History of Transcendental Meditation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The History of Transcendental Meditation (TM) and the Transcendental Meditation movement originated with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of the organization, and continues beyond his death (2008). In 1955,[1][2][3] the Maharishi began publicly teaching a traditional meditation technique[4] learned from his master Brahmananda Saraswati, which he called Transcendental Deep Meditation,[5] and later renamed Transcendental Meditation.[6]

The Maharishi initiated thousands of people, then developed a TM teacher training program as a way to accelerate the rate of bringing the technique to more people.[7][8] He also inaugurated a series of world tours which promoted Transcendental Meditation.[9] These factors, coupled with endorsements by celebrities who practiced TM, along with scientific research that validated the technique, helped to popularize TM in the 1960s and 1970s. By the late 2000s, TM had been taught to millions of individuals and the Maharishi was overseeing a large multinational movement.[10] Despite organizational changes and the addition of advanced meditative techniques in the 1970s[11] the Transcendental Meditation technique has remained relatively unchanged.

Among the first organizations to promote TM were the Spiritual Regeneration Movement and the International Meditation Society. In present times, the movement has grown to encompass schools and universities that teach the practice,[12] and includes many associated programs offering health and well-being based on the Maharishi's interpretation of the Vedic traditions. In the U.S., major organizations included Students International Meditation Society,[13] AFSCI,[14] World Plan Executive Council, Maharishi Vedic Education Development Corporation, and Global Country of World Peace. The successor to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and head of the Global Country of World Peace, is Tony Nader.[15]

1950s[edit]

In 1955,[1][2][3] Brahmachari Mahesh left Uttarkashi and began publicly teaching what he stated was a traditional meditation technique[4] learned from his master Brahmananda Saraswati, which he called Transcendental Deep Meditation.[5] Later the technique was renamed Transcendental Meditation.[6]

In 1958, Brahmachari Mahesh, now called Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, began a number of worldwide tours promoting and disseminating Transcendental Meditation.[9] The first tour began in Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar). The Maharishi remained in the Far East for about six months teaching his meditation.[7]

In 1959, the Maharishi taught the Transcendental Meditation technique in Hawaii,[7] San Francisco, Los Angeles, London and Germany.[16] He founded the Spiritual Regeneration Movement in Los Angeles, in 1959[16] and established an office there, which was the only place where TM was taught in the USA between 1959 and 1965.[13][17]

1960s[edit]

In 1960, the Maharishi founded the International Meditation Society (IMS) and trained his first TM teacher, Henry Nyburg of England.[7] During the tour Maharishi made Henry Nyburg his personal representative in Europe and gave him the training and authority to teach Transcendental Meditation, thus making him the first European teacher.[8][18]

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

On 13 March 1961, a meeting called "1961 World Congress" was organised for the Maharishi in the Royal Albert Hall by Leon MacLaren of The School of Economic Science and Dr Frances Roles of the Study Society. Two smaller meetings were held at Caxton Hall prior to the main event.The Royal Albert Hall meeting was attended by 5,000 people.[19][20][21][22] The School of Economic Science was instrumental in promoting TM in the UK from the 1960s.[22]

In collaboration with The Study Society and the School of Economic Science, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi established The School of Meditation in London in 1961,[23][24] under the direction of Bill Whiting its purpose was, and remains, to study and teach the principles and practical application of meditation.[21][25][26] Many of the subsequent leaders of The School of Meditation were students of the Maharishi.[23] The School of Meditation is now an independent, self-governing organisation. By 2011, SoM had initiated 15,332 people into the practice of meditation, it has branches in several parts of the UK as well as in Greece and Holland.[27][25]

The Maharishi lectured at Caxton Hall in London and the talk was attended by Leon MacLaren.[13] In the 1950s, he first TM teacher in the U.S. was a who was joined by a male instructor in 1966.[28]

The first international Teacher Training Course (TTC) was held near Rishikesh, India, in 1961, to train teachers of Transcendental Meditation. Over 60 meditators from India, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Britain, Malaya, Norway, the United States, Australia, Greece, Italy and the West Indies attended the course.[29] Teachers continued to be trained as time progressed and by 1978, there were 7,000 TM teachers in the U.S alone.[30][31] The Maharishi appeared on BBC television and gave a lecture to 5,000 people at the Royal Albert Hall in London in 1974.[32]

According to a history written by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, 21 members of the Indian Parliament issued a public statement endorsing TM in 1963.[33] According to the Maharishi, news articles on the technique appeared in Canadian newspapers such as the Daily Colonist, Calgary Herald, and The Albertan.[34]

