A longtime Maharishi leader who spent more than three decades in Iowa is dead.
Bevan Morris was a prominent figure in Maharishi’s worldwide Transcendental Meditation organization for more than 50 years, beginning his journey as a teacher in 1969 and later becoming the president of Maharishi International University in Fairfield.
Morris died on Thursday, Feb. 26, at the age of 76 in Fairfield. He spent the last few years living at the Transcendental Meditation headquarters in Holland.
Maharishi International University was founded in 1971 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who also introduced Transcendental Meditation. Morris met Yogi four years prior, in 1967, in his native Australia, where he learned about the meditation technique, according to an undated tribute post from the university.
Morris secured a bachelor of arts and a master’s in philosophy from Cambridge University, and a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in creative intelligence from Maharishi European Research University, according to the university’s board of trustees web page.
Morris led the First Annual World Peace Assembly in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1979.
An obituary from the Behner Funeral Home and Crematory in Fairfield said services will be held at the Maharishi International University campus, but no date has been set.
A 50-year career in Maharishi meditation
Morris began teaching Transcendental Meditation soon after meeting Yogi and, in 1980, joined Maharishi International University in Fairfield, formerly known as the Maharishi University of Management. He served as the school’s president for 36 years until 2016, helping to expand the college both academically and structurally, overseeing the installation of the iconic Golden Domes of Pure Knowledge more than 40 years ago.
Maharishi International University started with around 500 students, but currently has roughly 2,500 enrolled.
Some revere Morris as one of the longest-serving university presidents. He also served as chairman of the Maharishi University’s board of directors.
In 2005, Morris was appointed president of the Maharishi World Peace Fund, according to Tony Nader, the current president of Maharishi University, in an email to students, faculty, and staff.
“He worked directly with Maharishi for many years and traveled with Maharishi to locations all over the world,” Nader’s email said. “He visited more than 120 countries, meeting with leaders in education, government, business, and other areas to tell them about Consciousness-Based Education, Maharishi International University, and Maharishi’s programs to create world peace.”
Morris stayed active in Maharishi after stepping down as president.
He took on a role as International President of Maharishi Universities of Management, according to a release from the university.
Morris had served as the Prime Minister of the Global Country of World Peace since 2005, a nonprofit organization founded by Yogi to “create a new era of peace, progress and prosperity in our world family.”
Nader said Morris was known for his “great heart, for the personal care and support he quietly gave to so many people over many years.”
Among his many accolades, Morris was awarded the first doctoral degree in Maharishi Vedic Science.
“He was known for the profound depth of his knowledge of Maharishi Vedic Science and for the eloquence with which he expressed it,” Nader said in his email.
Former Maharishi president battled ‘medical complications’
Morris seemingly “disappeared” in January, according to a post in the Meditating Fairfield, Iowa, Facebook group.
Craig Pearson, the vice president of development of consciousness at Maharishi University, said Morris had been dealing with medical complications and was receiving treatment at the University of Iowa.
“He had been in Fairfield for the last few months, and he passed peacefully on Thursday evening in the company of loving, enlightened friends,” Nader said in his email.
Pearson said Morris’s death was unexpected.
He’d known Morris since he first became president in 1980. He was an advocate for Maharishi with a global presence, and Pearson noted how Morris’s Australian accent had changed through the years and the places he lived.
“He really was a global figure and he brought that global perspective to his leadership of the university,” Pearson said. “He also brought the university to his global work, so it was a great way to get MIU known.”
Many who practice Transcendental Meditation, Pearson said, believe death is not the end, and Maharishi followers would agree that Morris is “in a good place.”
“We honor and celebrate Dr. Morris for his extraordinary lifelong service to Maharishi, for his steadfast leadership of the University, for his countless remarkable achievements, for his colleagueship and friendship, and above all for the example of his life, dedicated to the supreme values of knowledge, service, and enlightenment,” Nader said in his email.
“His memory will continue to inspire us for generations to come.”Kyle Werner is the breaking news and public safety reporter for the Register. Reach him at kwerner@registermedia.com.
This story was updated to correct a misspelling/typo.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Former Maharishi International University president has died
Reporting by Kyle Werner, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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