Thankfullness

MAHARISHI PANDITS

With admiration and respect for the thousands of vedic pandits in India who, day by day, keep alive the tradition of Vedic Recitations, enlivening Natural Law in the world, purifying the environment from negativity and bringing well-being to people. UNESCO has declared the oral tradition of Vedic chanting Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2003. They declared the chanting of Vedas in India an outstanding example of heritage and form of cultural expressions. The proclamation says that in the age of globalization and modernization when cultural diversity is under pressure, the preservation of oral tradition of Vedic chanting, a unique cultural heritage has great significance. Although the Vedas continue to play an important role in contemporary Indian life, only thirteen of the over one thousand Vedic recitation branches have survived. Moreover, the Vedic Tradition is consider under imminent threat. Nowadays, students are reluctant to be pandits and their parents are reluctant too because they want academic studies so that their children can get a better job. In addition, nowadays most families have one or two children. Earlier, there were 10 or 12 children per family, so they could send one or two of their boys to study the Vedas. Being a pandit is a profession that the father teaches the son, but that is not remunerated. The income comes from variable voluntary contributions. This is another reason why many young pandits have defected from their ancestral profession seeking better income and opportunities. The last several decades has seen only neglect and official apathy. The verses of the Vedas are traditionally chanted during sacred rituals and recited daily in Vedic communities. The value of this tradition lies not only in the rich content of its oral literature but also in the science and technology behind the recitations. The Pandits exercised enormous care to preserve the unwritten Vedas in their original form, to safeguard their tonal and verbal purity. The insistence on preserving pronunciation and accent as accurately as possible is related to the fact that the potency of the mantras lies in their sound when pronounced. Many research studies have demonstrated the power of recitation of the Veda by the Vedic Pandits of India for the individual and society. In the absence of writing, and through only an oral transmission from father-to- son or guru-to-shishya, the Veda has survived for thousands of years; this is an accomplishment of unimaginable proportion. The way in which the Vedas are chanted today is the same way in which they were recited thousands of years back. Vedic chanting and Yagya are a timeless Vedic technology for the prevention of problems and the promotion of success and good fortune. These Vedic technologies involves the application of specific prescribed Vedic sounds recited from a fine level of awareness by trained Vedic experts in order to achieve a specific effect: for example, to defuse impending dangers, to promote health and financial success—or even, if there is group of Pandits large enough, to promote world peace. Vedic recitations should be projected from awareness grounded in the silent Transcendental level of speech, where the link between sound and form —between desire and fulfillment of desire— is intimately connected and enormously powerful. Yagyas were the part & parcel of the regular routine of the individual and public life in Vedic civilization. “The Vishnu Purana says: Performance of Yagyas regularly is beneficial to man and bestows peace”. Vedic Yagyas create a life supporting effects by avoiding any unwanted trends before it manifests. 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.”  —Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

MAHARISHI MAHESH YOGI

In honor of His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of Transcendental Meditation and Maharishi Vedic Science, disciple of the Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math, Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, from whom he received his teachings and the mission to enlighten the entire world through Vedic technologies: Yoga Shanti, Graha Shanti and Vastu Shanti. Maharishi trained more than 500,000 vedic pandits in India in these technologies and gave to them an special daily program to establish world peace in a permanent way. The purpose of the development and application of Vedic Chanting technology, the recitation of the Veda by the Vedic Pandits of India to enliven all the Devata, and education of the whole population in the knowledge of Vedoham to truly make India Veda Bhumi Bharat, Deva Bhumi Bharat, Purna Bhumi Bharat—India to become a great lighthouse of peace for the world. “India — Veda Bhumi, Deva Bhumi, Purna Bhumi Bharat to radiate the nourishing influence of Veda, Natural Law, to every country. All national and international aspirations of the people of India will be fulfilled by the Total Knowledge of Natural Law, Vedic Science and Technology radiating from India, which will enlighten world consciousness and fulfill the age-old ancient aspiration of Mother India, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah.” — Maharishi Mahesh Yogi