The Students International Meditation Society (SIMS) began in Germany in 1964,[16] was incorporated in the USA in 1965 and continues to function in some countries.[13][35] Another organization, the American Foundation for the Science of Creative Intelligence (AFSC) taught TM to business people at Connecticut General Life Insurance Co., General Foods, Blue Cross/Blue Shield and AT&T.[14] In 1967, the TM movement "really took off" when the Maharishi became the "spiritual advisor to The Beatles".[36] In 1968, the Maharishi announced that he would stop his "public activities" and instead begin the training of TM teachers at his new global headquarters in Seelisberg, Switzerland.[37]

1970s[edit]

In 1970, the Maharishi held a TM teacher training course at a Victorian hotel located in Poland Springs, Maine with 1,200 participants. Later that year, he held a similar four-week course at Humboldt State College in Arcata, California. About 1,500 people attended and the course was described as a "sort of a crash program to train transcendental teachers".[38] Following tax troubles in India, the Maharishi moved his headquarters to Italy and then to Austria.[39]

Maharishi University in Seelisberg

In 1970, the first scientific study on the Transcendental Meditation technique was published in the journal Science. In the early 1970s, courses on the Science of Creative Intelligence, Maharishi's unified theory of life,[40] were offered at universities such as Stanford University, Yale, the University of Colorado, the University of Wisconsin, and Oregon State University.[12]

In 1972 in Mallorca, Spain, the Maharishi announced his World Plan to establish one Transcendental Meditation teaching center for each million of the world's population.[41]

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the TM movement began to shed its identity as part of the hippie counterculture, making incursions into the US American cultural mainstream. From the mid-1970s, the Maharishi began to target business professionals, adapting his message to promise "increased creativity and flexibility, increased productivity, improved job satisfaction, improved relations with supervisors and co-workers". His TM movement came to be increasingly structured along the lines of a multinational corporation.[42] The Maharishi International University was founded in 1974 in Goleta California.[16]

In 1975, Maharishi European University was found in Lake Lucerne Switzerland.[16] That year TM practitioner Merv Griffin invited the Maharishi to appear on his talk show, thereby aiding Transcendental Meditation in becoming a "full blown craze" during that era (according to Time Magazine) and in eventually becoming a global phenomenon with centers in some 130 countries.[14][43][44][45] In 1975 Transcendental Meditation received favorable testimony in the Congressional Record and was advocated by Major-General Franklin M. Davis Jr. of the US Army.[46] Maharishi appeared on the Merv Griffin Show again in 1977.[47]

In 1975, the Maharishi began teaching advanced mental techniques, called the TM-Sidhi Program, which included a technique for the development of what he termed Yogic Flying.[48] The program was said to create the Maharishi Effect, based on studies which reported that in US cities where 1 percent of the population meditated, the crime rate dropped.[11] As early as 1968, the Maharishi stated that 30 minutes of TM morning and evening by 1 percent of the population would "dispel the clouds of war for thousands of years."[49]

In 1976 the headquarters of the US movement moved to the former Santa Ynez Inn, a block from the ocean in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles[50] and published a seven-hundred-page compilation of Transcendental Meditation research, generated by 51 institutions from 13 countries.[51]

A Gallup Poll conducted in August 1976 said that four percent (4 percent) of those Americans questioned had engaged in TM.[52] This was despite the fact that, according to movement records, only .5 percent of Americans had been initiated.[53] The average number of people learning TM fell from a peak of approximately 40,000 a month in 1975 to approximately 3,000 in November 1977.[54][55][need quotation to verify][56]William Sims Bainbridge wrote that, as of 1977, "Most of the million who had been initiated either ceased meditating or did so informally and irregularly without continuing connections to the TM Movement."[54]

The Maharishi Foundation in the UK purchased the historic Mentmore Towers in 1978 for £240,000 for use as a headquarters and college. The stately home, on 81 acres, was built in 1855 and had 60 bedrooms. A spokesman said that repairs could be done cheaply by students in exchange for meditation classes.[57] It was the headquarters of the Natural Law Party and campus of Maharishi University of Natural Law.[58] By 1997, the movement was seeking a larger facility and placed the home on the market for £10 million.[59] It sold two years later for £3 million.[60] During this period[when?] the Maharishi's personal residence and international headquarters were located in Seelisberg, Switzerland, in a former hotel on the shore of Lake Lucerne.[61]

Mentmore Towers

In 1979, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the 1977 decision of the US District Court of New Jersey stating that a course in Transcendental Meditation and the Science of Creative Intelligence (SCI) was religious activity within the meaning of the Establishment Clause and that the teaching of SCI/TM in the New Jersey public high schools was prohibited by the First Amendment.[62][63]

At that time, according to Humes, the movement directed itself inward, offering additional products and practices to its committed practitioners beyond Transcendental Meditation in order to help them achieve Cosmic Consciousness.[64] According to Bainbridge, the most dedicated movement members were TM teachers whose financial and social status depended on a flow of new students. After the number of new initiations collapsed those teachers lost the promise of success and the movement increasingly emphasized unusual supernatural compensators.[54] During this period, the movement began making increasing claims about the powers of TM and the TM-Sidhi program, including the reduction of crime by the practice of "Yogic flying". According to Nancy Cooke de Herrera, an early teacher of TM and a TM-Sidhi practitioner, Charlie Lutes, former President of the Spiritual Regeneration Movement, saw the introduction of the TM-Sidhi program as a financial ploy to increase income in the wake of declining public interest in TM.[65][66]

