Global Good News: Excellence in Action

During a talk given at Humboldt State College in California, USA, in the summer of 1971, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi explained that transcendental awareness is beyond activity; but when we have transcended during our practice of Transcendental Meditation, that effect of transcending naturally accompanies our activity during the day.

'This effect should become a permanent reality,' Maharishi said. 'Whether one is silent in deep sleep or active during the waking state, one should not lose that pure awareness.

' "Self-remembering" or trying to maintain the Self while in activity, will be dividing the mind or mood-making,' Maharishi said. 'Maintaining the thought of the Self is not maintaining the state of the Self. The state of the Self is gained during the Transcendental Meditation Technique when one transcends the finest level of thought.

'Maintaining the thought of God is not the state of communication with God,' Maharishi continued. 'God Consciousness is the ability to locate the Almighty in the finest strata of creation: it is a concrete reality of consciousness that one lives in life.

'The path to God Consciousness is transcending and gaining unboundedness. The purpose of the elevating thought of God is fulfilled when it has inspired us to gain that reality of God Consciousness.'

The reality of God Consciousness and of Cosmic Consciousness is a permanent reality, 24 hours a day, in which the Self directly experiences what are the waking, dreaming, and sleeping states.

Maharishi then explained that in the development of Cosmic Consciousness, both Transcendental Meditation and activity are important, just as in dyeing a cloth the two contrary processes of dipping it in colour and exposing it to sunlight are important.

During the process of Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation Technique the mind expands to become infinite, unbounded; and then in activity the mind becomes localized in the individual value of perception in the waking state.

'The only way for the unbounded to come along with the boundaries is to expose the awareness to both the unbounded and to the boundaries. Then they begin to be lived simultaneously,' Maharishi said. 'This is why the value of action is emphasized along with the value of Transcendental Meditation.

'The Self, located in the Transcendent, wants to be on the conscious level; for that, action is necessary. Action is the increase of one's territory of influence. Evolution is brought about by action, which is why, by nature, one enjoys being active.'

Maharishi went on to say that evolution is based on two processes—rest and activity. According to quantum mechanics, a wave is fundamental to all of physical existence and operates through rest and activity.

Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation Technique provides infinite rest, which is the basis for dynamic activity. Transcendental Meditation and action offer very solid steps of evolution. Transcendental Meditation is based on the mind's natural tendency to move towards more happiness, more knowledge, more power. Motivated by its own nature, the mind gets to the Transcendent.

'It is the force of evolution that has structured individual life from the ocean of unboundedness—"am-ness" from "is-ness",' Maharishi continued. 'This basic force of life is strong enough to naturally and automatically structure activity so that after minimizing activity there will be a rise in activity—on these alternative steps individual life is taken to its infinite value.'

The Transcendental Meditation Programme is not much concerned with how to act—it mainly focuses on how to be. The speciality of Transcendental Meditation is that it minimizes action in order to make action more dynamic, right, and fruitful.

When the experience of Transcendental Consciousness has been gained through Transcendental Meditation, then activity is necessary to make it permanent. 'Losing Transcendental Consciousness when engaging in activity is the path of making Transcendental Consciousness permanent,' Maharishi said.

With the practice of Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation Technique, one loses Transcendental Consciousness when in action, but one does not lose it completely. After each meditation one loses it a little less than before—until one day it becomes permanent.

"The potential of every student is infinite. The time of student life should serve to unfold that infinite potential so that every individual becomes a vibrant centre of Total Knowledge."—Maharishi