Land has been purchased for the first of four proposed sites of $3 million, marble-clad, two-story Maharishi Peace Palaces in Allegheny County.
The 7.3-acre Moon property on Beaver Grade Road was purchased by Global Country of World Peace for $595,000 from longtime owner H. Elizabeth Gundelfinger on Dec. 16.
The property, which had been for sale for more than a year, is hilly and heavily wooded. It’s bounded on Beaver Grade Road by a Lutheran Church and apartments.
Ralph Emmerich, a Churchill native who will be co-director of the Pittsburgh Peace Palaces, said the barn and two 84-year-old houses on the property will be torn down as none meets the ideals of Vedic architecture, which are derived from the Sanskrit texts of the Sthapatya Veda, or natural law.
The palaces, among the 3,000 planned to be built in cities around the world, are expected to range in size from 5,000 square feet to 30,000 square feet and offer Maharishi-inspired spas, Vedic Vibration Technology, exhibition halls, classrooms, a wide range of products and Transcendental Meditation.
– Is TM a religion?
The India-born Maharishi introduced TM in 1959. Today, there are an estimated 6 million people worldwide who practice TM.
According to its Web site, the Global Country of World Peace was created “to establish global world peace by unifying all nations, in happiness, prosperity, invincibility and perfect health, while supporting the rich diversity of our world family.”
Mr. Emmerich is currently residing on the property. He said he is searching for nearby office space.
An introductory lecture on TM will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites, 20 S. 10th St., South Side.