Today Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was cremated by the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers in the north Indian city of Allahabad. There lies a man who loved flowers even more than I do.
My husband studied with Maharishi back in the day, and received calls from around the world with his passing. In some ways Maharishi was part of the best intentions of the ’60s, spreading the gospel that meditation could bring about world peace. That love is all there is.
A few years ago a friend brought up something I’ve been mulling ever since: whenever kids are dropped off for school or sports, they say “I love you”. When there are three or four kids and a few moms, there is a whole chorus of “I love you”s. We didn’t say “I love you” as a constant refrain to our parents, but our kids do. With the passing of Maharishi, it came to mind that he and the Beatles weren’t just part of a cultural revolution; they embodied a shift in consciousness, and perhaps that’s the root of the change in family dialogue. World peace has been elusive, but these days everybody says “I love you”, and that’s a start.
You go girl! xxoo, E
Since this is an old post you may never read this, but I was just thinking about this the other day and wondering why my kids (who I love very much thank you very much) always say “I love you” when I don’t recall any of us six kids saying that to our parents all the time, but my kids tell me that all the time (BTW they are all grown up and married, but have been saying it forever!). I like your thought about why that may be. Have a great day.
Thanks for the thought, Brenda. Cheers!
Maybe it is just depending on where you grew up. I grew up right during and after WW II and we all said that to our parents then. That was in a small town in central Ohio - lots of farms, lots of small factories and family was very important. Sundays were for the family to go for a Sunday afternoon drive after church. Vacations were to my cousin’s farm down in Southeastern Ohio where the whole family (4 generations) would get together for home cooking and card playing. We didn’t get a television until I was 16 and even then we didn’t spend a lot of time watching it. There were just too many things to do outside.
By the time the Beatles and that whole generation came along all that had changed but when I grew up we still had the older values which are the same values the kids are developing now. More power to them. It was a far better way to live IMNSHO.