Tom's Blog

All aspects of this course integrated together beautifully. I enjoyed the deep rest of rounding, the powerful technology of reading Sanskrit in a group, and gaining knowledge in class. I also enjoyed the company of the students and their bliss. I enjoyed the physiological effect of reading Sanskrit together in class. From the first day I could feel the aligning of my brain physiology with the Sanskrit sounds. Today I noticed my pulse is noticeably more balanced since the beginning of the course—an ideal outcome for a forest academy. —Susan

I had not had a Sanskrit class since completing my TM–Sidhis program, and I am being completely understated when I say that the experience of reading and listening to Upanishads, combined with my TM–Sidhis, has been revealing, enlivening and enriching. Immediately upon returning to reading and listening to Sanskrit, my universe got bigger. —Michelle

My most important insight so far in reading the stories of the Upanishads is the emphasis of the Self being the foundation and driver of all creation. As I continue to read the Upanishads, the spur of inspiration towards intellectual knowledge and experience begins to rise higher and higher within me. On a subtle level, I was reflecting over the course and was reminded again of the highest nature and goal of life, which is to attain Brahman Consciousness. —Vinodthan

An inspiring and restful beginning to the school year, this course has set me in a perfect direction to experience blissful evolution all school year long. I am grateful for this knowledge that is sacred, practical, and fascinating. I feel like I am growing up and becoming more innocent simultaneously each day. Every day is a blissful learning experience. May all my Maharishi Vedic Science courses be this enlivening, and may we all enjoy the company of each other as we evolve together to higher states of consciousness as the one true light that we are! —David

The Upanishads are truly an excellent source of wisdom from the Vedic Tradition. I will continue to read the Upanishads in both English and Sanskrit for pure knowledge and deep experience. Everything we read and discussed in the class was beautiful. Every line of each Upanishad was impressive. From the illusion and ignorance to the state of enlightenment and ascension to the heavens, it is all tremendous wisdom. —Will

Through reading the Upanishads there were many things that appealed and resonated deeply within me. When we were reading Katha Upanishad and it touch on “All good should be heard through the ears, all good should be seen trough the eyes,” I was instantly taken back to when I was 13 years old and watched the movie ‘The Ring’ and how the images and sounds from that movie stayed with me for months. I thought at that age I would have been able to handle it, but I was horribly wrong. Looking back, it is amazing how a movie can leave an individual quite traumatized at such a young age and how important it is to surround oneself with things that are delightful. —Anila

When I was rounding, I had very good experiences. My heart opened and my consciousness was able to perceive the finer dimensions of existence. I was able to perceive the universal love of the creation and this feeling carried out into activity through many days after the rounds. I saw many colors such as blue and yellow, they were in the form of dots and lasted for a couple minutes each time. I felt a lot of bliss and clarity of mind. My mind felt saturated and full with pure consciousness and my heart was filled with the blessing of Mother Divine (Mahalakshmi). When I was flying, it was extremely spontaneous and I felt the jolts of electric current rising from the bottom of my spine to the top of my head and spreading throughout my body leaving me blissed out. I felt like I was floating in mid-air and my throat area was very expanded. I felt this unbounded feeling of freedom and there was no thought and my body was moving on its own without absolutely any control from my side. When I rested I felt like I was melting in the foam and was one with the creation. These experiences were happening almost everyday and I am very grateful for this opportunity. —Arun

This two-week rounding course has helped me return to a mode of being that I first experienced during and directly after my CIC course last winter. I remember feeling like I had reached a new plateau of coherence in my consciousness; I felt better than I had ever felt before in this lifetime. Now, again I feel crystal clear—full of radiance and utter joy—I feel that every day is better than the last. Despite a few episodes of purification, the rounding has brought a great softness to my mundane daily experience, and a firm sense of evenness at my finest emotional levels. Undoubtedly, reading the Upanishad texts in Sanskrit has added to this effect. I find the reading to be very enjoyable both in the group and on my own. Directly after reading, I always experience deep, lively silence when I close my eyes—recitation has truly become one of my favorite pastimes. —Brian

