A Cure for the Virus of Racism

We can eliminate racism by integrating transcendental meditation into our educational systems to elevate our awareness to level of unity consciousness

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The prevalence of racial prejudice has been like a viral infection in the physical structure of American society, but like with any virus, there is a cure. The time for the cure is NOW.

The first step to cure any disease is the acknowledgment that the disease exists. This is what we see currently happening in the world. All over the world, protests are erupting, people are marching and from across the globe, voices are calling out for freedom, justice and an end to the violation of human rights. An awareness that an injustice perpetrated against anyone anywhere in the world affects everyone in the world has emerged, and ignited the global conscience. There is a universal acknowledgment that racism exists and a global desire to eradicate it. The quality of empathy and compassion for the suffering of others is increasing in the world family.

The Nobel Prize Laureate, Nelson Mandela expressed this quality of the human heart beautifully:

No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.

Nelson Mandela felt that education was the most powerful weapon one can use to change the world.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi reiterated this sentiment when he said:

   Through proper education, we can accomplish anything.

The cure for racism is a system of education that provides both the intellectual understanding and the direct experience of pure consciousness, the unbounded reservoir of pure intelligence at the source of thought.

Education as it exists today is missing a fundamental aspect which is essential for creating an ideal individual. Although modern education provides knowledge of particular isolated fields of learning, it is missing knowledge of the knower, the very basis of the structure on which the high edifice of knowledge has to be built.

The basis of knowledge is consciousness. In order to gain knowledge, one must be conscious, awake, alert inside. Consciousness is the basis of knowledge; knowledge is the basis of action; action is the basis of achievement and achievement is the basis of fulfilment. By enlivening and expanding one’s consciousness, one spontaneously gains the ability to live more in harmony with natural law.

All violations of natural law have their root in weakness of the mind.

Racism is the result of narrow vision. If the awareness is narrow, one can only focus on differences. Like the small angle lens of a camera, one’s awareness is localized by the boundaries of race, and the deeper unifying factors that interconnect all living beings are overlooked. Racism is the result of focussing the mind on surface differences on the outer level of life, while disregarding the inner unifying basis of life. When one is wearing red glasses, then one can only see red. When differences dominate one’s awareness, the result is problems, mistakes, suffering, and failures in life.

According to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of the Transcendental Meditation technique:

Since consciousness is the most basic element of everyone’s life, knowledge of consciousness is the most basic requirement for everyone to exist consciously and intelligently and enjoy full, unbounded creative potential of life, with maximum success in all fields of personal and professional life.

Knowledge of consciousness is easily gained during the practice of Transcendental Meditation when one transcends and experiences the simplest, most settled state of awareness, the self-referral state of pure consciousness. In this state, the mind has transcended all the boundaries of thought. It is an experience of the unified level of life without a trace of duality. The regular experience of pure consciousness expands the conscious capacity of the mind and develops a “universal individual” – one who is spontaneously able to appreciate the common thread interconnecting all surface expressions of differences.

The experience of pure consciousness, the transcendental level of wholeness of life is the most effective way to overcome racism in society.

When a large proportion of the population of a nation enlivens pure consciousness regularly, an influence of coherence and orderliness spreads in society.

The experience of pure consciousness enlivens the full potential of natural law in human awareness by aligning human intelligence with cosmic intelligence. The unified field of all the laws of nature which is the level of cosmic intelligence, becomes lively when human awareness settles down to its most silent state. The deepest level of the mind is a state of absolute bliss; it is a state of perfect balance and infinite peace. The regular experience of pure consciousness by a large percentage of the population of a nation has the ability to harmonize all differences and lead to a harmonious and integrated society.

The experience of pure Being, infinite silence, enables the individual to spontaneously live more in harmony with the laws of nature.

As one’s awareness expands, one becomes happier and more creative day by day. With increased inner contentment, one’s ability to appreciate grows and more fruitful relationships develop.

Maharishi explains:

Every individual is born with that great potentiality which is hidden from within oneself. Through meditation we take our attention to that, bring that unboundedness in our awareness, live every phase of life with that awareness and thereby strengthen every phase of relative existence with this light of the Absolute.

To improve any aspect of life — and behaviour is a very, very important aspect of life — we just broaden awareness; and to broaden awareness we make use of nothing other than what life is. Life as life is infinite, unbounded, eternal, and therefore we just open our awareness to that. We open and know it, know what we are. And once we know what we are, there is no restriction, no limitation… When the awareness broadens — and it does broaden as we dive into Being more and more — everything spontaneously becomes a part of our Being.

As consciousness settles down to its least excited state of pure self-referral consciousness at the deepest level of the mind, the body simultaneously gains a very deep state of rest. This rest allows deeply rooted stresses to be released, paving the way for greater flexibility and stability in both the mind and body.

The regular experience of pure consciousness develops the ability to maintain an inner state of deep silence and stability even in the midst of dynamic activity. As a result, one becomes capable of making decisions which are nourishing for oneself and for society. One becomes more broadminded, and tolerant of others. As the practice advances, one’s thinking and action automatically becomes more and more aligned with the full evolutionary value of natural law.

When the full potential of natural law becomes permanently established in human awareness, the individual becomes universal. Spontaneously, one appreciates every finite expression of life in terms of its innermost value.

The narrow boundaries of individual life naturally expand to include the whole world. It is like shifting from a narrow-angle lens of a camera to a wide-angle lens.

The solution to the problem of racism is to bring in the light of new knowledge, the light of pure consciousness, the most unified level of intelligence in nature.

When in darkness, bring in the light. With the introduction of light, the darkness is automatically dispelled. The rate at which the darkness is eliminated is directly proportional to the radiance of the light. The more people who are collectively enlivening the transcendental level of pure consciousness in society through the simple, natural and effortless practice of Transcendental Meditation, the faster the darkness will be dispelled.

Extensive scientific research on the Transcendental Meditation technique has documented its effectiveness in reducing negative tendencies in society. Over 600 scientific studies on the TM programme have been conducted by researchers at more than 250 independent research institutions around the world.

Racism can be eliminated by purifying the collective consciousness of society, and now is the time for it to happen.

The collective consciousness of humanity is rising up to new heights of understanding and compassion and old patterns of thinking based on ignorance are being overthrown. Individual life is being enriched with the element of universality.

This is a time of transformation, of purification, and of rebirth. During this period, narrow-minded, outdated modes of thinking will be collectively discarded and replaced with a new, all-inclusive vision of wholeness of life which is in tune with the evolving consciousness of humanity. We are witnessing a massive churning of human consciousness on earth and the outcome must ensure a better, brighter future for all.

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Brief Examples of Research on TM:

• Journal of Crime and Justice 4, 25-45, 1981- “Long-Term Decrease in Crime Rate in Cities through Transcendental Meditation”
• The Journal of Mind and Behaviour 8, 67-104, 1987- “Decreased Crime in National Capitol Districts”
• Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 17: 285-338, 2005- “Increased Progress towards Peace through the TM-Sidhi program”

Journal of Offender Rehabilitation 36: 283-302, 2003- “Reduced International Conflict through the TM-Sidhi program”

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