New teachers of the Transcendental Meditation Programme bring its benefits to more and more countries
by Global Good News staff writer
13 January 2011

Maharishi has expressed that there is no greater profession than that of the Teacher of the Transcendental Meditation Programme and that there is no greater act of charity than providing everyone with something that will directly elevate them and assist them in their evolution.

With the desire to uplift others and bring them all of the benefits of the Transcendental Meditation Programme, thousands of men and ladies from many countries around the world have chosen to become Teachers of the Transcendental Meditation Technique since the first Teacher Training Course (TTC) held in India in 1961. However, while some countries have had many people graduate from TTC over the years, others have had few or no Teachers of Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation Programme.

Happily, representatives from a number of these nations have attended recent TTC’s and the new instructors are now offering the opportunity to learn the technique to their fellow countrymen.

Egypt now has its first Teacher of the Transcendental Meditation Technique ever, a lady who graduated from a course in Switzerland in December 2010. The first five teachers ever from Mongolia completed their training last year and will soon be joined by six others who are currently being trained in Thailand. Five Ugandans are also on the Thailand course and will add to the activities of three teachers who graduated last spring.Another course participant in Thailand, a Chinese lady, will be the first female teacher from her country and, along with a Chinese man on the Thai course, will bring Maharishi’s knowledge to China.

Kenya, Dubai, and Qatar also are gaining the benefits of recent TTC graduates. A native Hawaian gentleman and a Maori leader from New Zealand, representing the traditional people of their areas, have also finished their training as Teachers of Transcendental Meditation.And a Senegalese man, on TTC in Thailand, will be the first graduate from his country in over 20 years and is eager to offer instruction in the Transcendental Meditation Technique to his countrymen.

The many gifts of TTC

At the end of the first Teacher Training Course, just before the 60 graduates left to teach the Transcendental Meditation Programme in all parts of the world, Maharishi told the course participants the secret to success as teachers. He said, 'There is a proverb in Sanskrit: "The success of the great man depends not on the accessories, but on the level of sattva [purity]." If we are able to maintain our sattva—our Being—then the success of whatever we want to do in this world will be ours. It is not the accessories that bring a man success, but his own centre of divine intelligence [established by regular practice of daily meditations]. This has been my experience throughout the world, and this has been the experience of saints since time immemorial.' (from Maharishi’s book, Thirty Years Around the World, Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment, pp. 362-363)

The expressions of a 2010 graduate of TTC show that she has realized the truth and practicality of Maharishi’s words of almost 50 years ago. Miriam expressed that while on her course she learnt a new style of functioning which allows her to be most effective in offering Maharishi’s programmes and in all areas of her life.  She said, ‘Before I would be much more outwardly focused on who do I need to talk to, what needs to get done, and what activity do I need to undertake to get results. I learnt [on TTC] to find the bliss within and the happiness within, to dive much more within, and leverage that more to gain the support of Nature and work from that level.

‘Even being out of the Teacher Training Course for just one week,’ Miriam continued, ‘I can feel so much how there’s such a difference, and how I’m just more effective and more happy in the process. So that has been really a gift for life.’

A 2009 American graduate, Ian, expressed the gift of TTC in another way, reflecting on its profundity for all time to come. ‘During TTC a personal connection develops with Maharishi in a way that I never knew possible. TTC is really a unique gift, a direct window, a direct connection to Maharishi, to his life and to the development of the Movement over the past 50 years. This gives me hope not only for my generation, but for the future generations who are fortunate enough to become TM teachers and carry on Maharishi’s tradition of knowledge in its purity.’

Jenny, who also finished her course in 2009, spoke of the benefits she gained during TTC and in her activity as a new teacher. ‘Since TTC I feel more connected to my community,’ she said. ‘The response from the community about TM has been overwhelmingly positive—from judges, lawyers, ministers, professors, students, etc. My own bliss grows as I see the bliss grow in the new TM meditators.’

Finally, Janet, a long-time Teacher of the Transcendental Meditation Programme, offers her perspective of TTC both as a student and course leader. During the Teacher Training Course, ‘one is breathing in Maharishi’s knowledge,’ she said, ‘breathing in the most profound truths of life . . . I found the experience to be heightening, riveting, and life transforming.’

Janet also shared her experience in bringing the knowledge of the Transcendental Meditation Programme to the people of New York City. ‘In teaching, one encounters people coming to the centre somewhat wary and nervous and then watches them be transformed by learning the technique and leaving having experienced something very blissful and profound.’ She then spoke of the first person to whom she taught the Transcendental Meditation Technique. Janet relates that at the end of his instruction the man, an architect, looked at her and said, “‘I have never known a joy so profound.’”

With many new teachers being trained in this great and very special profession and available in more and more countries around the globe, more and more people will be elevated and gain the benefits of the Transcendental Meditation Programme.

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