The University of Mass at Amherst was the site of a remarkable meeting between Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Buckminster Fuller. Maharishi and Mr. Fuller came from different traditions of knowledge, but both talked about the universal basis of the life of the individual and cosmos. This video provides precious archival footage of their meeting with the press.
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R. Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller was one of the key innovators in 20th century America. He was a celebrated and award-winning philosopher, visionary, inventor, architect, engineer, mathematician, poet, cosmologist, and was one of America’s first futurists and global thinkers. Born in Milton, Massachusetts, on July 12, 1895, Bucky published more than 30 books, inventing and popularizing terms such as “Spaceship Earth,” “ephemeralization,” and “synergetics.” Bucky also held 28 patents, authored 28 books, and received 47 honorary degrees. While he is best known for his invention of the geodesic dome, Bucky’s true impact on today’s world can be found in his continued influence on new generations of designers, architects, scientists, and artists who are working to create a more sustainable planet.
In this historic press conference with Maharishi, Bucky discusses his deep appreciation of Maharishi’s revival of the ancient science of consciousness—Vedic science—and its application to the betterment of humanity.
Bucky said he first started to explore the untapped faculties of the human mind in 1927, which is when he first began investigating meditation. However, he was not impressed with what he learned because he concluded people were meditating for their own personal advantage, rather than to help the world. Bucky’s impression changed dramatically 44 years later when he met Maharishi at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. “It came as a great delight to me in meeting Maharishi to learn that he, in his studies, had discovered that in the very earliest recorded thinking in India, that the meditator was exploring these faculties … on behalf of his fellow man.”
And this, Bucky told the press, is the “great news” of the time:
“What is really news is that there have people contemplating and isolating themselves for thousands of years, not apparently trying to bring the advantage to the many except in mysterious ways. I am sure what has made Maharishi beloved and understood is that he has manifest love. You could not meet with Maharishi without recognizing instantly his integrity. You look in his eyes, and there it is.
“I would like to say to the news media that the great news is that America has its arms open for the truth, love, tenderness, compassion, and the only way we can know the truth, is through our mind. And the world is demonstrating in this wave of inspiration by Maharishi, its yearning and its determination for humanity to survive on our planet.
“Very deep forces are operative here, the forces of the great intellect of the universe itself. This is the news. It is not easy to report this kind of news, but this is the news.”
Bucky inspired countless millions by his remarkable vision, and by his indefatigable creativity in service of humanity—myself included. The impulse to contribute to a more peaceful, sustainable planet brought me to the practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique and the symposium where this dialogue with Maharishi took place. In 1983, a few months before Bucky’s death, I was thrilled to receive an invitation to meet him at his home in California. He greeted me at the door by taking my hands in his and looking directly into my eyes, and said, “Granddaughter, you are inherently my friend.” These poetic words revealed his true genius: he lived the reality that we are truly connected in the fundamental unity of life. And his life’s work—and his profound understanding of Maharishi’s life’s work—were testimony to his genius.
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