September 2000

Making Room for Heaven on Earth
By Jonathan Lipman, A.I.A.

When Maharishi University of Management announced its plans to tear down historic Parsons Hall, I began to get phone calls and e-mails from the press and representatives of the historic preservation community in our city and state.

Since I’ve spent many years of my architectural career working with historic buildings, they wanted to know how I felt about it.

Historic preservation is a valued part of world culture when it improves the quality of our lives. But until recently no one had the tools for evaluating reliably what the effect of saving a particular building would be upon the quality of life of the people in its neighborhood.

We in the field made decisions to save buildings based on our subjective evaluations. It was a complex and uncertain process. Did historical events happen in the building? Did the building epitomize important developments in architecture, technology, society or agriculture? Was the building a key part of the fabric of a city or neighborhood? These were all gauges that we used to help us guess whether preserving a particular building would make a contribution to future generations.

Twelve years ago, Maharishi announced his Master Plan to Create Heaven on Earth—the reconstruction of the whole world, both inner and outer. The inner reconstruction is taking place through the practice of the Transcendental Meditation program, which removes stress from the mind and body, clearing the way for healthier and hap-pier lives. Social stress is neutralized by large groups practicing Yogic Flying together, opening the door for a more orderly and harmonious world.

To help glorify the outer life of everyone, Maharishi re-enlivened the ancient knowledge of Sthapatya Veda, the science of building in accord with Natural Law. Maharishi Sthapatya Veda design allows us to make a detailed analysis of any historic building to assess whether it is generating a positive or an unhealthy influence.

For the first time, with the knowledge of Maharishi Sthapatya Veda design, we can know whether an existing building will bring health, happiness, good fortune and enlightenment to its users and neighbors. Or we can determine that a building is bringing health problems, poverty and bad luck to its surroundings.

Reconstructing the whole world, therefore, entails not just creating new structures in accord with Natural Law, but removing structures that impede the flow of Natural Law and cause suffering to their occupants.

I was recently invited to consult on a 90-year-old hotel by the famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. I’ve been quite happy to work on it since the building contains so many auspicious patterns of orientation and placement from Maharishi Sthapatya Veda design that I feel confident it will have a beneficial effect on its users.

But this is not often the case with existing buildings. As architects we have a new, solemn obligation to the people. Once we know that a building is creating a bad influence in their lives, it’s our responsibility to offer them a building that will bring only good instead. It’s that simple.

Jonathan Lipman, A.I.A. is director of the Maharishi Sthapatya Veda Consultation Service for North America and chief architect of Maharishi Global Construction. He is also the past president of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy and a past member of the State of Iowa National Register of Historic Places Committee.