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{{POV|date=May 2025|talk=Reads like promo}}{{Short description|Form of mantra meditation}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2015}}
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[[File:Maharishi Huntsville Jan 1978A.JPG|thumb|upright=0.9|[[Maharishi Mahesh Yogi]], developer of the Transcendental Meditation technique.<ref name="Bromley-Cowan 2015"/>]]
'''Transcendental Meditation''' ('''TM''') is a form of silent [[meditation]] developed by [[Maharishi Mahesh Yogi]]. The TM technique involves the silent repetition of a ''[[mantra]]'' or sound, and is practiced for 15–20 minutes twice per day. It is taught by certified teachers through a standard course of instruction, with a cost which varies by country and individual circumstance. According to the TM organization, it is a non-religious method that promotes relaxed [[awareness]], [[stress relief]], self-development, and [[higher consciousness|higher states of consciousness]]. The technique has been variously described as both religious<ref name="transcendental deception">{{cite book |last1=Siegel |first1=Aryeh |title=Transcendental Deception: Behind the TM Curtain |date=2018 |publisher=Janreg Press |___location=Los Angeles, CA |isbn=978-0-9996615-0-5}}</ref> and non-religious.{{refn|group=nb|[[Sociology|Sociologists]], [[Religious studies|religion scholars]], and a [[New Jersey]] judge and court are among those who have expressed views on it being religious or non-religious.<ref name="Bromley-Cowan 2015"/><ref name="Praeger">{{cite book |author-last=Calo |author-first=Zachary |year=2008 |chapter=Chapter 4: The Internationalization of Church-State Issues |editor1-first=Ann |editor1-last=Duncan |editor2-first=Steven |editor2-last=Jones |title=Church-State Issues in America Today |___location=Westport, Connecticut |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group|Praeger Publishers]] |isbn=978-0-275-99368-9 |page=159 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zzOn09EaETgC }}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="American Bar Association 1978 144">{{cite journal |author-last=Ashman |author-first=Allan |date=January 1978 |title=What's New in the Law |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eDu0e8buVPAC&pg=PA124 |journal=[[American Bar Association Journal]] |___location=Chicago |publisher=[[American Bar Association]] |volume=64 |pages=124–144 |issn=0002-7596}}</ref> The [[United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit]] upheld the federal ruling that TM was essentially "religious in nature" and therefore could not be taught in public schools.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leagle.com/decision/1979789592F2d197_1763/MALNAK%20v.%20YOGI |title=Malnak v. Yogi |date=1979 |website=Leagle |access-date=19 May 2017 }}</ref><ref name="Evans2000">{{cite book|author=Bette Novit Evans|title=Interpreting the Free Exercise of Religion: The Constitution and American Pluralism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7lzMCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA65|date=9 November 2000|publisher=Univ of North Carolina Press|isbn=978-0-8078-6134-9|page=65|quote=Proponents of the program denied that Transcendental Meditation was a religion; the Third Circuit concluded that it was.}}</ref>}}
Maharishi began teaching the technique in India in the mid-1950s.<ref name="Bromley-Cowan 2015">{{cite book |editor1-last=Cowan |editor1-first=Douglas E. |editor2-last=Bromley |editor2-first=David G. |editor2-link=David G. Bromley |year=2015 |orig-date=2007 |chapter=Transcendental Meditation: The Questions of Science and Therapy |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p_xgBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA38 |title=Cults and New Religions: A Brief History |___location=Chichester, West Sussex |publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell]] |edition=2nd |series=Blackwell Brief Histories of Religion |pages=38–58 |isbn=978-1-118-72350-0 |lccn=2015005385}}</ref> Building on the teachings of his master, the [[Advaita Vedanta|Hindu Advaita Vedanta]] monk [[Brahmananda Saraswati]] (known honorifically as Guru Dev), the Maharishi taught thousands of people during a series of world tours from 1958 to 1965, expressing his teachings in spiritual and religious terms.<ref name="Bromley-Cowan 2015"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Dawson |first=Lorne |year=2003 |publisher=[[Blackwell Publishing]] |title=Cults and New Religious Movements |url=https://archive.org/details/cultsnewreligiou00daws |url-access=limited |___location=Hoboken, New Jersey |page=[https://archive.org/details/cultsnewreligiou00daws/page/n61 54]|isbn=978-1-4051-4349-3 }}</ref> TM became more popular in the 1960s and 1970s as the Maharishi shifted to a more secular presentation, and his meditation technique was practiced by celebrities, most prominently members of [[the Beatles]] and [[the Beach Boys]]. At this time, he began training TM teachers. The worldwide TM [[organization]] had grown to include educational programs, health products, and related services. Following the Maharishi's death in 2008, leadership of the TM organization passed to [[neuroscientist]] [[Tony Nader]].
Research on TM began in the 1970s. A 2012 [[meta-analysis]] of the psychological impact of meditation found that Transcendental Meditation had a comparable effect on general wellbeing as other meditation techniques.<ref name="Sed12a"/> A 2017 overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses indicates TM practice may lower blood pressure, an effect comparable with other health interventions. Because of a potential for bias and conflicting findings, more research is needed.<ref name="J. Hum. Hypertens.">{{cite journal |last1=Bai |first1=Z |last2=Chang |first2=J |last3=Chen |first3=C |last4=Li |first4=P |last5=Yang |first5=K |last6=Chi |first6=I |date=February 2015 |title=Investigating the effect of transcendental meditation on blood pressure: a systematic review and meta-analysis |journal=[[Journal of Human Hypertension]] |publisher=[[Nature Publishing Group]] |volume=29 |issue=11 |pages=653–662 |doi=10.1038/jhh.2015.6 |issn=1476-5527 |pmid=25673114 |s2cid=22261}}</ref><ref name="Complement. Ther. Med.">{{cite journal |last1=Ooi |first1=Soo Liang |last2=Giovino |first2=Melisa |last3=Pak |first3=Sok Chean |date=October 2017 |title=Transcendental meditation for lowering blood pressure: An overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses |journal=[[Complementary Therapies in Medicine]] |publisher=[[Elsevier]] |volume=34 |pages=26–34 |doi=10.1016/j.ctim.2017.07.008 |issn=1873-6963 |pmid=28917372 |s2cid=4963470}}</ref>
==History==
{{Main|History of Transcendental Meditation}}
The Transcendental Meditation program and the Transcendental Meditation movement originated with their founder [[Maharishi Mahesh Yogi]] and continued beyond his death in 2008.<ref name="Bromley-Cowan 2015"/> In 1955,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-02-05-maharishi-obit_N.htm|title=Beatles guru dies in Netherlands|work=USA Today|author=AP|date=5 February 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/PAGE-ONE-Politics-and-Transcendental-Meditation-3016926.php |last=Epstein|first=Edward|title=Politics and Transcendental Meditation|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=29 December 1995}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.mum.edu/pdf_msvs/v05/morris.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527120152/http://www.mum.edu/pdf_msvs/v05/morris.pdf |archive-date=2010-05-27 |url-status=live |last=Morris|first=Bevan |title=Maharishi's Vedic Science and Technology: The Only Means to Create World Peace|journal=Journal of Modern Science and Vedic Science|volume=5|year=1992|page=200|issue=1–2}}</ref> "the Maharishi began publicly teaching a traditional meditation technique"<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1577866/Maharishi-Mahesh-Yogi-guru-to-Beatles-dies.html|last= Rooney|first=Ben|title=Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, guru to Beatles, dies |work=The Telegraph|date=6 February 2008 | ___location=London}}</ref> learned from his master [[Brahmananda Saraswati]] that he called Transcendental Deep Meditation<ref name="Williamson 2010">{{cite book |last=Williamson |first=Lola |year=2010 |publisher=NYU Press |___location=New York |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OxD1SYaelLAC&q=Kriya |title=Transcendent in America: Hindu-Inspired Meditation Movements as New Religion |isbn=978-0-8147-9450-0 |pages=97–99}}</ref> and later renamed Transcendental Meditation.<ref name="Russell">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TZ89AAAAIAAJ&q=maharishi+%22transcendental+deep+meditation%22|last= Russell|first=Peter|title=The TM Technique: An Introduction to Transcendental Meditation and the Teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi|publisher=Routledge |___location=London |year=1977|isbn=978-0-7100-8539-9|pages=25–26}}</ref>
