs. [21] [22] [23]
The "US Peace Government" has announced plans to build a national capital near Smith Center, Kansas in Washington Township, Smith County [ citation needed ]. A ceremony was held March 28, 2006. [24] Over 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) were eventually purchased. [25] Plans called for the construction of 12 to 15 buildings, including Peace Palaces and a broadcast center, at an estimated cost of up to $15 million. [26] The plans divided the community. Nine pastors wrote to the local newspaper with concerns about the souls of area residents while the Chamber of Commerce looked forward to the creation of new jobs. [25] The county planning commission placed a moratorium on any changes in land use in an effort to prevent the use of agricultural land for the capital, but they withdrew it after the movement threatened to sue in federal court. [27] In April 2009, a spokesman announced that two Peace Palaces were nearing completion. [28]
In 2009 the GCWP opened the West Virginia Retreat Center in Three Churches, West Virginia, USA. The male-only facility is used for weekend retreats as well as residences for those who want to spend years living a simpler life involving meditation. [29] As of 2012, the center consisted of 10 buildings with 90 male residents plus various staff. [29] [30] Larger plans include the development of the 175 acres (0.71 km2), purchased at a cost of $750,000 into an "environmentally friendly retreat" that will include 150 to 200 rooms for professional and amateur meditators, according to the project director, Raja Bob LoPinto. [31]
In 2008, the Global Country of World Peace undertook the construction of "Peace Palaces" in major US cities, which would teach courses in the Transcendental Meditation technique and offer ayurvedic spa treatments and herbal food supplements. The buildings, being built according to Vedic guidelines[ citation needed ], were planned to be two-story, white, buildings of about 10,000 to 12,000 square feet (1,100 m2) and are intended to be replacements for rented spaces being used in "more than 200 locations" across the U.S.A. Their appearance has been described as an "Indian temple crossed with a Southern plantation mansion" and is intended to be a "visual brand" for the organization. [32]
Peace Palaces have been completed in the U.S. cities of Bethesda, Maryland, Houston and Austin, Texas, Fairfield, Iowa, St. Paul, Minnesota and Lexington, Kentucky. [33] [34] Three of the existing Peace Palaces were built by private individuals. [32] Land has been purchased in 52 locations around the US and others are being built around the world. [4] [35] [36] [37] [38]
According to officials of the organization, zoning and related issues have slowed their progress in building in at least 18 other cities where land has been purchased. In 2007 the "Maharishi’s organization" took legal action against the city of Mayfield Heights, Ohio, because the city refused a setback variance for a proposed Peace Palace. Although "admired for its finances" some critics call the project a way for the "Maharishi's followers" to create funds for more land for the group's treasury. [32]
In 2005, the Global Country bought an 800-plus acres farm in Goshen, New York, USA for $4 million in cash, with plans to create an organic farm training site, as well as a Peace Palace. According to broker Steve Perfit, the 818 acres (3.31 km2) were put up for sale in April 2009. [39]
Also in 2005, Global Country of World Peace purchased the 27-acre (110,000 m2) Prairie Peace Park in Pleasant Dale, Nebraska. GCWP had planned to build a 12,000-square-foot (1,100 m2) "peace palace" on the site. An article in August 2010 in the Journal Star reported that the property was for sale for $95,000. [40]
In 2006, the Global Country purchased Inishraher, [41] a 30-acre (120,000 m2) island in Clew Bay off the coast of Ireland with the intention of founding an International Peace Centre, and of designating it as a Maharishi Capital of the Global Country of World Peace. [37] [42] Planning permission for two 18-room hostels on the island was approved on 22 July 2009. [43]
In 2001, it was reported that the Global Country of World Peace had been unsuccessful in its attempts to establish a sovereign nation after contacting countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. [44] [45] In November 2000, the GCWP made a proposal to the President of Suriname, offering $1.3 billion over three years for a 200-year lease of 3,500 acres (14 km2) of rural land plus "1 percent of the money the sovereign state's central bank puts into circulation" and the creation of 10,000 jobs. [45] [46] The UNHCR reported that, in July 2001, the island nation of Tuvalu rejected, after serious consideration, a proposal from the GCWP to create a "Vatican like sovereign city-state" near the international airport in exchange for a payment of $2 million per year. [47]
In 2002, the GCWP asked if they could set up their world headquarters on one hundred acres of land [34] on the 33-square-mile (85 km2) island of Rota which is part of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States. The GCWP offered to contribute to economic growth of the country but Rota declined, preferring to remain part of the Commonwealth. [48] In Costa Rica, officials of the GCWP "allegedly offered each family" on the Talamanca reservation, $250 per month for the right to appoint a king. A ceremony was held on the Talamanca reservation to appoint a local Indian as king of the community. [49] Perceiving the GCWP's actions as efforts to establish an independent state the Security Minister ordered the GCWP representative to leave the country. [50]