In England, the Maharishi Foundation bought Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, Roydon Hall in Maidstone, Swythamley Park in the Peak District and a Georgian rectory in Suffolk,[67] and his[who?] income was reported at six million GBP per year in 2008.[37]

1980s[edit]

In 1984, about 1,200 members of the movement moved into Manila at the invitation of Ferdinand Marcos, the President of the Philippines. They named him the president and founding father of the Unified Field Based Civilization. Marcos praised Maharishi's plan to use the Philippines as the base for "this new kingdom of enlightenment" and, in a public ceremony, rang the "Maharishi bell".[68] Imelda Marcos was given the "crown of consciousness of the royal order of the age of enlightenment".[69] The members rented an entire floor of Manila's finest hotel, along with hundreds of rooms in other hotels. They bought a large but financially troubled university, the University of the East, for $1 million, leading to a boycott by students and attacks on the Maharishi as an imperialist.[70] A government cabinet member reported that the movement members had deposited millions of dollars in Philippine bank accounts and were negotiating to buy several more colleges and universities in the area, plus hotels and other buildings. Posters promoting the benefits of Transcendental Meditation were posted across the city and the members spread out across the city to promote the technique, leading to a response from Catholic Cardinal Jaime Sin. The movement took responsibility for the lack of violence at a large anti-government rally protesting the assassination of Benigno Aquino, but not for violent attacks by the military on rioters, two typhoons, or an eruption of Mount Mayon, which also occurred during their stay.[71] The University of the East was purchased back by its stakeholders, and the movement characterized the entire transaction as a $250,000 loan.[72]

In the 1980s the TM movement's US national offices and the Maharishi International University College of Natural Law were located in Washington D.C. five blocks from the White House.[73] From 1981 to 1987 this was also the location for the organization's "administrative headquarters" for North America as well as a national organization of 6,000 American medical doctors who practiced TM, a private school, a clinic, and a TM meditation center.[73] In 1991, The Washington Post reported that the Maharishi, referring to Washington DC, had advised TM practitioners: "save yourself from the criminal atmosphere". As a result, 20 to 40 TM practitioners put their homes up for sale in an effort to move away from the city.[74] According to the Sunday Times, the movement continued to expand during this period despite accusations of fraud by former practitioners and claims that extraordinary powers could be gained through TM and its advance programs.[37]

TM teachers began teaching meditation in Romania in 1982, Poland in 1985 and in Yugoslavia in 1987.[75]

1990s[edit]

In 1990, a delegation of Transcendental Meditation teachers from Maharishi International University traveled to the former Soviet Union to provide instruction in Transcendental Meditation. The trip, initially scheduled to last ten days, was extended to six months and resulted in the training of 35,000 people in the technique.[76]

In 1990, the Maharishi moved his headquarters to MERU, Holland, a wooded area outside of Vlodrop, Netherlands, near the German border. The 65-acre (260,000 m2) grounds of a former monastery became the capital of his Global Country of World Peace (GCWP).[77]

The late dictator of Romania, Nicolae Ceaușescu, tried to purge all practitioners of Transcendental Meditation from the government.[78]

In 1993, the Maharishi Vedic Education Development Corporation (MVED), a non-profit corporation, was formed to oversee the teaching of Transcendental Meditation and related courses in the United States.[41][79] The terms "Transcendental Meditation" and "TM" are service marks owned by Maharishi Foundation Ltd., a UK non-profit organization[80] and licensed to the MVED.[81][82] In 1993 Maharishi Vedic University awarded an honorary doctorate degree to then newly reelected President Joaquim Chissano. In his acceptance speech, Chissano said he credited TM as being the source of all positive changes in his country.[83] he said the results of inviting the Maharishi to Maputo in 1992 were balance and peace.[84] Maharishi called Chissano "a guiding light for all heads of state".[85]

In 1995, the Maharishi changed the name of Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa to Maharishi University of Management.[86]

Maharishi Centre for Educational Excellence, Bhopal, India.

