Research Reports 2023
At the beginning of the 21st century in Europe, especially in Germany, unregulated immigration is becoming a burden on social peace and cultural integrity. Those responsible in government fail to regulate migration in a manner satifying the needs of both citizen and migrants. This increasingly narrows the political debate to restrictive measures, which in turn are circumvented by criminal forces. This destructive vicious circle can only be overcome by innovative approaches that incorporate previously unconsidered factors of society. Since innovation is essentially based on the ability to recognize fundamental connections, those sections in society that have shown for decades that the educational programs they have developed help to raise people's awareness and creativity are now in demand. These include yoga and meditation, as the legacy of the oldest knowledge-based culture - the Vedic culture. From the Vedic perspective, education is the key factor in managing migration. This approach is explored in Petition 158081 published by the Petitions Committee of the German Bundestag.(October/November 2023)
Situation of the European Yoga Reception according to DER SPIEGEL No. 40, 2023
Meditation and Yoga have developed into a
billion-dollar market since the middle of the 20th century. The
German news magazine DER SPIEGEL of September 30, 2023, investigates
the question to what extent these methods, which belong to the Vedic
heritage, fulfill the expectations placed in them and what risks might be associated with them. In order to understand what high quality of
meditation and yoga means, the undesirable effects mentioned by the
German news magazine are examined. It turns out that academic
psychology does not yet have the tools to adequately assess these
proven methods of developing consciousness. Experts from the Vedic
tradition are needed to ensure high quality in the application and a
consistent understanding of meditation and yoga. This is the
conclusion of the analysis by Bernd Zeiger and Wolfgang Moselle. (October 2023)
Meditation und Yoga haben sich seit Mitte des
20. Jahrhunderts zu einem Milliardenmarkt entwickelt. Das Deutsche
Nachrichtenmagazin DER SPIEGEL vom 30. September 2023 geht der Frage
nach, inwieweit diese zum Vedischen Erbe zählenden Methoden, die in
sie gesetzten Erwartungen erfüllen und welche Risiken damit evtl. verbunden sein können. Um zu verstehen, was hohe Qualität von Meditation
und Yoga bedeutet, werden die von dem Deutschen Nachrichtenmagazin
erwähnten unerwünschten Effekte untersucht. Dabei stellt
sich heraus, dass die akademische Psychologie noch nicht über das
Instrumentarium verfügt, diese bewährten Methoden der
Bewusstseinsentwicklung angemessen zu beurteilen. Experten aus der
Vedischen Tradition sind gefragt, hohe Qualität bei der Anwendung
und ein konsistentes Verständnis von Meditation und Yoga zu
gewährleisten. Zu diesem Ergebnis kommt die Analyse von Bernd Zeiger und Wolfgang Moselle (Oktober 2023).
Individual and Collective Psychological Rehabilitation and the Establishment of Sustainable Peace ➚
Individuelle und kollektive psychologische Rehabilitation und die Schaffung nachhaltigen Friedens ➚
Meditation can be understood as a mind-body practice which not only calms the mind, but also induces deep physiological relaxation by means of regulating the autonomic nervous system. This renders meditation an effective treatment for trauma-related mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, which are characterized by chronic autonomic and neurochemical dysregulation. An application of this approach is presented, which used the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program from the Vedic Yoga tradition to alleviate PTSD and depression in Ukrainian war refugees in Germany. The article ends with an outlook that this meditation technique, in a world so ridden with conflict that whole societies are burdened with the aftermaths of violence and displacement, has the potential to play a crucial role in healing individual and collective trauma, and contribute to the promotion of peace. This abstract is from the original paper by Katharina Freytag and Mykola Didukh (2023)
Traumatized women and children which have left their homes in Ukraine, a country continuously being bombed by Russia since 2022, is given the opportunity to recover from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) through a project inaugurated by Stefan Kauerz in Germany. The scientific and cultural dimension of this peace project is presented in the paper by Katharina Freytag and Mykola Didukh. The charitable Social-psychological Refugee Self Help-association is solely financed by donations. Recipient: SOZIALPSYCHOLOGISCHE GEFLUECHTETEN- SELBSTHILFE e.V., IBAN: DE31 2305 0101 0160 6259 35
The initial attempt with which Frank Papentin started research in the early 1970s and which led to his book “Order, Intelligence and Evolution” (1978 in German) was to unify the Laws of Nature discovered by physics with the insights biology developed about evolution; in particular after decoding the genetic information. The unifying principles applied by F. Papentin stem from research in consciousness, which started due to the global availability of yogic mediation techniques coming from the Vedic tradition. The consciousness-based unification of physics and biology was timely because theoretical biology had started to link the phenomenological description of the observed complexity of forms and pattern emerging in the evolution of life (morphogenesis) with the mathematical concepts which already had proven to by useful in describing the functioning of nature in a holistic, unified way (quantum physics). From the theoretical perspective organisms are in a perpetual process of self-maintenance and self-realization directed by internally-defined qualities of intelligence in particular stability, flexibility, integration, self-protection and cyclic evolution. The historic advancement in biology receives support from the Vedic scientific heritage, which traditionally recognizes consciousness as fundamental reality and the Vedic language as being the sound representations of the impulses of creative intelligence which emerge by