- Email: [email protected]
A new educational paradigm for the new millennium
Futures, Vol. 30, No. 7, pp. 717–724, 1998 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved Printed in Great Britain 0016–3287/98 $19.00 + 0.00
Pergamon
PII: S0016–3287(98)00078-0
A NEW EDUCATIONAL PARADIGM FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM Consciousness-based education James Grant It is the year 2050 and education is dramatically different from education in the 20th century. At the basis of the new education is the insight that a field of pure consciousness exists which can easily be experienced by all. From this insight, a new educational paradigm has emerged—consciousness-based education—with a more profound understanding of human development and how to promote it. The primary goal of education now is enlightenment and the entire curriculum is organised to foster this goal. The flowering of human potential produced by this educational approach has created a new age for humanity—the Age of Enlightenment. 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
It is the year 2050 and the world is at peace with itself. There are no international conflicts, no standing armies, minimal crime within countries, and robust economies with little inflation or unemployment. Harmony exists between and within nations; differences in religion, culture, and ethnicity are appreciated for the richness they contribute to collective culture. Love and joy predominate. In short, this is the Age of Enlightenment. A key feature of this new age is the status and resources given to education. Schools and universities are the most prized institutions in society because they are recognised to be the foundation of the new age. Resources that were formerly devoted to the military James D. Grant is at 1000 N. 4th St. FM 1064, Fairfield, IA 52557 (Tel: 515-472-7000 × 5022; fax: 515-4727884; email: [email protected]). Transcendental Meditation, TM-Sidhi, and Consciousness-Based are registered or common law trademarks licensed to Maharishi Vedic Education Development Corporation and used under sublicense or with permission.
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Consciousness-based education: J Grant
and social problems are now funnelled into education, allowing ample support for all who want to attend, to whatever level of post-secondary education they choose. Education in the Age of Enlightenment is radically different from late-20th-century education. The technological revolution contributed partly to this transformation. In the year 2050, individuals can access virtually any information through the Internet and it is free of charge. All books, journals, newspapers, and government reports are available on-line and access to the Internet is ubiquitous. In addition, there is on-line access to live lectures (lectures at major universities are videotaped and instantaneously archived for Internet access) and electronic ‘tutors’—highly developed educational software—in all major educational areas. These allow students of all ages to take any course, or any academic program, from home—or anywhere in the world. The revolution in information technology has led to the true globalisation of education. Electronic language translators built into the Internet have eliminated language barriers. It is now possible, therefore, for students in any country to tune into lectures, course materials, and books produced by educators in any other country, as well as their own. Because all education is publicly funded, there are no cost implications of this for the individual. This globalisation of knowledge access has been an important contributor to the diminishing of economic disparities between nations and, consequently, to the economic robustness of the world economy. Despite this universal access to knowledge, the demise of in-residence, post-secondary institutions foreseen by late-20th century educational pundits has not occurred. This reflects another, even more fundamental, change in education: the emphasis on developing higher states of consciousness. The transition to consciousness-based education The most striking difference in mid-21st century, post-secondary institutions from those of the late 20th century is their emphasis on promoting enlightenment and the associated holistic view of knowledge. At the basis of this new perspective on education is one central idea—that there is a field of pure consciousness, an unmanifest absolute field of life at the source of all creation, which can be easily experienced regardless of temperament or background. The understanding that there is an unmanifest field of life at the source of both subjective and objective creation is a very old one. Aldous Huxley in the 20th century had referred to this understanding as ‘the perennial philosophy’ precisely because it was so old and shared by so many cultures. Plato, for example, had referred to this field as the Good, Lao Tze as the Tao, Buddhist sages as Nirvana, Vedic rishis as Atma, Aristotle as Being, Emerson as the Oversoul, and so forth. Though the concept of an unmanifest source of all life was ancient, wide-spread acceptance of the existence of this field and understanding of its implications for life had not occurred until the beginning of the 21st century. Many individuals contributed to the revival of the perennial perspective. Among the persons most responsible, however, because of ability to develop institutions and provide scientific evidence for the perennial perspective, was the Indian exponent of the Vedic tradition of knowledge, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Maharishi, in the last half of the 20th century, brought out a full revival of the Vedic tradition of knowledge, showing its relevance for all areas of life, from education and
718
Consciousness-based education: J Grant
business to medicine, defence, and government. Maharishi, in his life-long exposition of Vedic Science, made several significant contributions to the acceptance of the consciousness-based paradigm. First, he provided detailed understanding of pure consciousness and its value for life. Second, he dispelled the misconception that meditation is just for recluses, demonstrating its profound benefits for individuals engaged in the world. Third, he also dispelled the misunderstanding that meditation is difficult. He taught effortless, non-sectarian technologies for developing consciousness, especially the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs, that gave millions of people benefit of the experience of pure consciousness. Finally, and perhaps most significantly for the wide-spread acceptance of this knowledge, he encouraged scientific research to verify the value of experience of pure consciousness for life. This scientific research was highly significant because it bridged the chasm between the great subjective traditions of meditation and the objective paradigm of modern science. It made concrete and objective many of the deep truths associated with