Mahesh Yogi's body reaches Allahabad

Allahabad: The body of internationally-renowned spiritual guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi who popularised transcendental meditation across the globe reached here from his base in Netherlands, Saturday. The seer, who initiated the British pop-rock band Beatles into Indian spiritualism and transcendental meditation, died Tuesday, February 5, 2008, Vlodrop, Netherlands.

On January 11, 2008, he announced his retirement from all administrative activities and went into Mouna (spiritual silence). He declared: "Invincibility is irreversibly established in the world. My work is done. My designated duty to Guru Dev is fulfilled." Like many Hindu sages, he foresaw his imminent samadhi; he died less than a month later.

The chartered flight carrying the body of the Maharishi, along with at least 250 of his European devotees, landed Saturday morning at Varanasi. The body was carried in an open truck adorned with flowers, flanked by special convoys of cars and buses, along the 120-km route.

After reaching Allahabad around noon, the body was taken in a procession through the city streets to a local ashram run by Hindu cleric Swami Vasudevanand. The body was kept at the ashram for nearly three hours before reaching its final destination at the religious school run by Mahesh Yogi's organisation - Maharishi Ved Vidyapeeth - in Arail on the bank of the Ganga river here. The cortege reached the Vidyapeeth around 4.30 p.m. where his followers began to pour in to pay their last respects.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) chief Ashok Singhal, Swami Vasudevanand and several prominent seers joined the procession. The Vidyapeeth, created by the Maharishi as a part of his mission to promote Vedic teachings, was also a gift to his native town from where he completed his school education and obtained his masters degree in Physics.Spread over a sprawling campus, the Vidyapeeth has about 2,500 students pursuing a their education in the traditional Indian style.

The streets of Allahabad were clogged by the long motorcade that drew huge crowds to have a last glimpse of the spiritual icon. Mahesh Yogi's body has been kept in a specially erected enclosure at the Vidyapeeth where it will remain open to public on Sunday. According to the Maharishi's nephew Prakash Srivastava, the cremation will take place on the banks of Ganga in the vicinity of the Vidyapeeth Monday morning.

After the Maharishi's death on February 5, 2008, Sir Paul McCartney released a statement saying, "Whilst I am deeply saddened by his passing, my memories of him will only be joyful ones. He was a great man who worked tirelessly for the people of the world and the cause of unity. I will never forget the dedication that he wrote inside a book he once gave me, which read 'radiate, bliss, consciousness', and that to me says it all. I will miss him but will always think of him with a smile." Ringo Starr released a statement saying, "One of the wise men I met in my life was the Maharishi. I always was impressed by his joy and I truly believe he knows where he is going."

Source: MSN, Wikipedia