Sage and the Lotus

Everyone knows that we have a mind and a body and that those two parts of life work together. Yet science has no adequate theory to explain the connection. At the heart of this difficulty is the Mind-Body problem, which is as much to do with the way we understand reality as with the scientific understanding of our bodies.

This book discusses the problem and presents a solution to it based on the teaching of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the Sage of the title. For over 50 years, Maharishi expounded a new and detailed understanding of consciousness taken from the Vedic Tradition of ancient India. He applied it to life in the modern world with great success. In that understanding both mind and body are two expressed parts of a more universal, underlying wholeness of life which can be brought to the level of direct experience through Transcendental Meditation.

Opening one's awareness to that inner reality is called Self-realisation. Expanding that inner wholeness into activity in the world creates Enlightened living. Both topics are discussed in the book in relation to the Mind-Body problem and to Maharishi's teaching.

The book also uses the symbol of the Lotus on the Lake to connect individual consciousness with the universal value of Being that underpins it. This image, adapted from Laya Yoga, beautifully expresses the relationship between individual life and the cosmic value of wholeness. It is a poetic and yet technical description of the structure of individual consciousness.

Part one starts with the polarisation of world views illustrated by science and religion and the difficulty this creates for a shared understanding of reality that includes all aspects of human experience. Those aspects include the physical, the mental, the social and cultural, and the spiritual. Science only tells us accurately about the physical. Religion deals with the spiritual, yet, for many, religion has become a matter of blind belief leading to actions that can sometimes seem destructive to life itself. The Mind-Body problem is introduced in terms of these difficulties and in relation to Dualism, Materialism and Idealism.

Part two describes Maharishi Vedic Science as a theory of wholeness in which consciousness is primary. The theory is explained in some detail and then extended to show how three interacting modes of consciousness are required to create physical forms, worlds of shared experience and the appearance of matter. They are the cosmic mode, the individual mode and the collective mode.

Part Three returns to the Mind-Body problem and shows that it does not exist in Maharishi Vedic Science. Difficulties arise only if we take a limited viewpoint in which wholeness is missing. Mind and body go together, but they are both expressions of a deeper reality in which wholeness is all. This does not have to be left to faith. It is open to experience through a process of spiritual development. The techniques of Yoga, properly understood and applied and exemplified in Maharishi's system of Transcendental Meditation, are designed to promote the experience of wholeness. The need for a paradigm shift and the conditions required for creating that shift are discussed. A Five Worlds Framework for human experience is proposed, to help develop holistic approaches in every area of practical life. Different cultural and spiritual traditions can use the framework to make their own contributions. The symbol of the Lotus on the Lake is presented and explained.

Part four gives three examples of how Maharishi Vedic Science can be applied to practical life: spiritual development which can power a global paradigm shift, education which develops the mind, and medicine which maintains the health of the body.

Some final points to ponder are given, including comments on life after death and re-incarnation. An Appendix outlines Maharishi's teaching on the Seven States of Consciousness. Full references are given.