Spiritual Leaders Who Died in 2008

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, 1917-2008

Though obituaries for Maharishi Mahesh Yogi inevitably dubbed him “the Beatles' guru,” the moniker hardly does justice to this spiritual leader and entrepreneur, who died at age 91. The Maharishi—the title means “great seer”—popularized Transcendental Meditation before all-things-Eastern were considered hip, setting the stage for what has become the multibillion-dollar self-help industry. He also founded a university in rural Iowa; incorporated a new town nearby, Maharishi Vedic City; funded scientific research into the benefits of meditation; and taught that worldwide adoption of Vedic principles would bring peace. The Maharishi came to international attention when the Beatles went on retreat to his Himalayan ashram in 1968, and though they soon left amid controversy, the publicity helped spread his movement. In recent years, the filmmaker David Lynch became one of the Maharishi’s most prominent followers, telling Beliefnet in 2006 that in Transcendental Meditation, “You go beyond boundaries, and you experience the unbounded, infinite, eternal, unified field, pure bliss consciousness.” 

--Michael Kress