Moon site bought for Maharishi Peace Palace

March 20, 2006

Monday, March 20, 2006

By Steve Levin, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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.

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.

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