Regional leaders [51] and 'leading Transcendental Meditators "trained as TM teachers and graduates of the TM-Sidhi program [52] are called "Governors of the Age of Enlightenment". [53] Tony Nader was appointed by the Maharishi as the "First Sovereign Ruler of the Global Country of World Peace" in 2000. [54] [55]
Some "national leaders" and "top officials" of the Global Country of World Peace are called Rajas. [51] [56] In 2005, 22 male Rajas were appointed by the Maharishi as national and regional leaders of his organization. His Raja training course took about two months and the participants were "advised to make a contribution of $1,000,000 to the Maharishi World Peace Fund." [51] [57] Ceremonial attire for the Maharaja and the rajas includes white silk robes, gold medallions, and gold crowns. [58] [59] In 2008, Nader attended the Maharishi's funeral in India [56] [60] and adopted the title, "Maharaja Adhiraj Rajaraam". [61] Since then the organization has also been administrated by the "high-functioning intellectual elite in its upper echelons," such as Bevan Morris, Maureen Wynne, and Willy Koppel, [62] while retaining Nader as the central leader. [51]
The GCWP, according to its website, has a “ministry” consisting of ministers split into twelve departments: Law and Order, Education, Health, Architecture, Trade and Commerce, Defence, Science and Technology, Communication, Religion and Culture, Administration, and Finance and Planning. [63]
The Natural Law Party (NLP) is a transnational party founded in 1992 on "the principles of Transcendental Meditation", the laws of nature, and their application to all levels of government. At its peak, it was active in up to 74 countries; it continues in India and at the state level in the United States. The party defines "natural law" as the organizing intelligence which governs the natural universe. The Natural Law Party advocates using the Transcendental Meditation technique and the TM-Sidhi program as tools to enliven natural law and reduce or eliminate problems in society.
Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent mantra meditation developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi so named to separate it from Hinduism or any other religious practice. The TM technique involves the use of a silently-used sound called mantra, and is practiced for 15–20 minutes twice per day. It is taught by certified teachers through a standard course of instruction, which costs a fee that varies by country. According to the Transcendental Meditation movement, it is a non-religious method that promotes relaxed awareness, stress relief, self-development, and higher states of consciousness. The technique has been variously described as both religious and non-religious.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was the creator of Transcendental Meditation (TM) and leader of the worldwide organization that has been characterized in multiple ways, including as a new religious movement and as non-religious. He became known as Maharishi and Yogi as an adult.
Maharishi International University (MIU), formerly Maharishi University of Management, is a private university in Fairfield, Iowa. It was founded in 1973 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and practices a "consciousness-based education" system that includes the Transcendental Meditation technique. Its founding principles are the development of the full potential of the individual, fulfilling economic aspirations while maximizing proper use of the environment and bringing spiritual fulfillment and happiness to humanity.
The Transcendental Meditation movement (TM) are programs and organizations that promote the Transcendental Meditation technique founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India in the 1950s. The organization was estimated to have 900,000 participants in 1977, a million by the 1980s, and 5 million in more recent years.
Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, also known as Guru Dev, was the Shankaracharya of the Jyotir Math monastery in India. Born into a Saryupareen Brahmin family, he left home at the age of nine in search of a spiritual master. At age fourteen, he became a disciple of Svāmī Kṛṣṇānanda Sarasvatī. At the age of 34, he was initiated into the order of Sannyas and became the Śaṅkarācārya of Jyotir Math in 1941 at age 70, the first person to hold that office in 150 years. His disciples included Swami Shantanand Saraswati, Transcendental Meditation founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Svāmī Swarūpānanda Sarasvatī and Swami Karpatri. According to the partisans of Shantānand Saraswati, Brahmānanda made a will five months before his death in 1953, naming Shantānand as his successor.
Maharishi Vedic City (MVC) is a city in Jefferson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 277 at the time of the 2020 census. The city was incorporated in 2001 as "Vedic City" but then officially changed its name to "Maharishi Vedic City" five months later. It was the first city to incorporate in Iowa since 1982. Maharishi Vedic City consists of approximately one square mile, located about four miles north of Fairfield, the home of Maharishi University of Management.
Maharishi Vastu Architecture (MVA) is a set of architectural and planning principles assembled by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi derived from the branch of India's ancient Vedic texts known as Sthāpatya Veda or Vāstu Vidya, the "knowledge of architecture". Maharishi Vastu Architecture is also called "Maharishi Sthapatya Veda", "Fortune-Creating" buildings and homes, and "Maharishi Vedic architecture".