spiritual traditions throughout time. This research, begun in the 1970s, was of three kinds.1 The first verified that there were unique psycho-physiological characteristics of the experience of pure consciousness. Initial research verified that subjective experience of transcendence did comprise a unique fourth state of consciousness, characterised by deep physiological rest and heightened mental alertness, different from waking, sleeping or dreaming consciousness.2 Later research confirmed the unique psycho-physiological correlates of the stabilised state of enlightenment.3 Physiological research of a different sort, but of fundamental significance, established the profound correspondence between the expressions of pure consciousness, as found in the Vedic Literature, and the structure of human physiology.4 This discovery, by Dr. Tony Nader under Maharishi’s guidance, concretely demonstrated that the total potential of Natural Law—pure consciousness— is lively within the human physiology. The second sort of research examined the practical benefit of experience of pure consciousness for activity. This research showed profound and wide-ranging benefits consistent with the premise that pure consciousness is a fundamental field of intelligence and orderliness. Research showed that experience of pure consciousness led to significant improvement in all areas of life—mind, body, and behaviour. Specific findings on individuals practicing Transcendental Meditation included sharply reduced medical expenditures in all major health categories, improved academic performance, growth of IQ, greater psychological balance, unprecedented growth on measures of self development, and significantly reduced recidivism in prison inmates.5 The third highly significant area of research looked at the environmental influence of practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs. This research consisted of dozens of carefully controlled research studies showing that significant positive effects are created in society—reductions in negative tendencies such as crime, violence, sickness, and accident rates, and increases in positive indicators such as political cooperation and economic indices—when a sufficient number of individuals practice the TM and TM-Sidhi programs. It is possible for individuals meditating in one place to affect those in a far distant place because all individuals are connected at the level of pure consciousness. When, for a given population, a critical number of people enliven the underlying field of consciousness, the effect is great enough to influence the individual consciousness and physiology of individuals not meditating. Individuals, therefore, can gain the benefit of transcending without meditating themselves. On an individual level,
719
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these benefits include more effective activity, happiness, and positivity, effects which translate on a societal level into less frustration, less violence, and greater cooperation.6 This research on the collective effects of meditation had great significance both for the confirmation it provided of the field nature of consciousness and for the practical solution it suggested to the myriad problems of 20th century society. In fact, it was the creation of large ‘creating coherence groups’ on all major continents in the 21st century that caused the transition to the Age of Enlightenment. The enlivenment—or raising—of consciousness created by these groups led to the dissolution of social stress and the dropping away of negative behaviours. It also stimulated people around the world to be more interested in spiritual goals and to attain enlightenment for themselves. Educational implications of the existence of pure consciousness7 The discovery—or perhaps, more accurately, empirical confirmation—of the existence of pure consciousness and a technique for easily contacting it radically changed the character of education. The implications of this understanding of consciousness for higher education were first introduced by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in institutions that he began to create in the late 20th century. Maharishi International University, later to become Maharishi University of Management, was the first of these institutions. It was founded in 1971 in Iowa in the US. Later, he founded Maharishi Vedic Universities and Maharishi Universities of Management around the world. Maharishi called these institutions ‘Consciousness-Based’SM universities because they were based on the existence of the field of pure consciousness. Now, in the year 2050, all universities have become consciousness based and are governed by significantly different principles than guided 20th century institutions. Understanding of the fundamentals of education has changed, including conceptions of knowledge and development, and as a result, the goals of education are understood differently. As a reflection of these more fundamental changes, educational practices have also changed, including the introduction of new courses and disciplines and a transformation in the approach of existing disciplines to their subject matter. Goals of education Goals of education can be formulated both from individualistic and societal perspectives, but there is one formulation that encompasses both: the full development of human potential. As John Dewey wrote 100 years ago, ‘Here individualism and socialism are at one. Only by being true to the full growth of all the individuals who make it up, can society by any chance be true to itself.’8 Recognition that enlightenment is the state of full human potential has considerably altered the focus of higher education. Whereas 20th century institutions focused on learning, contemporary institutions emphasise development, particularly development of consciousness. Whereas in the 20th century the goal was to create a knowledgeable person, now the goal is to create an enlightened person. The ability of education, through providing knowledge and experience of pure consciousness, to create enlightened individuals makes it possible also to conceive of an ideal society. It is not by chance that Plato’s Republic, which is the first systematic western treatise explaining the nature and importance of pure consciousness, is also the first systematic western treatise on the creation of utopia. The ability of education to develop fully enlightened individuals who have knowledge of ultimate reality creates the possibility of
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Consciousness-based education: J Grant
a more perfect society. As Maharishi says: ‘A few fully educated or enlightened individuals are sufficient to give a new direction to the life of their community and by their very presence bring about an enlightened society, create and maintain world peace, and establish Heaven on Earth.’9 In his Science of Being and Art of Living, Maharishi presented this new potential for society in moving terms: A new humanity will be born, fuller in conception and richer in experience and accomplishments in all fields. Joy of life will belong to every man, love will dominate human society, truth and virtue will reign in the world, peace on earth will be permanent, and all will live in fulfilment in fullness of life in [enlightenment].10
