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This article was published in The Modern Tribune. A Scientific Formula to Create Invincible National Defence
Brian Mc Enery Ph.D. Former Army Officer The Defence Forces of Ireland
David R. Leffler, Ph.D. Center for Advanced Military Science (CAMS) AbstractThis article outlines an approach to conflict prevention and resolution based on the elimination of accumulated societal stress. It presents a brief review of scientific research that demonstrates that groups of experts, utilising Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Invincible Defence Technology-Transcendental Meditation® (TM®) and its advanced practice, the TM-Sidhi® Programme-can produce measurable reductions in warfare, violence, and crime, and improvements in international relations. There follows an explanation of the mechanics of social coherence and its foundation in modern scientific theory. It then suggests the incorporation of such a group of experts-known as a coherence-creating group-into the military forces, thereby establishing a Prevention Wing of the Military whose duty will be to create integrated national consciousness and make the nation invincible. Finally, it outlines how a Prevention Wing of the Military was successfully deployed in Mozambique, and suggests that other countries military forces should evaluate this approach as part of their overall defence strategy.
About the Authors Dr. Brian Mc Enery is an independent research scientist and former Army Officer. He joined the Defence Forces of Ireland in 1973 and was commissioned into the Infantry Corps in 1975. He completed a honours B.Sc. Degree in Mathematics and Mathematical Physics at University College Galway in 1977. During his army career he served mainly in the Eastern Command, and served with the 52nd Infantry Battalion in UNIFIL, South Lebanon in 1982/83. Following his retirement from the Defence Forces in 1985, he resumed his academic studies in the Mathematical Physics department at University College Cork (UCC), and was awarded a Ph.D. in computational mathematics in 1990. He continued to lecture and conduct research at UCC until 1991. Since then, Dr. Mc Enery has been investigating the many practical applications of Maharishi's Vedic Science. Included in this investigation has been a comprehensive review of the natural law based technologies of consciousness, especially the research on the effectiveness of coherence creating groups in conflict prevention and resolution. Dr. David R. Leffler received his Ph.D. from The Union Institute in
Cincinnati, Ohio where he did his doctoral research on the topic of
Invincible Defence Technology. His other academic degrees include: a
B.A. in Education and an M.A. in the Science of Creative Intelligence
from Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa and an M.M.
in Education from New Mexico State University at Las Cruces. David was
a member of the U.S. Air Force for eight years. He has given presentations
on Invincible Defence Technology at the Russian Air Force Academy, The
Russian Academy of Sciences, and defence-related institutions in the
U.S.A. Dr. Leffler is the Acting Director, and a founding member of,
the Center for Advanced Military Science (CAMS) at Maharishi University
of Management.
Contents: Introduction Introduction
The
past few years have seen an increase in intractable regional conflicts
that the international community has been powerless to resolve. The
global relief and freedom from fear that resulted from the "grand
handshake" between the superpowers in 1988 has soon become meaningless,
ending up in the Gulf War, Somalia, the Balkans as well as other hot
spots. Many of these conflicts are so deeply rooted within the societies
in which they manifest that only fundamental changes in the methods
being employed to resolve conflicts have any hope of success. This
article outlines an approach to conflict prevention and resolution,
and social progress that has its roots in India's ancient Vedic tradition.
