TM Founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi unveils the journey of life, from the manifest world of diversity to the unified field of life deep within each of us: the state of Being. The following excerpts, from the opening of Maharishi’s definitive work, published in 1963, explain the foundational principles of the Science of Being. Future articles in this series will present practical wisdom from the Art of Living.

All relative life without the conscious basis of Being is like a ship without a rudder, ever at the mercy of the tossing sea. It is like a dry leaf on the ground left to the mercy of the wind, drifting aimlessly in any direction the wind takes it, for it has no roots to anchor it. —Maharishi

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 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 Sanskrit word Rishi means “seer,” an enlightened person capable of cognizing the deepest truths of life and natural law.

The Science of Being and Art of Living presents a philosophy of life in fulfillment and brings forth a practice suitable for all… to glorify all aspects of their day-to-day life.

What Is Being?

Being is life. It is existence. To be is to live, to exist. Being or existence finds expression in the different aspects of living: thinking, speaking, doing, experiencing, feeling. All aspects of life have their basis in Being.

The question arises, then, of how to understand Being in terms of all the different aspects of life with which we are familiar. How can we know Being in terms of the world, and what is its relationship with the world of forms and phenomena in which we live?

How can we distinguish existence from that which exists?

Existence is abstract; that which exists is concrete.

We may say that existence is life itself, while that which exists is the ever-changing phenomenal phase of the never-changing reality of existence.

Existence is the abstract aspect of life on which are built what we call the concrete phases of life that encompass all aspects of the individual—body, mind, thinking, speaking, acting, behaving, experiencing, and influencing the surroundings, including all aspects of cosmic existence.

Life expresses itself in different modes of living. That which is lived is the expression of life; that which exists is the expression of existence.

Existence, life, or Being is the unmanifested reality of all that exists, lives, or is. Being is the ultimate reality of all that was, is, or will be. It is eternal and unbounded, the basis of all the phenomenal existence of the cosmic life. It is the source of all time, space, and causation. It is the be-all and end-all of existence, the all-pervading eternal field of the almighty creative intelligence. I am That eternal Being, Thou art That, and all this is That eternal Being in Its essential nature.

Existence, life, or Being is the unmanifested reality of all that exists, lives, or is. Being is the ultimate reality of all that was, is, or will be.

Being, Absolute Bliss Consciousness

Experience shows that Being is bliss consciousness, the source of all thinking, of all existing creation. It lies out of relative existence where the experiencer or mind is left awake by itself, in full awareness of itself, without any experience of an object. The conscious mind reaches the state of pure consciousness, which is the source of all thinking.

The almighty creative intelligence of the Absolute is the source of all intelligence. Being is the source of all power. It is the source of all of nature and of the natural laws that maintain the different forms and phenomena in creation.

The essential nature of Being is absolute bliss consciousness.** Without the knowledge of the fundamental of life, absolute bliss consciousness, life is like a building without a foundation. All relative life without the conscious basis of Being is like a ship without a rudder, ever at the mercy of the tossing sea.

It is like a dry leaf on the ground left to the mercy of the wind, drifting aimlessly in any direction the wind takes it, for it has no roots to anchor it. The life of the individual without the realization of Being is baseless, meaningless, and fruitless.

Thus, Being is that which is the basis of life, gives it meaning, and makes it fruitful. Being is the living presence of God, the reality of life. It is eternal truth. It is the Absolute in eternal freedom.

**Sat-Chit-Ananda—It is Sat, which never changes; it is Chit, which is consciousness; it is Ananda, which is bliss.

Without the knowledge of the fundamental of life, absolute bliss consciousness, life is like a building without a foundation.

Being, the Essential Constituent of Creation

Physical science informs us that the whole of creation is built up of layers of energy, one inside the other. The subtlest is at the innermost stratum of creation and builds up around itself different qualities, becoming bigger and bigger.

Recent discoveries of physics indicate the existence of various types of elementary particles lying at the basis of all creation. The family of elementary particles is found increasing all the time to show that the creation exists in innumerable strata of energy. Fine particles give rise to neutrons and protons which build up into the nucleus of an atom, which in turn builds up into an atom. The atoms comprise molecules, and the molecules make up the different forms of phenomena and constitute the entire visible universe. This is how physics is discovering finer layers of creation…

Underneath the subtlest layer of all that exists in the relative field is the abstract, absolute field of pure Being, which is unmanifested and transcendental. It is neither matter nor energy. It is pure Being, the state of existence.