Change in educational practices The emphasis on growth of consciousness is a major reason that post-secondary institutions exist to the extent that they do in 2050, despite the near-universal access to knowledge allowed by technology. Growth of consciousness is enhanced through collective practice of meditation and simultaneous growth of intellectual understanding. An in-residence collegiate environment thus provides an optimal situation for this growth to occur. In addition, the benefit to society of having large coherence-creating groups has created a societal incentive to retain the tradition of physical attendance at colleges and universities. The social benefit in terms of enlivenment of collective consciousness and consequent elimination of social problems more than pays for the cost of publicly supporting education. The reorientation of post-secondary education to the fostering of enlightenment has led to significant changes, including the introduction of new courses and disciplines and a transformation in the approach of existing disciplines to their subject matter. Perhaps the most fundamental change is that all students collectively meditate morning and evening. This practice constitutes a course—research in consciousness—required of all students. Students, in addition to their academic report cards, receive a psychophysiological report card that indicates growth to enlightenment. These report cards are possible because of clear understanding of the psychophysiological correlates of growth of consciousness and the development of technology that can easily measure these correlates. In addition to the required course in research in consciousness, there are other new academic courses and disciplines that relate to the knowledge of consciousness. Of greatest importance is the now standard discipline of the Science of Consciousness, also known as Vedic Science. The Science of Consciousness Department oversees courses and academic programs that provide intellectual understanding of development of consciousness. Because complete knowledge requires both experience and intellectual understanding, all students in current consciousness-oriented institutions take an on-going course in knowledge of consciousness to complement their experience-based research in consciousness program. This course is interdisciplinary in nature. Topics range from abstract understanding of the nature of pure consciousness, found for example in the Vedic Literature, to practical understanding of the mechanics of development of consciousness; they cover scientific understanding of the physiological correlates of growth of consciousness as well as investigations into expressions of this underlying reality found in the art, literature, religion, and philosophy of the great traditions of the world. The Science of Consciousness Department offers not only individual courses but complete
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academic programs at the bachelors, masters, and doctoral level. The study of consciousness is now its own discipline. The approach to teaching established disciplines as well as the subject matter of these disciplines has also changed due to the acceptance of the consciousness-based paradigm. One general change in the 21st century curriculum is the emphasis on wholeness and connection. On the level of consciousness, everything is connected. Wholeness is the ultimate reality and this realisation colours the entire curriculum. Understanding of wholeness is fostered experientially through the growth of consciousness produced by meditation—a developed consciousness spontaneously sees life in terms of connections. Intellectually it is fostered through a variety of modalities. One is the science of consciousness course that systematically explores the holistic basis of all life, pure consciousness, and how this wholeness manifests in the different relative fields. A second is use of large charts in all courses that graphically represent how all areas of a discipline relate to each other and their source in pure consciousness. A third is emphasis on common principles that function in all of the disciplines. An example is the principle of self-referral, considered the first principle of nature’s functioning. This principle is seen in physics in the self-interacting dynamics of the unified field, in electrical engineering in the notion of feedback, in art in the source of creative inspiration deep in the mind, and in education in its goal to create independent, selfsufficient individuals who are capable of directing their own lives. Emphasis on basic principles such as self-referral—and wholeness, growth, and alternation of rest and activity—helps students appreciate deep connections within and between disciplines. Full understanding of consciousness has also impacted the content and goals of many disciplines. We have seen this clearly with regard to education. Understanding of pure consciousness has changed our understanding of the goal of education, the nature of knowledge, and courses to be taken. This has also been true of many other disciplines. The arts and literature have been transformed by the understanding that the highest aesthetic experience is transcendence, experience of pure consciousness. Art and literature now exalt this experience and seek to promote spiritual refinement. Twentieth century art and literature now seem crude in retrospect. In the social sciences, understanding of pure consciousness has also brought dramatic transformation. Psychology, which floundered in the 20th century without an adequate understanding of the mind, is now making important contributions to human welfare. The field has been immeasurably enriched by understanding of transcendence and enlightenment. Growth to higher states of consciousness is now a major field of study, and the practice of transcendence is thoroughly integrated into all the applied areas of psychology. In sociology, the new understanding of collective consciousness has transformed the field. The understanding that everyone in society is connected at the level of pure consciousness, and that enlivenment of this field by even a small percentage of individuals can raise the collective consciousness of the whole society, has changed the way sociologists approach collective problems. This, in turn, has also had a significant impact on the field of government. Political scientists now recognise that the greatest determinant of political outcomes is collective consciousness. The collective consciousness of a society is a direct and sensitive reflection of the level of consciousness of its individual members, and in turn becomes a force of its own influencing individual consciousness. When collective consciousness is incoherent—reflecting and in turn exacerbating the stress of individual members—conflict dominates and the interest of the indi-