virtue of the self interacting dynamics of consciousness. Extensive scientific research on the psycho-physiological effects of Transcendental Meditation taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi made Vedic wisdom accessible to the academic world in terms of the Science of Creative Intelligence (1972). While being a student and PhD graduate in biology at Tübingen University Frank Papentin assimilated both these developments which led him to participate in establishing institutions of research and learning in the USA (MIU) and Europe where all standard texts of Vedic scholarship are available - written and recited - to be analyzed with the most advanced computer technology. At the same time, he developed a mathematical approache to measure the complexity emerging during biological evolution in terms of the length-of-description within the choosen language. This research has been published extensively and F. Papentin´s measure of complexity is well established in the scientific literature, where it is called "Papentin Complexity". This direction of research is already delineated in his book from 1978, made available again by Alfa Veda Publisher.(2023).
The Wholeness Axiom: Completeness of mathematics via Vedic insights ➚
The Wholeness Axiom as formulated by Paul Corazza in the 1990s allows set based mathematical thinking to be expanded towards a live-relevant, holistic world view in which the whole is more than a collection of parts, and parts ultimately are whole themselves. With the advent of quantum mechanics, wholeness already has become the guiding theme of modern culture because it offers the absolute foundation to a fully harmonious utilization of the organizing power of nature. PhD-Research done at the University of Uppsala, Sweden, by B. Piechocinska (2005) revealed the connection between the Wholeness Axiom and quantum mechanical wholeness. Axiomatic set theory distinguishes three ultimate set structures: V = Universe of sets, L = Constructable Universe of Sets, and M = countable models of the Universe of Sets. By virtue of an elementary embedding (usually denoted by the letter j) of the Universe of Sets ( V ) to itself, the Wholeness Axiom implies that the organizing power ("ordinality") inherent in sets - distinguished by their magnitude ("cardinality") - is adequately described. But Paul Corazza´s research does not stop with this formal achievement. As faculty member (since 2004) of Maharishi International University, USA, he strives to eliminate the principle weakness of every formal system already pointed out by K. Gödel in the 1930s: As long as mathematics is not brought to the level of complete self-referal it is not capable to realize its own consistency and completeness. The claim of the Vedic tradition is that Vedic expressions integrate knowledge (name) and organizing ability(form) to such a high degree that they are capable to establish unity in diversity and orderly growth – despite variety in form, relationship, and stepwise progression – because of being sustained by self-referral consciousness. Similar as in physics, where quantum behavior is realized through technologies reaching the necessary threshold for coherence, the emergence of conceptual wholeness requires adequate and effective unifying technologies of consciousness. In several papers, the role of the Vedic approach in making mathematics complete is studied by Paul Corazza (2011 – 2016)
Peace certainly is the most cherished goal of humanity. Yet, all efforts in the documented European history to achieve peace through force or treaties have proven to be a failure, no matter how laudable the intentions. Since the 1960s and 70s due to the global availability of the ancient Vedic heritage, a unique historic situation has emerged. The insights of the Vedic culture together with the advances of modern science provide an understanding why any effort to realize peace solely through action or arguing necessarily must fail. The reason is that peace is a “collective coherent phenomenon”. This means: only those aspects of the individual (or of small or large numbers of people) contribute significantly to peace, which (1) are not localized in space and time and (2) do not apply only specific laws of nature, but (3) include the totality of natural law, the Unified Field of all the laws of nature. Modern science allows gauging collective coherent modes of behavior using advanced research methodology. It turned out, that developing one's own consciousness and cultivating one's mental potential is the most effective contribution to peace. The prevention of war and eliminating damages of the past is an automatic side effect. Careful analysis reveals, when progress in individual life and personal development are at stake frustration and tension built up in the hearts and minds, spread via behavior into society and gradually accumulate to such a degree, that accidents, crime, social unrest, terrorism and - finally - wars occur. The Veda and Vedic Literature not only describes these mechanisms very clearly, but also provides measures how to control them. In spite of all this, the precious Vedic heritage faces extinction. In the 1970s for the first time scientific research on the effects of Transcendental Meditation showed, how effective the ancient Vedic insights are in revitalizing all levels of life. This has been verified objectively by studying physiological, biochemical, psychological and sociological changes accompanying the development of consciousness. The research results demonstrates that every individual contributes “to the integrity of his nation and to global progress by enjoying fulfillment through enlightenment”, exactly as described by Rig Veda. In a 50-page brochure published by Maharishi International University, USA, this scientific break through is substantiated in terms of “Five Fundamentals of Progress and National Integrity” proposed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on the basis of his modern approach to Vedic wisdom called Science of Creative Intelligence, and through a paper on the “Neurophysiology of Enlightenment”prepared for the 26th International Congress of Physiological Science in New Delhi by Robert Keith Wallace, October 1974.
