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Maharishi’s Introduction The Science of Being and Art of Living is the summation of both the practical wisdom of integrated life advanced by the Vedic Rishis of ancient India and the growth of scientific thinking in the present-day western world. It presents a philosophy of life in fulfillment and brings forth a practice suitable for all men everywhere in the world to glorify all aspects of their day-to-day life. It deals with the fundamentals of all problems of life and suggests one sure cure to eradicate all sufferings. This book presents a practical thesis of integrated life which has long been the abstract goal of the various sciences, religions, and metaphysical thought groups. This thesis will enable all men to harmonize their inner spiritual content with the glories of the outer material life and find their God within themselves. Science explores into the actuality of forms and phenomena. All the branches of science are the various ways to realize the truth of existence. The approach of each of them starts from the obvious known and aims at investigating the hidden unknown. The ultimate truth of life is being approached from all directions. All the sciences are exploring the various strata of creation, from the gross to the subtler fields of existence. The Science of Being, as does every other science, starts its investigation into the truth of existence from the gross, obvious level of life and later enters into the subtle regions of experience. The Science of Being, however, eventually transcends these subtle regions and arrives at the direct experience of the transcendental field of eternal Being. The Science of Being is a deep and practical philosophy of life. It is a systematic investigation into the true nature of the ultimate reality. Although, like any other science, it is theoretical in its nature, its applied aspects reach much farther horizons of the supreme reality of life than those of abstract metaphysical speculations. This book is divided into four sections: “Science of Being”; “Life”; “Art of Living”; and “Fulfillment.” The last three sections of the book present the most practical wisdom of day-to-day life, and this greatest wisdom of practical life is based on the deep philosophical significance contained in the section on the Science of Being. The Science of Being serves to provide a deep and significant basis for the art of living. As a matter of fact, the art of living is applied Science of Being. To those who have never had an interest in metaphysical study, the section on “Science of Being” may at first appear to be highly abstract, but once they have stepped into “Life” and “Art of Living” and have completed the section on “Fulfillment,” they will find that without dwelling on the abstract features of the Science of Being, the whole wisdom of the book would have no practical basis. A gardener has to have a knowledge of the unseen root of the tree before he can be expected to give his concentrated effort to watering its root so that the whole tree remains fresh and green. Likewise, a man in the practical field of life must first be given a good understanding about the fundamental reality of life that lies in the field of abstract Being, in order to glorify the whole of the rest of life. That is why the Science of Being is the first section of this book, and the sections of practical value follow. The word “science” comes from the Latin root word scire, to know. It means knowledge; systematized knowledge is science. The Science of Being means systematized knowledge of Being—systematized knowledge of existence or the actuality of life. The field of Being or absolute existence was for many centuries considered in terms of mysticism. The present scientific age hesitates to assign value to anything shrouded in the garb of mysticism, and that is why the study of Being, the absolute field of creation, has not been a part of any branch of science until now. The growth of scientific thinking in the present generation has brought Being to the level of scientific study and scrutiny. A systematic method has been developed that enables an individual to experience directly the pure state of Being. It is done by consciously entering into the experience of the subtle strata of a thought, eventually arriving at the direct experience of the subtlest state of the thought, and then arriving at the very source of thought. Then the conscious mind attains the pure state of Being. The Science of Being, which gives rise to the practical art of living, is a science which is much more valuable for human life than all the sciences known so far to the human mind. For, up to now, the basis of all the sciences has been the human mind functioning from a limited field of consciousness or limited potential. The Science of Being, through the practice of Transcendental Meditation, enlarges the conscious capacity of the mind to infinite values and therefore functions not only as the basis for the great expansion of knowledge in every field of science, but also brings to man a direct way to fulfillment. For all this knowledge my indebtedness is to the holy tradition of Jagadguru Bhagwan Shankaracharya, the main source of all my inspirations and activity. My first thanks are due to Henry Nyburg, the head of the Spiritual Regeneration Movement in Europe, who first felt the need and conceived the idea of such a book as this one about three years ago. My thanks are also due to blessed Ma from London, who, like a mother, sat with a stick over the child to get the task completed. Leona Simpson from Canada, Guri Mehellis from Norway, and Dick Bock from Los Angeles, have also been of great assistance in maintaining the breath of the writing and the writer. Jerry Jarvis and his dear wife Debby, who worked hard transcribing and editing the tapes and preparing the final manuscript, also deserve to share my feelings of appreciation and thanks for them. Certainly the warmth of the atmosphere created by love of Mother Olson and Roland Olson, Helen Lutes, and the dear Verrills and Granvilles had its own share in bringing out this book. This is a book of revival for the age. If the golden era is ever to dawn on human society, if the Age of Enlightenment is ever to be on earth, this book will provide a freeway for it to come. A new humanity will be born, fuller in conception and richer in experience and accomplishments in all fields. Joy of life will belong to every man, love will dominate human society, truth and virtue will reign in the world, peace on earth will be permanent, and all will live in fulfillment in fullness of life in God Consciousness. Jai Guru Dev
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