Historical Perspective
On January 29, 1959, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi arrived at San Francisco International Airport. It was his first visit to the United States, and the second continent on his global tour to introduce the Transcendental Meditation program to the world.
The First Visit by Dr. David Verrill
It spread just the way it always does, by word of mouth. MORE
Maharishi lectured to hundreds of people during his two-month stay; many people learned the technique. The San Francisco Chronicle covered one of Maharishi’s lectures and published the first article on the Transcendental Meditation technique in America.
Maharishi’s message then was simple and direct, and it’s the same today. Life is bliss. Man is born to enjoy. Within everyone is an unlimited reservoir of energy, intelligence, and happiness. The Transcendental Meditation technique is a simple, effortless procedure to experience it. The technique can be easily learned by anyone of any age, culture, religion, or educational background.
In those early days, there were no other Transcendental Meditation technique teachers, no Transcendental Meditation program centers. After San Francisco, Maharishi spent several months in Los Angeles, then traveled on to New York. From New York, Maharishi went to England, Germany, Greece, and on around the world.
The Transcendental Meditation movement started simply and grew steadily. Then suddenly, with the first published scientific research on the technique, the Transcendental Meditation program gained worldwide recognition.
The first study on The Transcendental Meditation technique was conducted at the University of California at Los Angeles in 1968 by physiologist Robert Keith Wallace. His thesis, “The Physiological Effects of Transcendental Meditation: A Proposed Fourth Major State of Consciousness,” earned him his Ph.D., and his findings were published in the journals Science and Scientific American. This also inspired a huge upsurge of research into the effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique.
By 1975 the Transcendental Meditation program was a household word.
And today? More than five million people worldwide—including more than one million people in the United States—from every profession, age, educational background, and religion—practice the Transcendental Meditation technique. And the number keeps growing.
The technique has been learned by over 6,000 medical doctors in the U.S. and by tens of thousands of executives, managers, and employees of large corporations and small businesses throughout the U.S. and the world.
Homemakers practice the Transcendental Meditation technique. So do attorneys, computer programmers, teachers, students, sales clerks, clergy, athletes, factory workers, architects, airline pilots, electricians, chefs, and artists.
Why? The Transcendental Meditation technique is easy to learn. Anyone can practice it. And it works.
During the past 35 years, more than 600 scientific research studies have been conducted on the effects of the Transcendental Meditation program at 216 independent universities and research institutions in 30 countries. The studies—many of which have been published in 100 scientific journals—have shown that the Transcendental Meditation technique:
- Reduces stress
- Increases creativity and intelligence
- Improves memory and learning ability
- Increases energy
- Increases inner calm
- Reduces insomnia
- Increases happiness and self-esteem
- Reduces anxiety and depression
- Improves relationships
- Improves health
- Promotes a younger biological age
The Transcendental Meditation technique is a simple, effective procedure that enlivens the unlimited potential of life from its source. It enriches all areas of life, just as watering the root of a plant brings nourishment to all parts of the plant.
Excerpted from the book Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Transcendental Meditation by Robert Roth, Maharishi University of Management Press, 1994.