The research of Harald Harung, Norway, documented in this bibliography, started in the 1980s. It gained momentum in the 1990s through the collaboration with scientists from Maharishi International University, USA. This university is renowned for its educational expertise in developing creative intelligence and in determining the psychophysiological and electrophysiological correlates of optimal brain function. The themes covered by the listed scientific papers and books mirror the fruitfulness of the research cooperation. The remarkable finding is, that the mind-brain state which allows outstanding individual performance provides at the same time the principle how leaders exhibit optimal ability to maintain societal progress and harmony. The reciprocity between individuals rising in creative intelligence, and the degree of coherence in collective behavior, has been repeatedly confirmed using sophisticated research methodologies and various research approaches. The fundamentals of effective leadership discovered by H. Harung and his colleges are further confirmed (1) through the insights available in traditional cultures, especially in the Vedic culture of India, and (2) by the ordering principles of nature discovered by modern science. The Bhagavad Gita, the concise compendium of traditional Vedic wisdom, after having explained (in chapter 2) how every single individual can progress towards perfection through the unifying practice of Yoga, describes (in chapter 3) the influence outstanding individuals have in society: “Whatsoever a great man does, the very same is also done by other men. Whatever standard he sets, the world follows it.” Modern science attributes such a coherence effect to the Third Law of Thermodynamic. According to this principle, order is created in a collective system when a few individual units perform in the “state of least excitation” which is unrestricted in space (delocalized). In such a situation, a “field effect” exists through the spreading of coherence. Thus, the same principle which creates order in nature is also the leadership principle which safeguards progressive development in all areas of human endeavor. The practical validity of the Unified Theory of Performance which integrates modern scientific and ancient Vedic insights is confirmed by research studies - investigating high-performing athletes, managers, and musicians - conducted by Harald Harung(1984 - 2023).
What does it mean when experts say, Yoga-Meditation is natural, effortless and automatic?
Was heißt es, wenn Experten sagen, Yoga-Meditation ist natürlich, mühelos und automatisch?Die Vedische Sprache: Sprache der Natur ➚
Die Kulturtragende Funktion der Veden lässt sich am besten verstehen, wenn sie als Sprache der Natur verstanden werden, d. h. als Klangdarstellung der Naturgesetze. Die Naturgesetze gelten überall im Universum und sind automatisch wirksam. Im Lauf der Zeit entstand die Notwendigkeit, die Klänge der Veden und deren Verwendung auch schriftlich zu fixieren. Es besteht ein wesentlicher Unterschied zwischen der Vedischen Sprache und den in Schriftform niederlegten Sprachen. In dem Buch "Das Vedische Erbe" weist Prodosh Aich darauf hin, dass aufgrund dieser Entwicklung vier Arten von Sprachen (Bhasha) unterschieden werden können, die sich in der Zahl der verwendeten Spracheinheiten unterscheiden:
Die Kulturtragende Funktion der Veden lässt sich am besten verstehen, wenn sie als Sprache der Natur verstanden werden, d. h. als Klangdarstellung der Naturgesetze. Die Naturgesetze gelten überall im Universum und sind automatisch wirksam. Im Lauf der Zeit entstand die Notwendigkeit, die Klänge der Veden und deren Verwendung auch schriftlich zu fixieren. Es besteht ein wesentlicher Unterschied zwischen der Vedischen Sprache und den in Schriftform niederlegten Sprachen. In dem Buch "Das Vedische Erbe" weist Prodosh Aich darauf hin, dass aufgrund dieser Entwicklung vier Arten von Sprachen (Bhasha) unterschieden werden können, die sich in der Zahl der verwendeten Spracheinheiten unterscheiden:
1. Chhando Bhasha - 97 Einheiten2. Laukika Bhasha - 64 Einheiten3. Devanagari Bhasha - 51 Einheiten4. Bhoota Bhasha - 42 Einheiten.
