At Maharishi University of Management, artists learn to unfold within themselves the full value of Being—the universal Self—so that their lives and art fully express harmony, beauty, and happiness.

A Consciousness-Based approach to art education
by Craig Pearson, Ph.D., and Matthew Beaufort, M.A., at TM Magazine, Issue 7
6 August 2012

At Maharishi University of Management, all the students, faculty and staff practice the Transcendental Meditation technique. This practice has special relevance in our programs in Art and Media and Communications. Not only do students grow in creativity from within, they gain a profound understanding of the nature and purpose of art.

Throughout history the artist has served as a visionary, providing images in all manner of media that point us toward the field of infinite creativity that is our own innermost being.

The profession of art rests at the pinnacle of culture. Ideally, the artist’s work serves to awaken individuals and the culture as a whole to the spiritual ground of existence. Maharishi explains this in the following way, using the term Being to describe the field of unbounded pure consciousness deep within everything:

If the artist is really living Being, Infinity, his piece of art will speak of the maximum value of life. . . . The initial and most vital need of an artist. . . is living Being—maximum Being, fullness of Being. If fullness of Being could be a living reality in the life of the artist, every piece of his art would breathe life and eternity. [6]

In making art, artists infuse the qualities of their own consciousness into inert matter. The resulting artwork mirrors the artist’s consciousness. The more expanded the artist’s consciousness, the more powerful the artwork. When viewers come to the artwork, these qualities can be enlivened in their awareness—and the more expanded the viewers’ consciousness, the more profoundly they can appreciate the work. For the full potential of art to be realized, the consciousness of both artists and viewers needs to be fully developed.

Art education at Maharishi University of Management takes exactly this approach. By providing a practical program for fully awakening and developing one’s consciousness (the Transcendental Meditation program), art education aims to fulfill the goals of artists and the purpose of art. Artists learn to unfold within themselves the full value of Being—the universal Self—so that their lives and art fully express harmony, beauty, and happiness.

The Transcendental Meditation technique provides an artist with a simple, natural, effortless means to attain deep rest, dissolve the stress that inhibits creativity, and experience the most refined states of awareness. Creativity becomes more effortless, spontaneous, and enjoyable.

Maharishi gave this enlightened vision of possibilities for artists and art:

Art really has its source in the transcendent, the unmanifest field of pure consciousness, which is the nonchanging, immortal field of all possibilities. That supreme intelligence, complete in itself, designs the activity and destiny of all creation. When the awareness of the artist is in tune with this center of infinite creativity, his creation, his piece of art breathes fullness of life, nourishes the creator, the artist, and inspires his admirers with waves of bliss. [7]

What do students say?

"MUM focuses on life as a whole. You get an understanding of art and at the same time develop your spiritual nature. If you want more of life but don’t know quite where to go, MUM is the place. It allows you to get in touch with yourself and explore all possibilities." —Mikaila Maidment, MUM art graduate whose paintings are regularly exhibited

"Transcendental Meditation and studying at MUM gave me new insights into the existence of the Absolute underlying all of creation, which has influenced my work by giving it depth and substance."
—Cory Schook, MUM BFA graduate

"Since I’ve developed my consciousness at MUM, I’ve experienced less stress and more happiness. There’s a more spontaneous flow of creativity."
—Jeff Borgesson, MUM art graduate

REFERENCES

1. Lee Fergusson, Maharishi’s Vedic Science and Post-Secondary Art Education (Ann Arbor, Michigan: Dissertation Abstracts International, #9205205, 1991), 161.

2. Fergusson, 162.

© Copyright 2012 Maharishi Foundation USA, a non-profit educational organization.