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The Maharishi Yagya Program For the U.S.Increases Good Fortune For Everyone
Hundreds of citizens from throughout the United States have been participating in the Maharishi Yagya program for the United States of America. Why? They really want to do something to help the economy, to improve nation's health, to reduce crime and negativity, to avert calamities, and to increase overall good fortune for the country.
So far, there have been four major Maharishi Yagya performances for the benefit of the United States of America, and more continue to be scheduled. Why would such performances be effective in bringing change for the country?
From physics we know that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, a sentiment also expressed in the saying, as you sow, so shall you reap. The results of our past actions must come back to us, but we can do something to change the intensity or quality of the reaction before it returns. For example, a ball thrown against a wall will bounce back to the thrower. But one can divert the ball's path with a racket, or a wind may come and blow the ball away. Likewise, from the most fundamental level of nature, Maharishi Yagya performances lessen or remove any negative tendencies approaching and enhance any positive ones.
To find out how the Maharishi Yagya program for the U.S. came about, we interviewed Alan Rosenfield of Newton, Massachusetts, who with his wife, Susan, spearheaded the project and sponsored the first performances.
Wendy Cavanaugh: What motivated you to start this large project to improve the well-being of the whole country?
Alan Rosenfield: Interest in requesting Maharishi Yagya performances for the United States came out of the success of other Maharishi Yagya performances I have requested over the last ten years and the benefits I have noticed in my life.
They have a great ability to resolve issues in all areas of life. I found they could transform things for the better and help meet the exigencies in life that come up. So, I thought, if they could work in my life, why couldn't they help the U.S.? Then I found there are specific Maharishi Yagya performances for communities, nations, and the world.
Everyone knows that one's own and one's family's welfare is influenced by the welfare of the country as a whole and, therefore, wants to help the U.S. economy be strong, to improve the environment, and to avert calamities for the country, whether in the form of wars or natural disasters. So it was a natural desire.
WC: How could you even imagine that a single individual could do such a thing?
AR: First came the inspiration to do the project. Susan and I noticed on the list of Maharishi Yagya performances available that some could be done for the nation and the world. We said, Yes! this is what we want to do. I felt that one's individual activity could affect cosmic activity. This experience I later found described in the expression, "Smaller than the smallest is greater than the greatest."
The size of the project to help the country is rather enormous. Despite the challenge, we knew we had to do it. We were further inspired by a message that came along with the recommendations for specific Maharishi Yagya performances: "These yagyas are a good starting point and every bit helps. It is very useful no matter how big the yagyas are. A few thousand dollars towards Maharishi Yagya performances may be like ten million spent elsewhere. It cannot be compared. Nothing else can accomplish what the yagyas accomplish. These recommended yagyas are our starting point. Once done, then nature will support with more contributions so that more can be done. What is important is to start immediately and more will come."
So Susan and I immediately requested the first yagyas.
WC: Have you noticed any changes in the country since then?
AR: All you need to do is watch the news. At the time we were organizing for the Maharishi Yagya performances, the United States was on the brink of war. The first performances took place. Things changed. A more peaceful solution was reached. That was the first good sign.
WC: How do Maharishi Yagya performances bring about these changes?
AR: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who has re-enlivened the effectiveness of the yagya performances, explains that yagya is a process of bringing the individual into harmony with the stream of evolution, which enjoys the favor of all the forces of nature engaged in the advancement of life, individual and cosmic. Both the individual and the entire universe benefit.
Maharishi Yagya performances function from the most fundamental level of nature to lessen or remove any negative tendencies approaching and enhance any positive ones. Throughout history yagyas have been performed. But they lost their popularity in society when they lost their effectiveness. What happened? The fundamental level of performance, the transcendental level of consciousness of those who performed the yagyas, was lost.
WC: What is the uniqueness of the Maharishi Yagya program?
AR: Maharishi has fully enlivened this practical knowledge, its application and correct performance, in the Maharishi Yagya program. The effectiveness of Maharishi Yagya performances is that they work from a subtle level to directly support those forces in nature which can really bring about a change.
Another aspect of their uniqueness is that Maharishi Yagyas are performed by large groups of pandits, specifically trained under Maharishi's guidance to produce the full effect. As part of their daily routine, these Vedic Pandits are all practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program for the full development of consciousness.