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vidual and group supersedes that of the whole. As collective consciousness rises, harmony grows and values become more enlightened, reflecting a simultaneous respect for the whole and the part. Cooperation and peace are now much more the emphasis of study, rather than conflict and war. Consciousness is now seen to be a key determinant of political behaviour on the individual and collective level. In the natural sciences, the appreciation of the unity of man with nature has softened the rash move of 20th century science to dominate and replace nature. The environment is deeply respected and natural approaches to everything from agriculture to medicine are studied and practiced. Approaches such as genetic engineering and cloning are now recognised to be the height of folly, the misplaced attempt to replace nature’s intelligence with man’s intelligence. The discipline of physics has been subtly transformed by the realisation that the laws of nature outside are the same laws that function inside the human being and in all human endeavours from art to politics. Most fundamentally, physics now recognises that exploration of the finest levels of creation, and especially the unified field, requires subjective technologies such as meditation because they cannot be grasped by objective technologies. In general, science has a more humanistic face, and it has advanced tremendously with the aid of scientists whose minds are functioning with the profound intuition characteristic of the enlightened mind. Conclusion Life in the mid-21st century is very different from what it has been in the past centuries. The lack of violence, the level of prosperity, the degree of individual and collective happiness, the spirituality are so distinctive that they define a new age in human history—the Age of Enlightenment. In this age, individuality is fully vibrant, because individuals are living their full potential, and yet harmony reigns because of the lively quality of love that permeates society. The leading dynamic of this age is not craving for wealth and power, as in earlier ages, but the desire for growth of consciousness, that holistic growth encompassing both spiritual and relative values. The lurking enemy of this age is not chemical or nuclear weapons, but a complacency that comes when relative life is so good, leading citizens to forget the transcendental knowledge at the basis of the age. The focus of this age on personal growth makes educational institutions dominant in society, and at the heart of the educational system is knowledge of pure consciousness. It is this knowledge that has transformed the educational system and the age. There is an old saying that it takes a new seed to yield a new crop. Knowledge of the infinite status of human life in enlightenment and how to promote it through proper education has now yielded a civilisation worthy of the spiritual status of humanity.
Notes and references 1. 2. 3.
See URL ⬍ http://www.miu.edu/tm research/welcome.html > for a comprehensive summary of research on the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs. This site also contains a summary of more than 100 research studies directly relevant to education. Travis, F. and Wallace, R. K., Autonomic patterns during respiratory suspensions: Possible markers of transcendental consciousness. Psychophysiology, 1997, 34, 39–46. Mason, L., Alexander, C., Travis, F., Marsh, G., Orme-Johnson, D., Gackenback, J., Mason, D., Rainforth, M. and Walton, K., Electrophysiological correlates of higher states of consciousness during sleep in longterm practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation program. Sleep, 1997, 20(2), 102–110. The following
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doctoral dissertation is interesting because it contains extensive interviews with individuals experiencing higher states of consciousness: Guttmann, J., The Search for Bliss: A Model of Emotional Development Based on Maharishi’s Vedic Psychology, UMI Dissertation Services, Number 9633806, 1996. 4. Nader, T., Human Physiology: Expression of Veda and the Vedic Literature. Maharishi Vedic University Press, Vlodrop, Netherlands, 1995. 5. Following are some representative articles in these areas: Orme-Johnson, D., Medical care utilization and the Transcendental Meditation program. Psychosomatic Medicine, 1987, 49, 493–507. Alexander C., Rainforth, M. and Gelderloos, P., Transcendental Meditation, self-actualization, and psychological health: A conceptual overview and statistical meta-analysis. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 1991, 6(5), 189–247. Cranson, R., Orme-Johnson, D., Gackenbach, J., Jones, C. and Alexander, C., Transcendental Meditation and improved performance on intelligence-related measures: A longitudinal study. Personality and Individual Differences, 1991, 12, 1105–1117. Alexander, C., Robinson, P. and Rainforth, M., Treating and preventing alcohol, nicotine, and drug abuse through Transcendental Meditation: A review and statistical meta-analysis. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 1994, 11, 219–336. Bleick, C. R. and Abrams, A. I., The Transcendental Meditation program and criminal recidivism in California. Journal of Criminal Justice, 1987, 15(3), 211–230. 6. The following URL has references to and short abstracts of more than 40 studies examining the environmental influence of practice of the TM and TM-Sidhi programs: ⬍ http://miu.edu/tm research/tm biblio/socio/socio c.html > The following two studies have good reviews of this effect: Orme-Johnson, D. W., Alexander, C. N., Davies, J. L., Chandler, H. M. and Larimore, W. E., International peace project in the Middle East: The effects of the Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 1988, 32(4), 776–812. Assimakis, P. D. and Dillbeck, M. C., Times series analysis of improved quality of life in Canada: Social change, collective consciousness, and the TM-Sidhi program. Psychological Reports, 1995, 76, 1171–1193. 7. The educational implications discussed in these last pages largely reflect the actuality of education at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa. I would like to thank my colleagues at Maharishi University of Management, Dr. Chris Jones and Dr. Sam Boothby, for their thoughtful comments. 8. Dewey, J., The school and social progress. In The School and Society, ed. J. A. Boydston. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale and Edwardsville, Illinois, USA, 1980, p. 5. 9. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Maharishi Vedic University: Introduction. Maharishi Vedic University Press, Vlodrop, Netherlands, 1994, p. 147. 10. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, The Science of Being and Art of Living. Signet, New York, USA, 1968/1988, p. xvii.