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.<ref name=Russell/><ref name=Needleman>{{Cite book | edition = 1st | publisher = Doubleday | last = Needleman | first = Jacob | title = The New Religions| url = https://archive.org/details/newreligions0000unse | url-access = limited | ___location = Garden City N.Y. | year = 1970|chapter=Transcendental Meditation|page=[https://archive.org/details/newreligions0000unse/page/144 144]}}</ref> He also inaugurated a series of tours that started in India in 1955 and went international in 1958 which promoted Transcendental Meditation.<ref name= "History-of-transcendental-meditation">{{cite book | url=https://www.businessinsider.com/history-of-transcendental-meditation-2016-11 | title=History of transcendental meditation | publisher=Insider | author=Richard Feloni | year=2016 }}</ref><ref name="Philosophers">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=25yC2ePhbXEC&q=Maharishi+World+Tours&pg=PA120 | title=Philosophers and religious leaders | publisher=The Orynx Press |author1=Christian D. Von Dehsen |author2=Scott L. Harris | year=1999 | page=120| isbn=978-1-57356-152-5 }}</ref> These factors, coupled with endorsements by celebrities who practiced TM and claims that scientific research had validated the technique, helped to popularize TM in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1984, the phrase "Transcendental Mediation" was trademarked by the Maharishi Foundation, LTD.<ref>{{Cite web |title=TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION Trademark of MAHARISHI FOUNDATION, LTD. - Registration Number 1082923 - Serial Number 73096512 :: Justia Trademarks |url=http://trademarks.justia.com/730/96/transcendental-73096512.html |access-date=2025-06-26 |website=trademarks.justia.com |language=en}}</ref> By the late 2000s, TM had been taught to millions of individuals and the Maharishi was overseeing a large multinational movement.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The Times (London) |title=Maharishi Mahesh Yogi |date=7 February 2008 |page=62}}</ref> Despite organizational changes and the addition of advanced meditative techniques in the 1970s,<ref>{{cite book|last=Oates |first=Robert M. |title=Celebrating the Dawn: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and the TM technique|page=226|___location=New York|publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons|isbn=978-0-399-11815-9|year=1976}}</ref> 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 modern times, the movement has grown to encompass schools and universities that teach the practice,<ref>{{cite news|first=T. K. |last=Irwin|title=What's New in Science: Transcendental Meditation: Medical Miracle or 'Another Kooky Fad'|work=Sarasota Herald Tribune Family Weekly|date=8 October 1972|pages=8–9}}</ref> and includes many associated programs based on the Maharishi's interpretation of the [[Vedic]] traditions. In the U.S., non-profit organizations included the [[Students International Meditation Society]],<ref name="Chryssides">{{Cite book | last1 = Chryssides | first1 = George D. | title = Exploring New Religions | year = 1999 | publisher = Cassell | ___location = London | isbn = 978-0-8264-5959-6 | pages = 293–296| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jxIxPBpGMwgC&pg=PA293 }}</ref> AFSCI,<ref name="Craze">{{Cite magazine| issn =0040-781X| title = Behavior: The TM Craze: 40 Minutes to Bliss| magazine = Time| access-date = 15 November 2009 | date = 13 October 1975 | url = http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,947229,00.html| archive-url = https://archive.today/20130105182424/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,947229,00.html| archive-date = 5 January 2013}}</ref> [[World Plan Executive Council]], [[Maharishi Vedic Education Development Corporation]], [[Global Country of World Peace]], Transcendental Meditation for Women, and [[Maharishi Foundation]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/07/15/5022454/australian-food-store-offers-transcendental.html | title=Australian Food Store Offers Transcendental Meditation to Employees | publisher=The Herald (South Carolina, USA) | date=15 July 2013 | access-date=3 August 2013 | author=Press Release by Maharishi Foundation | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130803192934/http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/07/15/5022454/australian-food-store-offers-transcendental.html | archive-date=3 August 2013 }}</ref> The successor to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and leader of the Global Country of World Peace, is [[Tony Nader]].<ref>{{cite news|title=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|first=Amir|last=Mizroch|work=Jerusalem Post|date=23 July 2006|page=4}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Maharishi's ashes immersed in Sangam|work=The Hindustan Times|___location= New Delhi|date=12 February 2008|agency=Indo-Asian News Service}}</ref>
==Technique==
{{Main|Transcendental Meditation technique}}
The meditation practice involves the use of a silently-used [[mantra]] for 15–20 minutes twice per day while sitting with the eyes closed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tm.org/meditation-techniques |title=The Transcendental Meditation Program |publisher=Tm.org |access-date=17 February 2013}}</ref><ref name="Epi06">{{Cite journal|last1=Lansky |first1=Ephraim |last2=St Louis |first2=Erik |title=Transcendental meditation: a double-edged sword in epilepsy? |journal=Epilepsy & Behavior |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=394–400 |date=November 2006 |pmid=16931164 |doi=10.1016/j.yebeh.2006.04.019 |s2cid=31764098 }}</ref> It is reported to be one of the most widely practiced,<ref name="google138">{{Cite book| last1 = Cotton | first1 = Dorothy H. G. | title = Stress management: An integrated approach to therapy | year = 1990 | publisher = Brunner/Mazel | ___location = New York | isbn = 0-87630-557-5 | page = 138|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oLsECokSFHwC}}</ref><ref name="Total Heart Health">{{cite book |last1=Schneider |first1=Robert |last2=Fields |first2=Jeremy |year=2006 |publisher=Basic Health Publications |___location=Laguna Beach, CA |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EWXz0Y9maukC&q=transcendental+meditation+seven+steps&pg=PA148 |title=Total Heart Health: How to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease with the Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health |pages=148–149 |isbn=1-4587-9924-7}}</ref> and among the most widely researched, meditation techniques,<ref name="Murphy">{{cite book|title=The Physical and Psychological Effects of Meditation: A review of Contemporary Research with a Comprehensive Bibliography 1931–1996|last1=Murphy|first1=M|last2=Donovan|first2=S|last3=Taylor|first3=E|publisher=Institute of Noetic Sciences|year=1997|___location=Sausalito, California}}</ref><ref name="The Relaxation Response">{{Cite book|last1=Benson|first1=Herbert|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TJDGTP9Sa5UC&q=transcendental%20meditation&pg=PA61|title=The Relaxation Response|last2=Klipper|first2=Miriam Z.|publisher=Quill|year=2001|isbn=978-0-380-81595-1|___location=New York, NY|page=61}}</ref><ref name="Sinatra">{{Cite book|last1=Sinatra|first1=Stephen T.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4TfJqNA8sOIC&q=transcendental+meditation&pg=PA192|title=Reverse Heart Disease Now: Stop Deadly Cardiovascular Plaque Before It's Too Late|last2=Roberts|first2=James C.|last3=Zucker|first3=Martin|date=20 December 2007|publisher=Wiley|isbn=978-0-470-22878-4|page=192}}</ref><ref name="Bushell">{{cite journal |first=William |last=Bushell |title=Longevity Potential Life Span and Health Span Enhancement through Practice of the Basic Yoga Meditation Regimen |journal=Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences |volume=1172 |pages=20–7 | year=2009 | quote=Transcendental Meditation (TM), a concentrative technique ... has been the most extensively studied meditation technique. | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=TMJRynOxsisC&q=Transendental+Meditation&pg=PA20 |isbn=978-1-57331-677-4 |doi=10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04538.x | pmid=19735236|s2cid=222086314 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> with hundreds of published research studies.<ref>{{Cite journal|vauthors=Ospina MB, Bond K, Karkhaneh M |title=Meditation practices for health: state of the research |journal=Evid Rep Technol Assess (Full Rep) |issue=155 |page=62|date=June 2007 |pmid=17764203|display-authors=etal |pmc=4780968}}</ref><ref name="Rosenthal 2011 14">{{cite book |first=Norman |last=Rosenthal |title=Transcendence: Healing and Transformation through Transcendental Meditation |publisher=Tarcher/Penguin |year=2011 |page=14 |___location=New York |isbn=978-1-58542-873-1 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ssJ6jU0YeNEC&q=340&pg=PT12 | quote = By my latest count, there have been 340 per-reviewed articles published on TM, many of which have appeared in highly respected journals.}}</ref><ref name="Freeman2009">{{cite book |first=Lyn |last=Freeman |title=Mosby's Complementary & Alternative Medicine: A Research-Based Approach |publisher=Mosby Elsevier |year=2009 |page=176|isbn= 978-0-323-05346-4}}</ref> The technique is made available worldwide by certified TM teachers in a seven-step course,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tm.org/learn-tm |title=How To Learn |publisher=Tm.org |access-date=17 February 2013}}</ref> and fees vary from country to country.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tm.org/tuition |title=TM Course Fee |publisher=TM.org |access-date=30 May 2012 |archive-date=23 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523183618/http://www.tm.org/tuition }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.t-m.org.uk/learning.shtml |title=Transcendental Meditation Fees and Course Details |publisher=Transcendental Meditation: Official website for the UK |access-date=31 January 2013 |archive-date=10 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010161859/http://www.t-m.org.uk/learning.shtml }}</ref> Beginning in 1965, the Transcendental Meditation technique has been incorporated into selected schools, universities, corporations, and prison programs in the US, Latin America, Europe, and India. In 1977, a US district court ruled that a curriculum in TM and the Science of Creative Intelligence (SCI) being taught in some New Jersey schools was religious in nature and in violation of the [[First Amendment]] of the United States Constitution.<ref name="Praeger"/><ref>{{cite journal|last=American Bar Association|title=Constitutional Law ... Separating Church and State|journal=ABA Journal|date=Jan 1978|volume=64|page=144|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eDu0e8buVPAC&q=Transcendental+Meditation+was+held+to+be+a+religion+in+a+New+Jersey+court+case&pg=PA124}}</ref> The technique has since been included in a number of educational and social programs around the world.<ref name="Humes page 69">{{Cite book|last=Humes|first=C.A.|year=2005|chapter=Maharishi Mahesh Yogi: Beyond the T.M. Technique|title=Gurus in America|editor1-first=Thomas A. |editor1-last=Forsthoefel |editor2-first=Cynthia Ann |editor2-last=Humes|publisher=SUNY Press|page=69|isbn=0-7914-6573-X |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ugSb7mArJlYC |quote=This lawsuit was the most significant setback for TM in the United States ... Since then TM has made a comeback of sorts with some governmental sponsorship}}</ref>