The Maharishi Vidya Mandir Schools (MVMS), an educational system established in 16 Indian states and affiliated with the New Delhi Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), was founded the same year.[87][88] Maharishi Vidya Mandir Schools has 148 branches in 118 cities with 90,000 to 100,000 students and 5,500 teaching and support staff.[89]

By 1998, the global TM organization had an estimated four million disciples, 1,000 teaching centers and property assets valued at $3.5 billion.[10]

2000s[edit]

Meditation chambers at the former Academy of Meditation in Rishikesh, now owned by the Indian Government.[90][91]

In 2004, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi directed Transcendental Meditation practitioners at the Maharishi village at Skelmersdale, Lancashire in England to beam peace-loving thoughts to the British electorate with the aim of overturning the Labour government. The Maharishi said: "The good effects of transcendental meditation — increased creativity and long life — should not be given to a dangerous country that is constantly busy destroying the world." After Tony Blair's Labour Party won reelection in May 2005, the Maharishi withdrew all instruction in Transcendental Meditation in the UK.[92][93] The ban was lifted about the same time that Tony Blair left office as Prime Minister.[94]

In 2006, The Columbian newspaper reported that according to the TM movement 6 million people had learned the technique worldwide.[95] In 2007 and 2008, the government of Kyrgyzstan announced a crackdown on illegal religious groups operating in the country, including the "Maharishi cult".[96][97]

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi died on 5 February 2008[98] and the leadership of the global Transcendental Meditation movement passed to Maharaja Adhiraj Rajaraam, who is also head of the Global Country of World Peace.[99]

In July 2008, Brahmachari Girish Varma, a nephew of the Maharishi, announced the formation of the Maharishi World Peace Movement in Jabalpur to accomplish the Maharishi's plan for India and to achieve world peace. Varma serves as chairman. The movement's principles include practicing the Maharishi's Vedic Health Rituals, daily practice of yoga, and the construction of Vastu-style homes. Varma also announced the creation of a media news source and portal.[100][101]

The New York Times reported in 2011 that according to the "national Transcendental Meditation program" enrollment had tripled over the last prior three years. The organization attributes the increased enrollment to reduced course fees and recent research studies.[102] The Hindu reported in 2011 that "nearly 10 million practitioners in 50 countries" had learned the technique.[103]

Characterizations[edit]

Public presentation[edit]

Sociologist Roy Wallis wrote about the three stages of the development of TM through 1977, as identified by Eric Woodrum. The "Spiritual-Mystical Period", from 1959 to 1965, identified Transcendental Meditation as the primary component of a holistic approach to spiritual evolution. The "Voguish, Self-Sufficiency Period", from 1966 to 1969, saw a rapid expansion through identification with "aspects of the counter-culture" as the organization simultaneously adapted to its changing image. The "Secularized, Popular Religious Phase", from 1970 through 1977, when the movement identified the "practical physiological, material and social benefits" of TM to mainstream people with virtually no references to non-worldly topics. Wallis writes that according to a former follower, TM had dropped its "distinctly religious rhetoric" over time "except for an inner core of followers" until the late 1970s when TM developed the TM-Sidhi program to develop "occult powers".[104]

According to sociology of religion scholar, Lorne L. Dawason, the change from religious terms in the 1950s to an emphasis on scientific verification in the 1970s was to improve public relations[105] and bring the TM technique into American public schools.[106] In Gurus in America, Cynthia Humes characterizes the TM movement as meandering from "plastic export Hinduism" to a non-devotional meditation method marketed as a "scientific technique" and then back to a "multinational, capitalist, Vedantic Export Religion", zig-zagging back and forth, depending on the receptivity of the target audience.[64]

Origins[edit]

Author Peter Russell states that the Maharishi believed the knowledge of the Vedas had been lost and found many times and its recurrence is outlined in the Bhagavad-Gita and the teachings of Buddha and Shankara.[107] Bromley writes that "TM incorporates the teachings of Krishna, the Buddha, and Shankara" and that the Maharishi says he has "rediscovered a lost form of meditation that traces back to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.[108]

Alternative medicine author Vimal Patel writes that the Maharishi derived TM from Patanjali's Yoga.[109] Chryssides writes that the Maharishi and his teacher, Brahmananda Saraswati, were from the Shankara tradition of Advaita Vedanta and that the TM-Sidhi program is "based on Patanjali's Yoga Sutras".[13]