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Pergamon
PII: S0016–3287(98)00078-0
A NEW EDUCATIONAL PARADIGM FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM Consciousness-based education James Grant It is the year 2050 and education is dramatically different from education in the 20th century. At the basis of the new education is the insight that a field of pure consciousness exists which can easily be experienced by all. From this insight, a new educational paradigm has emerged—consciousness-based education—with a more profound understanding of human development and how to promote it. The primary goal of education now is enlightenment and the entire curriculum is organised to foster this goal. The flowering of human potential produced by this educational approach has created a new age for humanity—the Age of Enlightenment. 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
It is the year 2050 and the world is at peace with itself. There are no international conflicts, no standing armies, minimal crime within countries, and robust economies with little inflation or unemployment. Harmony exists between and within nations; differences in religion, culture, and ethnicity are appreciated for the richness they contribute to collective culture. Love and joy predominate. In short, this is the Age of Enlightenment. A key feature of this new age is the status and resources given to education. Schools and universities are the most prized institutions in society because they are recognised to be the foundation of the new age. Resources that were formerly devoted to the military James D. Grant is at 1000 N. 4th St. FM 1064, Fairfield, IA 52557 (Tel: 515-472-7000 × 5022; fax: 515-4727884; email: [email protected]). Transcendental Meditation, TM-Sidhi, and Consciousness-Based are registered or common law trademarks licensed to Maharishi Vedic Education Development Corporation and used under sublicense or with permission.
717
Consciousness-based education: J Grant
and social problems are now funnelled into education, allowing ample support for all who want to attend, to whatever level of post-secondary education they choose. Education in the Age of Enlightenment is radically different from late-20th-century education. The technological revolution contributed partly to this transformation. In the year 2050, individuals can access virtually any information through the Internet and it is free of charge. All books, journals, newspapers, and government reports are available on-line and access to the Internet is ubiquitous. In addition, there is on-line access to live lectures (lectures at major universities are videotaped and instantaneously archived for Internet access) and electronic ‘tutors’—highly developed educational software—in all major educational areas. These allow students of all ages to take any course, or any academic program, from home—or anywhere in the world. The revolution in information technology has led to the true globalisation of education. Electronic language translators built into the Internet have eliminated language barriers. It is now possible, therefore, for students in any country to tune into lectures, course materials, and books produced by educators in any other country, as well as their own. Because all education is publicly funded, there are no cost implications of this for the individual. This globalisation of knowledge access has been an important contributor to the diminishing of economic disparities between nations and, consequently, to the economic robustness of the world economy. Despite this universal access to knowledge, the demise of in-residence, post-secondary institutions foreseen by late-20th century educational pundits has not occurred. This reflects another, even more fundamental, change in education: the emphasis on developing higher states of consciousness. The transition to consciousness-based education The most striking difference in mid-21st century, post-secondary institutions from those of the late 20th century is their emphasis on promoting enlightenment and the associated holistic view of knowledge. At the basis of this new perspective on education is one central idea—that there is a field of pure consciousness, an unmanifest absolute field of life at the source of all creation, which can be easily experienced regardless of temperament or background. The understanding that there is an unmanifest field of life at the source of both subjective and objective creation is a very old one. Aldous Huxley in the 20th century had referred to this understanding as ‘the perennial philosophy’ precisely because it was so old and shared by so many cultures. Plato, for example, had referred to this field as the Good, Lao Tze as the Tao, Buddhist sages as Nirvana, Vedic rishis as Atma, Aristotle as Being, Emerson as the Oversoul, and so forth. Though the concept of an unmanifest source of all life was ancient, wide-spread acceptance of the existence of this field and understanding of its implications for life had not occurred until the beginning of the 21st century. Many individuals contributed to the revival of the perennial perspective. Among the persons most responsible, however, because of ability to develop institutions and provide scientific evidence for the perennial perspective, was the Indian exponent of the Vedic tradition of knowledge, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Maharishi, in the last half of the 20th century, brought out a full revival of the Vedic tradition of knowledge, showing its relevance for all areas of life, from education and
718
Consciousness-based education: J Grant
business to medicine, defence, and government. Maharishi, in his life-long exposition of Vedic Science, made several significant contributions to the acceptance of the consciousness-based paradigm. First, he provided detailed understanding of pure consciousness and its value for life. Second, he dispelled the misconception that meditation is just for recluses, demonstrating its profound benefits for individuals engaged in the world. Third, he also dispelled the misunderstanding that meditation is difficult. He taught effortless, non-sectarian technologies for developing consciousness, especially the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs, that gave millions of people benefit of the experience of pure consciousness. Finally, and perhaps most significantly for the wide-spread acceptance of this knowledge, he encouraged scientific research to verify the value of experience of pure consciousness for life. This scientific research was highly significant because it bridged the chasm between the great subjective traditions of meditation and the objective paradigm of modern science. It made concrete and objective many of the deep truths associated with spiritual traditions throughout time. This research, begun in the 1970s, was of three kinds.1 The first verified that there were unique psycho-physiological characteristics