Jonathan Chadwick wrote: > John Hagelin now routinely introduces Maharshi as "the > greatest Vedic scholar in the world." Are there any > faculty from leading academic institutions who e.g. > teach Sanskrit who agree with this? > The Mahesh Yogi probably isn't a Sanskrit reader at all, but Tony Nader apparently reads, writes, speaks and understands Sanskrit like it was his mother tongue. But, by Vedic Hegelin probably means that Mahesh Yogi is a Vedic scholar because of his understanding of Raj Ram, that is, Ideal India. This is more likely, that anyone can learn the Sanskrit alphabet in about an hour, and begin to read the Rig Veda, but even scholars can't seem to understand what the Rig Veda is all about.
According to the Mahesh Yogi, the Rig Veda is all about ayerveda, the main ingredient in TM Practice - seratonin. This theory seems to be quite plausible since in Buddhist mythology, Amrita is the drink of the Gods, which grants immortality. The Ninth Mandala of the Rigveda is known as the Soma Mandala. Most Vedic scholars gloss over this fact but Nader and Mahesh Yogi seem to have interpreted the Vedas on a whole other level than most scholars. According to Terrence McKenna in his book "The Food Of Gods", the psilocybin-containing Stropharia cubensis mushroom is a likely soma candidate. Psilocybin, the active psychoactive component in Stropharia Cubensis has a strong hallucinogenic nature. Soma (Sanskrit), or Haoma (Avestan) was a ritual drink of importance among the early Indo-Iranians, and the later Vedic and Iranian cultures. It is frequently mentioned in the Rigveda, which contains many hymns praising its energizing or intoxicating qualities. According to Mahesh Yogi, Soma is manufactered in the gut.