According to religious scholar and evangelist Kenneth Boa's book, Cults, World Religions and the Occult, the view that the Transcendental Meditation technique is rooted in the "Vedantic Hinduism" is "repeatedly confirmed" by the Maharishi's writings including Science of Being and the Art of Living and his Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita.[110] Boa writes that Maharishi Mahesh Yogi "makes it clear" that Transcendental Meditation was delivered to man about 5,000 years ago by the Hindu god Krishna, then repeatedly lost and restored by Buddha, Adi Shankara and Brahmananda Saraswati.[110] Religious studies author Carl Olson writes that the Maharishi himself "discovered" Transcendental Meditation.[111] According to religious scholar Cynthia Humes, Maharishi said TM "was his own guru's meditation practice" and that he was preserving teachings "enlivened by his master Brahmananda Saraswati" (Guru Dev).[112] Another scholar says that the TM technique was derived from an old Hindu technique.[113] Author Patricia Drake writes that "when Guru Dev was about to die he charged Maharishi with teaching laymen, including the Western World, a simple means to meditate".[114] Author John White says "Guru Dev taught Maharishi both the technique and the philosophy that have resulted in the current phenomenon called transcendental meditation". [sic] [115]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b AP (February 5, 2008). "Beatles guru dies in Netherlands". USA Today.
  2. ^ a b Epstein, Edward (December 29, 1995). "Politics and Transcendental Meditation". San Francisco Chronicle.
  3. ^ a b Morris, Bevan (1992). "Maharishi's Vedic Science and Technology: The Only Means to Create World Peace" (PDF). Journal of Modern Science and Vedic Science. 5 (1–2): 200. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-03.
  4. ^ a b Rooney, Ben (February 6, 2008). "Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, guru to Beatles, dies". The Telegraph. London.
  5. ^ a b Williamson, Lola (2010) NY Press Williamson, Lola, Transcendent in America: Hindu-Inspired Meditation Movements as New Religion ISBN 9780814794500, pp. 97-99
  6. ^ a b Russell, Peter (1977). The T.M. Technique: An Introduction to Transcendental Meditation and the Teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Routledge. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-7100-8539-9.
  7. ^ a b c d Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1986). Thirty Years Around the World, Volume One, 1957-1964. MVU Press. p. 302. ISBN 90-71750-02-7.[need quotation to verify]
  8. ^ a b Russell, p 26
  9. ^ a b Olson, Helena; Olson, Roland (2001). His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi: A Living Saint for the New Millennium : Stories of His First Visit to the USA. Samhita Productions. p. 297. ISBN 978-1-929297-21-4.
  10. ^ a b The Times London, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Feb 7 2008, pg 62
  11. ^ a b Oates, Robert M. (1976). Celebrating the dawn: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and the TM technique. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. p. 226. ISBN 978-0-399-11815-9.
  12. ^ a b Irwin, T. K. (October 8, 1972). "What's New in Science: Transcendental Meditation: Medical Miracle or 'Another Kooky Fad'". Sarasota Herald Tribune Family Weekly. pp. 8–9.
  13. ^ a b c d e Chryssides, George D. (1999). Exploring new religions. London: Cassell. pp. 293–296. ISBN 978-0-8264-5959-6.
  14. ^ a b c "Behavior: THE TM CRAZE: 40 Minutes to Bliss". Time. 1975-10-13. ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the original on January 5, 2013. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
  15. ^ MIZROCH, AMIR (July 23, 2006). "Forget the F-16s, Israel needs more Yogic Flyers to beat Hizbullah. 30-strong TM group, sole guests at Nof Ginnosar Hotel, say they need another 235 colleagues to make the country safe". Jerusalem Post. p. 04. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011.
  16. ^ a b c d e Olson, Carl (2007) Rutgers University Press, The Many Colors of Hinduism page 338-346
  17. ^ Beit-Hallahmi, Benjamin (1997). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Active New Religions, Sects, and Cults. New York Rosen Publishing Group. pp. 357–340. ISBN 978-0-8239-2586-5.
  18. ^ Melton, J. Gordon (1992). Encyclopedic handbook of cults in America. New York: Garland Pub. p. 288. ISBN 978-0-8153-1140-9.
  19. ^ Mason, Paul, 1952- (1994). The Maharishi : the biography of the man who gave transcendental meditation to the world. Shaftesbury, Dorset. ISBN 1-85230-571-1. OCLC 31133549.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ Shaw, William, 1959- (1994). Spying in Guru Land : inside Britain's cults. London: Fourth Estate. ISBN 1-85702-152-5. OCLC 31727713.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ a b Barrett, David V. (2001). The new believers : a survey of sects, cults, and alternative religions. Barrett, David V. London: Cassell. ISBN 0-304-35592-5. OCLC 44933824.
