When I first started TM I, like many others, had heard the story of MMY’s supposed dalliance with Mia Farrow while in Rishikesh on the teacher training course the Beatles attended in 1968.
I was curious of course. I had heard that MMY presented himself as a celibate monk. Was it possible that he had succumbed to Ms. Farrow’s charms? As I was progressing quickly through the TM ranks (I was always a lousy dabbler…..it was all the way or nothing with me) in 1971 I wanted to know the truth about this incident since I felt that to use the master/disciple relationship to get laid was a fundamental no-no.
Eventually, learning more about fellow travelers from Apple Corp. who were also on the 1968 Rishikesh course, I became convinced that it was all a case of personal jealousy and manipulation by several members of the Apple Corp. staff. One Apple staff member in particular, known as “Magic Alex” apparently had tried to set a trap for MMY using his then girlfriend as bait. The plot failed. I was satisfied that my beloved saint MMY was a pure as the driven snow and lived far above such base human feelings as lust.
Several years later I was somewhat disturbed to read excerpts from Mia Farrow’s biography where she recalled MMY taking her into his dark meditation basement at Rishikesh for a special “puja”. She felt, as she recalled, two hairy arms embrace her around her waist in the dark and try to pull her down to the bed. She quickly left.
I was in the midst of taking the SCI course at the time, preparing to leave for my teacher training course, when I read about Ms. Farrow’s account of her time in MMY’s meditation chamber. I decided that this was nothing more than the faulty memory of an eccentric actress.
Several years later, on one of my many advanced courses in Switzerland, I recall hearing rumors about women following MMY into his room late at night in Seelisberg. This caught my attention since the source was none other than one of MMY’s personal secretaries, popularly known as “skin boys” since they carried the dear skin MMY sat on wherever he chose to park his blessed rump. There was talk about the state of MMY’s sheets on occasion when they were changed in the morning after these visits.
I took notice, but decided it was all too far fetched to be true. I mean, how could my enlightened master be concerned with sex? Hell, that would make him like me! And he was in Unity Consciousness, right? No, it was not possible. I had been spending a lot of time around MMY and had noted some odd behavior such as outbursts of temper and paranoia about the CIA, but the idea of him actually having sex with the granola girls was hard to figure.
1978- I left the TMO for many reasons, not looking back…..until 2006.
For some reason I became intensely curious about the time spent time in the TMO and around MMY. Those who know me well know that when I become curious I am INSATIABLY curious! I embarked on a quest to find out what had happened in the TMO during the time I was gone. I read as many books about TM as I could find, many pro, some con. One of the books I read was by a woman named Nancy Cooke de Herrera. She was a woman who had been with MMY in the early days of the TMO. She, in fact, had arranged with a friend, to fund the building of the Academy of meditation at Rishikesh.
In the mid-70s, about the same time I was attending one of my last courses, Nancy returned to attend one of the early siddhi courses. Her book, “All You Need Is Love’ is an excellent read. She takes an open, honest look at her many years serving MMY. Her story about the Gestapo like atmosphere in place on the mid 70s courses, and being accused by MMY of being in the “CIA” when she attempted to contact him several years later in India, brought back a flood of memories from those days.
About this same time in 2006 I began to contact people I had known back in the day, including several of the “skin boys” I had known from Switzerland. One thing led to another and soon I was in contact with a private chat group consisting of former secretaries and skin boys of MMY’s from the 60’s and 70’s as well as other members of the 1970’s era MMY inner circle. As information began to flow in, several pieces of the puzzle from those days fell into place.
I read long dialogs between former MMY skin boys discussing the comings and goings to MMY’s bedroom of several favored woman…usually in early morning hours. One woman in particular would be awakened, and clothed only in panties and top, be summoned to MMY’s room at 4am to “read mail”.
I read with interest two first hand accounts of an incident in Seelisberg, were two of MMY’s skin boys… who happened to be “on the door” that evening, entered MMY’s room to find him in the act, on top of a naked woman. MMY (or his female companion) inadvertently rolled over onto his contact button, the one used to summon an assistant. According to this account, MMY jumped up, and the two startled fellows quickly left the room.
There were also first hand reports from secretaries from the Rishikesh era, who were quite clearly aware of MMY’s sexual activity with two women in particular during the late 60s. A minimum amount of research on this topic will actually lead you to names and photos of these two women. One has indicated that she will publish her memoirs on these incidents after MMY has passed on. She has spoken privately to certain members of the inner circle from those days, giving graphic details of her dalliances with MMY.
It’s interesting to note, by the way, how many of the former secretaries and “skin boys” of MMY have now left the TMO and have reported on a very different side of 24/7 life with MMY than commonly presented to the true believers. It’s a large group, far outnumbering the few who remain committed to maheshism.
Another book, written by yet another personal secretary from the early days, in this case the early 60’s, is ‘Call No Man Master’ by Joyce Collins-Smith. Among many other interesting accounts of the ever changing nature of the TMO, based in London in those days, Ms. Collins-Smith recalls MMY inviting young female devotees into his room (one at a time) and locking the door. Prior to that time, Ms. Collins-Smith had been instructed by MMY to come in any time, the door would be open.
You might say, all this is hearsay, you have no concrete proof of any actual indiscretion. You would be correct. I am not trying to “prove” anything. I am only recounting my own personal investigation into this area of MMY’s life and reporting on the conclusions I have drawn.
As I mentioned in the beginning, MMY presented himself as a celibate monk. He clearly encouraged celibacy in others. In fact, he personally encouraged me to be celibate when I spoke with him on a course in the 70s in Switzerland, and I was married. For the record, I maintained the celibate state for a grand total of 19 minutes after I spoke with MMY! Clearly, I was not cut out for the life of a monk. Neither is MMY, at least not in my view.
The truest of the true believers, don’t care if MMY had sex with his followers, believing that the actions of an enlightened being are inherently correct. If you feel this way, so be it. But recognize that this is the same kind of totalitarian thinking that allowed a group to follow Jim Jones or masses to follow Adolph Hitler.
During the fall of 2006 I became aware of another person who MMY had attempted to seduce. This time, it didn’t involve names from the distant past, reported by one of the many disillusioned personal assistants to MMY. This time it was someone I am personally acquainted with, a woman who still retains stature within the TMO. She has absolutely nothing to gain by reporting an incident where MMY exposed himself and asked to be “attended to” and everything to lose. This woman has been wrestling with conflicting feeling about this incident for years. I respect her privacy and can only offer my best hopes for her recovery and understanding. But even the slightest remaining personal doubt about MMY’s sexual activities with his female followers during the 60’s and 70’s was now erased.
There are many reasons why I chose not to follow maheshism. MMY’s sexual activities in the 60s and 70s with female devotees only represent a small piece of a very large, tainted pie.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
NEW! Open Thread
We are pleased to add a new feature to TM-Free Blog: Open Threads. At least twice a day we will dedicate an open thread to you, our valued readers. This space is yours. Post anything you want, about anything that interests you! We imagine posts will be about Transcendental Meditation and the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. But you never know!
We are especially pleased to launch our feature with an anonymous posting on Kundalini and the TM technique. Just click on comments below to read this intriguing post.
Enjoy!
We are especially pleased to launch our feature with an anonymous posting on Kundalini and the TM technique. Just click on comments below to read this intriguing post.
Enjoy!
THINK FREE: 01/27/07
THINK FREE is a regular feature of TM-Free Blog. It features a summary of news about Transcendental Meditation and other orgs labeled "cults" by critics.
Have a hot tip? See something we missed? Email jmknapp53@gmail.com.
- Questions and answers on TM with David Lynch Minneapolis Star Tribune [Guess What? He's for It]
- David Lynch Questions 9/11 On National U.S. Radio PrisonPlanet.com [Just What's He Smoking in that Photo?]
- Beckhams Say They're into Cruise, Not Scientology EOnline.com [There's a Difference between a "Christ" and His Church?]
- Discussion of Anorexia "Cults" Splendora.com
- Dad warned me: Never join any secret cult The Sun, Nigeria [Words to Live by]
Have a hot tip? See something we missed? Email jmknapp53@gmail.com.
Friday, January 26, 2007
THINK FREE: 01/26/07
THINK FREE is a regular feature of TM-Free Blog. It features a summary of news about Transcendental Meditation and other orgs labeled "cults" by critics.
Have a hot tip? See something we missed? Email jmknapp53@gmail.com.
- David Lynch Talks Film and TM in Austin KVUE.com
- David Talks More Film & TM Bloomberg.com [Keeps Talking and Talking and Talking...]
- California State University Lecturer Admits to Membership in Children of God Modesto Bee
- German Officials Close Scientology Center on Sunday Der Spiegel [When Is a "Church" Not a Church?]
- Lynch's New Book Remaindered Already? Contributor Sudarsha reports seeing Lynch's book on the $10 table at Chapters Indigo store in
OttawaToronto.
Have a hot tip? See something we missed? Email jmknapp53@gmail.com.
Catching Fried Fish Memories
Whereas David Lynch catches thought fish from thoughts during TM, I can give you some fried fish of my own experience of doing extented TM courses the 1970's; I would say I came out fried on TM. Not everyone who learns TM dives that far into the muddy TM waters, but for the few that do, it can propfoundly change them.
The saddest change that happened to me and to everybody else I knew was that we stopped laughing. All of life became serious. I know I stopped laughing because when my sister came to visit and took me away with my parents to a hotel for a night, I laughed, and realized that I hadn't laughed in months!
Before entering into the extended TM "rounding" periods of meditation that the Maharishi had us do in teacher training courses, I used to plan. However, during these very special courses, the student devotee is discouraged from planning with the directive; "this time is not the time to make decisions!..." Master Mahesh, when exactly do you give the power back into the hands of your students to make decisions for themselves.... nnnneverrrr.......
Before the trance-induction technique of TM, I had table manners. After a lot of meditation, I lost a sense of manners. This was an observation of my mother's when she visited me in Arosa Switzerland where we all ate enmass with other rounding devotees. That was my mom's perspective and her comment stayed with me for a long time. I thought I was getting enlightened. Now I think that we were not only his guinea pigs, but some of us were becoming pigs too!
This last fried fish of a memory happened to me before I did exptended meditation courses. I had been a considerate young woman before meditation, even though perhaps negative and moody. After just beginning TM, I thought more and more about how I felt physically. I became sensitive to smells, I thought a lot more about food, I felt worried about negative energy around me and getting "drained." I had never worried about "energy" before TM. I became more self-absorbed than I had been, even if I had been self-absorbed; it became worse.
The saddest change that happened to me and to everybody else I knew was that we stopped laughing. All of life became serious. I know I stopped laughing because when my sister came to visit and took me away with my parents to a hotel for a night, I laughed, and realized that I hadn't laughed in months!
Before entering into the extended TM "rounding" periods of meditation that the Maharishi had us do in teacher training courses, I used to plan. However, during these very special courses, the student devotee is discouraged from planning with the directive; "this time is not the time to make decisions!..." Master Mahesh, when exactly do you give the power back into the hands of your students to make decisions for themselves.... nnnneverrrr.......
Before the trance-induction technique of TM, I had table manners. After a lot of meditation, I lost a sense of manners. This was an observation of my mother's when she visited me in Arosa Switzerland where we all ate enmass with other rounding devotees. That was my mom's perspective and her comment stayed with me for a long time. I thought I was getting enlightened. Now I think that we were not only his guinea pigs, but some of us were becoming pigs too!
This last fried fish of a memory happened to me before I did exptended meditation courses. I had been a considerate young woman before meditation, even though perhaps negative and moody. After just beginning TM, I thought more and more about how I felt physically. I became sensitive to smells, I thought a lot more about food, I felt worried about negative energy around me and getting "drained." I had never worried about "energy" before TM. I became more self-absorbed than I had been, even if I had been self-absorbed; it became worse.
Is TM meditation?
The very name that TM is given is deceptive; that is the power of this particular orgaization. The "technique" that is taught and labeled "meditation" and sold by the Transcendental Meditation organization is a commodity, not meditation in the generally understood sense of the word- a beneficial spiritual tool. The master even denies that it is meditation, because he also calls it a "technique." Now, if that isn't confusion from the top!
TM is not about meditation; it is about putting people into trances so that they will lose a sense of themselves and be more receptive to what the TM philosophy has to say. It is not neutral. I believe that in and of itself, it is detrimental especially to young people, whose brains are still developing, and have even less life experience in which to reference their new naturally induced drug state of mind. It has an opiate effect EVEN IF PRACTICED TWICE A DAY WITH NO EXTENDED MEDITATION COURSES.
