Who runs the Transcendental Meditation organization—and what's a raja?

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi founded and structured the non-profit Transcendental Meditation organization so that it would perpetuate itself and continue providing proper instruction in the TM technique, for this and future generations. At the head of the TM educational organization in each country is a chief administrator called a 'raja' (the Sanskrit word 'raja' means 'administrator' or 'one who rules'). The raja for the United States is quantum physicist John Hagelin. The chief administrator for the global TM organization is a Lebanese scientist and physician named Tony Nader, M.D., Ph.D., referred to as 'Rajaram,' meaning 'administrator of rajas.'

The TM rajas (women rajas are called 'raja rajeswaris') were successful, outstanding leaders in their fields—business, law, education, software development, scientific research, philanthropy, etc.—who shifted careers to volunteer their time to furthering meditation and helping create world peace. The rajas have also spent thousands of hours exploring the deeper, more subtle aspects of human consciousness through the Transcendental Meditation technique and its advanced programs, thereby gaining greater self-knowledge and clarity of mind to administer their areas with more efficiency and command.


Why are they called 'rajas?' 
 
Maharishi revived the ancient science of consciousness, Vedic Science, which includes various technologies for self development, prevention of disease and promotion of health and longevity. The Transcendental Meditation program is one such approach, but Maharishi also restored and systematized Vedic approaches to health care, architecture, agriculture, and even music.

From this same ancient Vedic tradition comes the profession of the raja, traditionally an administrator of a community or society, whose role is to maintain peace and order—not through weapons or show of force but through expertise in the peace-promoting approaches of Vedic Science, such as yoga and group meditation. Over the long lapse of time, the tradition of the rajas eventually dissolved and other, less peaceful means were then used to establish order. Police organizations, the criminal justice system, and the military now exist to enforce rule of law, but there has been no one responsible in modern times for creating and maintaining true peace within a nation's collective consciousness. Recognizing the current and urgent need for a non-violent means to create peace, the raja concept was reborn.

Why the special attire?

Rajas usually wear the same kind of clothes as anyone else—a jacket and tie, or more casual wear—but they also have their ceremonial attire symbolizing and identifying their profession, just as a judge, a military person or diplomat has their ceremonial attire. The raja's attire helps distinguish the role of peacekeeper and reflects the dignity of this profession. 


The original effectiveness of the Vedic approaches to develop consciousness and create peace were long lost to society, East and West, before Maharishi's revival of Vedic Science. The raja's regal attire sends a quiet message: for the good health and progress of society, it serves us well to acknowledge and honor the importance of peacekeepers and not let this cherished role in society be lost or forgotten.


For most people in Western society, the formal ceremonial attire of a raja is new—and may take some getting used to. But the raja's influence on society takes no time to get used to—everyone wants peace, everyone wants harmony and prosperity and good health. That is the function of the raja.
 
 What is the Global Country of World Peace?

Flag of the Global Country of World Peace

This is the name of the global level of the non-profit TM organization, but it also stands for the collective endeavor of all peace-loving people everywhere working to create lasting world peace—all of whom are regarded as citizens of this "country without borders." It is called a country because, like a sovereign country, it has its domain of responsibility—to help create and maintain peace within the collective consciousness of the whole world. It is not merely an organization of well-wishers or committees that meet to talk about peace. The Global Country of World Peace is dedicated to implementing scientifically proven technologies and creating the desired effects.

The charter of the Global Country of World Peace states that its purpose is to uphold and nourish every country’s constitution by softening the divisive influence of nationalism and national borders, which can sometimes arbitrarily separate humanity from humanity. The Global Country of World Peace utilizes peace-creating technologies based on the unified field of natural law.


What is natural law—and what is the unified field?

The natural sciences, such as physics, chemistry and biology, have discovered innumerable physical laws that describe nature's orderly functioning with mathematical precision. Progress in theoretical physics during the past quarter century has led to a progressively more unified understanding of the laws of nature, culminating in the recent discovery of completely unified field theories based on the superstring. These theories locate a single, universal, unified field of order at the basis of all forms and phenomena in the universe. Millions of times more fundamental and more powerful than the nuclear force, the unified field is the ultimate source of the order (or, as some may prefer, intelligence) displayed throughout the universe.

The Global Country of World Peace creates an influence of peace from this deepest, most powerful level of natural law, the level of life where everyone and everything is interconnected. By utilizing the field of organizing power that upholds all order and harmony throughout nature, the peace-creating approaches of the Global Country of World Peace defuse social stress and enliven coherence in individual and collective consciousness.

To learn more about the practical, scientific foundation of these approaches to peace, please visit: http://www.globalpeaceinitiative.net/


Video: Physicist John Hagelin explains the discovery of the unified field and how it relates to human consciousness