Maharishi’s First Years of Teaching: 1954 -1964
“Best MIU Continuing Education course ever! A timeless course.” —EM
This is a self-paced, self-study online course which consists of eleven lessons, approximately 1.5 hours each.
Free Talk: Please click on the link below to view the first lesson for free.
Course Leader: Dr. John Boncheff
Course Fee:
$125 general tuition fee
$75 discounted course fee for full-time students, full-time TM organization staff, and low-income retirees.
India, South Africa, and certain other countries have a discounted rate of $35. Please locate your country in the form and find and enter your rate.
Course Description
In the 1950’s, meditation was usually thought of as something just for those willing to live a monastic life in a religious order. In 1954, one man changed all that — Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. With his introduction of the easy-to-learn Transcendental Meditation® technique, Maharishi spawned a global revolution in the understanding, teaching, practice, and scientific investigation of meditation.
In this 11-lesson, self-paced course, John Boncheff, Ph.D., takes us back to those early days of Maharishi’s life, work, and teaching. Far from being a mere popular history of time and place, this series delves deep into Maharishi’s groundbreaking contributions and the evolution of his message over time, as seen through rare recordings, official transcripts, and original publications — many of which are newly acquired by the Maharishi Archives and Collections at the MIU Depository.
The next course in this series is now available: Maharishi’s Early Years of Teaching: 1965 – 1975. These courses do not need to be taken in order.
Faculty
Dr. John Boncheff
Dr. Boncheff is a longtime teacher in Maharishi’s organization and has taught the TM® technique to over 2,500 people. He was also awarded two PhDs in Maharishi Vedic ScienceSM directly from Maharishi. The first was in Nyaya and the second was in Jyotish.
Reviews
This course contains many gems of insight on Maharishi, SRM, the Gita, and sequential unfoldment of the TM organization. Even more than that, it gave us Maharishi. Many of us weren’t around in those early years, and this course put us there with him during the early events as if we were living them along with him. What a gift!
—MN
Best MIU Continuing Education course ever! A timeless course. —EM
Very blissful! Watching Maharishi’s journey to bless the world unfold from the small seed of desire to travel down from the Himalayas to the expansion of the world wide movement is very moving. —LG
A soothing cosmic bath of Maharishi Darshan —DO
After enjoying and incorporating the full Yoga course with Dr. Morehead into my life, I received my second advanced course this weekend in Florida. I was drawn to this course not expecting to have a real life and soul changing experience. I’ve been meditating for 25 years and just last January at a retreat in Florida my entire experience catapulted into bliss and happiness for the first time. This course was not only lovely because seeing these private clips of Maharishi, Dr. Boncheff is an outstanding story teller and he wove the commentary and videos brilliantly. —DS
Maharishi’s First Years of Teaching 1955-1964, by Dr. John Boncheff I viewed all (11) lessons over a 3 week period. I am in awe of Dr. Boncheff’s deep understanding of the lives of Guru Dev and Maharishi. Thank you to all who contributed artifacts and supported the creation of this course. —EL
I have been a meditator for 47 years and while not always regular, I am getting much more serious about my meditation practice now. I loved this course and learned so much from these teachings. —CB
This is so beautiful, watching now for the second time and hope to make it for a third time before the year is gone. This course gives such an amazing insight of the simplicity with which Maharishi spread his message. I am happy to know that now also a course of the third decade is available —LN
What a great joy for me to participate in this magnificent beautiful inspiring course! And what an enormous work of precise documenting you’ve done, dear Mr. Boncheff! Thank you for that. —HM
I loved this course. Thank you! —DC
I just finished this great course of The First Years teaching of Maharishi’s. I loved this course from beginning to end. Thank you so much. Jai Guru Dev. —LC
A fabulous course – heartist congratulations on ‘Maharishi’s First Year’s Teaching’. I am half way through the content – it is a wonderful piece of work – I so look forward to the sessions everyday. Your attention to detail and the context you provide are superb. It is quite remarkable that the aims of SRM established in the 1950 are so prescient and relevant for our times today. Simply put it speaks to the lasting relevance and sustainability of Transcendental Meditation. I would love to see elements of your work here adapted by the TM leadership in augmenting the conventional narrative on TM – I do feel at times that the communication is too instrumental and diminishes Maharishi’s message – we should not be shy of speaking about values and spirituality – COVID-19, political dislocation and inequality bring this centre stage for all of humanity today. The TM leadership have a golden opportunity to deepen the messaging on the TM system, heritage and philosophy – a message which will increasingly become more relevant and valuable. John, thank you again for posting this work, —TO
Blissful listening. So uplifting. —LS
Thank you so much for presenting these beautiful videos of Maharishi and Guru Dev. They are wonderful and so fulfilling. —KJ
Just wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. Content and presentation as well. I am so happy I took this course and so lucky to have it free (as I am senior full-time TM teacher). —AC
FAQs
Are there any prerequisites to take this course?
This course is open to all TM Meditators, and all TM Teachers and all those advanced TM Meditators who have graduated from the TM-Sidhis course.
How long are the videos available to view?
Videos are available to view for at least one year after signing up or after they are posted, whichever is later.
Where can I contact the organizer of this event with any questions?
Please email the Office of Continuing Education at ce@miu.edu. Or you can call 641-919-0045 during office hours: Monday – Friday 10:00 am – noon and 1:00 – 4:00 pm (Central Time).
What is the refund policy?
We offer full refunds to anyone who requests them before starting the third class.
Where are the Maharishi Global Archives and Collections located?
Currently they are located downstairs in the MIU Library.
How can I contact the Maharishi Global Archives and Collections?
Please email archives@miu.edu
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Questions? Please contact ce@miu.edu.