People who are regular practitioners of TM are sometimes distant; they believe that their state of mind is "spiritual." They will and do give up anything for their meditation. But who else will do ANYTHING for a hit of something? Yes, I am referring to drug addicts. TM is a rigidly enforced daily practice. It comes with the belief system that the resulting inner feeling is "transcending" and therefore beneficial for the spirit. This connection is the food for thought that the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has provided for filling the understanding gap between the meditator and his/her experience. Yet, there is no initial claim that TM is spiritual and by golly, it's not!
TM is not about meditation; it is about putting people into trances so that they will lose a sense of themselves and be more receptive to what the TM philosophy has to say. It is not neutral. I believe that in and of itself, it is detrimental especially to young people, whose brains are still developing, and have even less life experience in which to reference their new naturally induced drug state of mind. It has an opiate effect EVEN IF PRACTICED TWICE A DAY WITH NO EXTENDED MEDITATION COURSES.
People who are regular practitioners of TM are sometimes distant; they believe that their state of mind is "spiritual." They will and do give up anything for their meditation. But who else will do ANYTHING for a hit of something? Yes, I am referring to drug addicts. TM is a rigidly enforced daily practice. It comes with the belief system that the resulting inner feeling is "transcending" and therefore beneficial for the spirit. This connection is the food for thought that the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has provided for filling the understanding gap between the meditator and his/her experience. Yet, there is no initial claim that TM is spiritual and by golly, it's not!
Thursday, January 25, 2007
THINK FREE: 01/25/07
THINK FREE is a regular feature of TM-Free Blog. It features a summary of news about Transcendental Meditation and other orgs labeled "cults" by critics.
Have a hot tip? See something we missed? Email jmknapp53@gmail.com.
- Concerns about ISKCON Involvement in School Daily India
- J.Lo Interested in Scientology? The Wichita Eagle [Is It Something in Hollywood's Water?]
- Scientologists Demonstrate against Psychiatric Drugs MetroWest Daily News
- Melee Erupts at "Children of God" Documentary Cinematical.com
- American Idol Denies Being Scientologist Post Chronicle [What a Relief!]
Have a hot tip? See something we missed? Email jmknapp53@gmail.com.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
THINK FREE: 01/24/07
THINK FREE is a regular feature of TM-Free Blog. It features a summary of news about Transcendental Meditation and other orgs labeled "cults" by critics.
Have a hot tip? See something we missed? Email jmknapp53@gmail.com.
- David Lynch and Donovan Sing TM's Praises L.A. Times [The Beatles Made the Maharishi, Can Two Artists Past Their Prime Revive Him?]
Have a hot tip? See something we missed? Email jmknapp53@gmail.com.
Special Techniques again....
People I taught also reported positive experiences using these techniques. It's hard to know how much of it was real and how much was placebo. Maybe it doesn't matter. If you thought you benefited, you benefited, simple as that.
By the time I was giving those techniques out I was very much aware of the experience/reward system so much in place at all levels of the TMO. In Seelisberg I recall people practically tripping over each other trying to out do each other with their sidhi experiences. Whatever was going on, no one flew, no one became invisible, but there were a lot of "just abouts" and "almosts".
Yep, any day now.....
By the time I was giving those techniques out I was very much aware of the experience/reward system so much in place at all levels of the TMO. In Seelisberg I recall people practically tripping over each other trying to out do each other with their sidhi experiences. Whatever was going on, no one flew, no one became invisible, but there were a lot of "just abouts" and "almosts".
Yep, any day now.....
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Governors' Secret Supernatural Powers Program
And the hits just keep comin'!
Below is a recent submission by a former TM Governor. The TM-Sidhi Program is based on the third book of Patanjali's Yoga Darshan, the major source for all knowledge and techniques in the Yoga tradition.
Beginning in the mid-70s, the Maharishi began teaching techniques he claimed would develop supernormal powers in suitably advanced Transcendental Meditation practitioners. But he divided his followers into two groups.
"Governors" were TM teachers who took long meditation courses on which they learned nearly 30 techniques. "Citizens" were non-teaching practitioners who took the Sidhi course in their local centers and learned 18 techniques, without the long meditation program (known as "rounding").
Turns out, as most TMers suspected, the Governors got a little more special sauce than the lowly Citizens. To our knowledge this remains the case. Until today. Below is the full Governor-Only Transcendental Meditation Sidhi Program:
To: jmknapp53@gmail.com
I have a lot of notes, but this should cover all of them.
Original T[ranscendental]M[editation]S[idhi]P[rogram], later watered down and for Citizen Sidha version:
Rest in Shavasana 15 min or longer
If you have information on this or other programs of the Transcendental Meditation Orgs, please contact jmknapp53@gmail.com. Your confidentiality is assured.
UPDATE: In the comment sections below, Barry Wright raises an objection to this post. It may be worth our readers' time to review it. He states that he received his TM-Sidhi Program in 1977 and that there was no difference between his Governor's program and the Citizen program at that time. Everyone benefits from criticism and feedback. I'm certainly no exception. In thinking about Barry's post, two things come to my mind. One of the disadvantages of dealing with an organization that trades in secrets in the way the TM Org does is that you have to trust your sources, but you can never know for certain if you have the whole truth. Our source learned the sidhis in the 1980s. So it seems that some Governors, at least, received different programs from Citizens after the time Barry received them. In the future, I will try to include qualifications of the sort: "according to our source(s)." I hope that addresses Barry's main concern. -- J.
Below is a recent submission by a former TM Governor. The TM-Sidhi Program is based on the third book of Patanjali's Yoga Darshan, the major source for all knowledge and techniques in the Yoga tradition.
Beginning in the mid-70s, the Maharishi began teaching techniques he claimed would develop supernormal powers in suitably advanced Transcendental Meditation practitioners. But he divided his followers into two groups.
"Governors" were TM teachers who took long meditation courses on which they learned nearly 30 techniques. "Citizens" were non-teaching practitioners who took the Sidhi course in their local centers and learned 18 techniques, without the long meditation program (known as "rounding").
Turns out, as most TMers suspected, the Governors got a little more special sauce than the lowly Citizens. To our knowledge this remains the case. Until today. Below is the full Governor-Only Transcendental Meditation Sidhi Program:
To: jmknapp53@gmail.com
I have a lot of notes, but this should cover all of them.
Original T[ranscendental]M[editation]S[idhi]P[rogram], later watered down and for Citizen Sidha version:
| Friendliness | To develop friendliness |
| Compassion | To develop compassion |
| Happiness | To develop happiness |
| The Strength of an Elephant | To develop superhuman strength |
| The Bronchial Tube | To develop calmness |
| The Trachea | To develop control of hunger and thirst |
| The Navel | To develop knowledge of the body |
| On Soma so that Soma Flows Everywhere | To develop the flow of soma |
| The Coronal Light | To see sidhas |
| Inner Light | To develop knowledge of things hidden from view |
| The Sun | to develop knowledge of cosmic visions (lokas) |
| The Moon | To develop knowledge of arrangement of stars |
| The Pole Star | To develop knowledge of motion of stars |
| The Three-fold Parinamas (or Changes) | To develop knowledge of past and future |
| The Heart | To develop knowledge of the mind |
| The Appearance of the Body | To develop invisiibility |
| Word...Object Implied...the Idea Thereof Overlapping | To develop knowledge of language of animals and all beings |
| The Conquering of the Vital Force Samana | To develop effulgence |
| The Distinction Between Buddhi & Purusha | To develop discriminative enlightenment |
| Purusha & Intuition | To develop prescience |
| Purusha....Divine Hearing | To develop clairaudience |
| Purusha....Divine Touch | To develop divine touch |
| Purusha....Divine Sight | To develop divine sight |
| Purusha....Divine Taste | To develop divine taste |
| Purusha....Divine Smell | To develop divine smell |
| On Relationship of Body and Akasha....Lightness of Cotton Fiber | To develop levitation |
| Soma, Soma, Soma | To develop soma and smooth "unstressing" |
Rest in Shavasana 15 min or longer
If you have information on this or other programs of the Transcendental Meditation Orgs, please contact jmknapp53@gmail.com. Your confidentiality is assured.
UPDATE: In the comment sections below, Barry Wright raises an objection to this post. It may be worth our readers' time to review it. He states that he received his TM-Sidhi Program in 1977 and that there was no difference between his Governor's program and the Citizen program at that time. Everyone benefits from criticism and feedback. I'm certainly no exception. In thinking about Barry's post, two things come to my mind. One of the disadvantages of dealing with an organization that trades in secrets in the way the TM Org does is that you have to trust your sources, but you can never know for certain if you have the whole truth. Our source learned the sidhis in the 1980s. So it seems that some Governors, at least, received different programs from Citizens after the time Barry received them. In the future, I will try to include qualifications of the sort: "according to our source(s)." I hope that addresses Barry's main concern. -- J.
THINK FREE: 01/23/07
THINK FREE is a regular feature of TM-Free Blog. It features a summary of news about Transcendental Meditation and other orgs labeled "cults" by critics.
Have a hot tip? See something we missed? Email jmknapp53@gmail.com.
- The Maharishi Greatest Teacher in History -- or Creation? Global Good News [That's Why He Has to Pay for His Own "Good News" Media Service]
- Cruise Unable to Recruit Beckhams IndiaENews.com
- Scientology Claims Cruise is "Christ" The Sun [Wanna Bet David Lynch Is Jealous?]
Have a hot tip? See something we missed? Email jmknapp53@gmail.com.
Lose Weight Now, Ask Me How! (and bring your fruit, flowers, handkerchief and money!)
“Special Techniques Teacher”. Yep, I wanted to be one of those. Another arrow in my spiritual quiver. You never knew how that might come in handy and put you one more notch above the rank and file in the spiritual pecking order.
In 1975 I took a course, actually took it twice, in Switzerland,to become a teacher of the fabled “special techniques”. These were techniques, allegedly ancient and Vedic, to help that pudgy meditator lose weight, stop unstressing or, god forbid, stop smoking or drinking.
The course was two weeks tagged on to the end of yet another 6-month course for those who wanted to attend. Basically it all boiled down to this:
For oral fixations such as eating, smoking and drinking the instruction was to place one’s attention on the “space within the throat”.
For unstressing and general freak out the instruction was to place one’s attention on the tops of the palms.
This was to be done after finishing your regular meditation, or, in the case of the eating technique, while looking at your full plate of food. (Bon Apetite!)
That’s it.
If you needed a smoking technique AND an eating technique we were told to do two pujas and charge double the amount of money. I actually did this once but felt so terrible about it I never did it again. (“Hey, just do the same thing I told you to do before.”)
Yes, friends, the secret may now be revealed. Watch those pounds melt away!
In 1975 I took a course, actually took it twice, in Switzerland,to become a teacher of the fabled “special techniques”. These were techniques, allegedly ancient and Vedic, to help that pudgy meditator lose weight, stop unstressing or, god forbid, stop smoking or drinking.
The course was two weeks tagged on to the end of yet another 6-month course for those who wanted to attend. Basically it all boiled down to this:
For oral fixations such as eating, smoking and drinking the instruction was to place one’s attention on the “space within the throat”.
For unstressing and general freak out the instruction was to place one’s attention on the tops of the palms.
This was to be done after finishing your regular meditation, or, in the case of the eating technique, while looking at your full plate of food. (Bon Apetite!)
That’s it.
If you needed a smoking technique AND an eating technique we were told to do two pujas and charge double the amount of money. I actually did this once but felt so terrible about it I never did it again. (“Hey, just do the same thing I told you to do before.”)
Yes, friends, the secret may now be revealed. Watch those pounds melt away!
Monday, January 22, 2007
Midnight Mantra Madness
Two old-time governors contribute more on mantras for your edification.
And the second revelation to come in was the fifth and sixth advanced techniques, in response to the earlier post of the first four:
Enjoy! Don't let your head explode!
For your discussion on mantras:
A number of traditional sources clearly verify that the TM mantras, technically known as bija-aksharas ("indestructible seed-sounds"), are not meaningless but actually have well-defined meanings. In fact there are entire dictionaries of bija mantras like the bija dictionary of Bhairava rishi.