of the experience of pure consciousness. Initial research verified that subjective experience of transcendence did comprise a unique fourth state of consciousness, characterised by deep physiological rest and heightened mental alertness, different from waking, sleeping or dreaming consciousness.2 Later research confirmed the unique psycho-physiological correlates of the stabilised state of enlightenment.3 Physiological research of a different sort, but of fundamental significance, established the profound correspondence between the expressions of pure consciousness, as found in the Vedic Literature, and the structure of human physiology.4 This discovery, by Dr. Tony Nader under Maharishi’s guidance, concretely demonstrated that the total potential of Natural Law—pure consciousness— is lively within the human physiology. The second sort of research examined the practical benefit of experience of pure consciousness for activity. This research showed profound and wide-ranging benefits consistent with the premise that pure consciousness is a fundamental field of intelligence and orderliness. Research showed that experience of pure consciousness led to significant improvement in all areas of life—mind, body, and behaviour. Specific findings on individuals practicing Transcendental Meditation included sharply reduced medical expenditures in all major health categories, improved academic performance, growth of IQ, greater psychological balance, unprecedented growth on measures of self development, and significantly reduced recidivism in prison inmates.5 The third highly significant area of research looked at the environmental influence of practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs. This research consisted of dozens of carefully controlled research studies showing that significant positive effects are created in society—reductions in negative tendencies such as crime, violence, sickness, and accident rates, and increases in positive indicators such as political cooperation and economic indices—when a sufficient number of individuals practice the TM and TM-Sidhi programs. It is possible for individuals meditating in one place to affect those in a far distant place because all individuals are connected at the level of pure consciousness. When, for a given population, a critical number of people enliven the underlying field of consciousness, the effect is great enough to influence the individual consciousness and physiology of individuals not meditating. Individuals, therefore, can gain the benefit of transcending without meditating themselves. On an individual level,
719
Consciousness-based education: J Grant
these benefits include more effective activity, happiness, and positivity, effects which translate on a societal level into less frustration, less violence, and greater cooperation.6 This research on the collective effects of meditation had great significance both for the confirmation it provided of the field nature of consciousness and for the practical solution it suggested to the myriad problems of 20th century society. In fact, it was the creation of large ‘creating coherence groups’ on all major continents in the 21st century that caused the transition to the Age of Enlightenment. The enlivenment—or raising—of consciousness created by these groups led to the dissolution of social stress and the dropping away of negative behaviours. It also stimulated people around the world to be more interested in spiritual goals and to attain enlightenment for themselves. Educational implications of the existence of pure consciousness7 The discovery—or perhaps, more accurately, empirical confirmation—of the existence of pure consciousness and a technique for easily contacting it radically changed the character of education. The implications of this understanding of consciousness for higher education were first introduced by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in institutions that he began to create in the late 20th century. Maharishi International University, later to become Maharishi University of Management, was the first of these institutions. It was founded in 1971 in Iowa in the US. Later, he founded Maharishi Vedic Universities and Maharishi Universities of Management around the world. Maharishi called these institutions ‘Consciousness-Based’SM universities because they were based on the existence of the field of pure consciousness. Now, in the year 2050, all universities have become consciousness based and are governed by significantly different principles than guided 20th century institutions. Understanding of the fundamentals of education has changed, including conceptions of knowledge and development, and as a result, the goals of education are understood differently. As a reflection of these more fundamental changes, educational practices have also changed, including the introduction of new courses and disciplines and a transformation in the approach of existing disciplines to their subject matter. Goals of education Goals of education can be formulated both from individualistic and societal perspectives, but there is one formulation that encompasses both: the full development of human potential. As John Dewey wrote 100 years ago, ‘Here individualism and socialism are at one. Only by being true to the full growth of all the individuals who make it up, can society by any chance be true to itself.’8 Recognition that enlightenment is the state of full human potential has considerably altered the focus of higher education. Whereas 20th century institutions focused on learning, contemporary institutions emphasise development, particularly development of consciousness. Whereas in the 20th century the goal was to create a knowledgeable person, now the goal is to create an enlightened person. The ability of education, through providing knowledge and experience of pure consciousness, to create enlightened individuals makes it possible also to conceive of an ideal society. It is not by chance that Plato’s Republic, which is the first systematic western treatise explaining the nature and importance of pure consciousness, is also the first systematic western treatise on the creation of utopia. The ability of education to develop fully enlightened individuals who have knowledge of ultimate reality creates the possibility of
720
Consciousness-based education: J Grant
a more perfect society. As Maharishi says: ‘A few fully educated or enlightened individuals are sufficient to give a new direction to the life of their community and by their very presence bring about an enlightened society, create and maintain world peace, and establish Heaven on Earth.’9 In his Science of Being and Art of Living, Maharishi presented this new potential for society in moving terms: A new humanity will be born, fuller in conception and richer in experience and accomplishments in all fields. Joy of life will belong to every man, love will dominate human society, truth and virtue will reign in the world, peace on earth will be permanent, and all will live in fulfilment in fullness of life in [enlightenment].10