In Vedic Civilization, yagyas were part of the regular routine of individual and public life. They are repeatedly mentioned in the Vedic Texts. For example, the Vishnu Purana says: "Performance of yagyas day by day is beneficial to man and bestows peace." (1:6:28)
WC: What is the ultimate goal?
AR: The goal of the yagya performances, as Maharishi points out in his commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita, is to produce beneficial effects in the relative field of life. The highest attainment is heaven, the summit of the relative world, where life is free from suffering. These days, Maharishi talks of it as creating Heaven on Earth.
Maharishi comments that the Vedic knowledge "contains wisdom to shape the entire field of human life in such a way that all its aspects&emdash;physical, mental, and spiritual&emdash;are perfectly coordinated with each other on every level, and at the same time are in perfect harmony with the entire scheme of evolution. The aim is to lead every individual to the state of perfection, the highest and most exalted state of existence. Such is the comprehensive scope of yagya.
"The subtle aspect of yagya, experienced in the Transcendental Meditation technique, leads the individual to transcendental bliss-consciousness, the state of eternal freedom in life, and the ultimate development of consciousness, which is the highest good of all&emdash;higher than the highest in the relative sphere of life."
This development of higher states of consciousness is also something many, many people experience as a result of the Maharishi Yagya performances.
WC: Can my individual participation make a difference in achieving the goal of the Maharishi Yagya program for the U.S.?
AR: Every individual's contribution is valuable to the outcome of this huge project. Each year, thousands of people work and millions of dollars are spent on projects which, despite good intentions, create very minimal benefit. They do not really change anything. Maharishi Yagya performances, on the other hand, directly support those forces in nature which can really bring about a change. Nothing else can accomplish what the Maharishi Yagya performances accomplish.
WC: It sounds as though the wide-spread support for the country by individuals participating in this program reflects the country's democratic heritage.
AR: It is really a fulfillment of the American democratic experience. In the same way that any individual can vote or anyone can make one's opinion known, now anyone help change the country for the better by participating in the Maharishi Yagya program for the U.S.
Any individual can make a difference, no matter what economic, social, or educational status, no matter what occupation&emdash;the individual is changing the structure of reality for the country.
WC: What is your ultimate desire in this project?
AR: The deepest wishes Susan and I have are that these Maharishi Yagya performances will allow all of the laws of nature to completely reinvigorate the entire United States of America and the entirety of Maharishi's movement in the United States in the direction of greater fulfillment, greater joy, and greater success. I invite all good people in the country and in Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation movement to participate in this project.
• • •
Maharishi Vedic Foundation, which administers the Maharishi Yagya program for the U.S. from New Hampshire, answers some practical questions frequently asked.
1. What is a higher priority? Participating in the Maharishi Yagya program for the U.S. or requesting yagyas for myself or my company?
Every Maharishi Yagya performance for an individual or for a company creates beneficial effects for the country as a whole. So this is the first preference.
As an addition to that, one is welcome to participate in the Maharishi Yagya program for the U.S. Creating harmony and integration for the nation through the Maharishi Yagya program has a reciprocal effect of supporting the individual's goals and desires.
2. Can Maharishi Yagyas be done for the world as a whole?
Yes, Maharishi Yagya performances can be done for communities or cities, for a state, for any nation, and for the world as a whole. Maharishi Yagya performances for the world benefit every nation in the same way that Maharishi Yagya performances for the U.S. benefit every citizen of the country.
3. Is this contribution tax-deductible?
Yes, contributions to Maharishi Vedic Foundation are tax-deductible and one will receive an acknowledgment letter and suggested guidlines to follow during the performance days.
4. How can I get further information?
You may contact Maharishi Vedic Foundation at P.O. Box 1839, Hillsboro, NH 03244. (603) 588-4235, fax: (603) 588-4249 or email: <MaharishiYagya Program@compuserve.com>, or Maharishi Center for Excellence in Management at (515) 470-1361 (phone and fax) or email mcem@mum.edu.
Wendy Cavanaugh is Coordinator of Maharishi Vedic Astrology and Maharishi Yagya programs, Maharishi Center for Excellence in Management, and a member of the faculty of Maharishi University of Management.