The Brihad-gandharva-tantra (chapter 5) clearly explains:
"The bijas have a meaning. They indicate the Artha or Devata that they are from. What that Devata is, is [supposed to be] taught to the Sadhaka (student), just as the child learns that 'rose' means a certain type of flower, and that rice and milk are the names for a certain type of food and drink he can have."
In any event, here are the meanings of some TM mantras according to the Varada-Tantra to demonstrate:
Aing
[The letter] "Ai" [in the mantra] means Sarasvati. Bindu [the "g" at the end of the mantra] means "dispeller of sorrow". This is the bija of Sarasvati. With it Vani or Sarasvati should be worshipped.
Shring
"Sa" means Mahalakshmi. "Ra" is said to mean "wealth". "I" means "satifaction". Nada is Apara (Ishvara). Bindu means "dispeller of sorrow". This is the bija of Devi Lakshmi. With it this Devi should be worshipped.
Hring
"Ha" means Shiva. "Ra" is said to be Prakriti. "I" means Mahamaya. Nada is said to be Mother of the Universe. Bindu means "dispeller of sorrow". With that Bhuvaneshvari should be worshipped.
etc...
And the second revelation to come in was the fifth and sixth advanced techniques, in response to the earlier post of the first four:
Wow, you only had two to go: shri shri aing aing namah namah and then the same thing in rhythm with the pulsing of the heart.
Enjoy! Don't let your head explode!
Eenie, Meenie, Mo' Mantras
Well, as long as we're talking mantras, readers may be interested in yet more versions -- as well the mantra meanings. I recommend starting with Mike Doughney's discussion on minet.org. The meanings -- and more! -- are discussed at trancenet.net. Then consider this version contributed this evening by another old-time TM Governor/Teacher:
Have fun readers! Just don't let your head explode from reading forbidden knowledge!
Ing 3-10
Em 10-12
Inga 12-14
Ema 16-18
Aing 18-20
Aim 20-22
Ainga 22-24
Aima 24-26
Shiring 26-30
Shirim 30-35
Hiring 35-40
Hirim 40-45
Kiring 45-50
Kirim 50-55
Shiam 55-60
Shiama 60+
My mantra was Aing. First advanced tech was Aing-namah. Second advanced technique was Shri Aing-namah. Third was Shri Aing-Namah Namhah. Fourth was Shri Shri Aing-Namah Namah.
Have fun readers! Just don't let your head explode from reading forbidden knowledge!
Mantras
This is the revised four-part Mantras post in one continuous piece.
Mantras - when I was instructed, my teacher had recently returned from her course at which the fab four had been briefly involved. She gave me the mantra "I'm" (that's what it sounded like but I visualized it as an eye with an m after it, at least for a while). [11 May 2007: I have edited all 4 part together here. This is the beginning of part one]
When I became a TM teacher (30 months after learning TM) I was given two lists, one for men, one for women. I immediately pointed out to Mahesh that my own mantra was "wrong" according to the piece of paper he had just handed me. I instantly asked if I should change my mantra. He said no, doesn't matter.
ages 6-15 (children's technique from 6-10 ing, boys, im girls )
11-16 ing male, im female
15-30 aing male, aim female
30-45 shring male, shrim female
45 and over shiam male and shiama female.
I had gotten my "second" (a.k.a. night) technique from Sattyanand (this turned out to be slightly different from what a friend had gotten in a different group either before or after my group – I'll dig out my notes in order to discuss this later, I don't recall it being hugely significant, we had all been taught to check it, essentially give it, the same way). – The night technique never worked until about 18 months later in Fiuggi, then it worked brilliantly until my next technique which Mahesh gave me, then it stopped working completely and I forgot about it.
Two months after becoming a teacher, Sattyanand gave me my third technique. He asked me what my mantra was and I said aim (pronounced I'm ... right age, wrong gender). He more or less grunted I'm namah and told me to go and meditate.
I did.
It felt like I was falling out of an airplane. I felt dragged down and down and down, becoming increasingly and increasingly, heavy, woozy, dreamy and all the time consciousness of this and increasingly unable to form a clear thought, like help, for example.
After about two more tries of this, I asked him to check my mantra. He asked what it was, I said I'm namah and he grunted no, eye'ng namah. Lots of emphasis on his part, I knew unquestionably I had made no mistake of understanding before. After that, meditation was just meditation, moderately dull, kind of restful.
In Fiuggi the mantras list was just ages and mantras. the first two the same as my first two, but no gender differentiation [I doubt he had gone equal opportunity given his penchant for separating men and women, but that came later anyway]. I don't remember the ages, but I do remember the mantras: ing, im, inga, ima (obvious, add a to the end of the first two) aying, ayim, (obvious, add ay to the end of the first two) then ayinga. ayima, (adding a to the end), then shring, my 40-45 men's mantra.
Long story (omitted here but it was after Fiuggi), I asked Mahesh to make me an M-Group teacher. Which he did. I could teach monks, nuns, priests, and religious brothers so they could take the SCI course. Mahesh wasn't just trying to invade politics! – I was given two mantras aying for men, ayim for nuns.
I still have the piece of paper he picked up to write them for me.
What's personal about personal mantra in the mythical purity of the teaching?
Next, I want to mention a few things about some observations I have about what Mahesh said about mantras in Beacon. And then, maybe, what Yogananda said about his use of mantra.
*§* part two
Mahesh lied (3 to 5 years to CC, gimme a break) in order to sell the product I believed in. That’s a given. But I certainly believed and he certainly lied, depending on rumour and innuendo to persuade me, all of us, of not only the greatness of TM but his personal greatness as well.
But he lied and he wasn't so great, either.
We all, as far as I know, believed at one time that if lying was what it took to spread TM, then that was OK. The end justified the means because, speaking for myself, I truly, deeply, completely believed TM was the greatest gift that could be given.
Sure, I had some difficulty with the fact that anyone wanting to learn had to pay so I could give this great gift; but I managed.
I rationalized.
To this day, I firmly believe that meditation is a great and valuable gift. But is TM meditation? Is TM “great” and is it “valuable”? I want to look at this in Part 3.
It certainly is not a gift. It is an expensive commodity – one not only purchases TM like a pair of shoes, but also comes to possess something to which of necessity commits like raising a child. Except this product surreptitiously elevates you to another life-style. And while you might have started out as the one taking care of it (good old 2x20) eventually it takes over and you are buying it the next thing Mahesh is selling, the next thing that will make it work better, faster, smoother.
Are we also to absolutely trust Mahesh when he tells us his method* is the only thing that can be called meditation? In the early days he referred to smoke, to unwinding. It was not until his meeting with Hans Selye that we discovered that we were unstressing. Didn't he understand his own method? Whose meditation is it, anyway?
Can someone “own” a method?
I have tried several different forms of meditation. BUT I am not claiming that my assessment is sufficient reason for anyone to stop what is working, or switch to something else. If you personally are happy with the results of TM or any other form of meditation, if your life is running smoothly and you are not dependent on anyone to tell you what kind of life-style is most appropriate, what life-partner you should or should not have, if you are making good decisions that are working out for you and not alienating you from family and friends, if you are not having to get new friends to support new life-style – then you are most likely on a path very likely appropriate for you.
TM is one of several mantra-based methods. What is special about TM as a method is THE WAY the mantra is used. I have found this way to be brilliant, highly effective in every one of the meditation methods I have tried. I do not know where Mahesh got this method, from whom he borrowed it or from whose efforts he extracted it.** I am, however, very grateful for this method. The meditation I am presently doing gives me much, much more peace, calm and insight than the TM mantra-based method did.
What is the method? Return to an awareness of the object of meditation (in the case of TM, the mantra; in the case of one of the methods practised in Theravāda Buddhism in the Thai Forest Tradition, the breath) as effortlessly as you experience the awareness of having drifted off the object.
This is simply brilliant.
My question is this: why are the results in activity so much more rewarding for me using the breath as an object than using a "meaningless sound".
The “method” is useful, but what about the “mantra”?
The mantra (a.k.a. meaningless thought, meaningless sound): Let’s look at what Mahesh said at the beginning:
We do not select any sound like mike, flower, table, pen, wall etc. because such ordinary sounds can do nothing more than merely sharpening the mind; whereas there are some special sounds which have the additional efficacy of producing vibrations whose effects are found to be congenial to our way of life. This is the scientific reason why we do not select any word at random. For our practice we select only the suitable mantras of personal Gods. Such mantras fetch to us the grace of personal Gods and make us happier in every walk of life.***
So, first we don’t want sounds that just do nothing more than merely sharpening the mind. Isn’t this in and of itself a red flag? Why wouldn’t we want sharp minds? If we had sharp minds might we detect something not in Mahesh’s best interests? That was my thought when I read this remark by Mahesh.
Like any totalitarian thinker, Mahesh would only want sharp minds from which he could cull information. Then, as he has done so often when finished with someone providing him with answers, he could send them to round and do the ‘sidhi’ program until they were no longer sharp enough to realize they were being blindsided and their work siphoned off to the credit of someone else. This requires some more discussion and I intend to get to that in Part 3.
So, we need “special” sounds that have the additional efficacy of producing vibrations whose effects are found to be congenial to our way of life – doesn’t that suggest maintaining the status quo and feeling better about it?
Is Mahesh actually saying, as I obviously suspect he is: give me your devotion and resources and I'll make you happy. Doesn't that sound suspiciously like some grubby guy on a street corner our mothers told us to stay away from?
Then Mahesh mixes science and God. This is the scientific reason why we do not select any word at random. For our practice we select only the suitable mantras of personal Gods. Such mantras fetch to us the grace of personal Gods and make us happier in every walk of life.
How is this scientific? Is Mahesh suggesting that what he says is as valid as “science” [just because he says it]? Isn’t science based on observation, trial and error until we find what works consistently? In what way could such experiments be undertaken to find the suitable mantras of personal Gods?
What are personal Gods and how is this not a religion? (An unswered question, as far as I know.)
To me, his words suggest that you somehow get the calling card of some “god” (whatever he might or might not mean by that) or maybe you get the private, unlisted number of some god (a super-being, a fairy godmother, a notion that can only be the product of magical thinking) who then owes you? How can that possibly make sense? Again, how is this scientific?
What are personal Gods? What are Gods and who determines how they get personal? When did this become acceptable thinking? Or, as has been easily observed so consistently, the development of Maheshism resides in the repetition of the same words which finally brings acceptance, not necessarily understanding, but definitely unquestioned acceptance. Back to page one of Beacon Light of the Himalayas mind control. Mahesh was advertising "his" method as mind control.
Who was going to control whose mind, anyway? Or has that become increasingly obvious since those early days? Did he or did he not know what he was talking about then? If he did, why isn't he talking about it now? Is TM a secret religion?
In Mantras Part 3, I want to look at what the mantra is doing as opposed to what Mahesh says the mantra is doing.
--- The Notes ---
* Mahesh referred to TM as “my method” from the very beginning; this is unquestionable. You can refer to Beacon Light of the Himalayas in the related links section. But note also that he advertises on the cover of this document MIND CONTROL. Who will be controlling whose mind? It doesn’t say.
** I am suspicious that he might have conned it out of some Lama fleeing Tibet as it so closely resembles some of the teachings of Dzogchen, such as “sky-like” mind and “nonmeditation”.
*** Beacon Light of the Himalayas, page 65, published in THE MAHARISHI, by Paul Mason, 2005, [see footnote 310] pages 248-9. The complete text of Beacon is available at Paul’s web site.
*§* part three
The TMO (TM Organization) has been careful to ignore and cover up the problem of casualties: such things as loss of mental stability, depression, suicide, bankruptcy (in the effort to buy the next greatest course rumoured to be the next greatest course), burgeoning drug use amongst its children, neglect of children in favour of “program” and so on.
Yet, we know people who did TM, got checked regularly, did or tried to do all the courses but crashed, burned and were simply invisible on the radar of Movement.
Of course, we also know people with varying degrees of success (as described by Mahesh and the TMO).
In the end, it seems only one thing can be said about TM: results vary.
Why?
On one level, TM is no different from any other practise or endeavour in which large numbers become involved. If Mahesh chooses to only notice the “good news” brought to him by his tail-wagging sycophants and on that basis believes that “his” meditation is some universal good, that tells us much more about Mahesh than it does “his” meditation.
