Nepal Maharishi Foundation for Vedic Culture 24 Creating Peace, Prosperity and Harmony for Nepal and the World through the Performance of Yoga and Yagya by Vedic Pandits in the Gurukuls M aharishi has explained that it is through Yoga and Yagya that the in- dividual life and the life of society can be most effectively brought into accord with all the Laws of Nature hence allowing harmony and success to be enjoyed by everyone. More than 40 years of scientific research has established that a sufficiently large group of specially trained Vedic experts enlivening the field of Yoga (Transcendental Consciousness), can raise the level of coherence and harmony in global collective consciousness and turn the tide towards peace for the whole world. The mechanics behind this research are simple— the practice of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique and its advanced TM-Sidhi programme create a more orderly brain func- tioning, resulting in hundreds of benefits to the human physiology. More orderly and coherent functioning hu- man brains create a more orderly and coherent environment which can neutralize the build up of societal stress and tension that directly fuels social violence, including crime, terror- ism and war. APPENDIX More than 650 scientific research studies, conducted in over 250 universities and institutes in 30 countries, validate the wide-ranging benefits of the Transcendental Meditation and the TM-Sidhi programme for mind, body, behaviour, and society. Peace Index (standard scores) 0 THROUGH TM-SIDHI YOGIC FLYING .25 .50 .75 -.25 1.00 1.25 Maharishi Effect Period Control Period Increased Progress Towards Peace Increased Progress Towards Peace p < 10-19 Decreased Crime Rate in Cities THROUGH TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION Decreased Crime Rate in Cities p < .005 FBI Crime Index crimes/1000 people— -5 0 -10 Maharishi Effect Controls -15 change of 1973 from 1967–1972 trend