Department of Maharishi Vedic Science

Programs

About us

The Department of Maharishi Vedic Science provides the systematic knowledge and experience of pure consciousness, Ātmā, the Self of every individual, as brought to light by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. This unmanifest self-referral field of pure intelligence at the basis of the thinking process is the source of all thought and action.

The study of Maharishi Vedic Science develops the full potential of the knower and lays the foundation for complete knowledge of any discipline, while it fosters evolution to higher states of consciousness and progressive and fulfilling action and accomplishment in life.

Maharishi Vedic Science

Maharishi Vedic Science is the systematic study, experience, and development of the full range of life, both individual and cosmic, and its applications to create a better world. Its principles and technologies are based on the direct experience and understanding of the most vital element in life — the unbounded field of consciousness that is the inner intelligence at the basis of every individual and the entire universe.

This science, as developed by MIU’s founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, provides practices that allow each student to experience directly the infinite and timeless value of their own Self — unbounded pure consciousness, the simplest form of human awareness. Experience of the limitless field of pure consciousness, or pure intelligence, improves one’s life because consciousness is the core of each student.

Consciousness and Human Potential

The degrees in consciousness and human potential address questions about the nature and range of individual consciousness from the perspective of modern science and from the perspective of Maharishi Vedic Science. Discussions of the full range of life are supported by direct experience and understanding of pure consciousness, the inner intelligence at the basis of every individual and the entire universe.

Faculty

Fred Travis, PhD Chair of the Department of Maharishi Vedic Science, Professor of Maharishi Vedic Science

Dr. Travis is Professor of Maharishi Vedic Science, Chair of the Department of Maharishi Vedic Science, Dean of the Graduate School, and Director of the Center for Brain, Consciousness, & Cognition. He earned an MS and a PhD in Psychology from Maharishi International University and a BS in Design and Environmental Analysis from Cornell University. His research interests are in psychophysiological correlates of higher states of consciousness; psychophysiological correlates of reading Vedic literature; investigation of models of higher states of consciousness; the effects of Transcendental Meditation^® practice on child development; and the effects of Transcendental Meditation practice on promoting healthy aging. Curriculum Vitae >

William Sands, PhD Dean of the College of Maharishi Vedic Science, Professor of Maharishi Vedic Science and Sanskrit

Dr. Sands is Dean of the College of Maharishi Vedic Science and Professor of Maharishi Vedic Science. He earned an MA and PhD from Maharishi International University, an MSCI from Maharishi European Research University, and a BSBA from Georgetown University.

More about William Sands

He is the author of five books:

He has also published a number of articles, including:

Dharma in the Valmiki Ramayan in the Light of Maharishi Vedic Science
State of Yoga versus path of Yoga in Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s commentary on the Bhagavad-Gītā
Maharishi’s Program of Reading the Vedic Literature: Unfolding the Total Potential of Natural Law
Valmiki Ramayan: The Eternal Record of Perfection in Government

Thomas Egenes, PhDProfessor of Maharishi Vedic Science and Sanskrit

Dr. Egenes earned an MA and PhD in Religious Studies from the University of Virginia; an MA in Higher Education Administration from Maharishi International University; BA in Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Egenes is Professor of Maharishi Vedic Science & Sanskrit. Curriculum Vitae >

Sue Brown, PhDAssociate Professor of Maharishi Vedic Science

Sue Brown’s doctoral research was on student development in the context of higher states of consciousness, focusing on Maharishi’s application of the unifying knowledge of Yoga. She gained her BA in Literature and Music at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and her MA in Higher Education Administration from MIU. Dr Brown is Associate Professor of Maharishi Vedic Science and Associate Dean of Academic Programs.

Rod Eason, PhDAssistant Professor of Maharishi Vedic Science

Dr. Rod Eason is Vice-President of Enrollment and Student Affairs and a member of the President’s Cabinet. He has been a teacher of the Transcendental Meditation program for more than 30 years. Dr. Eason earned his MA and PhD in Maharishi Vedic Science from MIU. He received the Veda Vyasa Award for the most outstanding dissertation, where his research connected objective and subjective methods of gaining knowledge, Maharishi Vedic Science and consciousness, and also the unified field of physics with pure consciousness. In addition, he explored the nature of time and the influence of impulses of creative intelligence active on different days.

