Experts to showcase 'scientifically proven technology' to achieve world peace near Hyderabad

Around 10,000 transcendental meditation experts from 119 countries will assemble near Hyderabad to showcase ''scientifically proven technology'' to achieve world peace.

Organised by the Global Union of Scientists for Peace (GUSP), the two-week event will begin at Kanha Shanti Vanam near the capital of Telangana on December 29.

Dr Tony Nader, a Harvard and MIT-trained medical doctor and neuroscientist and chairman of the GUSP, said at a press conference here, ''We now have a scientifically proven technology to create immediate world peace.'' Never before have so many experts in these consciousness technologies gathered in one place, and from so many countries, Nader, the successor to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and leader of the Transcendental Meditation organisations worldwide, added.

With war raging at several places and diplomacy failing everywhere, the world desperately needs a new approach, he asserted.

''More than 54 empirical studies published in leading peer-reviewed scholarly journals and professional scientific conference proceedings have proved that the technologies of consciousness to be demonstrated in Hyderabad really work,'' he said.

''Even just a few people assembled in one place, as few as 10,000 for the entire world's population of 8.1 billion, are enough to create peace globally,'' he added.

Asked why the demonstration is being held in India, Nader said, ''It's well known that meditation began in India in ancient Vedic times. Meditation used to be just for monks and mystics. But now, thanks to the tireless work of India's Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, it is for everyone.'' ''Starting in the late 1950s, Maharishi brought transcendental meditation to every country in the world. Recently there has been a huge increase in interest in meditation,'' he added.

In the last three years alone, the time spent by people meditating has increased by 2900 per cent, he said.

At least 250 million people -- 3 per cent of the world's population -- now meditate. Many of the world's largest corporations report that meditation is an essential part of their management and employee-wellness strategy, he said.

''This is one of India's and Maharishi's invaluable gifts to the world... And it's science that is driving this exponential growth,'' Nader said.

Dr Fred Travis, director of the Brain Center at Maharishi International University USA and a world expert in how the brain functions during meditation, demonstrated what happens when a person practices TM.

Using an EEG machine hooked to a seated meditator, Travis described the brain wave patterns seen on two giant screens in the conference room.

''What you're seeing is brain activity during a fourth major state of human consciousness, completely different from waking, dreaming, and sleeping. In the ancient Yogic texts this is called samadhi,'' he said.

You see a quick onset of activity in the alpha frequency band, about 8-10 cycles per second, indicating a state of deeply restful alertness, deeper than sleep and more alert than waking, Travis said.

''And you can see how the brain waves from all the different parts of the brain have lined up, becoming much more coherent and orderly, and how they've increased in power. This is the signature of samadhi, and TM is the only meditation that produces this immediately from the first sitting,'' he said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)