Maharishi with friends
The Times of India: Maharishi Ushered in Spiritual Renaissance 'Maharishi ushered in spiritual renaissance'
7 Feb 2008, 0200 hrs IST,Deepak Chopra
NEW YORK: The Maharishi didn't die like mere mortals do. He just went into what we call 'maha samadhi'. On January 12 this year, his 91st birthday, he announced that his work in the world was over and he was going into silence. He didn't speak to a single soul after that day. And today, he has passed so elegantly.
Maharishi began the spiritual renaissance. He was one of the most significant figures of the century. Personally, I owe everything to him. Everything I have learnt, I have learnt from him. He has influenced some of the most important people of this century. The Maharishi had grandiose ideas - sometimes even impractical - but he was a great man. I remember taking George Harrison to meet him in 1993. George had gone to apologize for the bad behavior of the Beatles back in 1969. Back then, the Beatles, especially John Lennon, had insinuated that the Maharishi was having an affair with Mia Farrow.
When George apologized, the Maharishi said there was nothing to be sorry about. He said the Beatles were angels on Earth with their music and he could never be angry with them. Another incident that comes to mind is back in 1996 when I rushed him to hospital in London. The doctors declared the Maharishi dead but he came back. When an urgent blood transfusion was required, I was found to be the only one with matching blood type. Initially he refused a transfusion, saying he didn't want my karma coming along with my blood! It was only when the doctor in me convinced him that red blood cells didn't carry DNA that he relented and agreed to take my blood.
It's enough to say I am who I am because of my Guru. I'm grateful that I was part of his dream. If there is such a thing as 'devaloka', they must surely be celebrating and welcoming a great sage.
(As told to Anubha Sawhney Joshi)
The Three Maharishis:
The Three Maharishis
Deepak Chopra - February 06, 2008
Even though I last sat with Maharishi more than ten years ago, he left an indelible impression, as he did on everyone. His extraordinary qualities are known to the world. Without him, it's fair to say, the West would not have learned to meditate. During the Cold War era a reporter once challenged him by saying, "If anything is possible, as you claim, can you go to the Soviet Union tomorrow with your message?" Without hesitation, Maharishi calmly replied, "I could if I wanted to." Eventually he did want to, and meditation arrived in Moscow several years before the Berlin Wall fell. In his belief that world peace depended entirely on rising consciousness, Maharishi was unshakable.
The Bhagavad-Gita declares that there are no outward signs of enlightenment. The point is underscored in many Indian fables and scriptures, which often take the form of a high-caste worthy snubbing an untouchable, only to find that the untouchable was actually a god in disguise. For his part, Maharishi had three guises, and perhaps in the end they were also disguises.
He was an Indian, a guru, and a personality. The personality was highly quixotic. Over the fifty yeas of his public life, Maharishi never lost his charm and lovability. He had these qualities to such an extent that Westerners took him to be a perfect example of how enlightenment looks -- kind, sociable, all-accepting, and light-hearted -- when that is far form the case. His presence was more mysterious than good humor can account for: you could feel it before entering a room. You could be walking down the hallway to his private apartments with the weight of the world on your shoulders and feel your worries drop away with every step, until by the time your hand touched the doorknob, by some magic you felt completely carefree. But if you were around him long enough, the older Maharishi in particular could be nettlesome and self-centered; he could get angry and dismissive. He was quick to assert his authority and yet could turn disarmingly child-like in the blink of an eye.
The Maharishi who was an Indian felt most comfortable around other Indians, with whom he chatted about familiar things in Hindi. He adhered to the vows of poverty and celibacy that belonged to his order of monks, despite the fact that he lived in luxury and amassed considerable wealth for the TM movement. What gets overlooked is that he viewed wealth as a means to raise the prestige of India in the materialistic West, which was both canny and realistic of him. In the end the movement's money went to preserve the spiritual heritage of India by opening pundit schools and building temples. Maharishi was deeply concerned that he might be the last embodiment of a sacred tradition that was quickly being overwhelmed by modernization.
