Transcendental Meditation Explained

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, which costs a fee that varies by country. According to the Transcendental Meditation movement, it is a non-religious method that promotes relaxed awareness, stress relief, self-development, and higher states of consciousness. The technique has been variously described as both religious[1] and non-religious.

Maharishi began teaching the technique in India in the mid-1950s.[2] Building on the teachings of his master, the Hindu Advaita 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.[2] [3] 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 overall effectiveness to other meditation techniques in improving general wellbeing, but might have distinctive effects on specific psychological variables. 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.[4] [5]

History

See main article: 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.[2] In 1955,[6] [7] [8] "the Maharishi began publicly teaching a traditional meditation technique"[9] learned from his master Brahmananda Saraswati that he called Transcendental Deep Meditation[10] and later renamed Transcendental Meditation.[11] 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.[11] [12] He also inaugurated a series of tours that started in India in 1955 and went international in 1958 which promoted Transcendental Meditation.[13] [14] 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. By the late 2000s, TM had been taught to millions of individuals and the Maharishi was overseeing a large multinational movement.[15] Despite organizational changes and the addition of advanced meditative techniques in the 1970s,[16] 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,[17] 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,[18] AFSCI,[19] World Plan Executive Council, Maharishi Vedic Education Development Corporation, Global Country of World Peace, Transcendental Meditation for Women, and Maharishi Foundation.[20] The successor to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and leader of the Global Country of World Peace, is Tony Nader.[21] [22]

Technique

See main article: 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.[23] [24] It is reported to be one of the most widely practiced,[25] [26] and among the most widely researched, meditation techniques,[27] [28] [29] [30] with hundreds of published research studies.[31] [32] [33] The technique is made available worldwide by certified TM teachers in a seven-step course,[34] and fees vary from country to country.[35] [36] 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.[37] The technique has since been included in a number of educational and social programs around the world.[38]

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,[39] [40] and as a non-religious practice for self-development.[41] [42] [43]

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,[44] the unveiling of which created media controversy and a time of crisis for the movement’s image. 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".[45]

Movement

See main article: 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,[46] a million by the 1980s,[47] [48] [49] and 5 million in more recent years.[50] [51] [52] [53] [54] [55] [56]

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, and a system of building and architecture called Maharishi Sthapatya Ved.[57] [58] 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.[59] [60] The TM movement has been characterized in a variety of ways and has been called a spiritual movement, a new religious movement,[61] [62] a millenarian movement, a world affirming movement,[63] a new social movement,[64] a guru-centered movement,[65] a personal growth movement,[66] a religion, and a cult.[67] [68] [69] Additional sources contend that TM and its movement are not a cult.[70] [71] [72] [73] 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.[74] [75] [76] The organization has been the subject of controversies that includes being labelled a cult by several parliamentary inquiries or anti-cult movements in the world.[77] [78] [79] [67] [68]

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 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.[80]

Health effects

The first studies of the health effects of Transcendental Meditation appeared in the early 1970s.[81]

There is no good evidence TM reduces anxiety, or has any beneficial effect on forms of psychological stress or well-being.[82] [83]

A 2012 review found that Transcendental Meditation performed no better overall than other meditation techniques.[84] 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.[85]

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.[86]

TM may reduce blood pressure according to a review that compared TM to control groups. A trend over time indicates practicing TM may lower blood pressure. Such effects are comparable to other lifestyle interventions. Conflicting findings across reviews and a potential risk of bias indicated the necessity of further evidence, conducted by researchers without bias. [4] [5]

By 2004, the US government had given more than $20 million to Maharishi International University to study the effect of meditation on health.[87]

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'.[88] [89] [90] TM is sometimes self described as a technology of consciousness.[91] 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."[92]

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.[93] 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.[94] An indication of cosmic consciousness is "ever present wakefulness" present even during sleep.[95] 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.[95] [96] 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.[97]

Science of Creative Intelligence (1971)

In 1961, the Maharishi created the "International Meditation Society for the Science of Creative Intelligence".[98] 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".[99] Author Philip Goldberg describes it as Vedanta philosophy that has been translated into scientific language.[100] 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.[100] These symposiums were held at universities such as Humboldt State University and University of Massachusetts.[101] [102] [103] The following year, the Maharishi developed a World Plan to spread his teaching of SCI around the world.[104]

The theoretical part of SCI is taught in a 33-lesson video course.[105] 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.[106] [107] [108] Until 2009, Maharishi University of Management (MUM) required its undergraduate students to take SCI classes,[109] [110] [111] [112] and both MUM and Maharishi European Research University (MERU) in Switzerland have awarded degrees in the field.[113] The Independent reports that children at Maharishi School learn SCI principles such as "the nature of life is to grow" and "order is present everywhere".[114] SCI is reported to be part of the curriculum of TM related lower schools in Iowa, Wheaton, Maryland[115] and Skelmersdale, UK.[116] In 1975 SCI was used as the call letters for a TM owned television station in San Bernardino, California.[117]