In Part 2, I questioned Mahesh’s primary statement about “his” method and mantras. Any ordinary word, he said, would only “merely sharpen the mind”. But to make a stronger case for himself/”his” method, he said, “for our practise we select only the suitable mantras of personal Gods. Such mantras fetch to us the grace of personal Gods and make us happier in every walk of life.”
We might wonder how this is not religious or why he said something very different in the West.
I am very much indebted to Paul Mason (author of the 'The Maharishi') for editorial comments and for sharing with me his excellent analysis regarding what Guru Dev apparently taught, what Mahesh initially did with it and then simply ignored any kind of obligation he might have had toward Guru Dev and his own Hindu heritage by “masking” his religious teaching as a meditation method based on ‘meaningless sounds’.
(see and the contents of 'Beacon Light of the Himalayas'. See also the Blog more about "techniques")
The Images
Mahesh used two images which, I am sure, are familiar to all TMers: the image of dipping-the-cloth and the bubble diagram.
The bubble diagram purports to explain that since thoughts arise and come to our attention on the “surface” of the mind, the gross awareness, we should therefore be able to follow a specific thought backwards, to the source of thought.
We accepted that as factual.
But, is it?
Then, we accepted as factual that a specific thought, not just any thought, but a specifically chosen personal (meaningless sound), would do just this, dissolve into the source from which all thought arises.
Is this factual?
What would the source of thought look like? If we found it, how would we know. The answer seemed to be you just would.
Then we learned that no thought and no mantra (personal meaningless sound), an after-the-fact experience, was just that, pure consciousness, the source of thought.
Was it?
A Sideways Look at Things, a different perspective:
This is how I think the bubble diagram and the dipping-the-cloth image can be explained and account for some TM casualties. Since no blanket explanation can be made about the effects of TM because so many different people have had so many different experiences, results and so on, I will try, here, to explain just one possible result of the TM method and meaningless sound:
(1) When you just sit and think a thought, you notice that it leads to other thoughts which in turn lead to other thoughts. I do not think it is possible to think one and only one thought for any prolonged period. It certainly is not possible to think the mantra and only the mantra because it is very clearly laid out in the checking procedure that when we realize we are “off” the mantra, we come back to it as easily as we notice any thought.
You can check http://www.trancenet.net/ or http://minet.org/checktoc.html for the precise wording of the checking notes.
(2) What were you doing when you noticed you were “off” the mantra? Were you daydreaming? Were the daydreams clear or were you unable to recall what the mind was experiencing?
(3) OR, and especially after some familiarity with the practice, were the daydreams much muzzier than your usual daydreaming? Have you noticed that this kind of experience/daydreaming tends toward long absences from memory?
Since so many people have so many different experiences and few if any have the same experience repeatedly, I want to talk about just this one possibility: muzzy disconnected daydreaming becoming increasingly gossamer until there was a blank spot. – This is where I think TM leads, to a bleary, disjointed, ephemeral experience of increasingly vague, insubstantial daydreaming until (that other image) dipping the cloth becomes complete.
Dipping-the-cloth
Sometimes, this takes a long, long time, sometimes, not. Some might and some might not remember the process; BUT on teacher training courses in the past and I suspect ‘sidha’ experience today, the vague and woolly experience (dipping yourself into the dye of no meaning and no memory) gets speeded up. The cloth (that’s you and your awareness) becomes more and more the state of vagueness and less and less a “merely” sharp mind.
Just what colour was he impregnating your cloth with, anyway!
As I did not like the way rounding made me feel, I didn’t do much of it, so at the peak of rounding, when Mahesh told the assembled pie-eyed believers that only he could love them, that no one could love them as he could, I was just a little shocked; I became more taken aback as he clarified that neither mother nor father could love you as he could. He kept at this theme for some time. The assembled were malleable, supple in the hands of an expert at indoctrination (of course, I only recognized this for what it was much, much later). So many of us had dipped-the-cloth to the point of total surrender; no wonder he didn’t want us to make any new decisions on the course, he wanted us to accept his decisions, he wanted us to leave no room for any but his decisions, the permanent dye of his thinking.
My interpretation of mantras/meaningless sounds used in the intimate way of Mahesh’s meditation
The mantra does NOT draw the mind into finer and finer levels of thought until it reaches the “bottom” or the source of thought. Rather, the mantra takes the awareness, the clarity of mind, the thinking process sideways into a vague state of daydreaming and disconnect from meaningfulness where no clear perception or clear thought can be formed.
What else can a meaningless thought do? Mahesh told his Indian audience about personal gods and suitable mantras for those gods but then later taught that the mantras were meaningless.
Which is it? To whom was he lying?
Was he suggesting Guru Dev was wrong? Did he know better than the teacher to whom he pretends such devotion? Or was he simply modeling our future behaviour toward himself?
Words with no attached meaning ARE meaningless and meaning does not arise from meaninglessness. But if you are sufficiently saturated with the colour of TM, the colour of rounding, the colour of imagining you can fly – then how easy would it be to insinuate an idea that seemed completely meaningful i.e. that by repeating the mantra one would discover blissfulness, heaven on earth!
A simple experiment:
(after you read this)
Sit and close your eyes and say/think/ponder some word over and over; just that word, over and over, some word you understand, some particular word you know the meaning of. Pick a simple word like house or flower or chair.
What happens?
If you keep doing it you notice that it becomes nonsense. The sound and the meaning detach from one another. There’s just this very strange sound that does not have the sense it had when you started. It’s even funnier if you do it again and pick a complex word like hypothalamus or train station. After a while you begin to hear what someone who known no English hears.
Now notice: do you get intellectually sharper doing this, or do you feel slightly spacey? – Ask yourself very carefully how different is “just any word” and your personally selected meaningless sound? Do different words bring different experiences of silliness? Is this a beneficial experience of altered alertness? Is this experience of altered alertness beneficial?
Only you can answer. Obviously experiences may vary.
Suppose that you undertake to do this experiment 2x20 (twice each day for twenty minutes each time) and go on a teacher training course where you do this 4x20 twice morning and twice afternoon). Suppose, given the fun of group meditation and suchwhat you do this 4x30 or 4x45 ? On the teacher training courses I attended the “rounding” escalated to 4 morning rounds and 4 afternoon rounds.
Now the ‘sidhi’ program requires something near 4 hours morning and afternoon. In the early days before the ‘sidhi’ program, Mahesh only encouraged 2x20, but when he surveyed an ATR for which I was course-leader, everyone was doing AT LEAST 45 to 50 minute meditations! He didn’t have a hissy fit, he didn’t get angry, he didn’t do anything.
Apparently no response is assent.
Dipping-the-cloth. Whose colour was your dye?
The more you dip into the TM pool, the Maheshism pool of altered alertness, the more easily it is to disconnect from meaning and clarity and get comfortable with that spacey feeling where no meaningful thinking is taking place … do you remember “the mind goes in the direction of more and more”? That is a definition of greed and craving; but Mahesh wanted you to think that more and more meant encountering the “source of thought”, the “field of all possibilities”. He wanted you to think you were becoming more and more enlightened. Were you becoming more and more enlightened? Are you more and more enlightened? (What in the heck does “enlightened” mean, anyway, more and more spacey?)
If Mahesh brought anything to the west, it was the super fast-drying dye-job of Maheshism.
I am firmly convinced that when Mahesh said the nature of the mind is to go in the direction of more and more, what he knew was that the more you became absorbed in that spacey realm of the unclear and purposeless, the more easily you simply accepted every word and any word he said, bought into every new course, concept and product, made every effort to attend every program.
Just consider those moments you thought of as no thought, no mantra – might they have been blackouts, periods when you were not there! Might you have been in some hypnotic frame of mind, open to suggestion?
Meaninglessness takes the awareness sideways.
The more you willingly participate in the super fast-drying dye-job of Maheshism, the more sideways, dissociated, disconnected, purposeless your mental function becomes. The more you readily believe the magical thinking of Maheshism, the more willingly you participate and tell others.
Remember when Mahesh said again and again on your teacher training course “we do not make any decisions on teacher training”? He wanted you to get the full benefit of what you were being exposed to: the disconnect nature of your own mental processes which he told you was the source of thought. You were being shepherded from your colour to his preference, he was dipping you in his dye, you were taking on his colour. – Have you ever asked yourself what became of your colour? What was your original colour, can you remember?
You don’t have to give this any further thought if you truly and sincerely believe you are getting or have gotten your money’s worth from TM. Many are firmly convinced they are truly blessed by all that is Mahesh and TM. But if you have doubts, you might want to consult with http://www.suggestibility.org/ .
*§* part four
There is a significant difference between what Mahesh said (“For our practice we select only the suitable mantras of personal Gods.”) and understanding the concept that some things are endowed with spiritual significance. To endow a thing with spiritual or religious significance does not change the thing in any way. What changes is attitude on the part of those who subscribe to the endowment.
Mahesh clearly endowed his actions/teachings and "vision" with spiritual and religious significance and cultured that attitude in us. Remember The Spiritual Regeneration Movement?
Unstressing
When bizarre behaviour began to erupt at Mallorca, Mahesh called it waves of bliss. He said something good was happening. He didn’t teach that the experience was just another experience and we were to experience the feeling until it resolved itself. Yes, something like that was somewhere in the checking notes, but people thrown off guard by suddenly strange behaviours and feelings, seeing their neighbours in the same situation are highly UN-likely to run off to check the checking notes.
From my side, I see "unstressing" as the body-mind experiencing a crisis, cognitive dissonance in opposition to which it cannot restore its integrity: body and mind feel like they are coming apart and behaviours beyond will-power or aside from what one had previously considered her/his will-power display themselves. I think that many of us accepted Mahesh in toto rather than resolve a crisis.
Feeling the Body
Many of us were there, saw it, even experienced it. The checking notes as they appear on line now http://minet.org/checkinggp.html or http://www.trancenet.net/secrets/checking/checkinggp.shtml give excellent if somewhat inconsistent teaching regarding untoward experiences arising in meditation. But were these "general points" in the checking notes at the time? I would very much appreciate knowing if anyone has the checking notes from Mallorca or prior to Mallorca and could tell me or preferably show me how the understanding of "feeling the body" was taught. Maybe they were, but who had the presence of mind to look? Where were the “monitors” who should have kept people sane by making sure they weren’t going off the deep end? Where was Mahesh’s head when he suggested that during the week of silence we should meditate as much as possible! He never mentioned round as much as possible, suggesting asana breaks!
I only remember a conversation with Jerry Jarvis, prior to Mallora. He said that 'it' probably shouldn't be called feeling the body but should be called continuing. At the time, however, this concept seemed a very minor consideration.
I do not ever recall any time when Mahesh explained "feeling the body" as anything integral or as a necessary element to know or practise with as part of long periods of rounding. I can recall no mention of feeling-the-body as a "stitch in time". Regarding the horrendous freak-out that was Mallorca and (to a lesser extent) Fiuggi, apparently very few if any others remembered or knew or thought about this, either. – My conclusion: Mahesh is irresponsible, or, even more irresponsibly, he thought that he was weeding the weak from the strong, separating those he might like to use from those he could discard.
Beyond
I knew that I was really seeking something.
In a story Ramakrishna* told, he said that the seeker is like a thief in the night, he slips into the darkened house, touches this and that always muttering not the gold, not the gold. But when his hand feels the gold, he knows, he grasps it and is immediately gone into the night.
In some way, I knew I was in the darkened house of ignorance and TM really had the feel of gold. Maybe it might have been just that; but much later I discovered that Mahesh was corrupted by his own greed and narcissism subsequently corrupting not only what he had purloined from his tradition and teacher, but those he taught as well. This is my perception to this day, based upon my interaction with Mahesh and observing his interaction with others.
But just because I had been hoodwinked by a charlatan whose motives I felt were highly suspicious, I did not cease seeking. I kept looking for the gold and now I feel I have found that gold and have been examining it in the broad daylight, questioning practitioners and teachers alike, watching, observing, certainly looking for the behaviours and attitudes with which TM allowed me to be familiar. I am also looking at criteria such as Lifton’s to see if I am being cheated. I wish I could have done this from the beginning with TM.
I have continued the search that began in the spring of 1964. I can only conclude at this time that there is much more to life than TM. There is more than imagining that if you believe something good is happening long enough something good will happen. There is more to life than imagining you have been spiritually endowed by using the suitable mantras for personal gods.