Karen Aoki Kouider, PhDAssistant Professor of Maharishi Vedic Science

Karen Aoki Kouider grew up in Tokyo, Japan, where she trained in Western classical flute. At 15, she traveled to the United States to study at the Interlochen Arts Academy and the Eastman School of Music. After completing a bachelor’s degree in music, her interest turned towards meditative practices and Vedic knowledge, which led her to pursue a master’s degree and a doctoral degree in Maharishi Vedic Science at MIU, where she also studied Indian classical flute with Binay Krishna Baral. For her Ph.D., she investigated the therapeutic potential of reciting from 36 branches of Vedic literature in Sanskrit in conjunction with regular practice of Transcendental Meditation and the TM-Sidhi program. Karen enjoys teaching courses on Maharishi's system of Yoga. She is also the co-director of MIU's TM Center which manages MIU's retreat programs, TM instruction, and refresher courses.

Patricia Saunders, PhDDirector of the On-Campus MA in Consciousness and Human Potential, Assistant Professor of Maharishi Vedic Science

Patricia Saunders has taught Maharishi Vedic Science courses at MIU and co-authored a book on collective consciousness and the Maharishi Effect, An Antidote to Violence: Evaluating the Evidence. Dr. Saunders lives in Fairfield, Iowa, where she enjoys reading Vedic Literature, walking, and listening to music.

Keith Wegman, PhDDirector of the Online MA in Consciousness and Human Potential, Assistant Professor of Maharishi Vedic Science

Dr. Wegman received his PhD in Maharishi Vedic Science from Maharishi International University in 2004, his MA in Science of Creative Intelligence from Maharishi International University in 1993, and BA in Philosophy/Art from St. Olaf College in 1991. Dr. Wegman has taught numerous undergraduate and graduate level courses in Sanskrit and Maharishi Vedic Science and has researched and lectured in these subjects both nationally and internationally over the last 25 years. He is also a Certified Teacher of Transcendental Meditation and is the Director of TM instruction at the Raj Ayurveda Health Spa. He lives in Fairfield, Iowa with his wife Sankari and two children Jayanta and Uma.

Elinor Wolfe, PhDAssistant Professor of Maharishi Vedic Science

Dr. Wolfe earned a BFA in Studio Art from Ohio University, an MA in Art and an MA and PhD in Maharishi Vedic Science from Maharishi International University. Her research interests center on the concept of dharma (living in accord with natural law) and its origins and expressions, viewed both historically and as seen in contemporary society. She has explored Transcendental Meditation as an intervention for increasing dharma in life, improving moral maturity and eudaimonic well-being in individuals, contributing to the restoration of balance in society and the environment, and addressing the problem of sustainability in today’s world. Dr. Wolfe has taught Transcendental Meditation and Maharishi Vedic Science courses around the world in the United States, the former Soviet Union, India, the Philippines, and the Netherlands.

John Greco, PhDAdjunct Assistant Professor of Maharishi Vedic Science

For more than 30 years John Greco, PhD, Syracuse University, has taught a full range of courses in Maharishi Vedic Science at Maharishi International University in Fairfield and Maharishi Open University in Vlodrop, Holland. In addition, Dr. Greco has been a university administrator including Dean of Faculty at MIU. He also worked under Maharishi’s direct guidance to establish Maharishi University of World Peace in the USA. Dr. Greco enjoys teaching, learning, reading the Vedic Literature, walking, gardening, and living in the sublime atmosphere of Fairfield.

John Collins, MAAdjunct Assistant Professor of Maharishi Vedic Science

John Collins has had a wide-ranging career in government, business, politics, the non-profit sector, and education. His core interest is the application of the Vedic knowledge of consciousness into the fields of personal growth, world peace, paradigm revision in modern science, and sustainability. He has been with Maharishi International University for 9 years, and has received several teaching awards. John has a joint honors degree from Bristol University, England, in Philosophy and Economics and a Masters in Maharishi Vedic Science from Maharishi International University.

Meredith Hart, MSAdjunct Instructor of Maharishi Vedic Science

An avid student, practitioner, and teacher of consciousness, embodiment, and holistic medicine with focused attention on these subjects since 1997, Meredith holds several degrees and certifications including four Yoga Teacher Certifications (three 200-hour and one 700-hour), an International Yoga Therapist Certification, a Japa Meditation Teacher Certification, a BA in Transpersonal Psychology with an Emphasis in Yoga Therapy & Somatics, a Postgraduate Certificate in Western Herbalism, and an MS in Maharishi Ayurveda & Integrative Medicine. Meredith is heavily informed by Maharishi's philosophies, teachings, and practices of natural medicine, yoga therapy, and somatics where she has over 10,000 hours of training and several thousand hours of experience.