In one way or another, for good or ill, these two Maharishis are the only ones that the outside world knew. If you came under the power of his consciousness, however, Maharishi the guru completely overshadowed every other aspect. It's shameful to say, but gurus are a dime a dozen in India and are often treated like retainers by the rich and powerful. Nothing could be farther from the truth in Maharishi's case. He was venerated by the venerable and considered holy by the holy. His capacity to explain Vedanta was unrivaled, and if he accomplished nothing else in his long life, his commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita insures his lasting name, because with acute analysis he cuts through to the heart of every verse. Imagine that someone arose in the West who definitively settled all the disputes over the New Testament and went on to exemplify the nature of Jesus. Then you might get some idea of Maharishi's impact as a guru.
Around 1990 I was commissioned to write a book about him; it turned out to be the only assignment I could never complete. Even after spending hundreds of days in his presence, one could not capture him, either on paper or in one's mind. The Gita is right to say that there are no visible signs of enlightenment, but I would go further. The enlightened person ceases to be a person and attains a connection to pure consciousness that erases all boundaries. My deepest gratitude goes to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi for showing me that this state of unity exists outside folk tales, temples, organized religion, and scripture itself. To live and breathe in unity consciousness is unfathomable, but in at least one case, I am sure it is real.
The Times of India: Beatles are angels on earth
'Beatles are angels on earth, said Maharishi'
15 Feb 2006, 0108 hrs IST,TNN
NEW DELHI: The souring of relations between the Beatles and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has always been amystery for the world.
There was a reconciliatory meeting between Maharishi and George Harrison, and TOI's Guest Editor on Monday Deepak Chopra was the only other person present there.
In September 1991, Harrison asked Chopra to set up a meeting with Maharishi, which he did. "We got on to a chartered plane, which had just dropped off Paul McCartney to Monte Carlo.
George wrote a note to Paul, saying, "Guess whom we're going to meet", and signed it 'Jai Gurudev'. Then we flew to Vlodrop, in the Netherlands, where Maharishi was staying.
It was an emotional meeting. As Chopra tells it, Harrison first presented Maharishi a rose. This was followed by a long silence.
Then Maharishi asked, "How have you been?" George replied, "Some good things (have happened), some bad things."
Then he added, "You must know about John being assassinated." Maharishi replied, "I was very sorry to hear about it."
After some time, Harrison spoke. "I came to apologize," he said. "For what?" asked Maharishi. "You know for what," replied Harrison.
"Tell Deepak the real story," said Maharishi. Harrison said, "I don't know about it 100%, but here's what I know transpired." And he narrated the incident about the Beatles being asked to leave.
Did Maharishi harbor any bitterness towards the Beatles?
Chopra smiled. "Part of the Beatles lore is that when they made their first appearance on American TV, on the Ed Sullivan show, there was no crime in the US for that one hour.
Maharishi told us, 'When I heard this, I knew the Beatles were angels on earth. It doesn't matter what John said or did, I could never be upset with angels'. On hearing that, George broke down and wept." There was another long silence. Then Harrison told Maharishi, "I love you" and Maharishi responded, "I love you too."
The two left, and Harrison later phoned Chopra and told him, "A huge karmic baggage has been lifted from me, because I didn't want to lie."
Maharish in rishikesh
When Maharishi threw Beatles out
15 Feb 2006, 0001 hrs IST,TNN NEW DELHI: This is a true story of love and bitterness, recrimination and reconciliation. It's a story of glamour and spirituality, drugs and rock 'n' roll. It's about four men whom the world worshipped, and the mentor they first adored, then abhorred. It's a story that has never before been told in its entirety, though gossip and rumors have swirled around it for years.
Why exactly did relations between the Beatles and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi sour? Was there any truth to the allegations that the Maharishi had propositioned a friend of the Beatles? As an erstwhile disciple of the Maharishi, and a close friend of the Beatles, spiritual master Deepak Chopra is probably one of the few people who knew the real story.
He said after some prodding: "The Beatles - along with their entourage, which included Mia Farrow - were doing drugs, taking LSD, at Maharishi's ashram, and he lost his temper with them. He asked them to leave, and they did in a huff. But when they went to the US, John Lennon gave an interview on the Johnny Carson show, accusing Maharishi of being a dirty old man. Later, Lennon also wrote a satirical song about Maharishi, which went: Sexy Sadie, what have you done/you made a fool of everyone."
But I'm sure there was never any truth to Lennon's allegations," added Chopra.
"In fact, the rumour was that Maharishi had misbehaved with Mia Farrow, but I met Mia years later at the airport while taking a flight to India, and she asked me to tell Maharishi that she still loved him."
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