I am a Buddhist presently practicing in the Thai Forest Tradition of Theravāda Buddhism. I have no intention of suggesting that this is better than or superior to what Mahesh or Guru Dev is teaching/taught. However, if you are or feel you might be or might have been a TM casualty, you might want to look at “feeling the body” as explained in the Buddhist teachings.
If, and only if after considerable reflection on your part you feel that this is a step, endeavour or exercise you feel confident in making read through http://www.sinc.sunysb.edu/clubs/buddhism/vimalaramsi/main.html. This is a link to The Anapanasati Sutta – A Practical Guide to Mindfulness of Breathing and Tranquil Wisdom, the Buddha’s own very straightforward, uncomplicated alertness-based method of meditation and/or http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/soma/wayof.html, The Satipatthana Sutta, basically the same method, but given in more detail. Notice, there is nothing held back, no secret courses, no fees.
I am suggesting nothing easy, but I am suggesting something very do-able and uncomplicated. But, if you will, notice that the teaching begins with following the breath and letting mind and body become calm. Do you remember from the checking procedure how, before any mention of mantra, after opening and closing the eyes, you felt some quiet and calm, just naturally?
Did you realize anything or ever think about this?
You already knew how to be calm and quiet. It is my opinion that Mahesh’s teachings beyond establishing this insight is nothing more than a distraction from that calm and quiet, sidestepping the only meaningful reality, your own innate, knowable reality.
How can there possibly be any other basis for happiness in the world than knowing your own specific reality (your own colour)?
Cultivating this calm-and-quiet is the object of the Anapanasati Sutta. The method and teaching above (A Practical Guide) has been extremely helpful for me and I feel that if it is only read as an explanation it is helpful to understand the concept of mindfulness in the Buddhist tradition.
Further, in the The Satipatthana Sutta, we read how the Buddha established mindfulness in four REALITIES, the primary four realities of the individual, the person, YOU.
The first foundation is, basically, feeling the body, getting settled in and comfortable with your own physical reality just as it is. Little by little, as the impediments to mindfulness come up, they are skilfully abandoned.
I want to leave off with the advice of Padmasambhava**, an 8th century CE Tibetan teacher, who summarized his advice on spiritual development like this:
As for the innermost advice: no matter what kind of disturbing emotion you feel, look into the emotion and it tracelessly subsides. The disturbing emotion is thus naturally freed. This is simple to practice.
This is for me the gold and legitimate teachers share this innermost advice but do not sell it.
_____________
* Ramakrishna late 19th Century Indian saint living in the Bengal
** Padmasambhava’s Advice from the Lotus-Born (‘Pointing the Staff at the Old Man’)
Mantras - when I was instructed, my teacher had recently returned from her course at which the fab four had been briefly involved. She gave me the mantra "I'm" (that's what it sounded like but I visualized it as an eye with an m after it, at least for a while). [11 May 2007: I have edited all 4 part together here. This is the beginning of part one]
When I became a TM teacher (30 months after learning TM) I was given two lists, one for men, one for women. I immediately pointed out to Mahesh that my own mantra was "wrong" according to the piece of paper he had just handed me. I instantly asked if I should change my mantra. He said no, doesn't matter.
ages 6-15 (children's technique from 6-10 ing, boys, im girls )
11-16 ing male, im female
15-30 aing male, aim female
30-45 shring male, shrim female
45 and over shiam male and shiama female.
I had gotten my "second" (a.k.a. night) technique from Sattyanand (this turned out to be slightly different from what a friend had gotten in a different group either before or after my group – I'll dig out my notes in order to discuss this later, I don't recall it being hugely significant, we had all been taught to check it, essentially give it, the same way). – The night technique never worked until about 18 months later in Fiuggi, then it worked brilliantly until my next technique which Mahesh gave me, then it stopped working completely and I forgot about it.
Two months after becoming a teacher, Sattyanand gave me my third technique. He asked me what my mantra was and I said aim (pronounced I'm ... right age, wrong gender). He more or less grunted I'm namah and told me to go and meditate.
I did.
It felt like I was falling out of an airplane. I felt dragged down and down and down, becoming increasingly and increasingly, heavy, woozy, dreamy and all the time consciousness of this and increasingly unable to form a clear thought, like help, for example.
After about two more tries of this, I asked him to check my mantra. He asked what it was, I said I'm namah and he grunted no, eye'ng namah. Lots of emphasis on his part, I knew unquestionably I had made no mistake of understanding before. After that, meditation was just meditation, moderately dull, kind of restful.
In Fiuggi the mantras list was just ages and mantras. the first two the same as my first two, but no gender differentiation [I doubt he had gone equal opportunity given his penchant for separating men and women, but that came later anyway]. I don't remember the ages, but I do remember the mantras: ing, im, inga, ima (obvious, add a to the end of the first two) aying, ayim, (obvious, add ay to the end of the first two) then ayinga. ayima, (adding a to the end), then shring, my 40-45 men's mantra.
Long story (omitted here but it was after Fiuggi), I asked Mahesh to make me an M-Group teacher. Which he did. I could teach monks, nuns, priests, and religious brothers so they could take the SCI course. Mahesh wasn't just trying to invade politics! – I was given two mantras aying for men, ayim for nuns.
I still have the piece of paper he picked up to write them for me.
What's personal about personal mantra in the mythical purity of the teaching?
Next, I want to mention a few things about some observations I have about what Mahesh said about mantras in Beacon. And then, maybe, what Yogananda said about his use of mantra.
*§* part two
Mahesh lied (3 to 5 years to CC, gimme a break) in order to sell the product I believed in. That’s a given. But I certainly believed and he certainly lied, depending on rumour and innuendo to persuade me, all of us, of not only the greatness of TM but his personal greatness as well.
But he lied and he wasn't so great, either.
We all, as far as I know, believed at one time that if lying was what it took to spread TM, then that was OK. The end justified the means because, speaking for myself, I truly, deeply, completely believed TM was the greatest gift that could be given.
Sure, I had some difficulty with the fact that anyone wanting to learn had to pay so I could give this great gift; but I managed.
I rationalized.
To this day, I firmly believe that meditation is a great and valuable gift. But is TM meditation? Is TM “great” and is it “valuable”? I want to look at this in Part 3.
It certainly is not a gift. It is an expensive commodity – one not only purchases TM like a pair of shoes, but also comes to possess something to which of necessity commits like raising a child. Except this product surreptitiously elevates you to another life-style. And while you might have started out as the one taking care of it (good old 2x20) eventually it takes over and you are buying it the next thing Mahesh is selling, the next thing that will make it work better, faster, smoother.
Are we also to absolutely trust Mahesh when he tells us his method* is the only thing that can be called meditation? In the early days he referred to smoke, to unwinding. It was not until his meeting with Hans Selye that we discovered that we were unstressing. Didn't he understand his own method? Whose meditation is it, anyway?
Can someone “own” a method?
I have tried several different forms of meditation. BUT I am not claiming that my assessment is sufficient reason for anyone to stop what is working, or switch to something else. If you personally are happy with the results of TM or any other form of meditation, if your life is running smoothly and you are not dependent on anyone to tell you what kind of life-style is most appropriate, what life-partner you should or should not have, if you are making good decisions that are working out for you and not alienating you from family and friends, if you are not having to get new friends to support new life-style – then you are most likely on a path very likely appropriate for you.
TM is one of several mantra-based methods. What is special about TM as a method is THE WAY the mantra is used. I have found this way to be brilliant, highly effective in every one of the meditation methods I have tried. I do not know where Mahesh got this method, from whom he borrowed it or from whose efforts he extracted it.** I am, however, very grateful for this method. The meditation I am presently doing gives me much, much more peace, calm and insight than the TM mantra-based method did.
What is the method? Return to an awareness of the object of meditation (in the case of TM, the mantra; in the case of one of the methods practised in Theravāda Buddhism in the Thai Forest Tradition, the breath) as effortlessly as you experience the awareness of having drifted off the object.
This is simply brilliant.
My question is this: why are the results in activity so much more rewarding for me using the breath as an object than using a "meaningless sound".
The “method” is useful, but what about the “mantra”?
The mantra (a.k.a. meaningless thought, meaningless sound): Let’s look at what Mahesh said at the beginning:
We do not select any sound like mike, flower, table, pen, wall etc. because such ordinary sounds can do nothing more than merely sharpening the mind; whereas there are some special sounds which have the additional efficacy of producing vibrations whose effects are found to be congenial to our way of life. This is the scientific reason why we do not select any word at random. For our practice we select only the suitable mantras of personal Gods. Such mantras fetch to us the grace of personal Gods and make us happier in every walk of life.***
So, first we don’t want sounds that just do nothing more than merely sharpening the mind. Isn’t this in and of itself a red flag? Why wouldn’t we want sharp minds? If we had sharp minds might we detect something not in Mahesh’s best interests? That was my thought when I read this remark by Mahesh.
Like any totalitarian thinker, Mahesh would only want sharp minds from which he could cull information. Then, as he has done so often when finished with someone providing him with answers, he could send them to round and do the ‘sidhi’ program until they were no longer sharp enough to realize they were being blindsided and their work siphoned off to the credit of someone else. This requires some more discussion and I intend to get to that in Part 3.
So, we need “special” sounds that have the additional efficacy of producing vibrations whose effects are found to be congenial to our way of life – doesn’t that suggest maintaining the status quo and feeling better about it?
Is Mahesh actually saying, as I obviously suspect he is: give me your devotion and resources and I'll make you happy. Doesn't that sound suspiciously like some grubby guy on a street corner our mothers told us to stay away from?
Then Mahesh mixes science and God. This is the scientific reason why we do not select any word at random. For our practice we select only the suitable mantras of personal Gods. Such mantras fetch to us the grace of personal Gods and make us happier in every walk of life.
How is this scientific? Is Mahesh suggesting that what he says is as valid as “science” [just because he says it]? Isn’t science based on observation, trial and error until we find what works consistently? In what way could such experiments be undertaken to find the suitable mantras of personal Gods?
What are personal Gods and how is this not a religion? (An unswered question, as far as I know.)
To me, his words suggest that you somehow get the calling card of some “god” (whatever he might or might not mean by that) or maybe you get the private, unlisted number of some god (a super-being, a fairy godmother, a notion that can only be the product of magical thinking) who then owes you? How can that possibly make sense? Again, how is this scientific?
What are personal Gods? What are Gods and who determines how they get personal? When did this become acceptable thinking? Or, as has been easily observed so consistently, the development of Maheshism resides in the repetition of the same words which finally brings acceptance, not necessarily understanding, but definitely unquestioned acceptance. Back to page one of Beacon Light of the Himalayas mind control. Mahesh was advertising "his" method as mind control.
Who was going to control whose mind, anyway? Or has that become increasingly obvious since those early days? Did he or did he not know what he was talking about then? If he did, why isn't he talking about it now? Is TM a secret religion?
In Mantras Part 3, I want to look at what the mantra is doing as opposed to what Mahesh says the mantra is doing.
--- The Notes ---
* Mahesh referred to TM as “my method” from the very beginning; this is unquestionable. You can refer to Beacon Light of the Himalayas in the related links section. But note also that he advertises on the cover of this document MIND CONTROL. Who will be controlling whose mind? It doesn’t say.
** I am suspicious that he might have conned it out of some Lama fleeing Tibet as it so closely resembles some of the teachings of Dzogchen, such as “sky-like” mind and “nonmeditation”.
*** Beacon Light of the Himalayas, page 65, published in THE MAHARISHI, by Paul Mason, 2005, [see footnote 310] pages 248-9. The complete text of Beacon is available at Paul’s web site.
*§* part three
The TMO (TM Organization) has been careful to ignore and cover up the problem of casualties: such things as loss of mental stability, depression, suicide, bankruptcy (in the effort to buy the next greatest course rumoured to be the next greatest course), burgeoning drug use amongst its children, neglect of children in favour of “program” and so on.
Yet, we know people who did TM, got checked regularly, did or tried to do all the courses but crashed, burned and were simply invisible on the radar of Movement.
Of course, we also know people with varying degrees of success (as described by Mahesh and the TMO).
In the end, it seems only one thing can be said about TM: results vary.
Why?
On one level, TM is no different from any other practise or endeavour in which large numbers become involved. If Mahesh chooses to only notice the “good news” brought to him by his tail-wagging sycophants and on that basis believes that “his” meditation is some universal good, that tells us much more about Mahesh than it does “his” meditation.