When I was rounding, I found that I was able to experience sat-chit-ananda much more clearly than before. For example, in my programs I would be swept off by waves of bliss and find myself spontaneously yogic flying without intention. My sleep was very good and restful and I naturally was able to wake up before 6 and go to sleep before 10. My TM was very clear and I was able to go into the transcendent state within minutes of starting. My yogic flying was completely spontaneous and I could not even begin to describe that experience, for it was greatly incomprehensible and extremely overwhelming. I felt the dawn of Pure Consciousness along with the waking state and was surprised to behold the witness a few times during activity. For example, when I was walking to class I would intuitively know and feel that I am the unbounded eternal Being even though I was still me at the same time. The strength of the witness was not that strong but I know through repeated practice it will get stronger in time. I also felt a lot of love coming from my heart, as if I was the mother of the universe and all people were my children. I felt much compassion to those in trouble or those who were suffering in their life. The experiences I had in and out of the rounds were absolutely amazing and I cannot wait to do this again. —Sudikshya

As I think about the Upanishads, I think that these tales of wisdom, these pearls of truth will someday line the shelves of bookstores everywhere and again be popular stories handed down from father to son along the riverbanks and lakesides. Upanishad literally means “to sit down near.” Near to what? Near to that aspect of the Veda that gives us access to all that is and all that ever will be, access to pure consciousness through all the technologies that Maharishi has blessed the world with. This is a tradition that has been resurrected by Maharishi where knowledge, such as this class in the Upanishads, is being handed down from teacher to student in the most precise way. As more possibilities gather in my life, my attention is kept on the things worthwhile. The more I appreciate the rose the less I am bothered by the thorns. —Thomas

Something that I noticed during this course is that I never learned any Sanskrit, or tried to speak it or anything. But at the second day of class, it started to feel very easy and natural, and it almost felt like I already knew this language. I didn’t feel any difficulty in following the class or in pronouncing the sounds. It is like Maharishi says that you already know everything, that we already have all the pure knowledge, but we are just relearning it. In this class, I really understood what Maharishi was saying. It felt so easy, and kind of like out of my control. It was like if my mouth was singing but my brain wasn’t thinking about it. —Florence

I found myself in the Upanishad class finally at the door to some intellectual understanding of why and how I have been enjoying these various recitations over the past two years. I feel that even though I have only taken a few small steps towards this unbounded knowledge, I still have taken them. A small amount of light can clear a lot of darkness. The endless beauty of reading the Upanishads in Sanskrit, combined with the intellectual understanding of their deep and profound meaning came together as a whole. There is a sweetness in the simple stories relaying life’s ultimate knowledge. —Tanell

Student Experiences

STC 109

I didn’t miss one class of STC! I have never loved a class so much that I looked forward to coming to it every day. Throughout this block I had many ‘aha’ moments, but my clearest one was truly understanding that I am the only one responsible for my own evolution. . . My favorite part of this class was watching all the Maharishi tapes and understanding them to such a level where I now feel I can explain them. Also the class discussions after the tapes have given me an even greater intellectual satisfaction.

At Maharishi School I received an over-all wonderful education, but the difference between the way I have been taught SCI in MSAE compared to STC in MUM has been drastic. . . All the videos taught me incredible new things. I couldn’t wait to watch the next one because each tape was so unique and inspiring. . . These videos and the class discussions we’ve had have really made me understand and appreciate how beautiful every second of my life is. And now I finally understand each state of consciousness a human being goes through! And I know how to reach fulfillment without having to look at the notes I have taken during class as reference. Gracias Dr. Egenes, Baruti and Brandy for making my first experience in MUM so incredible! Jai Guru Dev —Melodia Morales

I remember our first homework in this class was to research the value of getting enough sleep and make a PowerPoint of the results of our research. At first, when I heard this assignment, I felt a little bit overwhelmed, but as I began to research, I realized how our bodies are so amazing. I became aware of how simply and naturally we are so self-referral without even noticing. . . In this class I was able to realize and remind myself that I am living this self-referral process of evolution, of knowledge, every day as everyone else is. . .

