Maharishi Vedic City: Inside the compound with Rekha Basu

March 22, 2014
DesMoines Register

The first time most of us learned hundreds of Hindu Indian priests have been living in Iowa for seven years to advance world peace was after up to 80 of them shook, vandalized and threw rocks at a sheriff’s truck. The media called the March 11 incident a riot. The sheriff calls it a “flash mob.” Some might call it the meaning of irony.

The American devotees of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Fairfield, who brought the priests here for stints of two to three years, call the incident an unprecedented blip. A letter writer to this newspaper called them “uncivilized Third World miscreants,” and some people who have parted ways with the meditators associated with the Maharishi University of Management call the Indian priests victims of human trafficking.

Whatever you call what happened, it was an unfortunate introduction to the community of 350 Indian “pandits” and their purpose here.

Six Pandits Sent Back to India, More Expected

  

By Pam Credille, Managing Editor

FAIRFIELD, IA – Six Pandits returned to India following the riot on their campus on March 11, 2014. The riot was a result of a Pandit leader being removed from campus with the help of the Jefferson County Sheriff. As a result of the riot, the leader was not taken from the Global Country of World Peace campus. However, he and five others were the six who flew back to India on Saturday via the Chicago- O’Hare Airport.

The Representative for the Global Country of World Peace, William Goldstein, told The Post that all six Pandits volunteered to return to India.“This group volunteered to return on Saturday. We suspect some of them may have been involved in the incident on Tuesday and we have come to similar conclusions as to others who will be taken to Chicago over the course of the next seven days,” said Goldstein. 

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of a pandit is as follows: "a wise or learned man in India —often used as an honorary title." The Global Country of World Peace (GCWP) is the Pandits’ sponsor organization. According to their website, the GCWP’s mission is to “support the Vedic Pandits in maharishi Vedic City to create invincibility for America.

”Goldstein told The Post that the situation is still being investigated and further action is expected. “An internal review of the situation is continuing with the aim to avoid any such repeat incidents. It is expected that additional Pandits involved in this incident will be requested to return to India this week,” said Goldstein. Goldstein went on to share that the Pandits in Fairfield are on tours that last for two to three years. According to Goldstein, all Pandits return to India at the end of their tour. “Other than this incident, a very small number have been sent home for disciplinary reasons prior to their normal tour over the last seven years of the project,” said Goldstein.

Dr Girish Varma speaking on the Maharishi Vedic Pandit program

Riot of Indian meditators causes concerns for Fairfield area residents

12 March 2014

Member that triggered riot returned to campus, situation to be 'reviewed'

FAIRFIELD – A riot Tuesday morning near Fairfield has raised concerns about a program that has brought thousands of Indian men to Iowa for meditation.

More than 300 men, mostly from India, live in a fenced-off campus adjacent to Vedic City, north of Fairfield. The pandits, pronounced “pundits”, are religious men trained in meditating for peace.

But when program leaders removed one of their members early Tuesday for undisclosed disciplinary reasons, more than 60 men swarmed a law enforcement truck, threw rocks at the sheriff and started a march down a public street.

“I’ve never seen them this incensed before,” said Jefferson County Sheriff Greg Morton, who had been called to the campus to assist with removal of the member. He retreated to his truck when pandits started throwing rocks and witnessed the group break off his side mirrors, rock the truck and throw a rock through the back window.

Pandits treated as employees, some have issues with pay

‘We get less money than we need’

FAIRFIELD – A compound of religious men near Fairfield is similar to a military base with men living in barracks, eating in a mess hall and playing sports when they aren’t working.

But instead of waging war in a foreign land, these pandits, pronounced “pundits,” are paid to meditate for peace.

The Transcendental Meditation (TM) community of Fairfield, home to the Maharishi University of Management (MUM), started bringing pandits from India to southeast Iowa in 2007 to reach a meditation quota the group believes will generate maximum peace and cohesion in the United States.

“If we were able to garner enough people from within our own group, we wouldn’t need this program,” said Bill Goldstein, general counsel for MUM and for the Global Country for World Peace, which runs the pandit program.

28E Agreement between Jefferson County and Vedic City at standstill

Tess Hedrick
02.11.2013

VEDIC CITY, IOWA -- The Jefferson County Supervisors are at a standstill with Vedic City currently.

Because Vedic City’s population has changed, the city’s financial arrangement is different today than what it used to be. That being said, a new 28E must be drawn up.

Jefferson County used to receive all of the federal and state dollars and would then send Vedic City about 92% of it. Now, Vedic City receives all of the federal and state dollars with the county having to invoice them for the potion the county needs.

The new 28E agreement cannot be signed until the street signs that were put up without the proper engineering study by the city of Vedic City come down.

“In particular, Jefferson County controls and maintains the perimeter roads around Vedic City. Some of those perimeter roads are actually city on both sides of the road for short distances. And so there in lies some of the confusion for Vedic City,” said Lee Dimmitt, Jefferson County Supervisor.

Dimmitt said whether the county signs the 28E agreement or not does not make it an agreement until Vedic City signs it as well.

Sheriff tells his side of Vedic City unrest

VEDIC CITY, IOWA -- On Thursday afternoon, KTVO received a news release from Jefferson County Sheriff Gregg Morton.

Sheriff Morton addresses community questions and concerns regarding the incident at Vedic City, Iowa on Tuesday morning.

----------------------------------------I would like to address some of the issues that I have heard from the public in reference to the incident at the Pandit property on Tuesday. One of the biggest concerns that I have heard is why was no one charged with a crime. Imagine yourself in a vehicle, in this case a crew cab ½ ton pickup and being in the middle of a crowd that is irate and focused on you. I had made a choice to try to re direct the Pandits back onto their property and off of 170th Street. There were anywhere from 70 to 80 Pandits in this group. When I realized that they were still coming on strong, I got back into my truck and had the driver’s side window down and the truck was unlocked. They surrounded the truck and were hitting the body of the truck, were on the running boards rocking the truck, trying to rip the mirrors off the truck and so on. I was not scared of these actions because they never attempted to enter the truck or try to pull me from the truck. There were pieces of gravel coming into the open driver’s window and I finally heard popping noises at the back of my truck. I had no idea that they were throwing rocks at the rear window of my truck. The only indication I had that this was happening was when a rock finally went through the window shattering it. This happened in a time frame of about a minute or so. I could not tell you who did what when during this time as there is such a sensory overload. I decided that my presence was not helping the situation and backed up and away from the crowd. I backed far enough away that as they were picking up asphalt, rocks and whatever else and were throwing these things at my truck, none of it came close. When they were around my vehicle, they were 4-5 thick all the way around the truck. I believe that the training and experience we receive in so many years in law enforcement helped in my decision making and kept things from getting out of control. My main focus was first and foremost for the safety of the public as this crowd was becoming more and more agitated.

Law Enforcement Respond to Vedic City Unrest