The Transcendental Meditation technique has been described as both religious and non-religious, as an aspect of a new religious movement, as rooted in Hinduism,<ref name="Bainbridge">{{Cite book|last1 = Bainbridge | first1 = William Sims | title = The Sociology of Religious Movements | year = 1997 | publisher = Routledge | ___location = New York | isbn = 0-415-91202-4 | page = 188|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eCKbw8QuhEkC&q=tm }}</ref><ref name="Aghiorgoussis 21, 34">{{Cite journal|title=The challenge of metaphysical experiences outside Orthodoxy and the Orthodox response|first=Maximos|last=Aghiorgoussis|journal=Greek Orthodox Theological Review|___location=Brookline|date=Spring 1999|volume=44|issue=1–4|pages=21, 34}}</ref> and as a non-religious practice for self-development.<ref name="Chryssides 2001 301–303">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vyX1sL8-0gMC&pg=PA292 |last=Chryssides|first= George D.|title=Exploring New Religions|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|year=2001|isbn=978-0-8264-5959-6|pages=301–303}}"Although one can identify the Maharishi's philosophical tradition, its teachings are in no way binding on TM practitioners. There is no public worship, no code of ethics, no scriptures to be studied, and no rites of passage that are observed, such as dietary laws, giving to the poor, or pilgrimages. In particular, there is no real TM community: practitioners do not characteristically meet together for public worship, but simply recite the mantra, as they have been taught it, not as religious obligation, but simply as a technique to benefit themselves, their surroundings and the wider world."</ref><ref>{{Cite book| last = Partridge | first = Christopher | year = 200 | title = New Religions: A Guide To New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities | publisher = Oxford University Press | quote = It is understood in terms of the reduction of stress and the charging of one's mental and physical batteries.| ___location = New York| page = 184}}</ref><ref name="Rosenthal 2011 4">{{cite book|title=Transcendence: Healing and Transformation Through Transcendental Meditation|author-link=Norman E. Rosenthal|first=Norman E.|last=Rosenthal|publisher=Tarcher Penguin|year=2011|isbn=978-1-58542-873-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/transcendencehea00mdno/page/n18 4]|title-link=Transcendence: Healing and Transformation Through Transcendental Meditation}}</ref>
The public presentation of the TM technique over its 50-year history has been praised for its high visibility in the mass media and effective global propagation, and criticized for using celebrity and scientific endorsements as a marketing tool. Also, advanced courses supplement the TM technique and include an advanced meditation program called the [[TM-Sidhi]] program,<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Shear|editor-first=Jonathan|title=Experience of Meditation: Experts Introduce the Major Traditions|publisher=Paragon House|___location=St Paul, MN|year=2006|isbn=978-1-55778-857-3}}</ref> the unveiling of which created media controversy and a time of crisis for the movement's image.<ref name="Thursby">{{citation |last = Thursby |first = Gene |chapter = Hare Krishna In America: Growth, Decline, and Accommodation |title = America's Alternative Religions |place = Albany |publisher = [[State University of New York Press]] |pages = 193–195 |isbn = 978-0-7914-2398-1 |year = 1995 |url = https://archive.org/details/americasalternat00mill }}</ref> In 2014, a meta-analysis of research found insufficient evidence that meditation such as TM "had an effect on any of the psychological stress and well-being outcomes".<ref name=Rohrlich>{{cite web | url =https://www.thedailybeast.com/ivanka-trumps-gurus-say-their-techniques-can-end-war-and-make-you-fly | title =Ivanka Trump's Gurus Say Their Techniques Can End War and Make You Fly | last = Rohrlich| first = Justin| date = October 14, 2018| website = thedailybeast.com| publisher = The Daily Beast Company LLC| access-date = May 21, 2024| quote = TM has its own set of scientists, viewed with skepticism by the mainstream scientific community.}}</ref>
==Movement==
{{Main|Transcendental Meditation movement}}
The Transcendental Meditation movement consists of the programs and organizations connected with the Transcendental Meditation technique and founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Transcendental Meditation was first taught in the 1950s in India and has continued since the Maharishi's death in 2008. The organization was estimated to have 900,000 participants worldwide in 1977,<ref name="Stark 1986 page 287">{{cite book|last1=Stark|first1=Rodney|last2=Bainbridge|first2=William, Sims| title=The Future Of Religion|year=1986|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-05731-9|pages=287}} "Time magazine in 1975 estimated that the U.S. total had risen to 600,000 augmented by half that number elsewhere" =[900,000 worldwide] "Annual Growth in TM Initiations in the U.S. [chart] Cumulative total at the End of Each Year: 1977, 919,300"</ref> a million by the 1980s,<ref name="Petersen, William J. 1982 p 123">{{cite book|last=Peterson|first=William|title=Those Curious New Cults in the 80s|year=1982|publisher=Keats Publishing|___location=New Canaan, Connecticut|isbn=978-0-87983-317-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/thosecuriousnewc0000pete/page/123 123]|url=https://archive.org/details/thosecuriousnewc0000pete/page/123}} claims "more than a million" in the USA and Europe.</ref><ref name="Occhiogrosso, Peter 1996 p 66">Occhiogrosso, Peter. ''The Joy of Sects: A Spirited Guide to the World's Religious Traditions.'' New York: Doubleday (1996); p 66, citing "close to a million" in the USA.</ref><ref name="Bainbridge, William Sims 1997 page 189">Bainbridge, William Sims (1997) Routledge, ''The Sociology of Religious Movements'', page 189 "the million people [Americans] who had been initiated"</ref> and five million by the time of Maharishi's death in 2008.<ref>Stephanie van den Berg, ''Sydney Morning Herald'', "Beatles guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi dies", (7 February 2008) "the TM movement, which has some five million followers worldwide"</ref><ref>Meditation a magic bullet for high blood pressure – study, ''Sunday Tribune'' (South Africa), (27 January 2008) "More than five million people have learned the technique worldwide, including 60,000 in South Africa."</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Bank makes an issue of mystic's mint|last=Bickerton|first=Ian|work=Financial Times|___location=London (UK)|date=8 February 2003|page=09}} the movement claims to have five million followers,</ref><ref name="Maharishi Mahesh Yogi 1955">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/06/world/asia/06maharishi-1.html | title=Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Spiritual Leader Dies | work=[[The New York Times]] | last=Koppel | first=Lily | quote=Since the technique's inception in 1955, the organization says, it has been used to train more than 40,000 teachers, taught more than five million people | date=6 February 2008 | access-date=2025-06-13 }}</ref>
Programs include the Transcendental Meditation technique, an advanced meditation practice called the TM-Sidhi program ("Yogic Flying"), an alternative health care program called [[Maharishi Ayurveda]],<ref name="Sharma 1998 loc=Preface">{{harvnb|Sharma|Clark|1998|loc=Preface}}</ref> and a system of building and architecture called Maharishi Sthapatya Ved.<ref name="Argus">{{Cite web|url=http://download.tmnews.org/2005_08_05_RockIsArgus_ltr.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326064802/http://download.tmnews.org/2005_08_05_RockIsArgus_ltr.pdf |archive-date=2010-03-26 |url-status=live|title=Welvaert, Brandy, "Vedic homes seek better living through architecture", ''Rock Island Argus'', (5 August 2005)}}</ref><ref name="Spivack">{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|title=Bricks Mortar and Serenity|first=Miranda|last=Spivack|date=12 September 2008|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/11/AR2008121103497.html}}</ref> The TM movement's past and present media endeavors include a publishing company (MUM Press), a television station ([[KSCI]]), a radio station ([[KHOE]]), and a satellite television channel (Maharishi Channel). During its 50-year history, its products and services have been offered through a variety of organizations, which are primarily nonprofit and educational. These include the Spiritual Regeneration Movement, the International Meditation Society, World Plan Executive Council, Maharishi Vedic Education Development Corporation, Transcendental Meditation for Women, the [[Global Country of World Peace]], and the [[David Lynch Foundation]].