  22. ^ a b Dandi Swami: The Story of the Guru's Will, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the Shankaracharyas of Jyotir Math, & Meetings with Dandi Swami Narayananand Saraswati. Mason, Paul, 1952-. [England]. 2014. ISBN 978-0-9562228-4-8. OCLC 898150908.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  23. ^ a b Ebon, Martin (1968). MAHARISHI, THE GURU: An International Symposium (First ed.). Signet Books. p. 129. ASIN B00005WBYQ.
  24. ^ Chryssides, George D. (1999). Exploring New Religions. Continuum International Publishing. p. 374.
  25. ^ a b Whiting, F. W. (1985). Being oneself : the way of meditation. School of Meditation. London: The School. ISBN 0-9511056-0-4. OCLC 17234389.
  26. ^ Adago, John (2018). East Meets West. Program Publishing. ISBN 978-0-692-12421-5.
  27. ^ Waite, Dennis, 1948- (2010). The book of one : the ancient wisdom of Advaita ([2nd ed.] ed.). Winchester, UK: O Books. ISBN 978-1-84694-347-8. OCLC 573397586.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  28. ^ Humes, Cynthia (2005) State University of New York Press, Gurus In America, page 64
  29. ^ Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1986). Thirty Years Around the World: Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment. Maharishi Vedic University Press. pp. 318–344. ISBN 90-71750-02-7. "Over 60 meditators participated in this first Teacher Training Course, and they came from India, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Malaya, Norway, the US, Australia, Greece, Italy and the West Indies" page 344
  30. ^ Lennon, Troy (February 8, 2008). "Riches of devotion to mystical pondering". The Daily Telegraph. Australia. p. 55.
  31. ^ Melton, J. Gordon, ed. (2003). Encyclopedia of American Religions (7th ed.). Gale. p. 1046. ISBN 978-0-7876-6384-1.
  32. ^ Unknown author,DVD of Maharishi At Royal Albert Hall, MUM Press, retrieved August 31, 2012 "Maharishi at The Royal Albert Hall – DVD, By Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Color, 110 minutes, Recorded in 1974
  33. ^ Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1986) pp. 504–507 "21 members of Parliament, representing each of the Indian states, issued a statement entitled a 'Timely Call to the Leaders of Today and Tomorrow' for the speedy introduction of the system [of TM] in the daily routine of national life." page 504
  34. ^ Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1986) pp. 530–536 "a front page news article in the local Daily Colonist newspaper, which had reported on the Parksville course and quote Maharishi..." page 533
  35. ^ SIMS New Zealand [1] Archived May 24, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  36. ^ van den Berg, Stephanie (February 5, 2008). "Beatles Guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Dies". The Sydney Morning Herald. AFP. Archived from the original on August 29, 2010.
  37. ^ a b c "Maharishi Mahesh Yogi". The Times. London (UK). February 7, 2008.
  38. ^ Sherlock, Pat (July 3, 1970). "The Transcendental Gospel Solution to Life's Problems Says Guru at Poland Springs". Lewiston Evening Journal. Associated Press.
  39. ^ "Maharishi Mahesh Yogi". The Telegraph. London. February 7, 2008. The Maharishi was clearly mortified when the Beatles left his Indian ashram amid allegations that he had seduced a female acolyte (nothing was ever proved, though John Lennon wrote the song Sexy Sadie about him).
  40. ^ DePALMA, ANTHONY (April 29, 1992). "University's Degree Comes With a Heavy Dose of Meditation (and Skepticism)". The New York Times. p. B.8.
  41. ^ a b Hunt, Stephen (2003). Alternative religions : a sociological introduction. Aldershot, Hampshire, England; Burlington, VT: Ashgate. pp. 197–198. ISBN 978-0-7546-3410-2.
  42. ^ Martin Hodgson, The Guardian (5 February 2008) "He [Maharishi] transformed his interpretations of ancient scripture into a multimillion-dollar global empire with more than 5m followers worldwide"
  43. ^ Woo, Elaine (2008-02-06). "Maharishi Mahesh Yogi; founded Transcendental Meditation movement". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
  44. ^ Corder, Mike (2008-01-29). "Maharishi retreats into silence". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
  45. ^ Corder, Mike (2008-02-06). "Beatles guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi dies". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
  46. ^ Phelan, Michael (1979). "Transcendental Meditation. A Revitalization of the American Civil Religion". Archives des sciences sociales des religions. 48 (48–1): 5–20. doi:10.3406/assr.1979.2186.
  47. ^ "The Merv Griffin Show: December 14, 1977" TV.com web site. Retrieved OCt 15, 2012
  48. ^ Shear, J. (Jonathan) (2006). The experience of meditation : experts introduce the major tradition. St. Paul, MN: Paragon House. pp. 23, 30–32, 43–44. ISBN 978-1-55778-857-3.
  49. ^ "The Maharishi in America". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 24, 1968. Editorial page.
  50. ^ GREEN, TERENCE M. (October 10, 1976). "Tranquil Inn Has New Role as Movement Home". Los Angeles Times. p. K1.
    The property was sold in 2003 when its inauspicious orientation was realized.