Scientist and educator Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has recently brought this
ancient knowledge to light. The programmes underlying this approach
have been validated by almost fifty scientific studies, some of which
are reviewed below. The positive effects of these programmes were demonstrated
in Mozambique. Comments from Lt. Gen. Tobias Dai, (Ret.) now the Defence
Minister of Mozambique, are also included below. The
basis for this approach to preventing and resolving conflict is the
understanding that conflict, and other forms of social disorder, are
manifestations of accumulated stress within society. Stress in the individual
leads to a wide range of problems, from ulcers and heart disease to
anxiety, hostility, and aggressive behaviour. In a similar way, Maharishi's
Vedic Science suggests that stress in the collective consciousness
[1]
of society creates a fertile ground for a wide range
of social problems-including violent crime and socio-cultural conflict
leading to the disintegration of society and ultimately war. The means
proposed to reduce violence and social disorder is a coherence-creating
group that reduces stress in the collective consciousness of society
as a whole. Review
of Scientific Research
As
early as 1960, Maharishi predicted that when 1% of a population practiced
the Transcendental Meditation programme, a measurable increase in orderliness,
coherence, and positive trends would be observed in society. On the
basis of initial research in 1974 and the introduction of the more powerful
TM-Sidhi programme in 1977, it was predicted that when the square root
of 1% of a population practiced the TM and TM-Sidhi programme together
as a group, a similar increase in orderliness would be observed in society.
The formulae for the size of the group necessary to create a "phase
transition" to a measurable higher quality of life in society were
calculated. These calculations were based on analogous phase transitions
from disorder to orderliness as studied in physics. The
earliest research documenting reduced violence throughout society examined
the effects of the Transcendental Meditation programme on twenty-four
U.S. cities that had 1% or more of their population individually practising
this technique in their own homes. Research found that the total crime
decreased 16% in the "1% cities" compared to matched control
cities. The study
[2]
also found that crime rate trends remained significantly
reduced in the 1% cities compared to controls over the next five years.
A
dramatic experiment testing the ability of the practice of the Transcendental
Meditation programme to reduce armed conflict was conducted in the Lebanese
village of Baskinta, population 10,000, situated at the centre of the
Lebanese conflict.
[3]
The number of shells coming into the village, the
number of people killed and wounded, and property damage in Baskinta
was compared with the same statistics from three control villages in
the same area. The baseline period was from the autumn of 1978 to the
spring of 1982, and the experimental period from the summer of 1982
through the winter of 1984. The TM programme was first introduced to
Baskinta in May 1981 and the town reached the 1% threshold in June 1982.
The
results sharply contrasted with the village's history, and to what was
happening to control villages in the same area. As predicted, hostilities
completely ceased in Baskinta from the time 1% of its population began
to practice the TM programme. This cessation of violence in Baskinta
was in sharp contrast to the worsening trends in all surrounding control
villages. More
recently, research has evaluated the effects of the advanced technology-group
practice of the TM-Sidhi programme. These studies report that when even
a relatively small group of individuals (approximately the square root
of 1% of a population) practiced the TM-Sidhi programme together in
groups, crime and other indicators of social disorder decreased in the
whole society. When these coherence-creating groups were dispersed,
crime and other societal disorders returned to their former levels.
The
following is a brief review of some of the studies on coherence creating
assemblies, showing reduced crime, violence, and warfare, and improved
international relations. In
Britain, the ability of a coherence-creating group to reduce crime has
been convincingly demonstrated in the Merseyside metropolitan area.
The crime rate has shown a relative fall of 60% compared to national
trends since a coherence-creating group was established in the area.
In six years, the crime rate has fallen from the third highest of all
metropolitan areas to the lowest in England.
[4]
Over
a two-year period, a week-by-week study showed that whenever attendance
at a large coherence-creating group in Washington D.C. increased, violent
crime decreased.
[5]
Another,
more recent study in Washington, D.C.
[6]
demonstrated that during a two-month coherence-creating
assembly in the city from June to July 1993, violent crime in the city
decreased by 20.1%. The public's decreasing confidence in the Clinton
administration dramatically reversed. The Washington crime results were
based on statistics received from the District of Columbia Metropolitan
Police Department. Analysis
of the results was approved by an independent Project Review Board of
thirteen leading scientists in the field of social science. An
analysis of public statements of the U.S. president concerning the Soviet
Union indicated a warming of U.S.-Soviet relations associated with periods
of high participation in a coherence-creating group in the U.S.