Change in educational practices The emphasis on growth of consciousness is a major reason that post-secondary institutions exist to the extent that they do in 2050, despite the near-universal access to knowledge allowed by technology. Growth of consciousness is enhanced through collective practice of meditation and simultaneous growth of intellectual understanding. An in-residence collegiate environment thus provides an optimal situation for this growth to occur. In addition, the benefit to society of having large coherence-creating groups has created a societal incentive to retain the tradition of physical attendance at colleges and universities. The social benefit in terms of enlivenment of collective consciousness and consequent elimination of social problems more than pays for the cost of publicly supporting education. The reorientation of post-secondary education to the fostering of enlightenment has led to significant changes, including the introduction of new courses and disciplines and a transformation in the approach of existing disciplines to their subject matter. Perhaps the most fundamental change is that all students collectively meditate morning and evening. This practice constitutes a course—research in consciousness—required of all students. Students, in addition to their academic report cards, receive a psychophysiological report card that indicates growth to enlightenment. These report cards are possible because of clear understanding of the psychophysiological correlates of growth of consciousness and the development of technology that can easily measure these correlates. In addition to the required course in research in consciousness, there are other new academic courses and disciplines that relate to the knowledge of consciousness. Of greatest importance is the now standard discipline of the Science of Consciousness, also known as Vedic Science. The Science of Consciousness Department oversees courses and academic programs that provide intellectual understanding of development of consciousness. Because complete knowledge requires both experience and intellectual understanding, all students in current consciousness-oriented institutions take an on-going course in knowledge of consciousness to complement their experience-based research in consciousness program. This course is interdisciplinary in nature. Topics range from abstract understanding of the nature of pure consciousness, found for example in the Vedic Literature, to practical understanding of the mechanics of development of consciousness; they cover scientific understanding of the physiological correlates of growth of consciousness as well as investigations into expressions of this underlying reality found in the art, literature, religion, and philosophy of the great traditions of the world. The Science of Consciousness Department offers not only individual courses but complete
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academic programs at the bachelors, masters, and doctoral level. The study of consciousness is now its own discipline. The approach to teaching established disciplines as well as the subject matter of these disciplines has also changed due to the acceptance of the consciousness-based paradigm. One general change in the 21st century curriculum is the emphasis on wholeness and connection. On the level of consciousness, everything is connected. Wholeness is the ultimate reality and this realisation colours the entire curriculum. Understanding of wholeness is fostered experientially through the growth of consciousness produced by meditation—a developed consciousness spontaneously sees life in terms of connections. Intellectually it is fostered through a variety of modalities. One is the science of consciousness course that systematically explores the holistic basis of all life, pure consciousness, and how this wholeness manifests in the different relative fields. A second is use of large charts in all courses that graphically represent how all areas of a discipline relate to each other and their source in pure consciousness. A third is emphasis on common principles that function in all of the disciplines. An example is the principle of self-referral, considered the first principle of nature’s functioning. This principle is seen in physics in the self-interacting dynamics of the unified field, in electrical engineering in the notion of feedback, in art in the source of creative inspiration deep in the mind, and in education in its goal to create independent, selfsufficient individuals who are capable of directing their own lives. Emphasis on basic principles such as self-referral—and wholeness, growth, and alternation of rest and activity—helps students appreciate deep connections within and between disciplines. Full understanding of consciousness has also impacted the content and goals of many disciplines. We have seen this clearly with regard to education. Understanding of pure consciousness has changed our understanding of the goal of education, the nature of knowledge, and courses to be taken. This has also been true of many other disciplines. The arts and literature have been transformed by the understanding that the highest aesthetic experience is transcendence, experience of pure consciousness. Art and literature now exalt this experience and seek to promote spiritual refinement. Twentieth century art and literature now seem crude in retrospect. In the social sciences, understanding of pure consciousness has also brought dramatic transformation. Psychology, which floundered in the 20th century without an adequate understanding of the mind, is now making important contributions to human welfare. The field has been immeasurably enriched by understanding of transcendence and enlightenment. Growth to higher states of consciousness is now a major field of study, and the practice of transcendence is thoroughly integrated into all the applied areas of psychology. In sociology, the new understanding of collective consciousness has transformed the field. The understanding that everyone in society is connected at the level of pure consciousness, and that enlivenment of this field by even a small percentage of individuals can raise the collective consciousness of the whole society, has changed the way sociologists approach collective problems. This, in turn, has also had a significant impact on the field of government. Political scientists now recognise that the greatest determinant of political outcomes is collective consciousness. The collective consciousness of a society is a direct and sensitive reflection of the level of consciousness of its individual members, and in turn becomes a force of its own influencing individual consciousness. When collective consciousness is incoherent—reflecting and in turn exacerbating the stress of individual members—conflict dominates and the interest of the indi-
