Disciples of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi held the first International Yogic Flying Competition in Delhi yesterday, the climax of national competitions involving levitators from 38 countries…

They are cool and efficient in lightweight business suits and close haircuts, degrees in business administration, and an intense look in their eyes.

…otherwise sensible young men with their legs locked in the lotus position bounded with their eyes tightly closed along tracks laid out on foam-rubber mattresses. The gait was something like that used by the nearby legless beggars.

Women competitors also flew, but they were behind a giant curtain and were only to be seen by female eyes…

This was merely "hopping" stage one of a three-stage development…

"It is without intention and without physical effort," said Dr Bevan Morris, who is the president of the Maharishi's university in Fairfield, Iowa.

Stage two of Yogic flying comes when the bodies do not merely hop, but rise and hover a few centimetres above the ground.

Directional flight comes in stage three… (1986, July 23)
 

The levitators of whom some had physics and medical degrees believed that by learning to fly they would promote world peace.