[7]
In another study, statistics provided by the Rand
Corporation showed that during the three largest coherence-creating
assemblies ever held (approaching or exceeding 7,000 participants),
worldwide terrorism dropped by 72%. At the same time, all international
conflict reduced by more than 30%.
[8]
A
day-by-day study of a two-month-long coherence-creating assembly in
Israel showed that, on days of high attendance, war deaths in neighbouring
Lebanon decreased by 76%. On the same days, a composite quality-of-life
index showed decreased crime, traffic accidents and fires in Jerusalem,
and decreased crime accompanied by improvements in the stock market
and national mood throughout Israel. Other possible causes (weekends,
holidays, weather, etc.) were statistically controlled for and could
not account for the results.
[9]
A follow-up day-by-day study of more than two years
showed that during seven different coherence-creating assemblies, war
deaths in Lebanon decreased by an average of 71%.
[10]
The
research results on the effects of coherence-creating assemblies on
the Lebanese conflict are of particular significance to UN peacekeeping
forces. One study covered the period from July to August 1983, and the
other covered the two-year period from 1983-1985. During these periods,
international peacekeeping forces were on duty with UNIFIL in South
Lebanon. The research indicates that during the coherence-creating assemblies,
decreased stress and increased coherence in regional collective consciousness
may have diminished violent outbursts in Lebanon and facilitated more
co-operative interaction among typically antagonistic factions
[11]
. This research provides strong evidence for the reliability
of coherence-creating groups even under extreme conditions of protracted
political violence. The
Mechanics of Social Coherence
The
idea that individuals in one place can influence individuals at a distance
with no apparent behavioural interaction between them is counterintuitive
to most people. The natural sciences, however, provide strong support
for this sort of action-at-a-distance phenomenon. Gravity and the transmission
of radio and television signals are both examples of action-at-a-distance
phenomena that have become familiar to us today. To understand these
phenomena, physicists developed the concepts of "fields" to
mediate these long-range effects. The basic understanding given to us
by the quantum theory of physics is that the entire manifest creation
is the fluctuations of underlying universal fields, and that all bodies
and processes are connected at fundamental levels. In
recent years, the concept of fundamental force fields, and matter fields
has been replaced with a single field-the unified field or "superstring"
field. Thus modern science has identified a single, universal field
of nature's intelligence at the basis of all forms and phenomena in
the universe. The
Transcendental Meditation technique is a systematic procedure to refine
human awareness to experience and explore deeper levels of intelligence
of the mind. This systematic refinement of human awareness culminates
in the experience of a level of intelligence that is completely unified
and universal in its nature-the experience of the unified field itself.
The generation of social coherence through the group practice of the
TM and TM-Sidhi programme takes place at this most fundamental level,
where the influence is most powerful and pervasive in its effect.
[12]
Many
countries have experience of how a small group of disciplined people
can completely disrupt a nation, having an effect that is completely
disproportionate to their size and resources. The opposite can also
be true-national incoherence can be neutralised by small groups of experts
functioning from the Unified Field of Natural Law. Invincible
National Defence
In
view of the empirical research on the effectiveness of coherence-creating
assemblies it is now possible to envision a new type of National Defence
Strategy based on the establishment of permanent coherence-creating
groups of experts in the military. Such a strategy, by ensuring the
integrity of national consciousness, will create an invincible nation-one
without internal incoherence and thus less susceptible to external threats
to its well being. Thus, if there are no internal or external threats,
there are no enemies. No enemies, no wars. The nation becomes invincible
in the sense that it prevents enemies from arising. Victory before war.
A
universal principle in nature is that internally coherent systems possess
the ability to protect themselves against disruptive influences, while
incoherent systems are easily penetrated by disorder from outside. This
principle is clearly illustrated in the quantum physics of superconductivity
as the Meissner Effect
[13]
. In an ordinary electrical conductor, incoherent,
disorder electrons allow penetration by an external magnetic field.