The TM movement also operates a worldwide network of Transcendental Meditation teaching centers, schools, universities, health centers, herbal supplements, solar panel, and home financing companies, plus several TM-centered communities. The global organization is reported to have an estimated net worth of [[USD]] 3.5 billion.<ref name="Times0882">{{cite news|date=7 February 2008|title=Maharishi Mahesh Yogi|work=The Times|___location=London (UK)|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article3320882.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524223404/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article3320882.ece|archive-date=24 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Maharishi Mahesh Yogi |encyclopedia=Britannica Concise Encyclopedia |url=http://www.answers.com/topic/maharishi-mahesh-yogi}}</ref> The TM movement has been characterized in a variety of ways and has been called a spiritual movement, a [[new religious movement]],<ref name="books.google.com">For ''new religious movement'' see:
<br />{{cite book|last=Beckford|first=James A.|title=Cult controversies: the societal response to new religious movements|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0pc9AAAAIAAJ|year=1985|publisher=Tavistock Publications|isbn=978-0-422-79630-9|page=23}}
<br />{{cite book|last=Parsons|first=Gerald|title=The Growth of Religious Diversity: Traditions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tlKkZoNPi0oC&pg=PA288|year=1994|publisher=The Open University/Methuen|isbn=978-0-415-08326-3|page=288}}
<br />For ''neo-Hindu'', see:
<br />{{cite book|last=Alper|first=Harvey P.|title=Understanding mantras|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V8Upy4ApG_oC&pg=PA442|date=December 1991|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-0746-4|page=442}}
<br />{{cite book|last1=Raj|first1=Selva J.|author2=William P. Harman|title=Dealing With Deities: The Ritual Vow in South Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ov2oltTLinkC&pg=PA129|year=2007|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-6708-4|page=129}}</ref><ref name="TM and cult mania">{{Cite book | last1 = Persinger | first1 = Michael A. | last2 = Carrey | first2 = Normand J. | last3 = Suess | first3 = Lynn A. | title = TM and cult mania | year = 1980 | publisher = Christopher Pub. House | ___location = North Quincy, Mass. | isbn = 0-8158-0392-3 }}</ref> a millenarian movement, a world affirming movement,<ref name="Dawson">Dawson, Lorne L. (2003) Blackwell Publishing, Cults and New Religious Movements, Chapter 3: Three Types of New Religious Movement by Roy Wallis (1984), page 44-48</ref> a new social movement,<ref name=Blatter>Christian Blatter, Donald McCown, Diane Reibel, Marc S. Micozzi, (2010) Springer Science+Business Media, Teaching Mindfulness, Page 47</ref> a guru-centered movement,<ref name="Olson, Carl 2007 page 345">Olson, Carl (2007) Rutgers University Press, The Many Colors of Hinduism, page 345</ref> a personal growth movement,<ref name="Shakespeare">{{cite news|last=Shakespeare|first=Tom|title=A Point of View|work=BBC News|date=24 May 2014|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-27554640|access-date=31 May 2014}}</ref> a religion, and a [[cult]].<ref name="TM and cult mania" /><ref name="Market85">{{cite book |author=Stark, Rodney |author2=Bainbridge, William Sims |title=The future of religion: secularization, revival, and cult formation |publisher=University of California Press |___location=Berkeley, Calif |year=1985 |isbn=0-520-05731-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lTzPyvT2yusC&q=public+relations+Transcendental+meditation&pg=PA285}}</ref><ref name="Sagan, Carl 1997 16">{{cite book |author=Sagan, Carl |title=The demon-haunted world: science as a candle in the dark |publisher=Ballantine Books |___location=New York |year=1997 |page=16 |isbn=0-345-40946-9 }}</ref><ref name="Szimhart">{{cite journal |last1=Szimhart |first1=Joseph |title=A look into the Transcendental Deception |journal=Skeptical Inquirer |date=2019 |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=61–63}}</ref> Additional sources contend that TM and its movement are not a cult.<ref name=Harrison>Harrison, Shirley (1990). Cults: The Battle for God. Kent: Christopher Helm. pp. 93–103 "none of the other 'cultic qualities' defined by cult watchers can be fairly attributed to TM."</ref><ref name="heraldscotland.com">Rowson, Jonathan (23 April 2007) [http://www.heraldscotland.com/meditation-for-old-hippies-or-a-better-way-of-life-1.839896 Meditation: for old hippies or a better way of life?] Sunday Herald (Scotland) " the TM movement is not a cult", accessed 2 Feb 2013</ref><ref name="Hannaford, Alex 2010">Hannaford, Alex (27 December 2010). "Mantra with a mission; Feature Om or ominous? The maverick film director David Lynch wants to bring Transcendental Meditation to our classrooms, and believes in 'yogic flying'. Can he get it off the ground?". The Sunday Times (London).</ref><ref name="Lyster, Samantha 2000">Lyster, Samantha (21 October 2000) Samantha Lyster finds herself in holistic heaven with new-found happiness and tranquillity after learning the art of transcendental meditation, The Birmingham Post (England), "TM is not a religion, a cult or a philosophy"</ref> Participants in TM programs are not required to adopt a belief system; it is practiced by atheists, agnostics and people from a variety of religious affiliations.<ref name="Liebler 2009">Liebler, Nancy and Moss, Nancy (2009) Healing Depression the Mind-Body Way: Creating Happiness with Meditation ["the TM technique does not require adherence to any belief system—there is no dogma or philosophy attached to it, and it does not demand any lifestyle changes other than the practice of it."] [https://books.google.com/books?id=Ac0g-v6gpjkC&q=Transcendental+Meditation] accessed 25 May 2013</ref><ref name="theguardian.com">"Its proponents say it is not a religion or a philosophy."The Guardian 28 March 2009 [https://www.theguardian.com/education/2009/mar/29/schools-pupils-meditation-courses]</ref><ref name="concordmonitor.com">"It's used in prisons, large corporations and schools, and it is not considered a religion." [http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090331/NEWS01/903310312/0/FRONTPAGE] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303195556/http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20090331%2FNEWS01%2F903310312%2F0%2FFRONTPAGE|date=3 March 2016}} Concord Monitor</ref>
The organization has been the subject of controversies that includes being labelled a [[cult]] by several parliamentary inquiries or [[anti-cult movement]]s in the world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/rap-enq/r2468.asp|title=Commission d'enquête sur les sectes – Assemblée nationale|website=www.assemblee-nationale.fr|access-date=2019-03-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ariplex.com/ama/amasenat.htm|title=Die Deutsche Amalgam-Page, SEKTEN – Risiken und Nebenwirkungen|website=www.ariplex.com|access-date=2019-03-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1987/07/02/group-claims-tm-movement-is-a-cult/f3ace676-19b6-4968-a712-1be95fa1b428/?noredirect=on|title=GROUP CLAIMS TM MOVEMENT IS A CULT|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref name="TM and cult mania" /><ref name="Market85"/><ref name="Sagan, Carl 1997 16"/>
