Imagine 60 Vedic Pandits from India, dressed in traditional white cotton dhotis and shawls, arriving at a small town after a long journey. The citizens of the city wave festive banners, ring bells and blow conches. The Pandits burst into a joyous, rhythmic chant as they enter their new home.
In ancient India, this would be a normal scene. But it’s a surprising sight in the vast Iowa cornfields of modern America. This group of Vedic Pandits is the first to arrive in Maharishi Vedic City, and they are moving into a new campus prepared especially for their needs. They are here to participate in the Invincible America Assembly, an initiative to create peace and prosperity for America that started in July 2006.
“We’re very happy to have them here,” says Dr. Robert Wynne, Mayor of Maharishi Vedic City. “Their arrival fulfills the purpose of Maharishi Vedic City, a town designed to uphold Vedic principles. And by participating in the Invincible America Assembly, they’re helping change the destiny of America.”
The Tradition of Vedic Pandits
The Vedic Pandits have grown up in families that have maintained the tradition of Vedic recitation from generation to generation. “They start learning from a young age, and this is their profession,” says Mayor Wynne.
He also points out that UNESCO has determined that the tradition of Vedic recitation is an international world heritage. When recited with the proper pronunciation and meter, the traditional melodies lead to positive effects in the surroundings.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of the Transcendental Meditation® program and the Global Country of World Peace, has instituted training programs to help preserve this tradition. The Vedic Pandits learn ancient Vedic technologies of consciousness to develop their total brain potential and create coherence and peace in society.
These Vedic technologies include the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi® programs, including Yogic Flying, and other procedures for enlivening Natural Law to create and maintain peace in the environment.
“The Vedic Pandits are Yogic Flyers, but they are also trained over many years in Vedic recitation,” explains Mayor Wynne. “The Vedic recitation has many beneficial effects on the environment. The Vedic performances function from the Unified Field of Natural Law as do the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs, and like those technologies, they improve positive trends and decrease negative trends in individuals and in society as a whole. The larger the group, the larger the effect.”
Crowning America with Invincibility
The Vedic Pandits will be part of the Invincible America Assembly, which has created remarkable transformations in America since it started in July 2006. For example, the stock market has reached record highs, the United States has taken a major role in ending the conflict between Israel and Lebanon, and the U.S. government is adopting a more diplomatic, consensus-based approach to tensions with Iran and North Korea.
“We want to create an Invincible America—an America that disallows the birth of an enemy,” says Mayor Wynne. “These Vedic Pandits have left their homes and traveled so far because they wanted to crown America with invincibility.”
A vast amount of research published in major academic journals has shown that when large groups practice the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs, the benefits to the nation are manifold. Positive trends in society increase—such as economic growth, improved health and social well-being. At the same time, negative trends decrease—such as crime, violence and war. Where there is greater coherence, there is less turbulence.
Research shows that even a small percentage of the population practicing these Vedic technologies can create this positive influence, which scientists have dubbed the “Maharishi Effect.” In fact, it takes only the square root of one percent of the population of a country. For America, that number is currently 1,732 people to bring invincibility to the entire population of nearly 300 million.
“This initiative has been very successful,” says Mayor Wynne. “So far 800 people have come to participate in the Invincible America Assembly, joining the 1,100 who already live in Maharishi Vedic City, Maharishi University of Management, and Fairfield.”
That number includes 372 Vedic Pandits who arrived last fall and are housed temporarily at the University. The 60 Vedic Pandits who just arrived bring the total number of Vedic Pandits on the Assembly to 432, the largest group of Vedic Pandits ever to gather outside of India. The goal is to bring a total of 1,050 Vedic Pandits to Iowa.
“The Vedic Pandits magnify the positive effects because they not only practice Yogic Flying like the other assembly participants, but also create a very powerful wave of positivity with their Vedic recitation,” says Mayor Wynne.
Groups of Vedic Pandits are also being sent to other countries to create invincibility there. “Small countries such as Norway or Ireland only need a few hundred people to create invincibility, so a group of a few hundred Vedic Pandits could secure their future,” says Mayor Wynne. “With groups of Vedic Pandits in every country, the entire world can be transformed very quickly.”
Putting the Veda in Maharishi Vedic City
This new group of 60 Vedic Pandits is the first to stay in the recently-completed campus in Maharishi Vedic City. “The entire campus is designed to allow the Vedic Pandits to maintain their traditional diet and daily routine,” says Mayor Wynne.
The campus has an infrastructure in place for 100 homes, with a total of 500 homes planned for the 80-acre site. It also includes a 7,000-square-foot building with space for kitchen, dining and meditation halls, and a 6,000-square-foot assembly hall for the performance of Maharishi Vedic technologies for peace. When completed, the campus will house 1,050 Vedic Pandits, plus their staff and cooks.
The construction is progressing in record time, having just started last fall. Hundreds of volunteers have contributed to the project, helping with clean-up and preparation of the homes for the Vedic Pandits’ arrival.
“This is a time of great fulfillment for Maharishi Vedic City,” says Mayor Wynne. “Since its inception in 2001, the city has always wanted to have large groups of Vedic Pandits living here. Now Maharishi Vedic City will be an even more powerful lighthouse of peace and positivity for the entire nation.”
To help complete the construction of the new campus for 1,050 Vedic Pandits and to support the costs of the Vedic Pandits coming to America, everyone is encouraged to make a tax-deductible contribution by sending a check to Vedic Pandits in America, Global Country of World Peace, 2000 Capital Boulevard, Maharishi Vedic City, IA 52556, or by making a secure Internet contribution at http://globalcountryofworldpeace.net/vedicpandits.html.