TM officials say money is in place for 500 from India

The Fairfield Ledger/February 16, 2004
By Erik Gable

Wynne says the men could move in by late spring; county supervisors to monitor use of tax money.

Officials in the Transcendental Meditation movement said recently they have raised enough money to bring 500 young men practicing the TM program from India to Maharishi Vedic City.

Maharishi University of Management's John Hagelin made the announcement at a meeting Thursday in one of the golden domes on campus, according to Maureen Wynne, Vedic Citys attorney.

Wynne said the buildings to house the men, who are also called Vedic scholars or pundits, should be finished in the next three months. The 500 scholars should be moving in shortly thereafter, she said.

Wynne said the men will spend their days studying, meditating and reciting literature from the ancient Vedic tradition of India.

Members of the TM movement, which was founded by the Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, believe group meditation creates peace.

Although people have been practicing TM in Fairfield ever since Maharishi International University moved to the town in 1974, Wynne said, the scholars should "spread out to a larger area and create a good influence all over the state and the region."

The pundit project was the subject of controversy last year when Maharishi Vedic City passed a local option sales tax and Jefferson County supervisors objected to part of the county's local option sales tax money being used to fund the project.