In Part 2, I questioned Mahesh’s primary statement about “his” method and mantras. Any ordinary word, he said, would only “merely sharpen the mind”. But to make a stronger case for himself/”his” method, he said, “for our practise we select only the suitable mantras of personal Gods. Such mantras fetch to us the grace of personal Gods and make us happier in every walk of life.”
We might wonder how this is not religious or why he said something very different in the West.
I am very much indebted to Paul Mason (author of the 'The Maharishi') for editorial comments and for sharing with me his excellent analysis regarding what Guru Dev apparently taught, what Mahesh initially did with it and then simply ignored any kind of obligation he might have had toward Guru Dev and his own Hindu heritage by “masking” his religious teaching as a meditation method based on ‘meaningless sounds’.
(see and the contents of 'Beacon Light of the Himalayas'. See also the Blog more about "techniques")
The Images
Mahesh used two images which, I am sure, are familiar to all TMers: the image of dipping-the-cloth and the bubble diagram.
The bubble diagram purports to explain that since thoughts arise and come to our attention on the “surface” of the mind, the gross awareness, we should therefore be able to follow a specific thought backwards, to the source of thought.
We accepted that as factual.
But, is it?
Then, we accepted as factual that a specific thought, not just any thought, but a specifically chosen personal (meaningless sound), would do just this, dissolve into the source from which all thought arises.
Is this factual?
What would the source of thought look like? If we found it, how would we know. The answer seemed to be you just would.
Then we learned that no thought and no mantra (personal meaningless sound), an after-the-fact experience, was just that, pure consciousness, the source of thought.
Was it?
A Sideways Look at Things, a different perspective:
This is how I think the bubble diagram and the dipping-the-cloth image can be explained and account for some TM casualties. Since no blanket explanation can be made about the effects of TM because so many different people have had so many different experiences, results and so on, I will try, here, to explain just one possible result of the TM method and meaningless sound:
(1) When you just sit and think a thought, you notice that it leads to other thoughts which in turn lead to other thoughts. I do not think it is possible to think one and only one thought for any prolonged period. It certainly is not possible to think the mantra and only the mantra because it is very clearly laid out in the checking procedure that when we realize we are “off” the mantra, we come back to it as easily as we notice any thought.
You can check http://www.trancenet.net/ or http://minet.org/checktoc.html for the precise wording of the checking notes.
(2) What were you doing when you noticed you were “off” the mantra? Were you daydreaming? Were the daydreams clear or were you unable to recall what the mind was experiencing?
(3) OR, and especially after some familiarity with the practice, were the daydreams much muzzier than your usual daydreaming? Have you noticed that this kind of experience/daydreaming tends toward long absences from memory?
Since so many people have so many different experiences and few if any have the same experience repeatedly, I want to talk about just this one possibility: muzzy disconnected daydreaming becoming increasingly gossamer until there was a blank spot. – This is where I think TM leads, to a bleary, disjointed, ephemeral experience of increasingly vague, insubstantial daydreaming until (that other image) dipping the cloth becomes complete.
Dipping-the-cloth
Sometimes, this takes a long, long time, sometimes, not. Some might and some might not remember the process; BUT on teacher training courses in the past and I suspect ‘sidha’ experience today, the vague and woolly experience (dipping yourself into the dye of no meaning and no memory) gets speeded up. The cloth (that’s you and your awareness) becomes more and more the state of vagueness and less and less a “merely” sharp mind.
Just what colour was he impregnating your cloth with, anyway!
As I did not like the way rounding made me feel, I didn’t do much of it, so at the peak of rounding, when Mahesh told the assembled pie-eyed believers that only he could love them, that no one could love them as he could, I was just a little shocked; I became more taken aback as he clarified that neither mother nor father could love you as he could. He kept at this theme for some time. The assembled were malleable, supple in the hands of an expert at indoctrination (of course, I only recognized this for what it was much, much later). So many of us had dipped-the-cloth to the point of total surrender; no wonder he didn’t want us to make any new decisions on the course, he wanted us to accept his decisions, he wanted us to leave no room for any but his decisions, the permanent dye of his thinking.
My interpretation of mantras/meaningless sounds used in the intimate way of Mahesh’s meditation
The mantra does NOT draw the mind into finer and finer levels of thought until it reaches the “bottom” or the source of thought. Rather, the mantra takes the awareness, the clarity of mind, the thinking process sideways into a vague state of daydreaming and disconnect from meaningfulness where no clear perception or clear thought can be formed.
What else can a meaningless thought do? Mahesh told his Indian audience about personal gods and suitable mantras for those gods but then later taught that the mantras were meaningless.
Which is it? To whom was he lying?
Was he suggesting Guru Dev was wrong? Did he know better than the teacher to whom he pretends such devotion? Or was he simply modeling our future behaviour toward himself?
Words with no attached meaning ARE meaningless and meaning does not arise from meaninglessness. But if you are sufficiently saturated with the colour of TM, the colour of rounding, the colour of imagining you can fly – then how easy would it be to insinuate an idea that seemed completely meaningful i.e. that by repeating the mantra one would discover blissfulness, heaven on earth!
A simple experiment:
(after you read this)
Sit and close your eyes and say/think/ponder some word over and over; just that word, over and over, some word you understand, some particular word you know the meaning of. Pick a simple word like house or flower or chair.
What happens?
If you keep doing it you notice that it becomes nonsense. The sound and the meaning detach from one another. There’s just this very strange sound that does not have the sense it had when you started. It’s even funnier if you do it again and pick a complex word like hypothalamus or train station. After a while you begin to hear what someone who known no English hears.
Now notice: do you get intellectually sharper doing this, or do you feel slightly spacey? – Ask yourself very carefully how different is “just any word” and your personally selected meaningless sound? Do different words bring different experiences of silliness? Is this a beneficial experience of altered alertness? Is this experience of altered alertness beneficial?
Only you can answer. Obviously experiences may vary.
Suppose that you undertake to do this experiment 2x20 (twice each day for twenty minutes each time) and go on a teacher training course where you do this 4x20 twice morning and twice afternoon). Suppose, given the fun of group meditation and suchwhat you do this 4x30 or 4x45 ? On the teacher training courses I attended the “rounding” escalated to 4 morning rounds and 4 afternoon rounds.
Now the ‘sidhi’ program requires something near 4 hours morning and afternoon. In the early days before the ‘sidhi’ program, Mahesh only encouraged 2x20, but when he surveyed an ATR for which I was course-leader, everyone was doing AT LEAST 45 to 50 minute meditations! He didn’t have a hissy fit, he didn’t get angry, he didn’t do anything.
Apparently no response is assent.
Dipping-the-cloth. Whose colour was your dye?
The more you dip into the TM pool, the Maheshism pool of altered alertness, the more easily it is to disconnect from meaning and clarity and get comfortable with that spacey feeling where no meaningful thinking is taking place … do you remember “the mind goes in the direction of more and more”? That is a definition of greed and craving; but Mahesh wanted you to think that more and more meant encountering the “source of thought”, the “field of all possibilities”. He wanted you to think you were becoming more and more enlightened. Were you becoming more and more enlightened? Are you more and more enlightened? (What in the heck does “enlightened” mean, anyway, more and more spacey?)
If Mahesh brought anything to the west, it was the super fast-drying dye-job of Maheshism.
I am firmly convinced that when Mahesh said the nature of the mind is to go in the direction of more and more, what he knew was that the more you became absorbed in that spacey realm of the unclear and purposeless, the more easily you simply accepted every word and any word he said, bought into every new course, concept and product, made every effort to attend every program.
Just consider those moments you thought of as no thought, no mantra – might they have been blackouts, periods when you were not there! Might you have been in some hypnotic frame of mind, open to suggestion?
Meaninglessness takes the awareness sideways.
The more you willingly participate in the super fast-drying dye-job of Maheshism, the more sideways, dissociated, disconnected, purposeless your mental function becomes. The more you readily believe the magical thinking of Maheshism, the more willingly you participate and tell others.
Remember when Mahesh said again and again on your teacher training course “we do not make any decisions on teacher training”? He wanted you to get the full benefit of what you were being exposed to: the disconnect nature of your own mental processes which he told you was the source of thought. You were being shepherded from your colour to his preference, he was dipping you in his dye, you were taking on his colour. – Have you ever asked yourself what became of your colour? What was your original colour, can you remember?
You don’t have to give this any further thought if you truly and sincerely believe you are getting or have gotten your money’s worth from TM. Many are firmly convinced they are truly blessed by all that is Mahesh and TM. But if you have doubts, you might want to consult with http://www.suggestibility.org/ .
*§* part four
There is a significant difference between what Mahesh said (“For our practice we select only the suitable mantras of personal Gods.”) and understanding the concept that some things are endowed with spiritual significance. To endow a thing with spiritual or religious significance does not change the thing in any way. What changes is attitude on the part of those who subscribe to the endowment.
Mahesh clearly endowed his actions/teachings and "vision" with spiritual and religious significance and cultured that attitude in us. Remember The Spiritual Regeneration Movement?
Unstressing
When bizarre behaviour began to erupt at Mallorca, Mahesh called it waves of bliss. He said something good was happening. He didn’t teach that the experience was just another experience and we were to experience the feeling until it resolved itself. Yes, something like that was somewhere in the checking notes, but people thrown off guard by suddenly strange behaviours and feelings, seeing their neighbours in the same situation are highly UN-likely to run off to check the checking notes.
From my side, I see "unstressing" as the body-mind experiencing a crisis, cognitive dissonance in opposition to which it cannot restore its integrity: body and mind feel like they are coming apart and behaviours beyond will-power or aside from what one had previously considered her/his will-power display themselves. I think that many of us accepted Mahesh in toto rather than resolve a crisis.
Feeling the Body
Many of us were there, saw it, even experienced it. The checking notes as they appear on line now http://minet.org/checkinggp.html or http://www.trancenet.net/secrets/checking/checkinggp.shtml give excellent if somewhat inconsistent teaching regarding untoward experiences arising in meditation. But were these "general points" in the checking notes at the time? I would very much appreciate knowing if anyone has the checking notes from Mallorca or prior to Mallorca and could tell me or preferably show me how the understanding of "feeling the body" was taught. Maybe they were, but who had the presence of mind to look? Where were the “monitors” who should have kept people sane by making sure they weren’t going off the deep end? Where was Mahesh’s head when he suggested that during the week of silence we should meditate as much as possible! He never mentioned round as much as possible, suggesting asana breaks!
I only remember a conversation with Jerry Jarvis, prior to Mallora. He said that 'it' probably shouldn't be called feeling the body but should be called continuing. At the time, however, this concept seemed a very minor consideration.
I do not ever recall any time when Mahesh explained "feeling the body" as anything integral or as a necessary element to know or practise with as part of long periods of rounding. I can recall no mention of feeling-the-body as a "stitch in time". Regarding the horrendous freak-out that was Mallorca and (to a lesser extent) Fiuggi, apparently very few if any others remembered or knew or thought about this, either. – My conclusion: Mahesh is irresponsible, or, even more irresponsibly, he thought that he was weeding the weak from the strong, separating those he might like to use from those he could discard.
Beyond
I knew that I was really seeking something.
In a story Ramakrishna* told, he said that the seeker is like a thief in the night, he slips into the darkened house, touches this and that always muttering not the gold, not the gold. But when his hand feels the gold, he knows, he grasps it and is immediately gone into the night.
In some way, I knew I was in the darkened house of ignorance and TM really had the feel of gold. Maybe it might have been just that; but much later I discovered that Mahesh was corrupted by his own greed and narcissism subsequently corrupting not only what he had purloined from his tradition and teacher, but those he taught as well. This is my perception to this day, based upon my interaction with Mahesh and observing his interaction with others.
But just because I had been hoodwinked by a charlatan whose motives I felt were highly suspicious, I did not cease seeking. I kept looking for the gold and now I feel I have found that gold and have been examining it in the broad daylight, questioning practitioners and teachers alike, watching, observing, certainly looking for the behaviours and attitudes with which TM allowed me to be familiar. I am also looking at criteria such as Lifton’s to see if I am being cheated. I wish I could have done this from the beginning with TM.
I have continued the search that began in the spring of 1964. I can only conclude at this time that there is much more to life than TM. There is more than imagining that if you believe something good is happening long enough something good will happen. There is more to life than imagining you have been spiritually endowed by using the suitable mantras for personal gods.