However, in a superconductor, coherent collective functioning of the
electrons spontaneously excludes an external magnetic field, and maintains
its impenetrable status. This
example of invincibility is not unique in nature; parallel phenomena
of invincibility are found in many areas of the physical and biological
sciences. In each case, the ability of the system to resist disorder
is always based on coherent collective functioning. Maharishi's
Vedic Science suggests that such an effect can be created on the national
level through the growth of harmony in society resulting from the practice
of Transcendental Meditation and Yogic Flying by a small proportion
of the population. When this influence-known as the Maharishi Effect
[14]
, in honour of Maharishi, who predicted it-reaches
a sufficient intensity, an integrated national consciousness is created.
The result is the development of self-sufficiency and an invincible
armour for the nation, which automatically repels any negative influence
coming from outside. Thus the integrated state of national consciousness
created by the Maharishi Effect produces a "Meissner Effect"
for the nation, rendering it impenetrable to external disorder. Scientific
studies have shown that the Maharishi Effect can be created by as little
as the square root of one per cent of the population of a nation, region,
or large city practising Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programme
together in one place. One group comprising of the square root of one
percent of the world's population (about 7,000 at that time of the study)
was found to create the Maharishi Effect for the whole world
[15]
. Ultimately the Global Maharishi Effect needs to
be created because even if one nation does not enjoy invincibility,
that nation will be a danger to the entire world. In
his book Maharishi's Absolute
Theory of Defence
[16]
, Maharishi has brought out a new approach to achieve
the ultimate strategy of defence-create a Prevention Wing of the Military
whose responsibility will be to maintain integrated national consciousness
and make the nation invincible. Maharishi proposed to train 3% of the
military forces of every nation to be Yogic Flyers-experts in enlivening
the underlying unity in nature. These experts will create a strong,
integrated national consciousness that will disallow the rise of any
destructive influence from inside or outside the country. Such groups
established in every nation will enjoy victory before war by preventing
an enemy from arising, and fulfill the supreme goal of every military
force. The other 97% of the military forces in each nation will continue
their dynamic approach to the defence of the nation. Only 3% forming
a Prevention Wing of the Military will be enough to prevent war, and
avert the danger before it arises. Prevention
Wing of the Military Practically Demonstrated in Mozambique
Mozambique
was the first country in the world to establish a Prevention Wing of
the Military. This step was taken after the signing of a General Peace
Agreement in Rome in 1992, which followed a disturbed period of war
during the previous 16 years. Shortly
after the peace agreement, individuals at high levels in the country's
government were informed about the research on the Maharishi Effect.
After serious and critical study of the technologies that were being
offered, the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces of Mozambique
were charged with analysing the possibilities of its implementation
in the Armed Forces. According to Lt. Gen. Tobias Dai, Chief of the
Delegation for the creation of the new Armed Forces for the Defence
of Mozambique and Former Commander of the Armed Forces
[17]
; After
having completed a thorough evaluation of the proposal, the Joint Chiefs
of Staff decided to implement the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi
Programme, including Yogic Flying, in the Armed Forces of Mozambique
with the aim to create the Maharishi Effect in the country. It was a
matter of decision. Either to try it or leave it aside. Our decision
was to try. This occurred before the arrival of the UNO forces in Mozambique. The
Transcendental Meditation programme was taught to the different military
units of the country, involving Ground, Naval, and Air Forces. During
1993, about 15,000 people were taught, and in 1994 a further 1,000 were
taught. Also, schools of police training, pertaining to the Ministry
of Home Affairs, began the programme, and in all, more than 3,000 people
were trained in the TM-Sidhi Programme. Maharishi
Effect predictions were made prior to the implementation of the training
programme. According to these predictions, the increase of coherence
in collective consciousness created by the Maharishi Effect was going
to maintain the peace, bring reductions in crime, decrease the number
of car accidents, and bring an improvement to the economy. After
thousands of people were trained in the Transcendental Meditation and
TM-Sidhi programmes, it was possible to assess a decrease of 20% in
the crime index in certain areas, and the number of car accidents reduced
by 75%, on a pro-rata basis. During 1993, an economic growth of 6% was
expected, but in fact growth was 19%.
