Interview with
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Unfolding the Infinite Potential of Human Consciousness What the TM technique is, how it works - and the goal

Since Maharishi first introduced the Transcendental Meditation Programme in 1957, his message has always been practical and direct: Within everyone is an unlimited reservoir of energy, intelligence, and happiness - and living that reality is the birthright of everyone. Maharishi brought out the TM technique as a simple, effortless procedure to harness this untapped potential. The technique, Maharishi said, could be easily learned by anyone of any age, culture, religion, or educational background. Today, five million people practice the Transcendental Meditation Programme and the technique is a household word around the world. In the following interview, Maharishi discusses the nature of the mind and how the TM technique works.

Maharishi, would you summarise your message?
The nature of life is bliss. Everyone is born to enjoy, we are not born to suffer. We have been hearing for centuries past that there is great potentiality hidden within everyone. It is hidden in us not because it is difficult to bring out, but simply because we are not bringing it out, that is all. The storehouse of all wisdom, creativity, peace, and happiness is there - the brain of man is equipped with the ability to experience absolute bliss, absolute happiness, absolute peace, absolute creativity, absolute wisdom. The absolute field of life can be fathomed and experienced and lived constantly by everyone. The only one thing to be done is to add Transcendental Meditation as part of the daily routine.

What is the Transcendental Meditation technique?
Transcendental Meditation is a very natural, effortless procedure to take the mind to the source of the thinking process, where the mind becomes pure consciousness. It’s like a wave settling down on the ocean, and then the wave becomes the unbounded ocean. So too, the thinking mind settles down in the state of pure consciousness. And this field of pure consciousness is a field of infinite creativity, intelligence, and bliss. It is the pure field of natural law. When the mind comes out of meditation, it comes out with more energy, more creativity and intelligence, and behaves more and more according to natural law.

Why is it effortless?
Transcendental Meditation is effortless because it is natural. It is based on a simple principle that the natural tendency of the human mind is to go to a field of greater happiness. We do not need training to go to a field of greater happiness. If you are listening to one radio playing and another radio starts playing a more attractive melody, no training is necessary to stop listening to the first radio and to listen to a better melody. Before the question of training can arise, you are already enjoying.

This technique of Transcendental Meditation is just how to turn the mind in the right direction. How to turn the mind just 180 degrees. One step in this inward direction toward the ocean of happiness inside and the mind finds increasing charm. This increasing charm attracts the mind by itself. The mind is pulled by the gravity of great happiness in that direction. It is a spontaneous march of the mind inward towards the field of bliss.

How is the Transcendental Meditation Programme different from other forms of meditation?
It does not require any concentration or control of the mind. Concentration brings tension. Concentration is a static process. Transcendental Meditation is a dynamic process that takes the mind from grosser levels to subtler levels of thought.

Can anyone learn the TM technique? What does it require?
It requires just the desire to learn, and as anything is learned from a teacher, so, too, Transcendental Meditation is learned from a teacher. For these past 40 years, millions of people have learned TM and they are gaining enlightenment.

What do you mean by enlightenment?
Enlightenment means lack of darkness, absence of darkness. And absence of darkness means no mistakes, no weakness, no shortcomings - success is everywhere, fulfilment of desire is everywhere. That is enlightenment. When one is living in full accord with natural law, spontaneously supported by nature, then we are not in the dark about anything. This is enlightenment.

Some people may say that they don’t have time to meditate, they have so much to do.
This kind of attitude is only due to not knowing how to perform action with greatest vigour, how to be successful in action, how to enjoy more and more, to enjoy permanently and in all aspects of life.

Take a simple example. If we want to shoot an arrow with great force ahead, just grasp the arrow and pull it back. Some person who doesn’t know about shooting the arrow with force will say, "What are you doing? You have to shoot the arrow that way. Don’t pull it back!" Out of ignorance he cries out, "Oh, I have no time to sit and meditate. I have so much to do in the world, where is there time to meditate? Why waste time, we are active people."

Transcendental Meditation is a process of creating a situation so that all aspects of life begin to be worthwhile. By pulling the arrow back, we are creating a situation where the force will be greater. Transcendental Meditation brings the mind to that field of silence, but that silence is a reservoir of all creativity, intelligence, dynamism. If we want the mind to be more active in the world, the process is to naturally pull it back, pull it back, pull it back to the extent that it can be pulled back to its own source, Transcendental Consciousness. Release it from there and the release will be a tremendous force—any thought will be realised.

What do you mean by "Transcendental Consciousness?"
Transcendental Consciousness - calm, quiet, collected state of consciousness—is that level of life where the full creative potential of natural law is lively, and from where all the streams of activity emerge in the most orderly way. It is the unified field of natural law. Quantum theory has established that there is one unified field of all the laws of nature at the basis of all creativity. So when one transcends, one gets to that level of intelligence that is all knowingness. This is enlightenment. And one spontaneously begins to think better. Better means in every way - right for everyone, useful for everyone, and quickly achieving the desire. That is enlightenment.

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