About Universal Mysticism, the Art of Union with the Cosmic
Mahesh Yogi was a genius, who formulated the Seven
States of Consciousness. He founded the rationale and methodology for generating
higher states of Consciousness.
Dr Keith Wallace, ex President of MIU, defined
Enlightenment as the full development of Consciousness, depending on the
harmonious functions of every part of the human body. He said that India is the
home of the most profound knowledge and procedures for the development of
Physiology.
“What the ancients meant by Supreme Knowledge,
Jnana, was that state of perfect order, zero entropy”, he says in his article ”
The Neurophysiology of Enlightenment”. In his PhD Thesis ” The Physiological
Effects of Transcendental Meditation”, he conclusively proved the existence of a
Fourth Major State of Consciousness.
Here is an abstract of a study posted in the
sessions at the Lucidity Association’s Conference on Higher States of
Consciousness in Chicago in 1990.
Vedic psychology, as presented by Maharishi Mahesh
Yogi, delineates seven major states of consciousness (Maharishi, 1972). The
daily cycle of waking, dreaming, and sleeping constitute the three ordinary
changing states of consciousness. In addition, Maharishi’s Vedic psychology
describes an invariant sequence of higher stages of consciousness. The fourth
state of consciousness, termed transcendental consciousness (TC), is
characterized as a content-free state of “restful alertness”, the ultimate
ground state of the mind, pure consciousness (Maharishi, 1969). In this state “…
awareness becomes completely ’self-referral’ — consciousness has nothing other
than itself in its structure” (Maharishi, 1986, p. 27). Maharishi describes TC
as follows:
This is a state of inner wakefulness with no object
of thought or perception, just pure consciousness [TC], aware of its own
unbounded nature. It is wholeness, aware of itself, [Self-awareness] devoid of
differences, beyond the division of subject and object — transcendental
consciousness (Maharishi, 1977, p. 123).
TC is held to be as distinct from the ordinary
waking state as waking is from dreaming or sleeping. Recent research reviews
have identified over twenty physiological correlates distinguishing TC from
simple relaxation, sleeping, dreaming and waking (See Alexander and Boyer, 1989;
Alexander, Cranson, Boyer and Orme-Johnson, 1986; Wallace, 1986; for a complete
review).
He had given millions the experience of
Transcendental Consciousness and his contribution to humanity was immense.
He took Indian Philosophy far and wide and made
Geetha one of the most popular books ever ! May his soul rest in Peace !
He defined the Geetha as the Lamp lit by the Lord
at the altar of humanity, redeeming Man from Ignorance ! He travelled far and
wide with the message of Vedic Wisdom and was adored by Nobel Laureates and
intellectuals. He was one of the greatest sons of India !