The Science of Creative Intelligence is not science.[118] 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.[119] Price says instruction in the Transcendental Meditation technique is "never offered without indoctrination into the metaphysics of 'creative intelligence.[119] Skeptic James Randi says SCI has "no scientific characteristics."[120] Astrophysicist and sceptic Carl Sagan writes that the "Hindu doctrine" of TM is a pseudoscience.[121] Irving Hexham, a professor of religious studies, describes the TM teachings as "pseudoscientific language that masks its religious nature by mythologizing science".[98] 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".[122] 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.[123] 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.[124]

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.[88] [125] [126] 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 globalpopulation of about 4 billion people in 1974[127])) 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".[125] [128]

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.[125] The effect has been examined in 42 scientific studies.[129] 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.[130] The Maharishi effect has been endorsed by the former President of Mozambique Joaquim Chissano.[131]

As the theories proposed by TM practitioners[132] go beyond modern science, the Maharishi effect still lacks a causal basis.[133] Moreover, the evidence has been said to result from cherry-picked data[134] and the credulity of believers.[133] [135] Critics, such as James Randi, have called this research pseudoscience.[136] Randi says that he investigated comments made by former Maharishi International University faculty member Robert Rabinoff in 1978. He spoke to the 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 matched the state average.[137]

Maharishi Vedic Science (1981)

The Maharishi proclaimed 1981 as the Year of Vedic Science.[88] 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.[138] [139] Vedic science studies the various aspects of life and their relationship to the Veda.

Maharishi Ayurveda

See main article: Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health. Maharishi Ayurveda or Maharishi Vedic Medicine is a form of alternative medicine founded in the mid-1980s by Maharishi. Distinct from traditional ayurveda, it emphasizes the role of consciousness, and gives importance to positive emotions.[140] Maharishi Ayurveda has been variously characterized as emerging from, and consistently reflecting, the Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy, representing the entirety of the ayurvedic tradition.[141]

