Dear Sir,

I would like to express my opinion on Maharishi Vedic

University (MVU) and its system of education. Your newspaper article dated the

Jan 28 - Feb 10 1994 concerns only the displeasures of the students about the

MVU. It did not carry any of the opinion from the other students who are happy

with the system, therefore, I am writing this letter on behalf of some students

who are for MVU. We want a good, balanced and holistic education, and we are

happy that we are getting lots of it.

Cambodia has been the one and only

country in Southeast Asia where MVU offers its unique system of education. Now,

Cambodia could be the forefront of Maharishi Vedic science and technologies in

the region.

After years of being through the so call "normal" education

system, the MVU system appeared quite strange to me. But as I went along with it

with an open mind, it became evident to me that what it provided was unlike the

system that I was use to in my country. The "normal" system of education only

fed me with superficial knowledge. Usually a student is given information and

he/she has to remember it and pass the exams, and that's it. It only prepared

the students for a career geared primarily to earn a living. It ignored the all

round development of the student by only concentrating on how much information

the student has, not mind expansion.

According to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi,

the founder of MVU, the purpose of education is to culture the mind so as to

accomplish all aims in life. Education in other words should enable a student to

fully develop his/her personality and environment. MVU is an institution which

offers this kind of education.

In MVU subjects are taught in such a way

to bring to the student's awareness the full scopes of life. This will give the

student a deeper sense of existence and a much broader vision of life. This

ideal is actualized through the supplementation of Maharishi Vedic Science and

technologies along with a normal school curriculum.

The practical

approach of Maharishi Vedic Science is with Transcendental Meditation or

popularly known as the TM program. The TM program is a simple and scientific

technique of unfolding the latent faculties in the student's mind. It is

non-sectarian, non-religious and purely scientific.

There are thousands

of research studies that has been carried out on individual and collective

practice of TM in many famous research institutes around the world. These

research papers has been collected and publish by the MIU press, Fairfield,

Iowa, USA.

Students who claim TM is anti-science and anti-technology are

simply being irrational.

I appeal to the students who disliked TM, to

practice it with an open mind. It is analogous to taking bitter medicine.

Whether we like it or not is beside the point. If we want to get better we have

to take it.

Previously the influence of vedic knowledge had brought about a great

transformation in the structural and traditional values of our Khmer people.

Thus, this contributed to the creation of a great civilization in this part of

the world, the Angkor civilization - with all its great temples, water ways,

artistic creations, agricultural achievements, etc.

We the students are

the future leaders. As students we have a responsibility, that is to follow the

path set by our elders and the tradition of masters. This will surely bestow on

us physical, moral, mental and spiritual strength to plunge into the modern

world. MVU's curriculum prepares us to do exactly that. Let's rise together and

fulfill the goals of our ancestors - to create 'Heaven on Earth'.

Finally

I like to express my gratitude to Australian Aid to Cambodian Fund (AACF). The

staff of AACF have had gone through a lot in putting up with bad publicity and

intimidation by some irresponsible students. Their contributions will always be

remembered by the Cambodian people.

- Long Narith,MVU, Prey

Veng