Some notable figures in pop-culture practicing TM include [[the Beatles]], [[the Beach Boys]], [[Kendall Jenner]], [[Hugh Jackman]], [[Tom Hanks]], [[Jennifer Lopez]], [[Mick Jagger]], [[Eva Mendes|Eva Mendez]], [[Moby]], [[David Lynch]], [[Jennifer Aniston]], [[Nicole Kidman]], [[Eric André]], [[Jerry Seinfeld]], [[Howard Stern]], [[Julia Fox]], [[Clint Eastwood]], [[Martin Scorsese]], [[Russell Brand]], [[Nick Cave]] and [[Oprah Winfrey]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Celebrity Meditators - Celebrities|url=https://uk.tm.org/blog-celebrities/-/asset_publisher/PEXz6kDD8Gc5/blog/celebrity-meditators|access-date=2021-05-10|website=uk.tm.org}}<br />{{Citation|title=Eric Andre Goes Undercover on Reddit, YouTube and Twitter {{!}} GQ| date=6 April 2021 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e739fBD1Zsw| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/e739fBD1Zsw| archive-date=2021-10-30|language=en|access-date=2021-05-10}}{{cbignore}}<br />{{Citation|title=Bob Roth Interviews Jerry Seinfeld on "Success Without Stress"| date=5 November 2014 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeRdy6LrOAI| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/IeRdy6LrOAI| archive-date=2021-10-30|language=en|access-date=2021-05-10}}{{cbignore}}<br />{{Citation|title=Clint Eastwood on the benefits the Transcendental Meditation technique has had on his life| date=12 July 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utmo3k-mMm8| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/utmo3k-mMm8| archive-date=2021-10-30|language=en|access-date=2021-05-10}}{{cbignore}}<br />{{Citation|title=Martin Scorsese & Ray Dalio on Creativity, TM & Success {{!}} Highlights {{!}} David Lynch Foundation| date=16 January 2015 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-kJvsQh8Ak| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/5-kJvsQh8Ak| archive-date=2021-10-30|language=en|access-date=2021-05-10}}{{cbignore}}<br />{{Citation|title=Russell Brand talks about Transcendental Meditation at Operation Warrior Wellness launch| date=3 March 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTG4UcxR_8M| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/zTG4UcxR_8M| archive-date=2021-10-30|language=en|access-date=2021-05-10}}{{cbignore}}<br />{{Cite web|last=Stieg|first=Cory|date=2020-01-07|title=Oprah, Ray Dalio and Lady Gaga swear by this simple meditation technique|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/06/celebs-who-do-transcendental-meditation-oprah-ray-dalio-lady-gaga.html|access-date=2021-05-10|website=CNBC|language=en}}<br />{{Cite web|date=2020-04-01|title=25 Celebrities Who Know Transcendental Meditation|url=https://maharishischool.org/school-news-blogs/25-celebrities-who-know-transcendental-meditation/|access-date=2021-05-10|website=Maharishi School|language=en-US}}<br />{{Cite web |last=Cairns |first=Molly |date=2019-11-05 |title=Nick Cave - The Red Hand Files - Issue #69 - How do I stop fearing the end of the world? |url=https://www.theredhandfiles.com/fearing-the-end-of-the-world/ |access-date=2022-08-19 |website=The Red Hand Files |language=en-AU}}</ref>
==Health effects==
The first studies of the health [[Effects of meditation|effects of Transcendental Meditation]] appeared in the early 1970s.<ref>Lyn Freeman, ''Mosby's Complementary & Alternative Medicine: A Research-Based Approach'', Mosby Elsevier, 2009, p. 163</ref>
There is no good evidence that TM reduces anxiety, or has any beneficial effect on forms of psychological stress or well-being.<ref name="pmid16437509">{{cite journal | vauthors = Krisanaprakornkit T, Krisanaprakornkit W, Piyavhatkul N, Laopaiboon M | title = Meditation therapy for anxiety disorders | journal = The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews | issue = 1 | article-number = CD004998 | date = January 2006 | pmid = 16437509 | doi = 10.1002/14651858.CD004998.pub2 }}</ref><ref name="goyal-2014-ahrq">{{cite book | publisher = [[Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality]] |vauthors=Goyal M, Singh S, Sibinga EM, Gould NF, Rowland-Seymour A, Sharma R, Berger Z, Sleicher D, Maron DD, Shihab HM, Ranasinghe PD, Linn S, Saha S, Bass EB, Haythornthwaite JA | year = 2014 | title = Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-Being |series=AHRQ Comparative Effectiveness Reviews |pmid=24501780 | url = https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0063263/| quote = Our review finds that the mantra meditation programs do not appear to improve any of the psychological stress and well-being outcomes we examined, but the strength of this evidence varies from low to insufficient.}}{{dead link|date=July 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
A 2012 review found that Transcendental Meditation performed no better overall than other meditation techniques.<ref name="Sed12a">{{Cite journal |first1=Peter |last1=Sedlmeier |last2=Eberth |first2=Juliane |last3=Schwarz|last4=Zimmerman|last5=Haarig|last6=Jaeger|last7=Kunze|first3=Marcus|first4=Doreen|first5=Frederik|first6=Sonia|first7=Sonja|date=May 2012 |title=The Psychological Effects of Meditation: A Meta-Analysis |quote=The global analysis yielded quite comparable effects for TM, mindfulness meditation, and the other meditation procedures...So, it seems that the three categories we identified for the sake of comparison, TM, mindfulness meditation, and the heterogeneous category we termed other meditation techniques, do not differ in their overall effects. For most of the specific categories that could be analyzed, we found quite a variation in effects. These results indicate that different approaches to meditation might have differential effects. To date, it is difficult, however, to deduce any consistent differences therefrom.|journal=[[Psychological Bulletin]]|doi=10.1037/a0028168 |pmid=22582738 |display-authors=etal |volume=138 |issue=6 |pages=1139–1171}}</ref> The authors' analysis of a subset of these studies, those that studied specific categories of outcome, found that TM might perform better in reducing negative emotions, trait anxiety, and neuroticism and improving markers of learning, memory, and [[self-actualization]], but performs more poorly in reducing negative personality traits, reducing stress, improving attention and mindfulness and cognition, in comparison with other meditation approaches.<ref name="Sed12b">{{Cite journal |first1=Peter |last1=Sedlmeier|last2=Eberth|first2=Juliane|last3=Schwarz|last4=Zimmerman|last5=Haarig|last6=Jaeger|last7=Kunze|first3=Marcus|first4=Doreen|first5=Frederik|first6=Sonia|first7=Sonja|date=May 2012 |title=The Psychological Effects of Meditation: A Meta-Analysis |quote=A thorough comparison of the three kinds of meditation was difficult, due in part to the small number of studies that used a given category of dependent measure. Again, we only included results that could be calculated from at least three studies. On the basis of these data...there might indeed be differential effects. Comparatively strong effects for TM...were found in reducing negative emotions, trait anxiety, and neuroticism and being helpful in learning and memory and in self-realization...For mindfulness meditation, such comparatively strong effects were identified in reducing negative personality traits, reducing stress, and improving attention and mindfulness...(other meditation techniques) yielded a comparatively large effect in the category of cognition...TM yielded noticeably larger effects than mindfulness meditation for the categories negative emotions, neuroticism, trait anxiety, learning and memory, and self-realization. The opposite results were found for negative personality traits and self-concept, where the effects of mindfulness meditation were larger...For most of the specific categories that could be analyzed, we found quite a variation in effects. These results indicate that different approaches to meditation might have differential effects. To date, it is difficult, however, to deduce any consistent differences therefrom|journal=Psychological Bulletin |doi=10.1037/a0028168 |pmid=22582738 |display-authors=etal |volume=138 |issue=6 |pages=1139–1171}}</ref>
A statement from the [[American Heart Association]] said that TM could be considered as a treatment for [[hypertension]], although other interventions such as exercise and device-guided breathing were more effective and better supported by clinical evidence.<ref name="AHA">{{cite journal |vauthors=Brook RD, Appel LJ, Rubenfire M, Ogedegbe G, Bisognano JD, Elliott WJ, Fuchs FD, Hughes JW, Lackland DT, Staffileno BA, Townsend RR, Rajagopalan S |title=Beyond medications and diet: alternative approaches to lowering blood pressure: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association |journal=Hypertension |volume=61 |issue=6 |pages=1360–83 |year=2013 |pmid=23608661 |doi=10.1161/HYP.0b013e318293645f |doi-access=free }}</ref>
TM may reduce [[blood pressure]] according to a review that compared TM to [[Treatment and control groups|control groups]]. A trend over time indicates practicing TM may lower blood pressure. Such effects are comparable to other [[Lifestyle medicine|lifestyle interventions]]. Conflicting findings across reviews and a potential risk of [[bias]] indicated the necessity of further evidence, conducted by researchers without bias.
