Kansas to be home to World Capital of Peace Small town finds Yogis disciples not so scary By LAURA BAUER The Kansas City Star One morning last week an article in his county newspaper caught Smith Center, Kan., Mayor Randy Archer off guard. A nonprofit organization had purchased 480 acres of land just outside the north-central Kansas town. And in just a few hours, members would break ground on the World Capital of Peace, a project launched by followers of Maharishi Mahesh
Yogi and his Transcendental Meditation movement. For some in this town of 1,800, which Archer says has the oldest population in Kansas, worry set in. And as many residents wondered what a World Capital of Peace was, the rumors started. Some people thought this might be a cult, Archer said in a phone interview. And Im saying to myself, OK, lets go see what theyre about.
I went in blind. What Archer soon discovered: The World Capital of Peace is intended to be a $14 million centerpiece of hundreds of peace palaces across the nation. A palace is planned for the Kansas City area, according to advertisements that have appeared in The Kansas City Star for several weeks. In Fairfield, Iowa, the movement has had a university since the mid-1970s and has sparked an economic surge and business boom in the past two decades. With its declining population and struggling tax base, Smith Center would wholeheartedly
welcome a similar surge, county and city officials say. I certainly believe it will bring money to the community, said Charles Sellens, administrative assistant for the Smith County commissioners. I have very positive feelings about them being in the community. The transcendental meditation movement, known as TM, began in India in the 1950s. Celebrity disciples have included the Beatles, comedian Andy Kaufman and actor and director Clint Eastwood. But for many in Smith County, the concept could not have been more foreign. I can say I definitely had reservations, Sellens said. He headed out to the property immediately after he read about the project last week in the Smith County Pioneer. The groundbreaking was set for noon the same day. Sellens was there shaking hands and asking questions by 9:30 a.m. He met a lot of people, many of them Maharishi officials. All were professionals,
everything from doctors and lawyers to teachers and engineers. He liked what he saw and heard and went back a couple of hours later for the groundbreaking. There, male officials with the movement wore light or cream-colored suits or robes; the women wore sarongs. Two groups involved in the Smith County project are affiliated with Maharishi. The Global Country of World Peace purchased the land; the U.S. Peace Government will have offices at the facility. Many in Smith County are beginning to understand what the movement and its followers are about. Their commonality seems to be they like this meditation method for dealing with stresses in their life, Sellens said. Archer, who attended the groundbreaking ceremony, is putting his communitys fears to rest that its a certain religion or cult. He calls it a way of life. Its different, the mayor said. But its not scary. He now
estimates that 95 percent of the Smith Center population favors the project. Archer and others say they are glad to have people moving to their area instead of out. In the mid-1990s, Smith Centers population was about 2,500, and now it hovers at 1,800. I think weve got to open our hearts and our minds and not criticize them to start off with, said Bob Rethorst, on the board of directors for the Smith Center Chamber of Commerce. Lets see what theyve got. The peoples looming question of Why Smith County? had a simple answer. Smith County is a very special place in Kansas, said Kent Boyum, an ecologist and the director of government relations for the Global Country of World Peace. Its the center of the United States. The Smith County center will ultimately have 12 to 15 peace palaces, each consisting of two stories and 12,000 total square feet. Boyum said the buildings would be created in a factory
and then brought to Smith Center, where they will be placed on the 480 acres. Organizers hope to have the first building in place within three months. In the end, the goal is to have about 300 full-time residents at the World Capital of Peace, with others coming for retreats. Full-time residents will practice Transcendental Meditation and organic farming, but the area will also be open to tourists, Boyum said. Our intention is to have something very pleasant, he said. Theres absolutely no surprise people would have questions about it or be a little afraid. But at the same time, when they actually meet us as individuals, were just normal people like everyone else. The mayor of Fairfield, Iowa, knows some of what the small Kansas town and county can expect. He moved to Fairfield in 1980. Shortly
