Milestones on the way to a complete MERU campus

Two years ago, MERU announced it was moving forward with construction on campus. In light of this, we wanted to give everyone an update on recent developments.

The great news is that thanks to the dedication and tireless work of so many people, we are seeing real progress towards completing the campus Maharishi envisioned for MERU.

Time to go inwards

The pandemic slowed down the whole world’s activities, and MERU was no exception. The campus was completely closed for some time, with only essential staff on location.

Naturally, the focus on keeping the MERU community healthy delayed plans for MERU’s campus.

There was a silver lining, though. The delay gave us time to go inwards, and we were able to reflect on many questions crucial to developing a long-term plan for MERU’s future.

The result of this opportunity was increased clarity on MERU’s mission and vision and the development of a strategic 10-year plan for MERU.

We invite you to read the vision and mission of MERU in this poster we created to showcase these developments. At some point soon, we will also be able to share the strategic 10-year plan with you.

Meru’s vision

Realisation of Phase 1 of the MERU campus

With so much groundwork now complete, we’re happy to say that the development of MERU’s campus is in full swing. Construction has even begun on some of the projects!

For some context, the building committee decided early on to divide MERU’s development into multiple phases. This way, we can prioritise the buildings that are most urgently needed.

Phase 1 focuses on building the foundations for sustainable community living in Maharishi Vastu. This phase of construction is expected to continue from now until 2024. Below, you can read about all the major projects included in Phase 1.

Construction of new Raja houses on the MERU campus

Project 1: Residence for our organisation’s leaders

Construction has begun on homes for some of the leaders in the TM organisation. The Crowells and Dillbecks have both had their ground-breaking ceremonies, which marked an exciting moment of the beginning of this phase of construction. Homes for other leaders are also in the planning phase.

Project 2: MERU apartments

The Luxury Apartments at MERU are also in full development. This is a special project since the apartments provide an opportunity for the wider meditating community to live at MERU. The apartments project also raises necessary funds to continue with construction on the rest of campus.

Project 3: Residence for MERU staff

Another key aspect of Phase 1 is a residential building for more than 70 MERU administrators and staff. Since the end of 2019, MERU staff have been spread out in many different rental houses nearby, so this project is essential.

We are sincerely looking forward to the entire MERU community being able to live in beautiful, new Vastu on campus, which is what this building will allow.

Project 4: Operations building

Another part of Phase 1 is a building for the MERU operations and finance teams. This is necessary since the current portable structures are due for a replacement.

With this development, the operations and finance teams will be able to work in completely Vastu environments, just like the MERU video team currently does.

One of the new glass houses in Peace Park

Project 5: Beautification of public spaces and updated infrastructure on campus

MERU has also made some very welcome improvements to the public spaces.
These include:

• • The addition of two attractive glass meeting houses in Peace Park
  • The maintenance and dredging of the pond in the forest park
  • Fresh paint and maintenance of existing Raja homes

Future plans include expanding the fence to create a natural park around the south and east sides of campus. Another project will be the maintenance of the apiary, the beautiful historic structure in the forest park where Maharishi used to hold meetings.

Phase 1 will also include finding sustainable energy solutions for MERU, designing a landscape and plan for the campus, and upgrading roads and infrastructure.

Ongoing activities on MERU campus

As you can imagine, these activities are keeping our teams busy!
Meanwhile, other departments at MERU have been able to resume some of their activities and even grow during the pandemic.

Courses available through the MERU course office

In 2020, the MERU Course Office transitioned to begin offering online courses, and it was quite a success. They are continuing to offer online courses and are also planning on offering on-demand courses to accommodate the various time zones of the global meditating community.

In addition, since the beginning of October, the course office has been holding in-residence courses again. Soon, they will have the course schedule for offerings available in 2022.

Small-scale treatments at the MERU Health Centre

After pausing activities during the pandemic, the MERU Health Centre has started giving small-scale treatments again on campus. Currently, these treatments are mostly for the residents of MERU. 

Plans are underway to develop a Vastu building serving as an institute to train health professionals and offer Maharishi AyurVeda treatments.

New developments with the Indian government

In other great news, the Ministry of Ayush of the government of India has approved a number of MERU’s courses on Maharishi AyurVeda. This means that the ministry recognises them as being consistent with their values of providing authentic knowledge of India’s ancient systems of medicine. We see this as quite a major step toward gaining worldwide recognition of this knowledge! 

The courses include a Master of Science in AyurVeda for medical professionals, as well as five short 16-lesson courses for the general public. The MERU course office regularly offers these 16-lesson courses, which include the popular 16-lesson course on Maharishi Yoga Asanas. More details will be available about the Master of Science in the near future.

A rendering of the Annapurna building, planned for Phase 2

Looking ahead to Phase 2 of construction

The completion of Phase 1 will forever transform life on campus. For the first time in MERU’s history, the entire community will be able to live on campus in perfect Maharishi Vastu, living and working together.

But, even after Phase 1, there will be several other major projects to move forward.

These Phase 2 projects include:

• • The Maharishi Tower of Invincibility, which will offer a full overview of Maharishi’s knowledge to the visiting public
  • The ‘Annapurna’ dining facility, which will allow everyone visiting MERU to enjoy their meals in a high-class Vastu building
  • Group programme facilities for meditation and TM-Sidhi programme
  • Institute of Maharishi Vedic Science, a dedicated facility for courses and the Maharishi Health Centre

Phase 2 facilities are currently planned for 2024 to 2030. With their completion, MERU will truly be one centralised location where anyone visiting can live and experience Maharishi’s knowledge.  

Groundbreaking ceremony for the new homes

Gratitude and how to contribute

As we reflect on these developments, we have to thank the many people who have been tirelessly working on this enormous project. Huge credit goes to Neil Paterson, Chairman of MERU’s board, who has been a major driving force.

We also thank Raja Alberto and Margherita Ruelle, Rajas of MERU’s campus, who have provided fresh inspiration to everyone. We could also not complete this project without the guidance and expertise of Eike Hartmann, Minister of Architecture, or Christian and Sabine Schweizer, the deputy ministers of architecture. We also express our sincere thanks to Girish Momaya, who has spent so many of his years leading MERU, for inspiring us with his great passion for Maharishi’s knowledge and vision for MERU to reach its full potential.

We also need to take a moment to thank the generous donors who have made Phase 1 of construction possible. These include Antjo de Vos, Linda Kay Stevens, Marie-Claire Godoy, Raja Andreas Thrasy, Raja Rafael David, Rudy Gillman, and the Brahmanada Saraswati Foundation.

All these individuals, and so many others, have played a key role in bringing us closer to a complete MERU campus.

If you’d like to get involved as well, at this stage the best way to participate is to help spread the word about the opportunity to live in the MERU Luxury Apartments. You can also consider purchasing one for yourself. The success of the apartments project will provide major momentum for other projects on campus.

On a smaller scale, you are also very welcome to participate in MERU’s course offerings. Your activity in these courses is not only valuable for your own personal growth but is also a wonderful way to support the development of MERU’s campus.

Thank you for your engagement and support in this project. We are happy to be making progress, and we look forward to being able to give you more updates in the near future.

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