Through watching all the Maharishi tapes, I have gained a clearer perspective of how important and how joyous all the aspects of life really are. All the knowledge, the deep conversations and discussions that I have had with my three teachers of STC and classmates, have given me the best time in school I could have wished for. I look forward to coming to class every single day. . . Together we are making a journey to establish the Self! And it has been an incredibly fulfilling experience. Thank you again! Jai Guru Dev —Coral Morales

I’ve experienced and accomplished quite a bit in the time since I graduated from high school. Through it all I’ve learned quite an array of ideals and concepts on the way that the world works. I’ve learned how I would like to organize my life, and what I would like to give to the world ad what kind of legacy I would like to leave. All in all, what I find perhaps most remarkable and comforting, is that this class has pretty well affirmed the values that I’ve taught myself. If anything it has taught me even more to believe in myself and know that, because the way I live my life brings me great bliss, that it is the right way for me to be living my life. —Dominic Rabalais

During my career at MSAE, just as it is here at MUM, the education was consciousness-based. Now, even though I had many years of studying and exposure to consciousness, I never really felt that my level of understanding had broken the surface. . . I came to MUM not only for the business and sustainability programs, but to potentially fill that gap that I was left with after MSAE. That is exactly what I found. On our first day of class, our professor Tom Egenes posed the question, “So, what do you guys want to learn about?” I had struck gold.

My knowledge began to unfold quickly, each day having an “Ah-ha” moment as my surface understandings were tied into deep wisdom from our teacher, or from the master himself, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Which made me start to wonder, was the reason that my knowledge was so stuck in the relative because I had never learned directly from Maharishi himself? I had always been learning his knowledge indirectly via my teachers, but never from Maharishi himself. Now at MUM, I have seen many tapes of Maharishi, sharing his knowledge in such a profound way, that my understanding has increased dramatically in a relatively short period of time. This has really given me a new-found appreciation of how truly wise Maharishi was. . .

What Maharishi has taught us to do is add a different dynamic to resting; a skill of resting. That skill is the practice of Transcendental Meditation. He’s talking about taking a dip in the transcendent; deep, natural rest twice daily will allow the mind to reach its full potential. Nature will respond to your aspirations if you are rested and in tune with natural law, all these things can be achieved by meditating. I have had a personal experience with this recently.

It goes without saying that meditation is a restful experience. But what I failed to realize, or maybe just accept up until recently, is that meditation is almost pointless when your physiology is not rested. Aside from the fact that when you’re not well rested, there’s a very good chance that you’ll probably just fall asleep anyway, but your ability to transcend is hindered. Until recent I chose not to believe this.

The effects of meditation and the TM-Sidhi program are infinitely more influential to the individual if the physiology is well rested. Recently, I’ve been taking more time out of my schedule to simply just sleep. At first, it’s difficult to take time away from things you feel you need to do, so simply just want to do. But the results don’t even compare. I have had so much support of nature recently that I even felt compelled to post it as a Facebook status update so the world could know of my coherence. My point being, that when we find the time to get sufficient sleep, in addition to meditation, all of your activities in life will create progress and evolution. —Sammy Rose

I really enjoyed the creative assignments, and the written assignments allowed me to gain training in writing and expressing my words in the English language. I feel an improvement in my writing and organizing skills. . . Studying in STC 109 has given me perspective, inspiration and practical knowledge that I can take with me and use in all other aspects of life. . . The biggest ‘aha’ experience to me was bring my awareness to the fact that everything emerges from the same source, and is constantly heading back towards that direction, and that fulfillment is life depends on if the direction of evolution is followed. And it seems to me that whatever we call evolution is just another move of bliss within the bliss eternal, from the silent unmanifest to its point value and back again. —Kasia B.

The Science and Technology of Consciousness class has allowed me to fully develop my understanding of Maharishi Vedic Science. It has not only showed me the path toward my goal but has laid the foundation of which to travel on. . . It has been an honor to study Maharishi’s knowledge in depth and for that I would like to thank all my teachers for deepening and broadening my understanding. Teachers are like unbounded reservoirs of knowledge waiting to share their beautiful knowledge with their students. In one of Maharishi’s tapes on relationships he says that the ideal relationship of teacher and student is one of freedom, all our teachers have fulfilled this I feel because they have been opened to all questions and as Maharishi said the flow of knowledge is the current of joy. Once again thank you for allowing us to share this precious time with you and Jai Guru Dev. — Minolli Nayagar