02-11-2008, 08:43 PM
Thousands attend Maharishi's funeral in India
ALLAHABAD (AP): Thousands of followers chanted hymns Monday as the body of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the guru celebrated for bringing meditation to the West, was cremated in India at one of Hinduism's holiest sites.
The funeral pyre was lit by relatives of the Maharishi, who died last week at his headquarters in the Netherlands. He was believed to be 91.
A helicopter circled the area, dropping thousands of rose petals as the Maharishi's body was brought to a hilltop overlooking the confluence of the sacred Ganges and Yamuna rivers in the northern city of Allahabad.
Police struggled to control a surge by thousands of Indian followers to the funeral site.
The Maharishi won international prominence for himself and his meditation techniques when the Beatles attended one of his lectures in Wales in 1967 and visited his ashram in India in 1968.
He brought the ancient Hindu practice of mind control, which he called transcendental meditation, or just TM, to the West, creating a global movement with more than 5 million practitioners.
About 2,000 followers from around the world came to India for his funeral.
``He was such a great teacher, he opened the fullness of life to me. He allowed me to experience the eternity and infinity within myself,'' said Royal Lillge, 58, from Boise, Idaho, a TM teacher since 1970.
While the Maharishi gained medical respectability for meditation _ with scores of studies showing that meditation reduces stress, lowers blood pressure and improves concentration _ skeptics scoffed at his notion that group meditation could harness the power of the universe to end all conflicts and cure world hunger.
Nevertheless, a group of 48 ministers and rajas led by Maharaja Adhiraj Rajaram, who took over the Maharishi's leadership duties, vowed Sunday to continue to strive for those goals.
Rajaram announced that 48 schools or universities teaching TM and ``Yogic flying,'' showcased as the ultimate level of transcendence, would be built in 48 countries to continue the Maharishi's teachings as a memorial to him.
Rajaram's ``royal proclamation'' was read out by John Heglin, another senior leader in the movement, as Rajaram does not speak in public because he believes he can better lead by silence.
Even though the Maharishi was an iconic figure in the West, he remained virtually unknown to the majority of Indians.
His funeral Monday, attended by thousands of Indians, coincided with a separate annual pilgrimage by millions of pilgrims to the area, where according to Hindu mythology, gods and demons spilled nectar during a celestial war.
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ALLAHABAD (AP): Thousands of followers chanted hymns Monday as the body of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the guru celebrated for bringing meditation to the West, was cremated in India at one of Hinduism's holiest sites.
The funeral pyre was lit by relatives of the Maharishi, who died last week at his headquarters in the Netherlands. He was believed to be 91.
A helicopter circled the area, dropping thousands of rose petals as the Maharishi's body was brought to a hilltop overlooking the confluence of the sacred Ganges and Yamuna rivers in the northern city of Allahabad.
Police struggled to control a surge by thousands of Indian followers to the funeral site.
The Maharishi won international prominence for himself and his meditation techniques when the Beatles attended one of his lectures in Wales in 1967 and visited his ashram in India in 1968.
He brought the ancient Hindu practice of mind control, which he called transcendental meditation, or just TM, to the West, creating a global movement with more than 5 million practitioners.
About 2,000 followers from around the world came to India for his funeral.
``He was such a great teacher, he opened the fullness of life to me. He allowed me to experience the eternity and infinity within myself,'' said Royal Lillge, 58, from Boise, Idaho, a TM teacher since 1970.
While the Maharishi gained medical respectability for meditation _ with scores of studies showing that meditation reduces stress, lowers blood pressure and improves concentration _ skeptics scoffed at his notion that group meditation could harness the power of the universe to end all conflicts and cure world hunger.
Nevertheless, a group of 48 ministers and rajas led by Maharaja Adhiraj Rajaram, who took over the Maharishi's leadership duties, vowed Sunday to continue to strive for those goals.
Rajaram announced that 48 schools or universities teaching TM and ``Yogic flying,'' showcased as the ultimate level of transcendence, would be built in 48 countries to continue the Maharishi's teachings as a memorial to him.
Rajaram's ``royal proclamation'' was read out by John Heglin, another senior leader in the movement, as Rajaram does not speak in public because he believes he can better lead by silence.
Even though the Maharishi was an iconic figure in the West, he remained virtually unknown to the majority of Indians.
His funeral Monday, attended by thousands of Indians, coincided with a separate annual pilgrimage by millions of pilgrims to the area, where according to Hindu mythology, gods and demons spilled nectar during a celestial war.
check the language