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Vedic University, also known as Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Vedic Vishwavidyalaya (MMYVV), is an accredited, statutory Private university located in Katni, Madhya Pradesh, India. It is part of the Maharishi Educational System and was established by the state legislature in 1995. It offers both graduate and undergraduate degree programs.
David W. Orme-Johnson is a former professor of psychology at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa. He is the author of over 100 papers investigating the effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique.
Tony Nader is a Lebanese neuroscientist, researcher, university president, author and leader of the Transcendental Meditation movement. He has a medical degree in internal medicine, received his Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and worked as a clinical and research fellow at a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School.
The History of Transcendental Meditation (TM) and the Transcendental Meditation movement originated with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of the organization, and continues beyond his death (2008). In 1955, the Maharishi began publicly teaching a traditional meditation technique learned from his master Brahmananda Saraswati, which he called Transcendental Deep Meditation, and later renamed Transcendental Meditation.
Maharishi Peace Palace is a type of pre-engineered building designed to house the educational and meditational activities of the Transcendental Meditation movement. Each Peace Palace is built using standardized plans compatible with Maharishi Sthapatya Veda design principles.
Maharishi Heaven on Earth Development Corp. (MHOED) is a for-profit real estate developer associated with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and his Transcendental Meditation movement. First founded in Malibu California in 1988, it has sought to build utopian projects in the U.S., Canada, and Africa with a long-term goal to "reconstruct the entire world", at an estimated cost of $100 trillion.
The Transcendental Meditation technique is the technique associated with the practice of Transcendental Meditation developed by the Indian spiritual figure Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The practice involves the use of a private mantra, and is practised for 20 minutes twice per day while sitting comfortably with one's eyes closed. TM instruction encourages students not to be alarmed by random thoughts which may arise, but to easily return to the mantra when one becomes aware of this.
The Golden Domes, also called the Maharishi Golden Domes, are twin buildings on the campus of Maharishi International University (MIU) in Fairfield, Iowa, United States, built in 1980 and 1981. According to MIU, the Golden Domes were the first structures built specifically for group meditation and the practice of the TM-Sidhi program. In 2001 and 2005 they received additional construction including landscaping, perimeter fencing and new entrances.
David Wants to Fly is a 2010 German documentary film that follows its director, Berlin-based, film school graduate David Sieveking, as he interacts with his film hero David Lynch, and explores the Transcendental Meditation movement. The film chronicles a period of time in Sieveking's life that includes his off-and-on relationship with his girlfriend as well as his travels to the United States, Holland and India. The film has received awards and honorable mentions as well as criticism.
Transcendental Meditation in education is the application of the Transcendental Meditation technique in an educational setting or institution. These educational programs and institutions have been founded in the US, United Kingdom, Australia, India, Africa and Japan. The Transcendental Meditation technique became popular with students in the 1960s and by the early 1970s centers for the Students International Meditation Society were established at a thousand campuses in the US with similar growth occurring in Germany, Canada and Britain. The Maharishi International University was established in 1973 in the US and began offering accredited, degree programs. In 1977 courses in Transcendental Meditation and the Science of Creative Intelligence (SCI) were legally prohibited from New Jersey (USA) public high schools on religious grounds by virtue of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. This "dismantled" the TM program's use of government funding in U.S. public schools "but did not constitute a negative evaluation of the program itself". Since 1979, schools that incorporate the Transcendental Meditation technique using private, non-governmental funding have been reported in the US, South America, Southeast Asia, Northern Ireland, South Africa and Israel.
In late August 1967, the English rock band the Beatles attended a seminar on Transcendental Meditation (TM) held by Indian teacher Maharishi Mahesh Yogi at a training college in Bangor in north-west Wales. The visit attracted international publicity for Transcendental Meditation and presented the 1960s youth movement with an alternative to psychedelic drugs as a means to attaining higher consciousness. The Beatles' endorsement of the technique followed the band's incorporation of Indian musical and philosophical influences in their work, and was initiated by George Harrison's disillusionment with Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco, which he visited in early August.
Bob Roth is an American Transcendental Meditation (TM) teacher and author. He is the CEO of the David Lynch Foundation and a director of the Center for Leadership Performance.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)"By the end of 2009, a private, environmentally friendly retreat costing between $10 million and $15 million will be constructed in the Three Churches area of Hampshire County. Global Country of World Peace has purchased two parcels totaling 170 acres for $750,000, according to Raja Bob LoPinto, regional director of the project.'It's going to be a very nice retreat. Between 150- to 200-room retreat mainly for professional (transcendental) meditators,' LoPinto said".
Leading Transcendental Meditators, called 'Governors of the Age of Enlightenment', are despatched in large numbers to areas in civil crisis.