<ref name="J. Hum. Hypertens."/><ref name="Complement. Ther. Med."/>
As of 2004, the US government had given more than $20 million to Maharishi International University to study the effect of meditation on health.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=267105 |title=Delving into alternative care: Non-traditional treatments draw increased interest, research funding|first=SUSANNE|last=QUICK|date=17 October 2004|work=Journal Sentinel|___location=Milwaukee, Wisconsin |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20070929124114/http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=267105 |archive-date = 29 September 2007|quote=Maharishi University ... has received more than $20 million in government support to date to explore the health benefits of meditation.}}</ref>
==Views and claims==
===Views on consciousness (1963)===
In his 1963 book, ''The Science of Being and Art of Living,'' Maharishi Mahesh Yogi says that, over time, through the practice of the TM technique, the conscious mind gains familiarity with deeper levels of the mind, bringing the subconscious mind within the capacity of the conscious mind, resulting in expanded awareness in daily activity. He also teaches that the Transcendental Meditation practitioner transcends all mental activity and experiences the 'source of thought', which is said to be pure silence, 'pure awareness' or 'transcendental Being', 'the ultimate reality of life'.<ref name="Science of Being">{{cite book |author=Mahesh Yogi, Maharishi |year=1963 |publisher=Meridian Publishing |title=The Science of Being and Art of Living}}</ref>{{rp |pp 44–53}}<ref name=Phelan>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/assr_0335-5985_1979_num_48_1_2186|first=Michael|last=Phelan|journal=Archives de sciences sociales des religions|title=Transcendental Meditation. A Revitalization of the American Civil Religion|year=1979|volume =48|issue=48–1|pages=5–20| doi=10.3406/assr.1979.2186 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Interview with Larry King |first=Larry |last=King |date=May 12, 2002 |work=CNN}}</ref> TM is sometimes self described as a technology of consciousness.<ref name=Hunt>{{Cite book| last1 = Hunt | first1 = Stephen | author-link=Stephen J. Hunt|title = Alternative religions: a sociological introduction | year = 2003 | publisher = Ashgate | ___location = Aldershot, Hampshire, England; Burlington, VT | isbn = 978-0-7546-3410-2 | pages = 197–198|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0GuWbJhYIccC&q=transcendental%20meditation&pg=PA197 }}</ref> According to author Michael Phelan, "The fundamental premise of the psychology of fulfillment is that within every person exists a seemingly inexhaustible center of energy, intelligence, and satisfaction... To the extent that our behavior depends on the degree of energy and intelligence available to us, this center of pure creative intelligence may be described as that resource which gives direction to all that we experience, think and do."<ref>{{cite journal |title=Transcendental Meditation. A Revitalization of the American Civil Religion |journal=[[Archives de sciences sociales des religions]] |first=Michael |last=Phelan |date=Jul–Sep 1979 |volume=1 |issue=48 }}</ref>
According to the Maharishi, there are seven levels of consciousness: (i) deep sleep; (ii) dreaming; (iii) waking; (iv) transcendental consciousness; (v) cosmic consciousness; (vi) God consciousness; and, (vii) unity consciousness.<ref>Williams, Patrick Gresham (2000) The Spiritual Recovery Manual: Vedic Knowledge and Yogic Techniques to Accelerate Recovery, page 202</ref> The Maharishi says that transcendental consciousness can be experienced through Transcendental Meditation, and that those who meditate regularly over time could become aware of cosmic consciousness.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=dkuHUWYnW80C&dq=maharishi+%22god+consciousness%22&pg=PA66 Tillery, Gary, ''The Cynical Idealist; A Spiritual Biography of John Lennon''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304013412/http://books.google.com/books?id=dkuHUWYnW80C&pg=PA66&dq=maharishi+%22god+consciousness%22 |date=2014-03-04}} Quest Books, 2009 {{ISBN |0-8356-0875-1}}, {{ISBN |978-0-8356-0875-6}} pp 66-67</ref> An indication of cosmic consciousness is "ever present wakefulness" present even during sleep.<ref name="Walsh R, Shapiro SL 2006 227–39">{{Cite journal |vauthors=Walsh R, Shapiro SL |title=The meeting of meditative disciplines and Western psychology: a mutually enriching dialogue |journal=The American Psychologist |volume=61 |issue=3 |pages=227–39 |date=April 2006 |pmid=16594839 |doi=10.1037/0003-066X.61.3.227 |s2cid=3015768 |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7885t0n6 }}</ref> Research on long-term TM practitioners experiencing what they describe as cosmic consciousness, has identified unique EEG profiles, muscle tone measurements, and REM indicators that suggest physiological parameters for this self described state of consciousness.<ref name="Walsh R, Shapiro SL 2006 227–39"/><ref name=Shapiro>{{Cite journal |first1=Shauna L. |last1=Shapiro |first2=Roger |last2=Walsh |url=http://www.brittonlab.com/publications/Shapiro,%20Walsh,%20Britton%2003.pdf |title=An Analysis of Recent Meditation Research and Suggestions for Future Directions |journal=Journal for Meditation and Meditation Research |year=2003 |volume=3 |pages=69–90 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091123031814/http://www.brittonlab.com/publications/Shapiro,%20Walsh,%20Britton%2003.pdf |archive-date=2009-11-23 }}</ref> However, the Cambridge Handbook of Consciousness notes that it is premature to say that the EEG coherence found in TM is an indication of a higher state of consciousness.<ref name=Lutz>{{Cite book |isbn=978-0-521-85743-7 |editor1-first=Philip David |editor1-last=Zelazo |editor2-first=Morris |editor2-last=Moscovitch |editor3-first=Evan |editor3-last=Thompson |title=The Cambridge handbook of consciousness |year=2007 |pages=534–535 |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref>
===Science of Creative Intelligence (1971)===
In 1961, the Maharishi created the "International Meditation Society for the Science of Creative Intelligence".<ref name=Kennedy>{{Cite news |title=Field of TM dreams |first1=John W |last1=Kennedy |first2=Irving |last2=Hexham. |work=[[Christianity Today]] |date=January 8, 2001 |volume=45 |issue=1 |pages=74–79}}</ref> In 1971 the Maharishi inaugurated "Maharishi's Year of Science of Creative Intelligence" and described SCI as the connection of "modern science with ancient Vedic science".<ref name=Hume2005>{{Cite book |last=Humes |first=Cynthia A |year=2005 |chapter=Maharishi Mahesh Yogi: Beyond the T.M. Technique |title=Gurus in America |editor1-first=Thomas A |editor1-last=Forsthoefel |editor2-first=Cynthia Ann |editor2-last=Humes |publisher=SUNY Press |pages=55–79 |isbn=0-7914-6573-X}}</ref> Author Philip Goldberg describes it as Vedanta philosophy that has been translated into scientific language.<ref name="Philip Goldberg2">Goldberg, Philip (2011) Harmony Books, American Veda, page 165</ref> A series of international symposiums on the Science of Creative Intelligence were held between 1970 and 1973 and were attended by scientists and "leading thinkers", including [[Buckminster Fuller]], [[Melvin Calvin]], a [[Nobel Prize]] winner in chemistry, [[Hans Selye]], [[Marshal McLuhan]] and [[Jonas Salk]].<ref name="Philip Goldberg2"/> These symposiums were held at universities such as [[Humboldt State University]] and [[University of Massachusetts]].<ref>{{Cite news |work=Sociological Analysis |year=1992 |volume=53 |issue=–S S1–S13 |series=Presidential Address — 1987 |title=On Founders and Followers: Some Factors in the Development of New Religious Movements |first=Benton |last=Johnson}}</ref><ref>Jefferson, William (1976). ' 'The Story of The Maharishi' ', pp118-123. Pocket Books, New York, NY.</ref><ref>Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Fuller, Buckminster (1971) Maharishi Channel Maharishi and Buckminster Fuller Press Conference YouTube, retrieved September 24, 2012</ref><ref name="Una Kroll"/> The following year, the Maharishi developed a World Plan to spread his teaching of SCI around the world.<ref name="Una Kroll"/><ref>{{Cite book |page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofaf00murp/page/1045 1045] |chapter=Eastern Family, Part I |last=Melton |year=2003 |title=Encyclopedia of American Religions |isbn=0-8153-0500-1 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofaf00murp/page/1045}}</ref>