[18]
According to Lt. Gen. Dai, it is clear is that
once the positive effect is created, if group practice is stopped, the
previous tendencies of higher collective stress, as determined from
crime indexes, and the tense situations in the country, begin to rise
again. He comments that, In
1994, there was a remarkable decrease in coherence in the country as
a result of decreased participation in the group practice of the Transcendental
Meditation and TM-Sidhi Programme. This was due to the demobilisation
of the troops practising the programme and the anticipated ending of
police courses that included the programme, two months before the elections.
[19]
Finally, Lt. Gen. Dai noted that although with several difficulties, the maintenance of peace had been possible because during 1993/94, the free and just elections had been carried out-the only successful UNO mission in the world. (Note:
Lt. Gen. José Villamil, the former Vice-Minister of Defence for
Ecuador tells of his experience implementing Invincible Defense Technology
in Project: Coherence - Ed.) Conclusion
This article
has outlined a new approach to conflict prevention and resolution based
on the deployment of a Prevention Wing of the Military. This approach
has age-old authenticity. However, it is also supported by extensive
modern scientific research that validates the power of the TM and TM-Sidhi
programme to bring peace even to the most troubled areas of the world.
Another consideration is the individual benefits of stress-reduction
that military personnel could gain from the regular practice of the
Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program. These programmes have
been adopted to reduce stress and increase performance in military,
governmental and other institutional settings. (India Defence Consultants
has published a paper that summarizes research relating to military
performance.) The positive effects of these human resource-based technologies
are well documented in over 600 scientific studies. For these benefits
alone, military and civilian leaders would be wise to deploy a Prevention
Wing of the Military. Defence
based on the accumulation of destructive military force has proven to
be a failure over the course of human history. Great military powers
have risen and fallen, at a huge expense to humanity. Clearly, a new
strategy of defence is the requirement of every military force. This
strategy must enable them to fulfill the responsibility that every nation
has given the military-to keep the nation safe and protected from any
danger of destruction. A
group of retired Indian military leaders assert that the time has come
for all militaries to adopt such a new strategy. It is based on the
ancient Vedic
tradition of Ayodhya, which created peace under the rulership of
Sri Ram. This group includes Major
General Kulwant Singh, Major General D.D. Ghoshal, Major General K.K.
Ganguly, Major General G.K. Sahney, Major General G.H. Israni, and Colonel
S.P. Bakshi. They are the directors responsible for organizing an
initiative to create a Prevention Wing of the Military in India. (Please
refer to the website http://www.invincibledefence.org
for further information.) Today's militaries are increasingly required
to fulfill a peacekeeping role, but are only armed with the technology
of destruction rather than the technology of peace. This initiative
hands military leaders another weapon: the weapon of peace. If civilian
and defence leaders deploy the Prevention Wing of the Military, Ayodhya
may no longer be an ancient Vedic legend, but a historic, achievable
reality. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: The authors
very much appreciate the assistance of Lee M. Leffler, Dr. Michael C.
Dillbeck and Dr. Kenneth G. Walton in the proofing of this paper and
for contributing their expert knowledge. Notes:® Transcendental Meditation, TM, and TM-Sidhi are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as service marks of the Maharishi Foundation Ltd. and are used under license [1] Collective Consciousness is taken as similar to national mood; that is, a collective quality in society that is the sum of the influences of all the individuals in that society, and that in turn creates a social climate that reciprocally affects all the individuals. The collective consciousness of a military unit is similar to the concept of esprit de corps in military science. [2] Dillbeck, M.C.; Landrith III, G.S.; & Orme-Johnson, D.W. (1981) The Transcendental Meditation program and crime rate change in a sample of forty-eight cities. Journal of Crime and Justice, 4, 25-45. [3] Abou Nader, T.M.; Alexander, C.N. & Davies, J.L. (1984) The Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field and reduction in armed conflict: A comparative, longitudinal study of Lebanese villages. In Chalmers, R.A.; Clements. G; Schenkluhn. H. & Weinless, M. (Eds). Scientific Research on the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program: Collected papers. Vol. 4, pp. 2623-2633. Vlodrop, The Netherlands: MVU Press. [4] Hatchard, G.D.; Deans, A.J.; Cavanaugh, K.L.; & Orme-Johnson, D.W. (1996) The Maharishi Effect: A model for social improvement. Time series analysis of a phase transition to reduced crime in Merseyside metropolitan area. Psychology, Crime and Law, 2(3) 165-174.