This state of pure existence underlies all that exists. Everything is the expression of this pure existence or absolute Being which is the essential constituent of all relative life…

Underneath the subtlest layer of all that exists in the relative field is the abstract, absolute field of pure Being, which is unmanifested and transcendental. It is neither matter nor energy. It is pure Being, the state of existence.

Being, the Basis of All Living

Living constitutes the practical life of day-to-day activity. Being, which is the essential constituent of creation, is at the basis of all activity, lying at the field of the Absolute. Being forms the basic source of all activity of the individual, and, naturally, in it and by it is sustained the activity in all the complex and diversified fields of day-to-day life.

Naturally we know our life starts with breathing and thinking… The start of activity is from the level of thinking, and the start of thinking is at the level of transcendental Being. Therefore, we find Being at the basis of all activity, behavior, and the variety of ways and forms of living…

It is possible to glorify all fields of life and living by consciously infusing the nature of Being into all the different fields of activity and behavior.

We know that activity depends upon thinking. One has first to think in order to do anything. However, people rarely consider what their thinking depends upon. Thinking is the basis of doing; what, then, is the basis of thinking? In order to think, one has at least to be. Being is the basis of thinking, and thinking is the basis of doing.

Being is the basis of all living, just as without the sap and root there would be no tree. If we can take care of the sap, the whole tree will be taken care of. Similarly, if we can take care of Being, the whole field of thinking and doing will be taken care of. The whole field of life can be glorified by consciously taking care of Being.

Being is the most glorified, most precious, and most laudable basis of all living. Being is the plane of cosmic law, the basis of all the laws of nature, which lies at the root of all creation and evolution.

Being is the basis of all living… If we can take care of the sap, the whole tree will be taken care of. Similarly, if we can take care of Being, the whole field of thinking and doing will be taken care of.

How to Contact Being

The Science of Being not only postulates a theory of one absolute element at the basis of the entire creation, but also provides a systematic way whereby any man may have direct experience of the essential nature of transcendental, absolute Being…

We have seen that Being lies beyond the subtlest stratum of creation, in the transcendental field of absolute existence.

In order to experience this transcendental reality, it is necessary that our attention be led in a concrete manner through all the subtle strata of creation. Then, arriving at the subtlest level, it must transcend that experience to know transcendental Being…

The way to experience transcendental Being lies in selecting a proper thought and experiencing its subtle states until its subtlest state is experienced and transcended.

Transcendental Meditation

The process of bringing the attention to the level of transcendental Being is known as the system of Transcendental Meditation®.

In the practice of Transcendental Meditation, a proper thought is selected, and the technique of experiencing that thought in its infant states of development enables the conscious mind to arrive systematically at the source of thought, the field of Being.

Thus, the way to experience transcendental Being lies in selecting a proper thought and experiencing its subtle states until its subtlest state is experienced and transcended.

We shall now deal with the main principle of the system of Transcendental Meditation…

Increasing Charm on the Path of Transcending

To go to a field of greater happiness is the natural tendency of the mind. Because in this practice of Transcendental Meditation the conscious mind is set on its way to transcending and experiencing transcendental absolute Being, whose nature is bliss consciousness, the mind finds that the way is increasingly attractive as it advances in the direction of bliss.

A light becomes faint and dim as we go away from its source, and the intensity increases as we proceed toward the source. Similarly, when the mind goes in the direction of the absolute bliss of transcendental Being, it finds increasing charm at every step of its march. The mind is charmed and is led to experience transcendental Being.

Thus we find the practice of Transcendental Meditation is a pleasant practice for every mind. Whatever the state of evolution of the aspirant, whether or not he is emotionally developed or intellectually advanced, his mind, by its very tendency to go to a field of greater happiness, finds its way to transcend the subtlest state of thinking and arrive at the bliss of absolute Being. That is why the practice of Transcendental Meditation is not only simple but also automatic…

When the mind goes in the direction of the absolute bliss of transcendental Being, it finds increasing charm at every step of its march. The mind is charmed and is led to experience transcendental Being.