Die Veden werden in Chhando Bhasha mündlich überliefert. Die 97 Einheiten der Vedischen Sprache repräsentieren fundamentale Impulse und Qualitäten der Natur in Klangform. Die UNESCO zählt die Veda-Rezitation zum schützenswerten immateriellen Erbe der Menschheit. "Die Ganzheit des vedischen Wissensschatzes kann in keine andere untergeordnete Sprache übertragen werde" betont Prodosh Aich (2022):
Vedic Numbers: Mathematical symbols and consciousness ➚
This summary of a lecture held at the universities of Tübingen, Stuttgart and Heidelberg in 1974 had been given as handout to the audience. The lecture was part of a presentation of the curriculum of Maharishi International University, The aim of the University, established 1973 in Iowa, USA, is to supplement and support the objective approach of modern science by the methodologies of Vedic science, which emphasize on unfolding the creative potential of human consciousness. Modern science uses the language of mathematics yielding formal representations of the laws of nature in terms of relationships between numbers and associated symbols. Vedic science by using sound representations of the laws of nature focuses on the relationship between language and consciousness. The lecture argues that the inclusion of consciousnesses into mathematics already is necessitated by the foundations of mathematics itself. By solely relying on the intrinsic logic of mathematics, Kurt Gödel (1906 - 1978 ) could prove two meta-mathematical theorems indicating the incompletness of knowledge based solely on the axiomatic approach, because it neglects the infinitely creative, self-referral nature of consciousness. In the 1990s after 20 years of research into the Vedic foundations of numbers, a vision developed which includes self-referral consciousness into the meaning and symbolic notation of numbers, by embedding the conceptual diversity of number systems into the unified reality of the Absolute Number (not to be confused with the mathematical notion of "absolute value"). This achievement already is envisioned in this early lecture of Michael Weinless, professor of mathematics at Maharishi International University from 1973 to 1997.
The Mathematical Theory and Technology of Everything
This article is the first academic acknowledgment of the Absolute Number, a conceptual reality introduced in 1996 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1918 – 2008) to provide the foundation to the urgently needed next developmental step to overcome the fundamental limitations of modern science and technology. The article has been published in ‘Modern Science and Vedic Science’ Vol 7, pp. 165-178 (1997) and states that "The Absolute Number fulfills the historical goals of mathematics by giving complete understanding of the entire range of orderliness and precision studied by mathematics." The article arrives to this conclusion by showing that the Absolute Number eliminates the weakness of two defining themes of modern mathematics, characterized by the author as sensory-based mathematics and intellect-based mathematics:
This article is the first academic acknowledgment of the Absolute Number, a conceptual reality introduced in 1996 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1918 – 2008) to provide the foundation to the urgently needed next developmental step to overcome the fundamental limitations of modern science and technology. The article has been published in ‘Modern Science and Vedic Science’ Vol 7, pp. 165-178 (1997) and states that "The Absolute Number fulfills the historical goals of mathematics by giving complete understanding of the entire range of orderliness and precision studied by mathematics." The article arrives to this conclusion by showing that the Absolute Number eliminates the weakness of two defining themes of modern mathematics, characterized by the author as sensory-based mathematics and intellect-based mathematics:
1.The Absolute Number provides the junction point where intellectual concepts meet the reality of consciousness in which they ultimately are structured. The Absolute Number is not known by intellectual discrimination alone but requires direct access to the field of pure intelligence which is self-referral consciousness. The phenomenon of self-referral is the simplest form of intelligence.
2. The practical significance of the Absolute number is due to the fact that advances in science and technology depend on the available level of mathematical precision. E.g. 20th century theoretical physics could conceive the Unified Field of all the Laws of Nature and the Theory of Everything through the mathematical notions of supersymmetry and of strings respectively. The final stroke of this development is provided by the Absolute Number, the reality of numbering in self-referral consciousness. The author of this first detailed analysis of Maharishi's Absolute Number is the Australian Mathematician John Frederick Price (1997).