Sources

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Book: Siegel . Aryeh . Transcendental Deception: Behind the TM Curtain . 2018 . Janreg Press . Los Angeles, CA . 978-0-9996615-0-5.
  2. Book: Cowan . Douglas E. . Bromley . David G. . David G. Bromley . 2015 . 2007 . Transcendental Meditation: The Questions of Science and Therapy . https://books.google.com/books?id=p_xgBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA38 . Cults and New Religions: A Brief History . Chichester, West Sussex . . 2nd . Blackwell Brief Histories of Religion . 38–58 . 978-1-118-72350-0 . 2015005385.
  3. Book: Dawson, Lorne . 2003 . . Cults and New Religious Movements . limited . Hoboken, New Jersey . 54. 9781405143493 .
  4. Bai . Z . Chang . J . Chen . C . Li . P . Yang . K . Chi . I . February 2015 . Investigating the effect of transcendental meditation on blood pressure: a systematic review and meta-analysis . . . 29 . 11 . 653–662 . 10.1038/jhh.2015.6 . 1476-5527 . 25673114 . 22261.
  5. Ooi . Soo Liang . Giovino . Melisa . Pak . Sok Chean . October 2017 . Transcendental meditation for lowering blood pressure: An overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses . . . 34 . 26–34 . 10.1016/j.ctim.2017.07.008 . 1873-6963 . 28917372 . 4963470.
  6. News: Beatles guru dies in Netherlands. USA Today. AP. 5 February 2008.
  7. News: Politics and Transcendental Meditation. Epstein. Edward. San Francisco Chronicle. 29 December 1995.
  8. Maharishi's Vedic Science and Technology: The Only Means to Create World Peace. https://web.archive.org/web/20100527120152/http://www.mum.edu/pdf_msvs/v05/morris.pdf . 2010-05-27 . live . Morris. Bevan . Journal of Modern Science and Vedic Science. 5. 1992. 200. 1–2.
  9. News: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, guru to Beatles, dies . Rooney. Ben. The Telegraph. 6 February 2008 . London.
  10. Book: Williamson, Lola . 2010 . NYU Press . New York . Transcendent in America: Hindu-Inspired Meditation Movements as New Religion . 9780814794500 . 97–99.
  11. Book: Russell, Peter. The TM Technique: An Introduction to Transcendental Meditation and the Teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Routledge . London . 1977. 978-0-7100-8539-9. 25–26.
  12. Book: Needleman, Jacob . 1st . Doubleday . The New Religions. limited . Garden City N.Y. . 1970. Transcendental Meditation. 144.
  13. Book: History of transcendental meditation . Insider . Richard Feloni . 2016 .
  14. Book: Philosophers and religious leaders . The Orynx Press . Christian D. Von Dehsen . Scott L. Harris . 1999 . 120. 9781573561525 .
  15. News: The Times (London) . Maharishi Mahesh Yogi . 7 February 2008 . 62.
  16. Book: Oates, Robert M. . Celebrating the Dawn: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and the TM technique. 226. New York. G.P. Putnam's Sons. 978-0-399-11815-9. 1976.
  17. News: T. K. . Irwin. What's New in Science: Transcendental Meditation: Medical Miracle or 'Another Kooky Fad'. Sarasota Herald Tribune Family Weekly. 8 October 1972. 8–9.
  18. Book: Chryssides . George D. . Exploring New Religions . 1999 . Cassell . London . 978-0-8264-5959-6 . 293–296.
  19. 0040-781X. Behavior: The TM Craze: 40 Minutes to Bliss. Time. 15 November 2009 . 13 October 1975 . https://archive.today/20130105182424/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,947229,00.html. dead. 5 January 2013.
  20. Web site: Australian Food Store Offers Transcendental Meditation to Employees . The Herald (South Carolina, USA) . 15 July 2013 . 3 August 2013 . Press Release by Maharishi Foundation . dead . https://archive.today/20130803192934/http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/07/15/5022454/australian-food-store-offers-transcendental.html . 3 August 2013 . dmy-all .
  21. News: 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. Amir. Mizroch. Jerusalem Post. 23 July 2006. 4.
  22. News: Maharishi's ashes immersed in Sangam. The Hindustan Times. New Delhi. 12 February 2008. Indo-Asian News Service.
  23. Web site: The Transcendental Meditation Program . Tm.org . 17 February 2013.
  24. Lansky . Ephraim . St Louis . Erik . Transcendental meditation: a double-edged sword in epilepsy? . Epilepsy & Behavior . 9 . 3 . 394–400 . November 2006 . 16931164 . 10.1016/j.yebeh.2006.04.019 . 31764098 .
  25. Book: Cotton . Dorothy H. G. . Stress management: An integrated approach to therapy . 1990 . Brunner/Mazel . New York . 0-87630-557-5 . 138.
  26. Book: Schneider . Robert . Fields . Jeremy . 2006 . Basic Health Publications . Laguna Beach, CA . Total Heart Health: How to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease with the Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health . 148–149 . 1458799247.
  27. Book: The Physical and Psychological Effects of Meditation: A review of Contemporary Research with a Comprehensive Bibliography 1931–1996. Murphy. M. Donovan. S. Taylor. E. Institute of Noetic Sciences. 1997. Sausalito, California.
  28. Book: Benson. Herbert. The Relaxation Response. Klipper. Miriam Z.. Quill. 2001. 978-0-380-81595-1. New York, NY. 61.
  29. Book: Sinatra. Stephen T.. Reverse Heart Disease Now: Stop Deadly Cardiovascular Plaque Before It's Too Late. Roberts. James C.. Zucker. Martin. 20 December 2007. Wiley. 978-0-470-22878-4. 192.
  30. William . Bushell . Longevity Potential Life Span and Health Span Enhancement through Practice of the Basic Yoga Meditation Regimen . Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences . 1172 . 20–7 . 2009 . Transcendental Meditation (TM), a concentrative technique ... has been the most extensively studied meditation technique. . 9781573316774 . 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04538.x . 19735236. 222086314 .
  31. Ospina MB, Bond K, Karkhaneh M . Meditation practices for health: state of the research . Evid Rep Technol Assess (Full Rep) . 155 . 62. June 2007 . 17764203. etal . 4780968.
