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Part
2: All about the new Vedic City
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Vedic City is located two miles north of Fairfield in southeast Iowa, not far from the Cedar Rapids airport, in the central US state. Designed and laid out on the town planning and architectural principles of Maharishi Sthapatya Veda, the City is the brainchild of Tim Fitz-Randolph, and Rogers and Candace Badgett, Chris and Dee Johnson, Bob and Maureen Wynne, Doug and Francie Greenfield, the Zimmerman family, and other members of the Maharishi Center are the people behind the project.
The
Idea & the Site
Tim Fitz-Randolph conceived the idea of Vedic City in 1991 in Holland during
a Transcendental Meditation program. The beneficial effects of group meditation
prompted him to think about creating the Maharishi Centre for Perfect Health
and World Peace — a permanent structure for 10,000 practitioners "who
could jointly raise the consciousness and health of the world." The natural
choice for the location was Fairfield — the seat of The Maharishi University
— where 3,000 Yoga experts practice Transcendental Meditation. The financial
advantages of incorporating a city, ultimately gave rise to the idea of building
a whole township instead of just a meditation center.
As
the number of residents in the township increased, and the basic infrastructure
requirements fell short, it was necessary for it to get a formal approval as
a city. The developers of Vedic City have already spent $5 million from their
own account in setting up roads, a master sewage plant, a 5,000-hectolitre water
tank and other basic infrastructure. Now that Vedic City has been officially
incorporated, it can get access to state funding, issue bonds and levy taxes.
The
Purpose
Vedic City is not just another city, and is not without a purpose. It has a
meaningful goal behind everything you can see here. According to one of the
developers Bob Wynne, the Vedic City will provide its residents Vedic knowledge
for a better life, and visitors the opportunity to experience the Maharishi
Sthapatya-Veda designed hotels, health clinics, and other amenities for improved
health and well-being. An enlightened lifestyle that generates a high level
of health, happiness and success for all is what is aimed at.
The
Benefits
The benefit
of dwelling in Maharishi Sthapatya Veda designed places is more than meets the
eye. This kind of planning is believed to be in accord with "natural laws
that connect individual intelligence with cosmic intelligence." Maharishi
Sthapatya Veda architects claim that such structures enable its occupants "to
think more creatively, make better decisions, feel healthier, enjoy refreshing
sleep and experience greater peace of mind." Besides, you are at advantage
of consuming healthy food that's grown using organic agriculture in the city's
farms. The
Vedic city is also one of the first American "veggie" cities, where
most people have chosen to be vegetarians.
Future Plans
The city is projected to grow to about 1,200 residents by the year 2010 and
3,100 by 2020. The master plan for the city is based on 10 "mandalas"
or circles, out of which nine are one sq. km in radius, and a central circle,
which would contain gardens and mounds. The city is also proposed to comprise
an indoor theme park, an observatory, botanical gardens, and a golf-learning
centre. The Vedic observatory, which has already been built — on the lines
of Delhi's historical Jantar Mantar — has instruments that measure astronomical
events from solar time to equinoxes and solstices. The proposed 16.5-acre botanical
garden is supposed to comprise a wide variety of flora and fauna, including
medicinal herbs.
The Maharishi Sthapatya Veda organisations also plan to build 12 "Maharishi Towers of World Peace" around the world, one in each time zone. Also on the anvil is a project for "Perpetual World Peace" in western India, which plans to create a group of 100,000 Veda teachers to support Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's magnificent efforts to create heaven on earth.
See Also >
Vaastu: Science or Nonsense? >
