BEATLES' GURU MARHARISHI YOGI DIES

MAHARISHI MAHESH YOGI, the Indian guru credited with helping the BEATLES find 'spiritual enlightenment' has died. He was thought to be 91.

Yogi died in his sleep at his home in the Netherlands on Tuesday (05Feb08), after announcing his retirement last month (Jan08) to devote his last days to studying ancient Hindu texts.

Bob Roth, his spokesman, says, "He had been saying he had done what he set out to do,"

The Maharishi - who trained as a physicist in his home country before turning to the teachings of religion - devoted his life to spreading the message of transcendental meditation, which helps the executor of the technique reach a "state of pure consciousness".

He first introduced the technique to the U.S. in 1959, with the Fab Four visiting the spiritualist in India in 1968 to gain enlightenment. However, the band later fell out with the Maharishi.

Transcendental meditation's 20-minute routine came to be widely used in the worlds of education, business and welfare to reduce stress and improve concentration, eventually building a following of five million people.

Since 1990, Yogi had lived in a 200-room mansion in Vlodrop, a Dutch village. He confined himself to only two rooms of the building, speaking to his advisors by video link as concerns over his health grew.