  32. Book: Rosenthal, Norman . Transcendence: Healing and Transformation through Transcendental Meditation . Tarcher/Penguin . 2011 . 14 . New York . 978-1-58542-873-1 . By my latest count, there have been 340 per-reviewed articles published on TM, many of which have appeared in highly respected journals..
  33. Book: Freeman, Lyn . Mosby's Complementary & Alternative Medicine: A Research-Based Approach . Mosby Elsevier . 2009 . 176. 9780323053464.
  34. Web site: How To Learn . Tm.org . 17 February 2013.
  35. Web site: TM Course Fee . TM.org . 30 May 2012 . 23 May 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120523183618/http://www.tm.org/tuition . dead .
  36. Web site: Transcendental Meditation Fees and Course Details . Transcendental Meditation: Official website for the UK . 31 January 2013 . 10 October 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121010161859/http://www.t-m.org.uk/learning.shtml . dead .
  37. American Bar Association. Constitutional Law ... Separating Church and State. ABA Journal. Jan 1978. 64. 144.
  38. Book: Humes, C.A.. 2005. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi: Beyond the T.M. Technique. Gurus in America. Thomas A. . Forsthoefel . Cynthia Ann . Humes. SUNY Press. 69. 0-7914-6573-X . 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.
  39. Book: Bainbridge . William Sims . The Sociology of Religious Movements . 1997 . Routledge . New York . 0-415-91202-4 . 188.
  40. The challenge of metaphysical experiences outside Orthodoxy and the Orthodox response. Maximos. Aghiorgoussis. Greek Orthodox Theological Review. Brookline. Spring 1999. 44. 1–4. 21, 34.
  41. Book: Chryssides, George D.. Exploring New Religions. Continuum International Publishing Group. 2001. 9780826459596. 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."
  42. Book: Partridge, Christopher . 200 . New Religions: A Guide To New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities . Oxford University Press . It is understood in terms of the reduction of stress and the charging of one's mental and physical batteries.. New York. 184.
  43. Book: Rosenthal, Norman E.. Transcendence: Healing and Transformation Through Transcendental Meditation. Norman E. Rosenthal. Tarcher Penguin. 2011. 978-1-58542-873-1. 4. Transcendence: Healing and Transformation Through Transcendental Meditation.
  44. Book: Shear. Jonathan. Experience of Meditation: Experts Introduce the Major Traditions. Paragon House. St Paul, MN. 2006. 978-1-55778-857-3.
  45. Web site: Ivanka Trump's Gurus Say Their Techniques Can End War and Make You Fly . Rohrlich. Justin. October 14, 2018. thedailybeast.com. The Daily Beast Company LLC. May 21, 2024. TM has its own set of scientists, viewed with skepticism by the mainstream scientific community..
  46. Book: Stark. Rodney. Bainbridge. William, Sims. The Future Of Religion. 1986. University of California Press. 978-0520057319. 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"
  47. Book: Peterson, William. Those Curious New Cults in the 80s. 1982. Keats Publishing. New Canaan, Connecticut. 9780879833176. 123. claims "more than a million" in the USA and Europe.
  48. 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.
  49. Bainbridge, William Sims (1997) Routledge, The Sociology of Religious Movements, page 189 "the million people [Americans] who had been initiated"
  50. Analysis: Practice of requiring probationers to take lessons in transcendental meditation sparks religious controversy, NPR All Things Considered, 1 February 2002 | ROBERT SIEGEL "TM's five million adherents claim that it eliminates chronic health problems and reduces stress."
  51. 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"
  52. 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"
  53. 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."
  54. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi - Transcendental Meditation founder's grand plan for peace, The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), 19 February 2006 | ARTHUR MAX Associated Press writer "transcendental meditation, a movement that claims 6 million practitioners since it was introduced."
  55. News: Bank makes an issue of mystic's mint. Bickerton. Ian. Financial Times. London (UK). 8 February 2003. 09. the movement claims to have five million followers,
  56. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Spiritual Leader Dies, New York Times, By LILY KOPPEL, Published: 6 February 2008 "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"
  57. Web site: Welvaert, Brandy, "Vedic homes seek better living through architecture", Rock Island Argus, (5 August 2005). https://web.archive.org/web/20100326064802/http://download.tmnews.org/2005_08_05_RockIsArgus_ltr.pdf . 2010-03-26 . live.
  58. News: The Washington Post. Bricks Mortar and Serenity. Miranda. Spivack. 12 September 2008.
  59. News: 7 February 2008. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The Times. London (UK).
  60. Encyclopedia: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi . Britannica Concise Encyclopedia .
  61. For new religious movement see:
    Book: Beckford, James A.. Cult controversies: the societal response to new religious movements. 1985. Tavistock Publications. 978-0-422-79630-9. 23.
    Book: Parsons, Gerald. The Growth of Religious Diversity: Traditions. 1994. The Open University/Methuen. 978-0-415-08326-3. 288.
    For neo-Hindu, see:
    Book: Alper, Harvey P.. Understanding mantras. December 1991. Motilal Banarsidass. 978-81-208-0746-4. 442.
    Book: Raj. Selva J.. William P. Harman. Dealing With Deities: The Ritual Vow in South Asia. 2007. SUNY Press. 978-0-7914-6708-4. 129.
  62. Book: Persinger . Michael A. . Carrey . Normand J. . Suess . Lynn A. . TM and cult mania . 1980 . Christopher Pub. House . North Quincy, Mass. . 0-8158-0392-3 .
  63. 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
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