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Transcendental Meditation is a technique for deep rest that balances body and mind, founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It has over 500 scientific studies to back up its claims and does not involve any belief system. The “Maharishi effect” suggests that when 1% of a population practices TM, the quality of life improves. Maharishi also founded institutions and focused on creating world peace.
Transcendental Meditation (or TM) is a technique for obtaining deep rest that brings balance to body and mind. The benefits are achieved through natural self-healing processes which are enlivened by the release of stress through transcendence or technique practice.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (MMY), born in India in 1917, brought Transcendental Meditation to the United States. As a young man he earned a PhD in Physics from Allahabad University, then studied under Jyotir Math’s former Shankaracharya, Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, better known as Guru Dev, which means “divine teacher.” After Guru Dev’s death in 1953, Maharishi became a solitary monk before returning to the cities to begin teaching the Transcendental Meditation technique in 1955. In 1957 he announced plans to spread it around the world. It quietly gained popularity in the 1960s and 1970s when personalities like Mia Farrow, the Beatles and others visited India to meet the Maharishi and learn Transcendental Meditation.
A non-profit organization called The Movement was founded, and TM practitioners were educated by MMY in the Science of Creative Intelligence to become teachers of the technique. Transcendental Meditation has since thrived with practitioners from all walks of life and religious backgrounds from all over the world.
The most unique thing about Transcendental Meditation is that it is the only meditation technique that has over 500 independent scientific studies to back up its claims. These studies were conducted in more than 200 universities and independent research institutes in 33 countries regarding various advantages of the technique, and the results were published in more than 100 respected scientific journals. Examples include Scientific American, the International Journal of Neuroscience, Science, the American Journal of Physiology, the American Journal of Cardiology, the Journal of the Canadian Medical Association, and the British Journal of Educational Psychology.
One of the strengths of TM is that it does not involve any kind of belief system. In fact, people who don’t believe TM will work are encouraged to give it a try. The key to its success is effortlessly creating a state of restful alertness where the mind and body are in a very deep state of rest but fully aware. Through scientific mapping of brain wave activity, it was discovered that this state represents a fourth state of consciousness, differing in quality from the sleep, waking, or dream states of consciousness. It is believed that through this state of consciousness, the body is replenished and a wide variety of health benefits arise naturally.
Some people believe in what is dubbed the “Maharishi effect”: when 1% of a localized population practices Transcendental Meditation, the quality of life improves in the entire community, indicated by reductions in crime and disease. This is something Maharishi himself had been predicting since the 1970s.
In 1971 Maharishi founded the accredited university, Maharishi International University (MIU) in Fairfield Iowa, for “Consciousness Based Education”. He also founded the Maharishi Open University among other institutions. He revitalized interest in Ayurvedic medicine and, until his death on 5
February 2008, he remained focused on helping create world peace since
establish large groups of people who practice Transcendental Meditation
together in various parts of the world.