The theoretical part of SCI is taught in a 33-lesson video course.<ref name="maharishi.org">{{Cite web |url=http://www.maharishi.org/sci/sci.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125150229/http://maharishi.org/sci/sci.html |archive-date=November 25, 2010 |title=The Science of Creative Intelligence Course |publisher=maharishi.org }}</ref> In the early 1970s, the SCI course was offered at more than 25 American universities including [[Stanford University]], [[Yale University]], the [[University of Colorado]], the [[University of Wisconsin]], and [[Oregon State University]].<ref name="Una Kroll">Kroll, Una (1974) John Knox Press, The Healing Potential of Transcendental Meditation, chapter 1: The Guru, pp 17-25</ref><ref name="TM ABC guide">{{cite book |author=Goldhaber, Nat |year=1976 |publisher=Ballantine Books |title=TM:An alphabetical guide to the Transcendental Meditation program}}</ref>{{rp |p 125}}<ref>{{Cite news |first=T. K. |last=Irwin |title=What's New in Science: Transcendental Meditation: Medical Miracle or 'Another Kooky Fad' |work=Sarasota Herald Tribune Family Weekly |date=October 8, 1972 |pages=8–9 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NRAzAAAAIBAJ&pg=5803,3090100}}</ref> Until 2009, [[Maharishi University of Management]] (MUM) required its undergraduate students to take SCI classes,<ref>{{Cite book |edition=24th |publisher=Barron's |isbn=978-0-7641-7294-6 |last=Barron's Educational Series, Inc. |title=Profiles of American colleges |___location=Hauppauge N.Y.; London |year=2000}}</ref><ref name=JME>{{Cite journal |last1=Schmidt-Wilk |first1=Jane |last2=Heston |first2=Dennis |last3=Steigard |first3=David |title=Higher education for higher consciousness Maharishi University of Management as a model for spirituality in management education |journal=Journal of Management Education |volume=24 |issue=5 |pages=580–611 |year=2000 |doi=10.1177/105256290002400505 |s2cid=145812629 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |publisher=Random House Information Group |isbn=978-0-375-76557-5 |author=Princeton Review |title=Complete Book of Colleges, 2007 Edition |date=August 15, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mum.edu/pdf_catalog/mvs.pdf |title=MUM catalog for the Department of Maharishi Vedic Science |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527194259/https://www.mum.edu/pdf_catalog/mvs.pdf |archive-date=2010-05-27 }}</ref> and both MUM and [[Maharishi European Research University]] (MERU) in Switzerland have awarded degrees in the field.<ref name=DePalma>{{Cite news |title=University's Degree Comes With a Heavy Dose of Meditation (and Skepticism) |last=DePalma |first=Anthony |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 29, 1992 |page=B.8}}</ref> ''[[The Independent]]'' reports that children at [[Maharishi School, Lancashire|Maharishi School]] learn SCI principles such as "the nature of life is to grow" and "order is present everywhere".<ref>{{Cite news |first=Michelle |last=Teasdale |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/healthy-living/mummy-can-we-meditate-now-how-relaxation-exercises-can-help-your-child-to-sleep-1990059.html |title=Mummy, can we meditate now? |work=The Independent |date=June 3, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224507/http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/healthy-living/mummy-can-we-meditate-now-how-relaxation-exercises-can-help-your-child-to-sleep-1990059.html |archive-date=March 3, 2016 }}</ref> SCI is reported to be part of the curriculum of TM related lower schools in Iowa, [[Wheaton, Maryland]]<ref>{{Cite news |title=This School Offers Readin', 'Ritin' and Mantras |first=Stephen |last=Buckley |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=March 19, 1993 |page=D.01}}</ref> and [[Skelmersdale]], UK.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Children meditate on top class GCSEs |first=Claire |last=Tolley |work=Daily Post |___location=Liverpool |date=January 12, 2002 |page=13}}</ref> In 1975 SCI was used as the call letters for a TM owned television station in [[San Bernardino, California]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Eclectic TV KSCI's Programming in 14 Languages Offers News, Entertainment, Comfort to Ethnic Communities |first=David |last=Holley |work=Los Angeles Times |date=June 5, 1986 |page=1}}</ref>
The Science of Creative Intelligence is not science.<ref name="sci">{{cite news |url = https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2012/may/13/letters-steiner-maharishi-schools-wrong |title = Schools of pseudoscience pose a serious threat to education |newspaper = The Guardian |date = 12 May 2012 |first1 = Pavan |last1 = Dhaliwal |first2 = Edzard |last2 = Ernst |first3 = David |last3 = Colquhoun |first4 = Simon |last4 = Singh |display-authors = etal |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170910173601/https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2012/may/13/letters-steiner-maharishi-schools-wrong |archive-date = 10 September 2017 }}</ref> Theologian [[Robert M. Price]], writing in the ''Creation/Evolution Journal'' (the journal of the [[National Center for Science Education]]), compares the Science of Creative Intelligence to [[Creationism]].<ref name="Price">{{Cite journal |url=http://ncse.com/cej/3/1/scientific-creationism-science-creative-intelligence |last=Price |first=Robert M. |author-link=Robert M. Price |title=Scientific Creationism and the Science of Creative Intelligence |journal=Creation Evolution Journal |volume=3 |date=Winter 1982 |pages=18–23 |issue=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100331072532/http://ncse.com/cej/3/1/scientific-creationism-science-creative-intelligence |archive-date=2010-03-31 }}</ref> Price says instruction in the Transcendental Meditation technique is "never offered without indoctrination into the metaphysics of 'creative intelligence{{'"}}.<ref name="Price"/> Skeptic [[James Randi]] says SCI has "no scientific characteristics."<ref name="randi.org">{{Cite web|url=https://web.randi.org/t---encyclopedia-of-claims.html |title=James Randi Educational Foundation — An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural }}</ref> [[Astrophysicist]] and sceptic [[Carl Sagan]] writes that the "Hindu doctrine" of TM is a [[pseudoscience]].<ref name="Sagan, 1997 p16">{{Cite book|author=Sagan, Carl |title=The Demon-haunted World: Science as a Candle In the Dark |publisher=Ballantine Books |___location=New York |year=1997 |page=16 |isbn=0-345-40946-9 |oclc= |doi= }}</ref> [[Irving Hexham]], a professor of religious studies, describes the TM teachings as "pseudoscientific language that masks its religious nature by mythologizing science".<ref name=Kennedy/> Sociologists [[Rodney Stark]] and [[William Sims Bainbridge]] describe the SCI videotapes as largely based on the [[Bhagavad Gita]], and say that they are "laced with parables and metaphysical postulates, rather than anything that can be recognized as conventional science".<ref name=Stark>{{Cite book| last = Stark | first = Rodney | author-link = Rodney Stark |author2=[[William Sims Bainbridge]] |title = The Future of Religion: Secularization, Revival, and Cult Formation | year = 1986 | publisher = University of California Press |___location = Berkeley | isbn = 0-520-05731-7 | page = 289}}</ref> In 1979, the court case ''Malnak v Yogi'' determined that although SCI/TM is not a theistic religion, it deals with issues of ultimate concern, truth, and other ideas analogous to those in well-recognized religions.<ref name=Merriman>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l_8VFygyaDYC |last=Merriman |first=Scott A. |title=Religion and the Law in America |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-85109-863-7 |page=522 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101101752/http://books.google.com/books?id=l_8VFygyaDYC |archive-date=2014-01-01 }}</ref> Maharishi biographer Paul Mason suggests that the scientific terminology used in SCI was developed by the Maharishi as part of a restructuring of his philosophies in terms that would gain greater acceptance and increase the number of people starting the TM technique. He says that this change toward a more academic language was welcomed by many of the Maharishi's American students.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mason |first=Paul |title=The Maharishi |___location=Great Britain |publisher=Element Books Limited |year=1994 |page=210 |isbn=1-85230-571-1}}</ref>
===Maharishi effect (1974)===