I am a Buddhist presently practicing in the Thai Forest Tradition of Theravāda Buddhism. I have no intention of suggesting that this is better than or superior to what Mahesh or Guru Dev is teaching/taught. However, if you are or feel you might be or might have been a TM casualty, you might want to look at “feeling the body” as explained in the Buddhist teachings.
If, and only if after considerable reflection on your part you feel that this is a step, endeavour or exercise you feel confident in making read through http://www.sinc.sunysb.edu/clubs/buddhism/vimalaramsi/main.html. This is a link to The Anapanasati Sutta – A Practical Guide to Mindfulness of Breathing and Tranquil Wisdom, the Buddha’s own very straightforward, uncomplicated alertness-based method of meditation and/or http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/soma/wayof.html, The Satipatthana Sutta, basically the same method, but given in more detail. Notice, there is nothing held back, no secret courses, no fees.
I am suggesting nothing easy, but I am suggesting something very do-able and uncomplicated. But, if you will, notice that the teaching begins with following the breath and letting mind and body become calm. Do you remember from the checking procedure how, before any mention of mantra, after opening and closing the eyes, you felt some quiet and calm, just naturally?
Did you realize anything or ever think about this?
You already knew how to be calm and quiet. It is my opinion that Mahesh’s teachings beyond establishing this insight is nothing more than a distraction from that calm and quiet, sidestepping the only meaningful reality, your own innate, knowable reality.
How can there possibly be any other basis for happiness in the world than knowing your own specific reality (your own colour)?
Cultivating this calm-and-quiet is the object of the Anapanasati Sutta. The method and teaching above (A Practical Guide) has been extremely helpful for me and I feel that if it is only read as an explanation it is helpful to understand the concept of mindfulness in the Buddhist tradition.
Further, in the The Satipatthana Sutta, we read how the Buddha established mindfulness in four REALITIES, the primary four realities of the individual, the person, YOU.
The first foundation is, basically, feeling the body, getting settled in and comfortable with your own physical reality just as it is. Little by little, as the impediments to mindfulness come up, they are skilfully abandoned.
I want to leave off with the advice of Padmasambhava**, an 8th century CE Tibetan teacher, who summarized his advice on spiritual development like this:
As for the innermost advice: no matter what kind of disturbing emotion you feel, look into the emotion and it tracelessly subsides. The disturbing emotion is thus naturally freed. This is simple to practice.
This is for me the gold and legitimate teachers share this innermost advice but do not sell it.
_____________
* Ramakrishna late 19th Century Indian saint living in the Bengal
** Padmasambhava’s Advice from the Lotus-Born (‘Pointing the Staff at the Old Man’)
more about "techniques"
A couple of American initiators who trained in India before my course in the West told me they had been told that if initiating couples together to give both the man's mantra. This was in the days of mantras for men, mantras for women. (This was before gay marriage.)
On my course, His Wholly Weaselness told us that if couples wanted to be instructed together, we should crumple a piece of paper in the face/direction of the other person whilst we gave the mantra to one and then the other way around for the other person. -- I immediately knew that there was no way I could pull off that piece of crap and set it aside.
I learned from an Indian India-trained initiator that on his course he had been given three mantras (I didn't ask what they were). He was taught to ask the person being instructed what god s/he worshipped. If the person said one of the three of his mantras, he was to give the person that mantra. If the person said something else, he was to give the first of his three.
One of the initiators at our Centre, in the days before World Plan Centres, said that Mahesh had giver her and her husband an advanced technique "for couples".
I have no reason to think any of this is rumour. This was told to me by people I trusted, one of them being Mahesh himself. While I would no longer trust Mahesh under any circumstances, still I heard it from him.
Because he gave people pieces of paper in Fiuggi from which to copy the mantras, and because someone left one lying about and because I looked, I do know that Mahesh didn't give all teachers the same mantras. Those were different from mine.
This is obviously not a rumour and raises serious questions about "personal mantras". The instant Mahesh handed me my piece of paper with the mantras written out in his handwriting, I knew that personal mantra was as much a lie as his "Vedic Revelations" had been during the course (about which I spoke previously).
S
On my course, His Wholly Weaselness told us that if couples wanted to be instructed together, we should crumple a piece of paper in the face/direction of the other person whilst we gave the mantra to one and then the other way around for the other person. -- I immediately knew that there was no way I could pull off that piece of crap and set it aside.
I learned from an Indian India-trained initiator that on his course he had been given three mantras (I didn't ask what they were). He was taught to ask the person being instructed what god s/he worshipped. If the person said one of the three of his mantras, he was to give the person that mantra. If the person said something else, he was to give the first of his three.
One of the initiators at our Centre, in the days before World Plan Centres, said that Mahesh had giver her and her husband an advanced technique "for couples".
I have no reason to think any of this is rumour. This was told to me by people I trusted, one of them being Mahesh himself. While I would no longer trust Mahesh under any circumstances, still I heard it from him.
Because he gave people pieces of paper in Fiuggi from which to copy the mantras, and because someone left one lying about and because I looked, I do know that Mahesh didn't give all teachers the same mantras. Those were different from mine.
This is obviously not a rumour and raises serious questions about "personal mantras". The instant Mahesh handed me my piece of paper with the mantras written out in his handwriting, I knew that personal mantra was as much a lie as his "Vedic Revelations" had been during the course (about which I spoke previously).
S
One wonders
Today, 21 Jan 07 : http://www.gocomics.com/nonsequitur/
Is this the line Mahesh is feeding King Tony and Guru Bev?
Do the guys who write the comics have an inside edge?
S
Is this the line Mahesh is feeding King Tony and Guru Bev?
Do the guys who write the comics have an inside edge?
S
THINK FREE: 01/22/07
THINK FREE is a regular feature of TM-Free Blog. It features a summary of news about Transcendental Meditation and other orgs labeled "cults" by critics.
Have a hot tip? See something we missed? Email jmknapp53@gmail.com.
- David Lynch Tells How He Got Involved in TM Seattle Times [Weren't You Wondering?]
- Lynch Snapped Like a Twig guruphiliac.blogspot.com [The Hardest Working Man in Faux Business]
- Secret Cult Kingpin Arrested in Nigeria The Tide
- Greek Cult Holds 'Forbidden' Ceremony Middle East Times
Have a hot tip? See something we missed? Email jmknapp53@gmail.com.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Lifton's Thought Reform Criteria applied to TM. Part One of Eight
Lifton’s Criteria of Thought Reform (1)
As applied to Transcendental MeditationTM
Gina Catena, M.S.
Dr. Robert J. Lifton and the late Dr. Margaret Singer studied thought reform of American prisoners from the Korean War (POWs). American soldiers returned from prison camps with unusual worldviews, spoken verbatim. Through many interviews, Lifton and Singer documented skilled mind-control methods from these wartime captors, while helping the “brainwashed” POWs reclaim their own personas. The 1962 film “Manchurian Candidate” with Frank Sinatra offers a fictitious glimpse into this chillingly real process. (2)
From his work with thought reform victims, Dr. Lifton itemized “Criteria for Thought Reform” commonly accepted in psychology academia. Other psychologists, Singer, Langone, and Lalich, describe variations of the same criteria.
This essay follows a condensed version of Lifton’s classic “Criteria of Thought Reform”, demonstrating how criteria apply to the lifestyle and teachings promoted by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Transcendental Meditation™ (TM) Movement.
“Any ideology -- that is, any set of emotionally-charged convictions about men and his relationship to the natural or supernatural world -- may be carried by its adherents in a totalistic direction. But this is most likely to occur with those ideologies which are most sweeping in their content and most ambitious or messianic in their claim, whether a religious or political organization. And where totalism exists, a religion, or a political movement becomes little more than an exclusive cult.” (3)
The following eight psychological themes may be used in judgment of any environment, to evaluate the use of mind-altering techniques.
“In combination, they create an atmosphere which may temporarily energize or exhilarate, but which at the same time pose a grave human threat.” (4)
The benign appearance of the methods, temporary exhilaration or “high”, and innocuous presentation of individuals while under-the-influence can render determination challenging for both professionals and laypersons. The psychological threat is real, nonetheless.
MILIEU CONTROL
Lifton describes control over communication within an environment.
“When control is extremely intense, it becomes internalized control, managing a person’s inner communication.” (5)
TM programs apply various forms of control. The first stage of communication control begins with instruction or “Initiation” to TM when the new Initiate is gently instructed, “never speak the mantra aloud.” While the instructor explains that speaking the mantra would bring it to the crude level of speech, in reality the new initiate is gently trained to keep secrets “for his or her own good.”
Environmental control is exercised through mandated silence in the meditation domes, or enforced weeks of group silence on advanced courses. The monastic branches of TM, “Mother Divine” and “Purusha”, maintain a tightly controlled schedule for their participants. (6)
Information control includes Maharishi’s insistence that adherents watch edited version of televised news, permitting only ‘good news’ for course participants. Course participants are taught their meditation creates environmental influence “for world peace” thus increasing global good news. They are taught that exposure to “negativity” from bad news would taint pure consciousness, hindering their spiritual evolution. In this way, participants gently learn to ignore bad news and uncomfortable information.
The person-under-the-influence (or thought reform victim) then negates uncomfortable information as it stems from “negativity” or from “ignorance.” To squelch anxiety from threatening ideas, the victim may return to patterned responses and behaviors or attack in irrational defensiveness. This was clearly illustrated in the “Manchurian Candidate.”
Additionally, Maharishi bombards course participants with advanced TM “knowledge” recordings. Repetitions of the same information do not create understanding, but merely listener acceptance. Maharishi drones the same information again and again. The listener’s mind relaxes and “absorbs the knowledge” without question. With repeated exposure, this can conflict with individual autonomy as a person may relinquish critical analysis.
Environment control is further exhibited through controlled Vastu architecture. The TM Movement is building “Peace Palaces” around the world, architecturally designed to Maharishi Sthapatya-VedTM specifications. This unique milieu is different from other building environments, but each Peace Palace will resemble all other such palaces in the world. This supports an inner dissociation from the outside world for those residing within “palace” confines.
“Often a sequence of events, such as seminars, lectures, group encounters, which become increasingly intense and increasingly isolated, making it extremely difficult-- both physically and psychologically--for one to leave. (This) sets up a sense of antagonism with the outside world; it's "us against them”. (This is) Closely connected to the process of individual change of personality.” (7)
Environmental control is created in a variety of ways, through geographic distance – remember MIU’s original plan for remote “forest academies”? TM communities isolate themselves to varying degrees from larger surrounding communities.
Group process supports isolation through the TM-course mandated buddy system, lack of transportation when participating in a rounding (prolonged meditation) course, regimented schedules on advanced programs, or in the new “Peace Palace” compounds.
Each of the aforementioned methods of control influence sensory perception and neural development. (8)
Analysis of Lifton’s remaining criteria as applied to Transcendental Meditation will follow in subsequent posts.
Part Two of this series may be read here.
1) Lifton, R. (1989) Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism. Chapel Hill. University of North Carolina Press.
2) Frankenehimer, J, dir (1962) The Manchurian Candidate
3) ibid Lifton
4) ibid Lifton
5) ibid Lifton
6) http://motherdivine.org/ , http://www.purusha.org/1PurushaProgram.html
7) ibid Lifton
8) Taylor, K (2004) Brainwashing, The Science of Thought Control. Oxford. Oxford University Press.
As applied to Transcendental MeditationTM
Gina Catena, M.S.
Dr. Robert J. Lifton and the late Dr. Margaret Singer studied thought reform of American prisoners from the Korean War (POWs). American soldiers returned from prison camps with unusual worldviews, spoken verbatim. Through many interviews, Lifton and Singer documented skilled mind-control methods from these wartime captors, while helping the “brainwashed” POWs reclaim their own personas. The 1962 film “Manchurian Candidate” with Frank Sinatra offers a fictitious glimpse into this chillingly real process. (2)
From his work with thought reform victims, Dr. Lifton itemized “Criteria for Thought Reform” commonly accepted in psychology academia. Other psychologists, Singer, Langone, and Lalich, describe variations of the same criteria.
This essay follows a condensed version of Lifton’s classic “Criteria of Thought Reform”, demonstrating how criteria apply to the lifestyle and teachings promoted by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Transcendental Meditation™ (TM) Movement.
