Maharishi Yogi brought the Transcendental Meditation movement to the Western world in 1959, with the aim of creating peace and enlightenment and because of the involvement of celebrity pop and film stars the practise of meditation soon became widespread.
By the time the Mahrishi died, Transcendental Meditation had at least five million followers and a multi-million dollar empire had built up around the guru.
Maharishi Yogi announced that he was retreating into silence at his home last month, and he explained that he knew his work was over and he now wanted to spend his time studying the holy scriptures of the Vedas.
Spokesman for Maharishi Yogi, Bob Roth, said that the guru died peacefully in his sleep at around 1900 (1800 GMT), because of "natural causes - his age".