    Piccalo, Gina (August 2, 2003). "Good vibes; Maharishi Mahesh Yogi plans to promote world harmony from a soon-to-be-built 'palace' in L.A. An affluent area is preferred". Los Angeles Times. p. E.1.
  51. ^ Goldberg, Philip (2010). American Veda—How Indian Spirituality Changed the West. New York: Crown Publishing/Random House. pp. 163–165. ISBN 978-0-385-52134-5.
  52. ^ York, Michael (1995). The emerging network : a sociology of the New Age and neo-pagan movement. Lanham, Md.: Rowman Littlefield. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-8476-8001-6.
  53. ^ Bainbridge & Stark (1980) "Client and Audience: Cults in America". Sociological Analysis v. 41, n. 3, pp 199–214
  54. ^ a b c Bainbridge, William Sims (1997). The sociology of religious movements. New York: Routledge. pp. 82, 188–191. ISBN 0-415-91202-4.
  55. ^ Ryan, Leyland, "Transcendental Meditation hits hard times", The Colombia Missourian (January 8, 1978) p.B3[dead link]
  56. ^ "Behavior: Seer of Flying". Time. 1977-08-08. ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the original on February 13, 2008. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
  57. ^ "Maharishi followers buy Mentmore". The Times. London (UK). November 22, 1997. p. 24.
  58. ^ Coren, Giles (February 14, 1995). "Ready for take-off at Mentmore". The Times. London (UK). p. 1.
  59. ^ YOUNGE, GARY (May 13, 1997). "Yogic flyers hoping for a windfall profit Maharishi Foundation sale of pounds 15m base prompts property agent to declare: 'There are more people with that kind of money than you would think. We are talking seriously rich'". The Guardian. Manchester (UK). p. 5.
  60. ^ MCGHIE, CAROLINE (Dec 19, 1999). "House & Home: The sales of the century Caroline McGhie reveals the greatest property stories of the past 100 years". The Daily Telegraph. London (UK). p. 17.
  61. ^ Tormod Kinnes, MPhil. "The Outstanding Life of Maharishi". oaks.nvg.org.
  62. ^ Doug Linder. "Introduction to the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment". Law.umkc.edu. Archived from the original on 2009-11-22. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
  63. ^ "Malnak v. Yogi, 592 F.2d 197, 203 (3rd Cir., 1979)". Bulk.resource.org. Archived from the original on 2009-09-08. Retrieved 2010-12-05.
  64. ^ a b Humes, Cynthia Ann (2005). Thomas A., Forsthoefel (ed.). Gurus in America. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. pp. 55–80. ISBN 978-0-7914-6573-8.
  65. ^ Williamson, Lola (2010). Transcendent in America: Hindu-Inspired Meditation Movements as New Religion. NYU Press. pp. 96–99. ISBN 978-0-8147-9450-0.
  66. ^ Cooke de Herrera, Nancy (1992). Beyond Gurus: A Woman of Many Worlds. Blue Dolphin. p. 432. ISBN 978-0-931892-49-3.
  67. ^ "The Maharishi Maheshi Yogi". The Telegraph. February 2008.
  68. ^ Spaeth, Anthony (October 30, 1984). "Post Script: Culture Clash: Meditating Mystics Miff Many Manilans". The Wall Street Journal. p. 1.
  69. ^ Secter, Bob (April 16, 1990). "In cornfield country, good vibes by the bushel". Los Angeles Times. p. 5.
  70. ^ Fineman, Mark (October 10, 1984). "MAHARISHI PURCHASE PROTESTED". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. A.3.
  71. ^ Fineman, Mark (October 8, 1984). "MAHARISHI IN MANILA TRIGGERS CONTROVERSY". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. A.1.
  72. ^ "MAHARISHI WON'T RUN UNIVERSITY". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 16, 1984. p. A.16.
  73. ^ a b Author unknown (October 16, 1985) All together Now: Group Meditation, The New York Times, page 24
  74. ^ Naughton, Jim (December 16, 1991). "Head for the Hills, Disciples!; TM's Maharishi Holds Out No Hope for D.C.". The Washington Post. p. a.01.
  75. ^ Gablinger, Tamar (2010). The Religious Melting Point: On Tolerance, Controversial Religions and The State. Germany: Tectum Verlag. p. 90. TM is also one of the new religious movements that has been most successful in Central and Eastern Europe.
  76. ^ "Soviets Learn To Meditate". Omaha World-Herald. 1990-06-01. p. 23.
  77. ^ Koppel, Lily (2006-10-08). "Outer Peace". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
  78. ^ Brinkerhoff, Noel (January 25, 2010). "Loser of Romanian Election Claims He was Defeated by Negative Energy Waves". All Gov. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011.
  79. ^ "Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts". Corp.sec.state.ma.us. Archived from the original on 2013-06-12. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
  80. ^ "Service Mark - Transcendental Meditation". Tess2.uspto.gov. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
  81. ^ "Conditions of Use - Maharishi University of Management". Mum.edu. Archived from the original on August 3, 2010. Retrieved 2009-11-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  82. ^ "Transcendental Meditation". The Columbia Encyclopedia (Sixth ed.). 2008. Retrieved November 15, 2009.
