Maharishi attains Maha samadhi - A Tribute & some thoughts

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has attained Maha samadhi at the age of 91. He was a great soul and one of the greatest Yogis of this era, who brought Yoga, meditation and Hindu spirituality on the world stage. Particularly to the west, particularly at a time when the west was heading towards moral and spiritual degeneration. He was truly a pioneer to the many globe trotting Hindu spritual Masters and Gurus of today.

Born "Mahesh Prasad Varma" in the ywar 1911 in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, he became a close disciple of Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, the then Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath, Badrinath, a Guru well respected all over North India at that time. Upon his Guru's passing away, Mahesh became his spirtual heir and started teaching what is now known as "Transcendental Meditation" (TM). Millions of aspritants and Sadhaks all over the world have benefitted from this practice.

Credited as the author of more than 16 books, including commentaries of the Bhagavad Gita and some portions of the Vedas, Maharishi expanded his work to include many aspects of Vedic teachings. He also established universities, townships and many organizations towards this end.

In an act that is truly a hallmark of great Yogis, On January 11, 2008, he announced his retirement from his normal activities: "Invincibility is irreversibly established in the world. My work is done. My designated duty to Guru Dev is fulfilled." He resolved to use all his remaining time to complete his commentary on the Veda. He passed away less than a month later.

Humble Pranams to the glorious memory of Maharishi.

Something that is very saddening is NOT Maharishi's passing away, he lived a very fulfilling life of 91 years, but the way the media (both the Indian and western) portrayal at this time - Ignoring all the great contributions, but harping on silly controversies that surrounded him.

The New York Times : Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Spiritual Leader, Dies
The Times of India: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, guru to the Beatles, dies
In line with TOI, *all* Indian newspapers have "Beatles Guru" in their headlines.

The only fitting tributes, are an aricle by Dr. Deepak Chopra and the IndiaTimes Pay your tributes page.

An insightful comment from a good friend of mine -

"... While the results of his techniques could be a subjective experience, as most such spiritual exercises always are, he was the first who showed the world glimpses of what Yoga could achieve if one had a serious bent towards it for which he had given a simple technique to start with. It would be entirely naïve to believe that one would become a Rishi by chanting a mantra for twenty minutes twice a day, but that seemed to have been the expectation of those who were disappointed by trying his techniques. I have personally seen and experienced the sharpening of certain human faculties as one learned some of what he called as advanced techniques. He proved with clinical results as well so many beneficiary factors of his techniques.

Yes, he seemed to have gone overboard on quite a fewoccasions, but then he had so much of positive contribution to the world of Indian Spirituality which make one feel sad that he would be remembered today as the Guru of Beatles, who hardly even acquired any level of mental maturity after being personally acquainted with him, other than create some of their best songs in that period ofassociation.

What makes me feel sadder is not the negligence of the Western Media or how they caricatured him. It is the negligence of our own people of whose spiritual legacy he was an exponent of. What a tragedy!"