Abstract:

Consciousness and Collective Health:
The Vedic Perspective and Research Findings

The Vedic Literature identifies a transcendental field of consciousness, which is described as the Self (Atma) of everyone. This foundational insight has been translated into an empirically testable hypothesis by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, that the enlivenment of the field of Transcendental Consciousness by a group numbering the square root of one per cent of the population practicing together the TM-Sidhi program creates an influence of harmony and positivity in the entire society. This hypothesis has been tested repeatedly over the past four decades, replicating health-related effects such as reduced mortality due to violence and accidents, and reduction of health-damaging behavior.