“Any ideology -- that is, any set of emotionally-charged convictions about men and his relationship to the natural or supernatural world -- may be carried by its adherents in a totalistic direction. But this is most likely to occur with those ideologies which are most sweeping in their content and most ambitious or messianic in their claim, whether a religious or political organization. And where totalism exists, a religion, or a political movement becomes little more than an exclusive cult.” (3)
The following eight psychological themes may be used in judgment of any environment, to evaluate the use of mind-altering techniques.
“In combination, they create an atmosphere which may temporarily energize or exhilarate, but which at the same time pose a grave human threat.” (4)
The benign appearance of the methods, temporary exhilaration or “high”, and innocuous presentation of individuals while under-the-influence can render determination challenging for both professionals and laypersons. The psychological threat is real, nonetheless.
MILIEU CONTROL
Lifton describes control over communication within an environment.
“When control is extremely intense, it becomes internalized control, managing a person’s inner communication.” (5)
TM programs apply various forms of control. The first stage of communication control begins with instruction or “Initiation” to TM when the new Initiate is gently instructed, “never speak the mantra aloud.” While the instructor explains that speaking the mantra would bring it to the crude level of speech, in reality the new initiate is gently trained to keep secrets “for his or her own good.”
Environmental control is exercised through mandated silence in the meditation domes, or enforced weeks of group silence on advanced courses. The monastic branches of TM, “Mother Divine” and “Purusha”, maintain a tightly controlled schedule for their participants. (6)
Information control includes Maharishi’s insistence that adherents watch edited version of televised news, permitting only ‘good news’ for course participants. Course participants are taught their meditation creates environmental influence “for world peace” thus increasing global good news. They are taught that exposure to “negativity” from bad news would taint pure consciousness, hindering their spiritual evolution. In this way, participants gently learn to ignore bad news and uncomfortable information.
The person-under-the-influence (or thought reform victim) then negates uncomfortable information as it stems from “negativity” or from “ignorance.” To squelch anxiety from threatening ideas, the victim may return to patterned responses and behaviors or attack in irrational defensiveness. This was clearly illustrated in the “Manchurian Candidate.”
Additionally, Maharishi bombards course participants with advanced TM “knowledge” recordings. Repetitions of the same information do not create understanding, but merely listener acceptance. Maharishi drones the same information again and again. The listener’s mind relaxes and “absorbs the knowledge” without question. With repeated exposure, this can conflict with individual autonomy as a person may relinquish critical analysis.
Environment control is further exhibited through controlled Vastu architecture. The TM Movement is building “Peace Palaces” around the world, architecturally designed to Maharishi Sthapatya-VedTM specifications. This unique milieu is different from other building environments, but each Peace Palace will resemble all other such palaces in the world. This supports an inner dissociation from the outside world for those residing within “palace” confines.
“Often a sequence of events, such as seminars, lectures, group encounters, which become increasingly intense and increasingly isolated, making it extremely difficult-- both physically and psychologically--for one to leave. (This) sets up a sense of antagonism with the outside world; it's "us against them”. (This is) Closely connected to the process of individual change of personality.” (7)
Environmental control is created in a variety of ways, through geographic distance – remember MIU’s original plan for remote “forest academies”? TM communities isolate themselves to varying degrees from larger surrounding communities.
Group process supports isolation through the TM-course mandated buddy system, lack of transportation when participating in a rounding (prolonged meditation) course, regimented schedules on advanced programs, or in the new “Peace Palace” compounds.
Each of the aforementioned methods of control influence sensory perception and neural development. (8)
Analysis of Lifton’s remaining criteria as applied to Transcendental Meditation will follow in subsequent posts.
Part Two of this series may be read here.
1) Lifton, R. (1989) Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism. Chapel Hill. University of North Carolina Press.
2) Frankenehimer, J, dir (1962) The Manchurian Candidate
3) ibid Lifton
4) ibid Lifton
5) ibid Lifton
6) http://motherdivine.org/ , http://www.purusha.org/1PurushaProgram.html
7) ibid Lifton
8) Taylor, K (2004) Brainwashing, The Science of Thought Control. Oxford. Oxford University Press.
Rumour
We all believed the rumour that we'd be enlightened in 3 to 5 years.
We all believed the rumour that Mahesh was enlightened.
We believed the rumour that TM was all we needed.
We all believed the rumour that each and every new program to come along really and truly was the next most important thing to help us achieve the goal.
We believed the rumour that there was a goal.
Many never questioned that the first rumour was falsified by the most recent rumour.
We just kept believing and saying that TM wasn't a belief system.
I think that it is important to report the rumours we hear and, as we have done, say that this is a rumour and we are checking into it. Discovering and reporting there was no suicide is a very important thing, discovering and reporting that it was nonchantly brushed aside as just another rumour says something about the culture of the place that is supposed to have had some impact on the weather (no hurricanes on the east coast VICTORY celebrations – huge destructive storms on the west one, ignored).
Mahesh's rumour of the wonderfultivity of TM in bringing peace in the middle east and protecting the US from hurricanes flyes no more than his butt hoppers, but does float like a certain commonplace substance readily produced by all of us.
S
We all believed the rumour that Mahesh was enlightened.
We believed the rumour that TM was all we needed.
We all believed the rumour that each and every new program to come along really and truly was the next most important thing to help us achieve the goal.
We believed the rumour that there was a goal.
Many never questioned that the first rumour was falsified by the most recent rumour.
We just kept believing and saying that TM wasn't a belief system.
I think that it is important to report the rumours we hear and, as we have done, say that this is a rumour and we are checking into it. Discovering and reporting there was no suicide is a very important thing, discovering and reporting that it was nonchantly brushed aside as just another rumour says something about the culture of the place that is supposed to have had some impact on the weather (no hurricanes on the east coast VICTORY celebrations – huge destructive storms on the west one, ignored).
Mahesh's rumour of the wonderfultivity of TM in bringing peace in the middle east and protecting the US from hurricanes flyes no more than his butt hoppers, but does float like a certain commonplace substance readily produced by all of us.
S
Yogic Flying-The Origins of Superman
I’m going to have to guess at the year but I think it would have been 1975. I was on the second or third of several “Six-month courses”, each course given a more grandiose name and promise than the one before. I know we were in one of the larger hotels the TMO took over around Lake Lucerne in those days. It could have been the Sonnenberg.
In any case, I was on the first course that started to use the use the so-called "flying sutra." The excitement and anticipation in the air was palpable. We were among the chosen few who were allowed to experience this newest version of the latest and greatest “technique”. We were going to fly!!! (We were also going to walk through walls, find objects “hidden from view” among other super powers.) Yes, some of us were a bit confused since MMY had previously maintained that the “sidhhi” powers were a dead end and a waste of time. But here we were, believing that we were at the epicenter of the spiritual powerhouse…..US, the chosen ones, about to be let in on the secrets of super powers. This is not widely known but at that point we were still in chairs...not on foam. That came a few weeks later. A group of about 25 men and women assembled in a large circle and began to meditate. (We had previously been given the secret sauce…the appropriate sutras from Patanjali.) I had wondered just what would happen if we all rose out of our chairs and began to fly about the room, bumping in to one another. Needless to say nothing of the sort happened. No one budged an inch. We were all asked to report on our experience after we proceeded through the sutras. Naturally, human nature took over and several reported feeling like they were CLOSE to lift off….oh so close! We had long ago learned that inflating personal experience was rewarded in the TMO. Reporting any negative experience was not. I quickly realized that the same group dynamics were in play as the highest of the high and mighty tried to out do each other reporting their “almost” levitating and “almost “ turning invisible” experiences. More on this in another post.
The next time we gathered, probably later that day or the next morning, I was ready. I rigged a coat hanger in my tie so that I could make the end of my tie "float" with my hand in my pocket on the other end of the coat hanger. When everyone (including the Seelisberg hardcores) opened his or her eyes there I was with the end of my tie floating gently up towards the sky. I played dumb and kept my eyes closed. I could hear the gasps in the room. Then one of my friends started giggling and a bunch of people started laughing. Everyone, that is, EXCEPT for a few hardcore Gestapo types. I was chastised and told that this was no laughing matter. SIEG HEIL! There will be NO LAUGHING!
Ah yes, good times.
Now, some 30+ years later, it is amazing to me that there are a few left who believe they are “almost” about to lift off. In fact they are no closer to flying than we were in that first meeting. The only difference is that MMY quickly figured out that sitting on foam (imagine that….nice bouncy foam) would better give the impression that something was happening than sitting there dumb struck in chairs.
You gotta give MMY credit though. He pulled off the hat trick of making some folks actually believe they were doing what their eyes told them they were not. It reminds me of that old Richard Pryor joke from years ago. His wife walks in on Richard and another woman “in the act”. Richard says “come on baby, are you going to believe me or those lying eyes of yours!”.
A few weeks ago someone posted a modern day “yogic flying” video on You Tube. The utter ridiculousness of it was there for all to see and the post has since been taken down. Grown men hopping about on foam pretending they were cosmically achieving something other than embarrassing themselves. I laughed as well, but not too hard since, if you rewound the clock 32 years, one of the giggling geeks in such a film would have been ME!
In any case, I was on the first course that started to use the use the so-called "flying sutra." The excitement and anticipation in the air was palpable. We were among the chosen few who were allowed to experience this newest version of the latest and greatest “technique”. We were going to fly!!! (We were also going to walk through walls, find objects “hidden from view” among other super powers.) Yes, some of us were a bit confused since MMY had previously maintained that the “sidhhi” powers were a dead end and a waste of time. But here we were, believing that we were at the epicenter of the spiritual powerhouse…..US, the chosen ones, about to be let in on the secrets of super powers. This is not widely known but at that point we were still in chairs...not on foam. That came a few weeks later. A group of about 25 men and women assembled in a large circle and began to meditate. (We had previously been given the secret sauce…the appropriate sutras from Patanjali.) I had wondered just what would happen if we all rose out of our chairs and began to fly about the room, bumping in to one another. Needless to say nothing of the sort happened. No one budged an inch. We were all asked to report on our experience after we proceeded through the sutras. Naturally, human nature took over and several reported feeling like they were CLOSE to lift off….oh so close! We had long ago learned that inflating personal experience was rewarded in the TMO. Reporting any negative experience was not. I quickly realized that the same group dynamics were in play as the highest of the high and mighty tried to out do each other reporting their “almost” levitating and “almost “ turning invisible” experiences. More on this in another post.
The next time we gathered, probably later that day or the next morning, I was ready. I rigged a coat hanger in my tie so that I could make the end of my tie "float" with my hand in my pocket on the other end of the coat hanger. When everyone (including the Seelisberg hardcores) opened his or her eyes there I was with the end of my tie floating gently up towards the sky. I played dumb and kept my eyes closed. I could hear the gasps in the room. Then one of my friends started giggling and a bunch of people started laughing. Everyone, that is, EXCEPT for a few hardcore Gestapo types. I was chastised and told that this was no laughing matter. SIEG HEIL! There will be NO LAUGHING!
Ah yes, good times.
Now, some 30+ years later, it is amazing to me that there are a few left who believe they are “almost” about to lift off. In fact they are no closer to flying than we were in that first meeting. The only difference is that MMY quickly figured out that sitting on foam (imagine that….nice bouncy foam) would better give the impression that something was happening than sitting there dumb struck in chairs.
You gotta give MMY credit though. He pulled off the hat trick of making some folks actually believe they were doing what their eyes told them they were not. It reminds me of that old Richard Pryor joke from years ago. His wife walks in on Richard and another woman “in the act”. Richard says “come on baby, are you going to believe me or those lying eyes of yours!”.
A few weeks ago someone posted a modern day “yogic flying” video on You Tube. The utter ridiculousness of it was there for all to see and the post has since been taken down. Grown men hopping about on foam pretending they were cosmically achieving something other than embarrassing themselves. I laughed as well, but not too hard since, if you rewound the clock 32 years, one of the giggling geeks in such a film would have been ME!
THINK FREE: 01/21/07
THINK FREE is a regular feature of TM-Free Blog. It features a summary of news about TM and other orgs labeled "cults" by critics.
Have a hot tip? See something we missed? Email jmknapp53@gmail.com.
- Blair gives lift to Scientology timesonline.co.uk
- Scientolgy Lures England's Prison Population Sunday Mirror
- Ukrainian court rules Falun Gong engaged in illegal activities People's Daily Online [Please consider the source!]
- Lynch: Transcendental Meditation Is Not a Cult Marin Independent [Glad he cleared that up!]
Have a hot tip? See something we missed? Email jmknapp53@gmail.com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)