The Baskinta peace project in the Lebanon brought immediate peace to a Lebanese village, as soon as 1% of its population had learned Transcendental Meditation.
This is a summary of a research study about the Baskinta peace project in the Lebanon. It provides a scientific demonstration of the power of individuals to control the destiny of their communities by the simple act of meditating quietly in their own homes.
Message of hope to Israel
The message for the people of Israel is clear. Even when your country has deteriorated to open warfare, there is still hope.
The awesome power of Transcendental Meditation to create peace
The research shows that you are able to influence any situation however dire and however desperate. All that is needed is for enough people to take some time out time every day to sit in the silence of the transcendence.
- Instead of taking up weapons to fight with, simply learn to meditate.
- Instead of forming vigilante or militia groups to protect yourselves, remove the hostility from society by enjoying the bliss of your own daily meditation practice.
- Don’t just rely on politicians and government agencies to enforce law and order. Instead grasp the responsibility of restoring peace yourself by enjoying the peace of your own deep meditation.
Research background
The prelude to this study occurred when two teachers of Transcendental Meditation (TM) arrived in the village of Baskinta in May 1981 and began teaching TM to local villagers.
Their stated objective was to teach enough people so that the village could quickly achieve the magic “1% effect” often termed the “Maharishi effect”.
What is the 1% effect?
Previous research had already predicted that when 1% of a population learns Transcendental Meditation then there is an immediate reversal of negative social trends within that society. Similarly there is an onset of positive ones. Typically in normal circumstances we see crime start to reduce, motor accidents reduce, divorces decline, business activity and employment rise and so on. However, Baskinta was a major test to see what impact meditators would have on a society convulsed by open warfare.
As it happens, Baskinta occupies something of a strategic point in central Lebanon. So the unfortunate result was that the people in this small village had been caught up in the continuing battles between opposing leftist and rightist forces for several years.
However, by June 1982, the TM teachers had taught 100 people in the village to meditate. With a population of 10,000, this meant that from that time onward, the village had reached the goal of 1% of the local population meditating. At that point there was an abrupt cessation of attacks on the village.
Research results from the Baskinta peace project in Lebanon
This outbreak of peace, predicted by the researchers from the outset was unique for the region. Furthermore the peace lasted for the rest of the war, (study period 1978 – 84). This peace and calm was in complete contrast to both the village’s previous recent history or the ongoing experience of nearby villages.
The statistics show that after the 1% threshold was reached Baskinta experienced an immediate and complete cessation of hostilities as measured by:
- Incoming shells (p<.005)
- Property damage (p<.005)
- Casualties (p<.005)
As a control the researchers compared the Baskinta improvements with those of nearby villages over a 5 year period. They selected for comparison villages with a similar size and agricultural economic base.
In addition, to help analyse the impact, the researchers adopted an index of conflict. They used the measurement of 25 incoming shells per season for each point on the index. When the results came in they found that:
The conflict index showed a drop for Baskinta from 3.9 to zero.
At the same time, the researchers observed worsening trends in the surrounding control villages. In these other villages there was an increase in the index mean from 1.9 to 4.0 (p<.00001) see chart above.
Incidentally, after the villagers had achieved the 1% effect, Baskinta also experienced other significant improvements. These included improved crop yields, increased social and sporting activities and accelerated municipal development.
Again we must emphasise that these improvements occurred despite the civil war continuing to rage in the rest of the country. Furthermore the violence dissipated without any political activity or diplomatic interaction carried out by the villagers or any one else. In effect, when the village reached 1%, the fighting just stopped spontaneously.
Research title to the Baskinta peace project in the Lebanon
The Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field and reduction of armed conflict: A comparative, longitudinal study of Lebanese villages.
Research authors
Abou Nader TM; Alexander CN; and Davies JL. American University of Beirut, Beirut; Harvard University; and Macquarie University, New South Wales; 1984.
You can read the full research paper in the ‘Collected Papers on Scientific Research on Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation and TM Sidhi programme’ volume 4 paper 331. MERU Press.
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