Des Moines, USA - Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the guru most responsible for making meditation a household word in the world, has stepped down this month as the head of the global TM organisation he founded in 1958.
Ken Chwkwin, a media relations official in Maharishi's organisation based in Iowa, confirmed the news to IANS.
The Jabalpur born 91-year-old guru had announced his retirement Jan 11. He normally makes major announcements every year around that time after going into silence for a week or so in the New Year. Jan 12 is his birthday.
Maharishi, who was a jet-setting guru once, had been withdrawing himself from public life for the past many years. In the recent past, he only spoke to the press and others through video conferencing.
His plans now include working on a commentary of the Vedas.
A Lebanese doctor, 'Maharaja Nader Raam', a name given to him by the Maharishi, will take over the TM organisation, according to reports.
Many associate the guru's name with the Beatles who stayed with him in his Rishikesh ashram in the 1960s, but the Maharishi would go down in history as the man who brought meditation to the West, making it available irrespective of colour, creed, nationality or religion.
He simplified meditation and welcomed its validation through scientific research. He also trained hundreds of teachers who taught it through structured courses to millions.
TM involves using a monosyllabic mantra without concentrating on it. It helps the mind to quieten down, in turn giving deep rest to the body.
Maharishi later introduced TM-Sidhis and held yogic flying demonstrations, which were not convincing. His claims that a large percentage of population meditating will usher in peace and harmony in a country or the world also remain unproved.
A votary of all things Vedic, the Maharishi also promoted ayurveda, traditional form of Indian medicine, jyotish or astrology and vastu shastra, the ancient Indian science of architecture. He set up educational institutions including the Maharishi University of Management in Iowa, USA, which now has over 1,000 students.
Not many would know that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Art of Living founder, and Deepak Chopra, author and New Age guru, were under his tutelage before they branched out on their own.
Maharishi himself was a disciple of the Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath, near Badrinath in the Himalayas. He avowedly belongs to the Yoga-Vedanta or Sanatan Hindu Dharma tradition.