[5]
Dillbeck, M.C.; Banus, C.B.; Polanzi, C. &
Landrith III, G.S. (1988) Test of a Field Model of Consciousness
and Social Change: The Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi
Program and Decreased Urban Crime. Journal
of Mind and Behaviour, 9(4), 457-485. [6] Hagelin, J.S.; Orme-Johnson, D.W.; Rainforth, M.; Cavanaugh, K. & Alexander, C.N. (1999). Results of the National Demonstration Project to Reduce Violent Crime and Improve Governmental Effectiveness in Washington, D.C. Social Indicators Research, 47, 153-201. [7] Gelderloos, P.; Frid, M.J.; Goddard, P.H.; Xue, X. & Löliger, S.A. (1988). Creating World Peace through the collective practice of the Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field: Improved U.S.-Soviet Relations. Social Science Perspectives Journal, 2(4), 80-94. [8] Orme-Johnson, D.W.; Dillbeck, M.C. & Alexander, C.N. (1989). Strategic interventions reducing international conflicts and terrorism: Time-series analysis of the effects of coherence creating groups. Paper presented to the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association. Atlanta, GA, U.S.A. [9] Orme-Johnson, D.W.; Alexander, C.N.; Davies, J.L.; Chandler, H.M. & Larimore, W.E. (1988) International Peace Project in the Middle East: The Effects of the Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 32(4), 776-812. [10] Davies, J.L. & Alexander, C.N. (1989) Alleviating Political Violence Through Enhancing Coherence In Collective Consciousness. Paper presented to the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A. [11] It is expected that a retrospective analysis of the daily operational reports from UNIFIL would reveal a similar reduction in the level of conflict for the periods in question. Such a study should be an imperative at the UN level. [12] A comprehensive discussion of the relationship between field effects of consciousness and modern unified field theories in physics is provided in Hagelin, J.S. (1987) Is consciousness the unified field? A field theorist's perspective. Modern Science and Vedic Science, 1(1). 28-87. [13] Feynman, R.P.; Leighton, R.B. & Sands, M. (1965). The Feynman Lectures on Physics. Addison-Wesley, Reading, Ma. III-21-8. [14] Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. (1994). Maharishi Vedic University, Introduction. MVU Press, Netherlands. p. 287. [15] Orme-Johnson, D.W.; Dillbeck, M.C.; Alexander, C.N.; Chandler, H.M. & Cranson, R.W. (1990). Time series impact assessment analysis of reduced international conflict and terrorism: Effects of large assemblies of participants in the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Program. Paper presented at the American Psychological Association Convention. [16] Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. (1996). Maharishi's Absolute Theory of Defence. Maharishi Vedic University, India: Age of Enlightenment Publications. Available at: http://www.invincibledefence.org/def_book/def_book.html [17] Maharishi's Formula for a Prevention Wing in the Military: Already Applied and Found Successful in Mozambique. Presentation made by Lt. Gen. Tobias Dai at the International Conference on Invincible Defence. Maharishi Vedic University, Netherlands from 11-14 November 1994. (Translated from Portuguese) The most complete web site for learning more about Maharishi's Vedic Technology of Defence is: http://www.invincibledefence.org/ [18] Ibid. [19] Ibid
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