Maharishi Vedic City

Maharishi Vedic City is located in the most unlikely of locations—the middle of nowhere in Iowa—but that is exactly where it is. With fewer than 300 residents, it is the first city to be incorporated in Iowa since 1982. Although Sanskrit is the town's official language, most people still communicate in English for commercial purposes because Sanskrit courses on Duolingo are currently unavailable.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who introduced transcendental meditation to the West in the 1960s, is credited with creating the town. He and his adherents contend that there exist prehistoric Sanskrit writings from about 2500 years ago that include knowledge about how Indian Rishis in that time had a natural understanding of science, the cosmos, and everything else, including art, music, and even construction. The town is thus intended to be a physical representation of the concepts presented in those works, especially those related to architecture.

The town's development cost tens of millions of dollars, and although while it is not as large as they had hoped, it is nevertheless a remarkable achievement. Food that is not organic is not allowed inside the town limits. They were the first totally organic village in the nation and don't use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. From a 160-acre farm, they sell their organic vegetables locally and to stores like Whole Foods.

According to the teachings of the ancient books, the inhabitants live in peace and harmony with nature, and tourists can engage in activities like yogic flight. Future plans call for completely relying on renewable energy sources including wind and solar electricity and electric vehicles.

• Country: USA