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vidual and group supersedes that of the whole. As collective consciousness rises, harmony grows and values become more enlightened, reflecting a simultaneous respect for the whole and the part. Cooperation and peace are now much more the emphasis of study, rather than conflict and war. Consciousness is now seen to be a key determinant of political behaviour on the individual and collective level. In the natural sciences, the appreciation of the unity of man with nature has softened the rash move of 20th century science to dominate and replace nature. The environment is deeply respected and natural approaches to everything from agriculture to medicine are studied and practiced. Approaches such as genetic engineering and cloning are now recognised to be the height of folly, the misplaced attempt to replace nature’s intelligence with man’s intelligence. The discipline of physics has been subtly transformed by the realisation that the laws of nature outside are the same laws that function inside the human being and in all human endeavours from art to politics. Most fundamentally, physics now recognises that exploration of the finest levels of creation, and especially the unified field, requires subjective technologies such as meditation because they cannot be grasped by objective technologies. In general, science has a more humanistic face, and it has advanced tremendously with the aid of scientists whose minds are functioning with the profound intuition characteristic of the enlightened mind. Conclusion Life in the mid-21st century is very different from what it has been in the past centuries. The lack of violence, the level of prosperity, the degree of individual and collective happiness, the spirituality are so distinctive that they define a new age in human history—the Age of Enlightenment. In this age, individuality is fully vibrant, because individuals are living their full potential, and yet harmony reigns because of the lively quality of love that permeates society. The leading dynamic of this age is not craving for wealth and power, as in earlier ages, but the desire for growth of consciousness, that holistic growth encompassing both spiritual and relative values. The lurking enemy of this age is not chemical or nuclear weapons, but a complacency that comes when relative life is so good, leading citizens to forget the transcendental knowledge at the basis of the age. The focus of this age on personal growth makes educational institutions dominant in society, and at the heart of the educational system is knowledge of pure consciousness. It is this knowledge that has transformed the educational system and the age. There is an old saying that it takes a new seed to yield a new crop. Knowledge of the infinite status of human life in enlightenment and how to promote it through proper education has now yielded a civilisation worthy of the spiritual status of humanity.
Notes and references 1. 2. 3.
See URL ⬍ http://www.miu.edu/tm research/welcome.html > for a comprehensive summary of research on the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs. This site also contains a summary of more than 100 research studies directly relevant to education. Travis, F. and Wallace, R. K., Autonomic patterns during respiratory suspensions: Possible markers of transcendental consciousness. Psychophysiology, 1997, 34, 39–46. Mason, L., Alexander, C., Travis, F., Marsh, G., Orme-Johnson, D., Gackenback, J., Mason, D., Rainforth, M. and Walton, K., Electrophysiological correlates of higher states of consciousness during sleep in longterm practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation program. Sleep, 1997, 20(2), 102–110. The following
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doctoral dissertation is interesting because it contains extensive interviews with individuals experiencing higher states of consciousness: Guttmann, J., The Search for Bliss: A Model of Emotional Development Based on Maharishi’s Vedic Psychology, UMI Dissertation Services, Number 9633806, 1996. 4. Nader, T., Human Physiology: Expression of Veda and the Vedic Literature. Maharishi Vedic University Press, Vlodrop, Netherlands, 1995. 5. Following are some representative articles in these areas: Orme-Johnson, D., Medical care utilization and the Transcendental Meditation program. Psychosomatic Medicine, 1987, 49, 493–507. Alexander C., Rainforth, M. and Gelderloos, P., Transcendental Meditation, self-actualization, and psychological health: A conceptual overview and statistical meta-analysis. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 1991, 6(5), 189–247. Cranson, R., Orme-Johnson, D., Gackenbach, J., Jones, C. and Alexander, C., Transcendental Meditation and improved performance on intelligence-related measures: A longitudinal study. Personality and Individual Differences, 1991, 12, 1105–1117. Alexander, C., Robinson, P. and Rainforth, M., Treating and preventing alcohol, nicotine, and drug abuse through Transcendental Meditation: A review and statistical meta-analysis. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 1994, 11, 219–336. Bleick, C. R. and Abrams, A. I., The Transcendental Meditation program and criminal recidivism in California. Journal of Criminal Justice, 1987, 15(3), 211–230. 6. The following URL has references to and short abstracts of more than 40 studies examining the environmental influence of practice of the TM and TM-Sidhi programs: ⬍ http://miu.edu/tm research/tm biblio/socio/socio c.html > The following two studies have good reviews of this effect: Orme-Johnson, D. W., Alexander, C. N., Davies, J. L., Chandler, H. M. and Larimore, W. E., International peace project in the Middle East: The effects of the Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 1988, 32(4), 776–812. Assimakis, P. D. and Dillbeck, M. C., Times series analysis of improved quality of life in Canada: Social change, collective consciousness, and the TM-Sidhi program. Psychological Reports, 1995, 76, 1171–1193. 7. The educational implications discussed in these last pages largely reflect the actuality of education at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa. I would like to thank my colleagues at Maharishi University of Management, Dr. Chris Jones and Dr. Sam Boothby, for their thoughtful comments. 8. Dewey, J., The school and social progress. In The School and Society, ed. J. A. Boydston. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale and Edwardsville, Illinois, USA, 1980, p. 5. 9. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Maharishi Vedic University: Introduction. Maharishi Vedic University Press, Vlodrop, Netherlands, 1994, p. 147. 10. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, The Science of Being and Art of Living. Signet, New York, USA, 1968/1988, p. xvii.
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