Vethathiri Maharishi Life History

Shri Vethathiri Maharishi was born in 1911 in the village of Guduvancheri, 30 km south of Chennai,
ndia, into an indigent weaver!s famil"# $rom his "outh he was driven b" the desire for knowledge
and in %articular strove to find answers to three &uestions' ()hat is God*+ ()hat is life*+ ()h" is
%overt" in the world*+ ,he search to find these answers as well as to further his lot in life led him
into various fields of endeavor, including becoming a &ualified %ractitioner of two s"stems of ndian
indigenous medicine, -"urveda and Siddha, and certified %ractitioner .omeo%ath" as well#
-fter s%ending several "ears in various minor em%lo"ments, he established a te/tile concern that
grew to em%lo" over 0000 workers on a %rofit sharing basis that would be thought %rogressive even
toda"# -lthough constantl" bus" with famil" and business matters, he alwa"s found time to %ursue
his dee% desire to achieve self1reali2ation and reali2ation of ,ruth#
Several "ears of intense meditation and intros%ection brought him full enlightenment at the age of
thirt" five# -t the age of fift" he closed his commercial ventures and devoted himself solel" to
s%iritual service so as to guide sincere s%iritual as%irants b" transmitting and sharing with them his
e/%eriences and revelations of ,ruth# 3ven though his life has long been dedicated s%iritual and
social service he has remained a (householder+, i#e# he has not broken his famil" ties and taken
vows of renunciation, but rather lived in the indigenous Siddha tradition, maintaining famil" ties
and fulfilling his duties#
$rom his enlightenment till toda", Shri Vethathiri Maharishi has received knowledge of the origin
and functions of the cosmos and all as%ects of life, as 4ature revealed to his inner vision# 5uring
these "ears he has s%ontaneousl" written over 0000 %oems on %hiloso%hical sub6ects# .e remains
dedicated to serving his fellow beings b" conve"ing his understanding of universe and the 7ne
Su%reme 8ower through his s%eeches and writings# n the ndian 8hiloso%hical tradition, his
%hiloso%h" corres%onds to %ure advaits9 it ma" be called %antheistic monism# .is language and
attitudes are contem%orar", non1sectarian and non1dogmatic# -s of date, he has authored about :0
books in ,amil and 3nglish#
Shri Vethathiri Maharishi gives us a com%rehensive and integrated revelation of the e/istence and
functions of the 7ne ;ealit"9 his e/%osition from the origin of the cosmos to the observed natural
%henomena com%rises the Vethathiri"an Model of the <niverse# )ith this com%rehensive view,
science and religion are reconciled and unified, to their mutual enhancement and com%letion# ="
integrating science and religion, global harmon" and %eace will follow, based on universal
understanding of 7ne ,ruth, and reverence and res%ect for all its manifestations# ,he (S>?
S"stem@,he human being is a combination of the %h"sical bod", mind and life force# ,o ac&uire and
maintain inner %eace and harmon", self knowledge and s"stematic %h"sical and %s"chic %ractices
are essential# ,he com%lete s"stem, referred to as (S>?+, evolved b" Maharishi consists of the
following#
Simplified Physical Exercise: ,o maintain health and %revent disease9
KayaKalpa Yoga: -n ancient Siddha %ractice for enhancement of life energ"9
Simplified Kundalini Yoga: - s"stem of meditation clarit" and strength of mind9
Introspection: - %ractical methodolog" for sublimating the negative emotions of greed, anger,
vengeance, worries, etc# <nderstanding of the Aaws of 4ature as well as one!s relationshi% with
4ature and with societ" is rationall" and %racticall" elucidated, %roviding a holistic education which
is essential for ever" human being# Maharishi has been striving for )orld 8eace for over four
decades# n his book entitled )orld 8eace %ublished 19B:9 he has reviewed the condition of
humanit", identified the %roblems affecting mankind and delineated a com%rehensive %lan for
bringing about total transformation in societ" so as to achieve %eace, %ros%erit" and harmon"# .is is
a global %ers%ective covering the fields of %olitics, economics, education, science, medicine,
%s"cholog" and %hiloso%h"#
7rgani2ations'n 19BC Shri Vethathiri Maharishi founded the )orld Communit" Service Centre
D)CSCE, a non1%rofit registered societ" with a view to work towards )orld 8eace through
individual %eace# -s of toda", more than 000 trusts and about 1000 meditation centers have been
registered and affiliated to )CSC in ndia, and thousands of %eo%le have benefited %h"sicall",
mentall", sociall" and s%irituall" from the teachings and %ractices# $rom 19:0 to 1993, he traveled
abroad annuall", lecturing and teaching e/tensivel" in Fa%an, South >orea, Mala"sia, Singa%ore and
<#S#-#
n 19CG he founded the (Vethathiri Maharishi >undalini ?oga and >a"a>al%a ;esearch
$oundation+ based in -li"ar, 8ollachi, ,amil 4adu# $acilities are %rovided for large grou%s to sta"
and undergo S>? courses of several da"s duration in a %eaceful and beautiful natural environment#
,he ,em%le of Consciousness is the center%iece of the cam%us# <nlike other tem%les, this one is
consecrated to reali2ation of consciousness solel" trough meditation and contem%lation9 no deities
are installed nor are rituals of an" kind %erformed# Consciousness is recogni2ed as the universal,
integrated order of function' the omniscient, omni%resent &ualit" of the entire cosmos H time, s%ace
and &ualit" invariant#