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi claimed that the quality of life would noticeably improve if at least the square root of one per cent (1%) of the population practised the Transcendental Meditation technique. This is known as the "Maharishi effect" and according to the Maharishi, it was perceived in 1974 after an analysis of crime statistics in 16 cities.<ref name="Science of Being"/>{{rp |329}}<ref name="Karam">Karam, Ted (2005) Jumping on Water: Awaken Your Joy, Empower Your Life, page 137</ref><ref name=Wager>{{Cite news |title=Musicians Spread the Maharishi's Message of Peace |first=Gregg |last=Wager |work=Los Angeles Times |date=December 11, 1987 |page=12}}</ref> With the introduction of the [[TM-Sidhi program]] including Yogic Flying, the Maharishi proposed that the square root of 1 per cent of the population (around 6325 people, the square root of 40 million (1% of the global
population of about 4 billion people in 1974<ref name="worldpop1974">{{cite news |url= https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/global-population-doubles-since-74-hits-8-billion-today/articleshow/95517415.cms|title= Global population doubles since 1974, hits 8 billion today|newspaper= The Times of India|date= 15 November 2022}}</ref>)) practicing this advanced program together at the same time and in the same place would create benefits in society. This was referred to as the "Extended Maharishi Effect".<ref name="Karam"/><ref name="Maharishi University of Management">{{cite web |url=http://www.mum.edu/m_effect/ |archive-date=August 23, 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000823041441/http://www.mum.edu/m_effect/ |title=Maharishi Effect – Research on the Maharishi Effect |publisher=Maharishi University of Management |access-date=December 29, 2009 }}</ref>
Author Ted Karam claims that there have been numerous studies on the Maharishi effect including a gathering of over 4,000 people (just under two thirds of the square root of 1% of the population as of 1974) in Washington, D.C. in the summer of 1993.<ref name="Karam"/> The effect has been examined in 42 scientific studies.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Meditation touted as crime-fighter // Study presented builds the case for 'Maharishi effect' |first=Conrad |last=deFiebre |work=Star Tribune |___location=Minneapolis, Minn. |date=October 7, 1994 |page=03.B}}</ref> The TM organisation has linked the fall of the [[Berlin Wall]] and a reduction in global terrorism, US inflation and crime rates to the Maharishi effect.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Maharishi mob meditates on Limerick's ills |first=Liam |last=Fay |work=Sunday Times |___location=London (UK) |date=June 13, 2004 |page=32}}</ref> The Maharishi effect has been endorsed by the former President of Mozambique [[Joaquim Chissano]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.salon.com/people/feature/2000/12/01/mozambique/print.html |last=Roach |first=Mary |title=The last tourist in Mozambique |work=Salon |date=December 1, 2000 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604161759/http://www.salon.com/people/feature/2000/12/01/mozambique/print.html |archive-date=June 4, 2011 }}</ref>
As the theories proposed by TM practitioners<ref name="Park">{{Cite book |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-860443-3 |page=30 |last=Park |first=Robert L. |title=Voodoo science: The road from foolishness to fraud |year=2002 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xzCK6-Kqs6QC}}</ref> are not scientific, the Maharishi effect still lacks a [[causality|causal basis]].<ref name="Fales">{{cite journal |doi=10.2307/2580722 |last1=Fales |first1=Evan |last2=Markovsky |first2=Barry |title=Evaluating Heterodox Theories |jstor=2580722 |journal=Social Forces |volume=76 |issue=2 |pages=511–525 |year=1997}}</ref> Moreover, the evidence has been said to result from [[Cherry picking (fallacy)|cherry-picked data]]<ref name="Schrodt">{{cite journal |doi=10.1177/0022002790034004008 |jstor=174187 |last=Schrodt |first=Phillip A. |title=A methodological critique of a test of the Maharishi technology of the unified field |journal=Journal of Conflict Resolution |volume=34 |issue=4 |year=1990 |pages=745–755|s2cid=145426830 }}</ref> and the [[credulity]] of believers.<ref name=Fales/><ref name="SFGate">{{Cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1995/12/29/MN65432.DTL |last=Epstein |first=Edward |title=Politics and Transcendental Meditation |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=29 December 1995}}</ref> Critics, such as [[James Randi]], have called this research [[pseudoscience]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Stop the bleeping pseudoscience; Quantum physics film drowns in its own bunk science High point in What The Bleep is stunning animation sequence |first=PETER |last=CALAMAI |work=Toronto Star |date=October 9, 2004 |page=J.13}}</ref> Randi says that he investigated comments made by former Maharishi International University faculty member Robert Rabinoff in 1978. He spoke to the [[Fairfield, Iowa|Fairfield]] Chief of Police who said local crime levels were the same and the regional Agriculture Department who reportedly deemed that farm yields for [[Jefferson County, Iowa|Jefferson County]] matched the state average.<ref name=Randi106>{{Cite book |author=Randi, James |title=Flim-flam!: psychics, ESP, unicorns, and other delusions |publisher=Prometheus Books |___location=Buffalo, N.Y. |year=1982 |page=106 |isbn=0-87975-198-3 }}</ref>
===Maharishi Vedic Science (1981)===
The Maharishi proclaimed 1981 as the Year of Vedic Science.<ref name="Science of Being"/>{{rp |336}} It is based on the Maharishi's interpretation of ancient Vedic texts and includes subjective technologies like the Transcendental Meditation technique and the TM-Sidhi program plus programs like Maharishi Sthapatya Veda (MSV) and Maharishi Vedic Astrology (MVA) services which apply Vedic science to day-to-day living.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bonshek |first1=Anna |last2=Bonshek |first2=Corrina |last3=Fergusson |first3=Lee |title=The Big Fish: Consciousness as Structure, Body and Space. (Consciousness, Literature the Arts) |publisher=Rodopi |isbn=978-90-420-2172-3 |year=2007 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mum.edu/msvs/Chandler1.html |title=Modern Science and Vedic Science: An Introduction |publisher=Modern Science and Vedic Science, Volume 1 |access-date=November 15, 2009 |first=Kenneth |last=Chandler |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527213259/https://www.mum.edu/msvs/Chandler1.html |archive-date=May 27, 2010}}</ref> Vedic science studies the various aspects of life and their relationship to the Veda.
== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=nb}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Sources==
*{{Citation | last1 = Reddy | first1 = Kumuda | last2 = Egenes | first2 = Linda | title = Conquering Chronic Disease Through Maharishi Vedic Medicine | year = 2002 | publisher = Lantern Books | ___location = New York| isbn = 978-1-930051-55-3 | page = 10 }}
*{{Citation |doi=10.1089/act.1995.1.364 |title=Maharishi Ayur-VedaAn Ancient Health Paradigm in a Modern World |year=1995 |last1=Sharma |first1=Hari |journal=Alternative and Complementary Therapies |volume=1 |page=364 |issue=6}}
*{{Citation | last1 = Wallace | first1 = Robert Keith | title = The physiology of consciousness | year = 1993 | publisher = Maharishi International University Press | ___location = Fairfield, Iowa | isbn = 978-0-923569-02-0 | pages = 64–66 }}
*{{Cite book| last1 = Wujastyk| first1 = Dominik| title = The Roots of Ayurveda: Selections from Sanskrit Medical Writings | year = 2003 | publisher = Penguin | ___location = London, New York, etc. | isbn = 978-0-14-044824-5 }}
*{{Cite book| last1 = Wujastyk| first1 = Dagmar| last2 = Smith| first2 = Frederick M.| title = Modern and global Ayurveda: Pluralism and Paradigms | year = 2008 | publisher = State University of New York Press | ___location = Albany | isbn = 978-0-7914-7489-1 }}
==Further reading==
* Bloomfield, Harold H., Cain, Michael Peter, Jaffe, Dennis T. (1975) ''TM: Discovering Inner Energy and Overcoming Stress'' {{ISBN|0-440-06048-6}}
* Denniston, Denise, ''The TM Book'', Fairfield Press 1986 {{ISBN|0-931783-02-X}}
* Forem, Jack (2012) Hay House UK Ltd, ''Transcendental Meditation: The Essential Teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi'' {{ISBN|1-84850-379-2}}
* Roth, Robert (1994) Primus, ''Transcendental Meditation'' {{ISBN|1-55611-403-6}}
* Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1968) (Bantam Books) ''Transcendental Meditation: Serenity Without Drugs'' {{ISBN|0-451-05198-X}}
==External
{{sister project links|d=Q558571|m=no|mw=no|voy=no|species=no|c=Category:Transcendental Meditation movement|n=no|q=no|s=no|b=no|v=no}}
*{{Official website}}
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