  83. ^ Van Niekerk, Phillip (December 3, 1994). "A transcendent approach to peace MOZAMBIQUE / Both the crime and accident rates are down and the rains have come. The President credits TM as the fount of all good things". The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ont.
  84. ^ Calder, Simon (October 9, 2010) All you need is love, as holiday firms set their sights on Mozambique The Independent (UK)
  85. ^ Johnson, B (July 11, 1993). "Mozambique meditates to peace". Sunday Herald Sun. Melbourne, Australia.
  86. ^ Shankar, Jay (February 6, 2008). "Maharishi Mahesh Yogi". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012.
  87. ^ Sulekha web site
  88. ^ K-12 Education web site the-lower-school Archived 2014-01-14 at the Wayback Machine
  89. ^ "Ekikrat.in web site". Archived from the original on 2010-08-14. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
  90. ^ Kroll, Una (1974) John Knox Press, The Healing Potential of Transcendental Meditation, chapter 1: The Guru, pp 17-25, ISBN 9780804205986
  91. ^ Wax, Emily, "A magical idyll's mystery future: Beatles decaying ashram in India could become a home for street children", The Washington Post (December 19, 2007)
  92. ^ Honigsbaum, Mark (2005-08-15). "All you need is love and peace - but not in destructive Britain, so maharishi pulls out". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
  93. ^ "The Maharishi Maheshi Yogi". The Daily Telegraph. London. 2008-02-06. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
  94. ^ "The mystic who inspired The Beatles: The town that lost its guru". The Independent. London. February 7, 2008. Retrieved 2010-05-26.
  95. ^ Max, Arthur (Feb 19, 2006) Maharishi Mahesh Yogi - Transcendental Meditation founder's grand plan for peace, The Columbian (Vancouver, WA)
  96. ^ "KYRGYZ AUTHORITIES TO CRACK DOWN ON RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS". Daily News Bulletin. (English). Moscow. July 12, 2007. p. 1.
  97. ^ "Kyrgyz official calls for tougher law on religious organizations". BBC Monitoring Central Asia. London. May 2, 2008. Text of report by privately-owned Kyrgyz news agency 24.kg website.
  98. ^ "Obituary: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi". BBC News. February 6, 2008.
  99. ^ Mizroch, Amir (July 23, 2006). "Forget the F-16s, Israel needs more Yogic Flyers to beat Hizbullah. 30-strong TM group, sole guests at Nof Ginnosar Hotel, say they need another 235 colleagues to make the country safe". Jerusalem Post. p. 04. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011.
  100. ^ United News of India (July 17, 2008). "Maharishi World Peace Movement aims to establish world peace". news.webindia123.com. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  101. ^ "Maharishi World Peace Movement". peace-movement.net. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  102. ^ NY Times, "Transcendental Meditation", Irena Aleksander, March 22, 2011, retrieved April 7, 2011
  103. ^ The Hindu. Life & Style/Metroplus: Mind over Matter, Kamala Thiagarajan, June 16, 2011, retrieved Oct 2011
  104. ^ Wallis, Ray, The Elementary Forms of the New Religious Life, Taylor & Francis, 1984 ISBN 978-0-7100-9890-0, p. 90
  105. ^ Dawson, Lorne L. (2003). Cults and New Religious Movements: A Reader (Blackwell Readings in Religion). Blackwell Publishing Professional. pp. 54. ISBN 1-4051-0181-4.
  106. ^ Chryssides, George D.; Margaret Lucy Wilkins (2006). A reader in new religious movements. London: Continuum. p. 7. ISBN 0-8264-6167-0.
  107. ^ Russell, p. 134 "Maharishi believes that since the time of the Vedas this knowledge has been lost and found many times. As far as India is concerned it has recurred principally in the Bhagavad Gita, the teachings of Bhudda and those of Shankara."
  108. ^ Bromley, David G.; Cowan, Douglas E. (2007). Cults and New Religions: A Brief History (Blackwell Brief Histories of Religion). Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 48–71. ISBN 978-1-4051-6128-2. page 54
  109. ^ Patel, Vimal (1998). "Understanding the Integration of Alternative Modalities Into an Emerging Healthcare Model In the United States". In Humber, James M.; Almeder, Robert F. (eds.). Alternative medicine and ethics. Humana Press. pp. 55–56. ISBN 978-0-89603-440-2."Transcendental Meditation (TM) of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi derived from Patanjali's Yoga, is one of the most scientifically investigated techniques, and has been shown to produce states that are different physiologically different from waking dreaming and sleeping."
  110. ^ a b Boa, Kenneth (1990). Cults, world religions, and the occult. Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books. p. 201. ISBN 978-0-89693-823-6.
  111. ^ Olson, Carl (2007) Rutgers University Press, The Many Colors of Hinduism, page 338
  112. ^ Humes, Cynthia (2005) State University of New York Press, Gurus In America, page 57
  113. ^ Lewis, James (2001) Prometheus Books, Odd Gods, 99 230-233
  114. ^ Drake, Patricia Hemingway (1975) David Mckay Company, The Transcendental Meditation Primer, page XVII
  115. ^ White, John (1976) Pocket Books, Everything YOU Wanted to Know about TM, page 13

External links[edit]