Man Is Made in The Image of God by Diane M. Rousseau

Charley Lutes and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Charley once confided that, out of the thousands of photos taken of him with Maharishi, this was his personal favorite.

Editors Notes:
The following article was inspired from handwritten notes that were transcribed by Dr. Diane M. Rousseau from a satellite broadcast discourse first delivered by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on March 28, 2006. Included in this article are some of the teachings of Dr. Rousseau's personal teacher, Charles F. Lutes, who was President of Maharishi's Spiritual Regeneration Movement. Along with these lessons are some of Dr. Rousseau's own personal experiences, teachings and observations. In this article Dr. Rousseau honors and acknowledges the teachings of her two most influential teachers (Gurus): Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Charles F Lutes. -RJR

Man Is Made in The Image of God
by Diane M. Rousseau

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Satellite News Conference, March 28, 2006.
Excerpts transcribed by Diane M. Rousseau

Introduction

On a Tuesday in March of 2006, while watching the latest news conference by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (Maharishi), my attention is drawn to Maharishi's spiritually intense speech about God. Watching, I see Maharishi begin by looking intently into the camera before speaking. At 94 he exudes strength, intensity, love and power; the same feeling he has held all these years, if not more, for the benefit of humankind.

Maharishi begins the broadcast by saying:

Looking very intently, Maharishi slowly speaks the following:

Continuing, Maharishi illustrates the following:

The Spiritual Regeneration Movement

Some people may be surprised at these comments and although this may be new to some this is just the surface of what Maharishi has been teaching since the very beginning in 1955. Everything I quoted earlier by Maharishi I have heard before in Maharishi's earlier Spiritual Regeneration Movement (SRM) teachings. He has never veered from his purpose. Maharishi has never been anything other a Spiritual Being who cares profoundly for all humanity and wants to heal the suffering and pain, the confusion and lack of direction, the sadness and loneliness. Maharishi has always wanted humankind to know “themselves” and has quoted Scripture since the beginning. A statement that I remember Maharishi saying on an SRM lecture tape (1964) was, “First experience God, then one will know to do right action.”

Some Personal Background

By time of this broadcast in 2006 I had been a Spiritual Regeneration Movement (SRM) meditator for over thirty-four years. I had begun the practice of Transcendental Meditation (TM) through the SRM, the spiritual side of the TM movement, which was started by Maharishi in 1955 in India. When I was Initiated into TM in April of 1972, my Initiator Mr. “B” had just returned from Maharishi's Teacher Training Course in Spain. Mr. B had been with Maharishi and was personally taught by him. We were a small group of ten people at the University of Washington Campus in Seattle, WA that April attending Mr. B's first lecture on Transcendental Meditation.

Mr. B (who had an MS in Physics) went into very scientific explanations of the Transcendental Meditation technique. I understood the release of stress, the calming of the mind but I wanted to hear about the Spiritual aspect of meditation. Having been raised Catholic and deeply into Spiritual Teaching and Spiritual Philosophy since age 13; I wanted to hear more about God.

When Mr. B finished his lecture, he looked at me and said, “Do you want to start Transcendental Meditation?” Then, after a further moment looking at me, he sensed I wanted to hear something else and to my surprise he said, “Do you want to experience God?” I said “Yes!” to this and so my husband and I were his first Initiates that week. I can share with you that I did experience God and a profound peace, a beautiful love coming from the inside that I could not explain.

SRM photo of Charley Lutes and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

Charles F. Lutes

Many Spiritual experiences followed my TM initiation and eventually my TM Initiator contacted the Seattle TM center and they then contacted Charles F. Lutes. Charles F. Lutes (Charlie) was Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's World Governor of the International Meditation Society (IMS) and also World President of the Spiritual Regeneration Movement (SRM). Charlie Lutes had been with Maharishi since 1958 and traveled around the world with him. together starting Transcendental Meditation centers, with Charlie helping out with administration and lecturing for Maharishi and Maharishi's Spiritual Regeneration Movement which was formally inaugurated in the USA in 1959.

A few days later, Charlie Lutes called me on the phone and he told me to come see him when he was scheduled to come up to the Northwest and lecture in my home town of Seattle later that year. A profound speaker and dedicated to Maharishi, Charlie spoke of higher Consciousness, Spiritual principles, and the inner life that unfolds as one develops.

I then met with Charlie privately near Seattle at an organized TM retreat and he asked me a series of questions, listening carefully to my answers. He then came to a decision and he then told me that, “what I was experiencing was natural.”

Early 1960's SRM photo of Charley Lutes, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Helen Lutes.

With Maharishi's expressed blessings, Charlie took me under his wing for all future teaching and instructions and he formally became my Teacher and Mentor from that day forward. Charlie and his dear wife Helen then became my friends for the next 29 years until their passing in 2001.

With Charlie's mentoring and Maharishi's teachings I learned that the knowledge contained in SRM is the knowledge needed to Spiritually regenerate one's self into Being “The Divine Self”. Maharishi teaches that T.M. is the tool which unlocks the Inner experience, enabling one to transcend the mind into the Supreme Nature of Bliss and awareness of Divinity. The Inner Knowledge gives one the direct experience of Truth, and this process goes on continuously, unfolding Higher Consciousness and realities. This gives a profound insight to life, and an appreciation of nature and respect for all life. The Laws of God become natural as one understands the deeper realities of the Soul and life.

The Knowledge

Continuing with the 2006 satellite conference talk, Maharishi says:

Further, Maharishi explains that:

Maharishi then said:

Helen Lutes, Maharishi, Maharishi's assistant “Mata Ji” and Charley Lutes. Southern California, very early 1960's.

Maharishi once commented on his experience of coming to the USA in the late 50s. He said that coming to a country of size as the USA, he found the U.S. people more understanding of the Truth. Maharishi said, “The soil held the Consciousness of Science. Maharishi tells us that, through meditation, “the collective consciousness of the country to be the radiance, to be the Light of the World.”

Speaking about countries and governments in general, Maharishi continued, “Whatever a government does is motivated by National Consciousness. Policy is motivated by total National Consciousness. A change can be had by the transformation of humanity to Divinity. Government can only do what it is doing. To change this, raise the quality of Collective Consciousness and then the government will naturally do better and better. This will change government through the transformation, and new Laws will be made automatically.”

This Ancient Wisdom will continue to be held by people throughout time, people who hold on to the Scriptures, both East and West. There will come a time when Darkness will disappear and we will see peace in this world.

All Glory to God.

Written in loving memory to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Charlie and Helen Lutes. -DMR

SRM Photos, various credits.
Original text Copyright © 2006-2019 Diane M. Rousseau. All Rights Reserved.

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