Fairfield, Iowa USA - A leading scientific journal in Pakistan,
The Journal of Management & Social Science,* recently
published a paper titled "A New Role for the Military: Preventing
Enemies from Arising-Reviving an Ancient Approach to Peace,"
indicating that the military application of the Transcendental
Meditation technique has merit. The paper discusses how militaries
worldwide could use the Transcendental Meditation® and
TM-Sidhi® program, founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, as a
non-religious and scientifically verified way to prevent war and
terrorism. When used in a military context, these meditation
practices are known as Invincible Defense Technology (IDT).
The paper describes the concept of a "Prevention Wing of the
Military," a group of military personnel that practices the
advanced TM-Sidhi program twice daily as a group. A group that
reaches a critical threshold in size has been scientifically shown
to reduce collective societal stress.
The paper hypothesizes that war, terrorism, and crime are caused
by collective societal stress. The absence of collective stress
translates into the absence of tension between countries, between
religious groups, or even within individual terrorists. The paper
proposes that, by applying this non-lethal and non-destructive
technology, any military can reduce societal stress and prevent
enemies from arising. If IDT prevents the emergence of enemies, the
military has no one to fight, so the nation becomes invincible.
Over 50 scientific studies have found that when 1% of a given
population practices Transcendental Meditation, or when
sufficiently large groups practice the TM-Sidhi program together
twice daily, measurable positive changes take place throughout
society as a whole. The studies show decreased violence, crime, car
accidents, and suicides, and improved quality of life in society.
The paper reviews IDT research, such as a study published in the
Yale University-edited Journal of
Conflict Resolution showing that an intervention by a
civilian group in Israel resulted in a 76% reduction in war deaths
in neighboring Lebanon. Seven subsequent, consecutive experiments
over a two-year period during the peak of the Lebanon war
found:
- war-related fatalities decreased by 71% (p <
0.0000000001)
- war-related injuries fell by 68% (p < 0.000001)
- the level of conflict dropped by 48% (p < 0.00000001)
- cooperation among antagonists increased by 66% (p <
0.000001)
A follow-up study published in the
Journal of
Social Behavior and Personality found that the likelihood
that these combined results were due to chance is less than one in
a quintillion. A global-scale study published in the
Journal of
Offender Rehabilitation documented a 72% drop in
international terrorism when IDT groups were large enough to affect
the global population. Terrorism returned to previous levels after
the experiment.
IDT's causal mechanism is not completely understood. An
explanation of the causality of IDT in biological terms was
proposed in a study in the
Journal of Social Behavior and Personality (Walton et al
2005, 17: 339-373). Serotonin, a powerful neurotransmitter, has
been shown to produce feelings of happiness, contentment, and even
euphoria. Research indicates that low levels of serotonin correlate
with aggression, poor emotional moods and violence. The study
indicated that when the size of a group of IDT experts changed,
serotonin production of people in the nearby community changed
correspondingly. Since results were statistically significant, this
study offers a plausible neurophysiologic mechanism that may
explain reduced aggression and hostility in a whole society.
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An increase in serotonin activity and a decrease in cortisol
appear to be associated with the experience of transcendental
consciousness in the advanced individual TM practitioner. During
the practice of TM, practitioners experience transcendental
consciousness, a proposed fourth state of consciousness with brain
activity distinctly different from waking, sleeping and dreaming.
The state of transcendental consciousness produces coherence in the
brain, and scientists speculate that this enlivens coherence within
the unified field. Apparently, the effect is amplified through
group practice. Theoretical physicists allude to the unified field
as the basis of all laws of nature. IDT appears to work from this
fundamental level. Therefore, through the unified field, there is
increased coherence in the non-TM practitioner's brain as well.
This increased coherence materially involved serotonin.
The paper's author is David R. Leffler, Ph.D., Executive
Director of the Center for
Advanced Military Science at the Institute of Science,
Technology and Public Policy at Maharishi University of Management
in Fairfield, Iowa, USA. "This paper introduces a new role for the
military: 'Prevention Wings' whose purpose is to prevent enemies
from arising," said Dr. Leffler. "This new approach, derived from
the ancient Vedic tradition of India, is supported by over 50
scientific studies. IDT can create victory before war, and can
assist in peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding." The size
of the Prevention Wing would usually be 2%-3% of a nation's
military personnel.
Land-based Prevention Wings were successfully field tested by
the militaries of Mozambique and Ecuador in the 1990s. The paper
explains that sea-based Prevention Wings are theoretically
possible. For example, carrier battle groups supporting IDT experts
could be deployed to the Persian Gulf to reduce tensions in the
Middle East, without directly penetrating borders.
"Since the military's primary job is to fully protect its
country from attack by enemies, both foreign and domestic, all
branches of the armed forces should also consider this approach,"
said Dr. Leffler. The paper concludes that preventing enemies from
arising is both doable and economical.
Military-related institutions have shown interest in Invincible
Defense Technology. Dr. Leffler first presented his review paper at
the "International
Sociological Association Research Committee 01 Seoul National
University & Korea Military Academy International Conference on
Armed Forces & Conflict Resolution in a Globalized World" in
Seoul, Korea, in 2008. He also presented the paper at the Korea Institute of Defense
Analyses. Dr. Leffler also spoke at the "
5th Annual Countering IEDs - Assessing the IED Threat and its
Evolution on the Battlefield and in the Homeland" conference in
Washington, DC.
SOURCE
