Global Good News: Excellence in Action

An article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, November 2, 2009, brings attention to the increased number of students seeking help for mental health concerns on college campuses. The problems range from family stresses and boyfriend/girlfriend issues to ‘heightened symptoms of depression, anxiety, and suicidality, as well as . . . developmental disorders, specifically Asperger’s disorder . . . [and] attention-deficit disorder,’ the Inquirer says, quoting David Rubenstein, counseling and psychological director at Rowan University.

The increased demand for assistance has left counselors at Philadelphia’s La Salle University overwhelmed. In response to its need, Rutgers University recently opened a new 35-room center for counseling at its main campus in New Brunswick, New Jersey at a cost of $5 million dollars. More counselors are being hired at some colleges and, the Inquirer reports, ‘some schools are creating committees with liaisons from academics, mental-health, campus security, and other areas to coordinate help for those with severe problems’.

The Philadelphia paper interestingly points out that Mark Salzer, an associate professor in psychiatry at Penn [University of Pennsylvania, has found that some college counseling centers still don’t know what students with psychiatric disorders need to be successful.

''Pills and therapy are great things, but those aren’t the only . . . things,” he said. Salzer recommends that the students have 'contacts who will help them with academic accommodations, check to see if they’re going to class and doing homework, and encourage them to stay in treatment’.

‘The skill of bringing light to remove darkness’

Another approach, which gives students the opportunity to strengthen themselves from within, offers a great complement to counseling and other techniques of providing help from the outside and can, ultimately, reduce the need for campus mental health services by developing students’ self-sufficiency in dealing with all aspects of life.

This approach, Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation Programme, utilizes what its founder, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, refers to as ‘the principle of the second element.’ In his commentary on Chapter 2, verse 45 of the Bhagavad-Gita, Maharishi first explains the purpose of the practice of the Transcendental Meditation Technique, and then elucidates this principle of the second element and its contrast to modern psychology.

Maharishi writes*: 'This practice is to brighten all aspects of his [an individual’s] life by bringing his mind to transcendental consciousness, the limitless source of life, energy, wisdom, peace and happiness. It is to raise him to that cosmic status which harmonizes all the opposite forces of life.

'Modern psychological theories investigate causes in order to influence effects. They grope in darkness to find the cause of darkness in order to remove it. In contradistinction, here is the idea of bringing light to remove darkness. This is "the principle of the second element". If you wish to produce an effect on the first element, ignore that element, do not seek its cause; influence it directly by introducing a second element. Remove the darkness by introducing light. Take the mind to a field of happiness in order to relieve it of suffering.'

Maharishi also offers that: 'Even if we accept that by investigating the cause it is easy to influence the effect, we shall find that this verse will serve our purpose, for it provides a technique by which the ultimate cause of all human life can be investigated. If knowledge of the cause can help to influence the effect, then knowledge of the ultimate cause of life will effectively put an end to all suffering.'

Maharishi uses an analogy to make clear the value of effortlessly taking the mind beyond thought to the level of transcendental consciousness through the simple technique of Transcendental Meditation. He points out that while immersed in all the details of his business, it is difficult for someone to improve things. But by leaving his business affairs for a short while, ‘he becomes able to see the business as a whole and can then more easily decide what is needed.’

Maharishi further elaborates that the value of an individual going to the transcendental field, a field of Unity, which is ‘ . . . beyond all duality, beyond the influence of right and wrong, he will enjoy the absolute wisdom of life, from which springs all knowledge of the relative world.’

And, he points out that the text of the Gita is showing that ‘the field of that absolute wisdom is not outside you. You have not to go out anywhere to acquire it. It is within you. You have only to be within yourself . . . ’

Extensive research and experience validate the benefits of the Transcendental Meditation Programme

The efficacy of the Transcendental Meditation Programme in improving not only mental health, but all aspects of life, has been demonstrated in over 600 studies performed in 250 independent universities and medical schools in 33 countries over the last 40 years.

Specifically, studies show that student problems, such as ADHD and depression are greatly relieved through this technique. School principal, Dr Linda Handy, reported that amongst her ADHD pupils, ‘There was an unquestionable sense of peace and calm once the students took the Transcendental Meditation training . . . They seemed to be empowered: they stood taller, with a greater sense of self and others.’

A study at American University in Washington, DC showed that the Transcendental Meditation Technique acted as a buffer against the intense pressures of college life.

And, Dr Rita Benn, the director of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Center at the University of Michigan, found in her research study significant differences between students practising the Transcendental Meditation Programme and non-meditators. She noted that the meditating students exhibited more elevated moods, handled stress better, and got along better with their peers. They, in general, felt more peaceful, happy, and calm.

Ms Jane Pitt, having taught the Transcendental Meditation Technique to many students, expresses her point of view. ‘The Transcendental Meditation program seems like the most obvious and logical thing in the world: give the students an easy, practical way to help them to clear their minds, dissolve stress, and feel more self-confidence. Give them the ability to achieve the goal of all education—to enjoy learning, . . . to enjoy growing into happy and healthy adults.’ (www.abramsonfamilyfoundation.net)

*All quotations of Maharishi are from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on the Bhagavad-Gita A Translation and Commentary Chapters 1-6, Chapter 2, verse 45 commentary.

"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