Visitors to Maharishi University of Management (MUM) in Fairfield, Iowa, USA, are impressed with the growth they see in the students, who have had an education that develops real self-knowledge, resulting in more confidence, stability, and happiness.

Maharishi University of Management: Preparing students for life
by TM Magazine, Issue 3
16 October 2011


When people think about choosing a college, they often think about which college will best prepare them for their career and lead to maximum professional success.

Fair enough. But here is a statistic to consider: within four years of graduating, nearly half of all college graduates are working in a field unrelated to their major field of study.

This shouldn’t be surprising. The world is changing more rapidly than ever. It’s not unusual for people to have four or five different careers and a dozen or more jobs in a lifetime. But what does this mean for a student’s college education? College involves a tremendous investment of time and money. If you invest in preparing for a certain career and soon after graduating find yourself doing something else, what return are you getting from your investment?

Preparation for life

Ideally, a college education should prepare a student not just for a career but for life. Since the time of Plato’s Academy, self-knowledge, or development of one’s full inner potential, has been considered the highest ideal in education. Unfortunately, far too few universities today offer students the type of self-knowledge that develops their human potential—the source of success—no matter what career they end up choosing.

Growth from inside out

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, USA, created a university based on the motto, “Knowledge is structured in consciousness.” This means that what is most important in education is developing the knower, and that educational programs that develop students’ consciousness are the foundation of academic study, not an elective or afterthought.

How do we do this?

All our students practice the Transcendental Meditation technique twice each day. This enables them to “dive within” and experience the unlimited reservoir of creativity and intelligence deep inside. Many students also practice an advanced meditation procedure called the TM-Sidhi program, including Yogic Flying. This program accelerates the already powerful benefits of the Transcendental Meditation technique.

It’s working

This Consciousness-Based approach directly enhances brain functioning. EEG (electroencephalographic) studies show that with regular Transcendental Meditation practice, brain functioning becomes measurably more integrated and coherent, much like an orchestra shifting from tune-up mode to playing in synchrony. Along with this, other published research shows that MUM students become more intelligent and creative, more field independent, and more morally mature. Students become happier and healthier as they progress through their years here.

There is no better preparation for a career or for “living life to the fullest.” And this growth does not stop when students receive their diplomas—it continues year after year, supporting professional success and personal fulfillment whatever direction students take.

© Copyright 2011 Maharishi Foundation USA, a non-profit educational organization