Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was a direct disciple of Śrī Svāmī Brahmānanda Sarasvatī known for developing and popularizing the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique that drew much celebrity attention in the 1960s and 70s, and for being the leader and guru of a worldwide organization that has spawned numerous for-profit businesses and the Natural Law Party, a transnational political party founded on the principles of TM in 1992.
Among his more prominent disciples today are film director David Lynch, and John Hagelin, president of the Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, and three-time Natural Law Party candidate for U.S. President.