Recent earthquakes in Nepal have left the populace in crisis.
---------------
According to the Oxfam International website:
"...Hundreds of thousands of displaced people
need urgent humanitarian assistance now - including children and women
who are forced to be out in the open, huddled in groups with no food,
safe water, or shelter...."
---------------
According to Maharishi’s Global Family Chat, 16 May 2015:
"A far-reaching and permanent solution to Nepal’s emergency....
...Many people are helping Nepal from many angles at this time. Raja Kingsley presented a...plan to support all efforts from the inside out...[by] enlivening the collective consciousness for permanent harmony on all levels – including environmental....
...Nepal has a rich, unbroken tradition of Vedic Pandits, and currently has 500 Gurukuls (training schools for Pandits)....The first step of the plan is to train Transcendental Meditation Teachers for each Gurukul so they will take care of teaching the students and the local community. The next level is to build five Maharishi Vedic Institute campuses for the training of the Pandit boys when they leave Gurukul. In this way tens of thousands of Maharishi Vedic Pandits can be trained most economically and effectively to support the growth of Nepal....
...Your support will make a difference to how quickly and well Nepal recovers. A powerful emergency programme to create 2,500 Sidhas at a cost $50 each (a total of only $125,000), will create a wave of sustainable coherence...To donate, please visit...."
---------------
From a youtube video of MUM students questioning Bob Roth, (vice president of the David Lynch Foundation, which helps spread TM):
"...Student: Is there any scientific proof that the yagyas work?
Roth: Let me get back to you on that...."
---------------
From TM-Free Blog article entitled "Regarding Maharishi Yagyas," written by me, and posted May 20, 2014:
"...a TMO [TM organization - ed. note] email from December 18, 2013 states that:
'...the National Yagya program is now averaging [i.e., receiving donations of - ed. note]
$429,000 USD per month....The whole world is enjoying the blessings of the daily
performance....'
That's $5,148,000 a year income for the 'National Yagya program' alone...."
---------------
From an anonymous TM-Free Blog follower who sent us the Maharishi Global Family Chat announcement:
"...I can't express how repulsed I am by this low-rent attempt to fund raise."
---------------
What do you think?
Showing posts with label Maharishi Vedic Pandits. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maharishi Vedic Pandits. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Update on Maharishi Vedic Pandits
On January 24, 2014, Hi India, the newspaper serving the South Asian community worldwide, ran a 2-page article on the sorry plight of Maharishi Vedic Pandits residing in a fenced compound in Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa, U.S.A.
On August 30, 2014, Hi India published a second article about the Vedic Pandits. According to this article, (http://hiindialive.com/missing-pandit-brutally-killed/), despite their January expose, neither the Indian Consul General in Chicago, nor leaders of Chicago's Indian community, nor officials in India have initiated any action to help the Vedic Pandits.
Hi India suggests that after the posting of their first report, the following actions should have been taken, but were not:
- The TM university responsible for the pandits should have invested more resources into improving financial compensation and living conditions for the pandits, rather than into damage-control of their image.
And further, that the Consul-General of India situated in Chicago should have done the following:
- sent someone to the compound to take a first-hand look at the living conditions of the Vedic Pandits.
- raised concern about the passports of the pandits being held as ransom by the sponsoring University, and insisted that the passports be returned to the Consul General’s office, in accordance with Indian policy.
- investigated the plight of the "165 missing pandits." (This was a group of 165 pandits that the TM University drove to Chicago's O'Hare airport after the uprising, in order to send them back home. It was never made totally clear if these Indian men requested their return to India, or if, following the uprising, the University picked out the pandits whom they perceived to be "troublemakers," and forced them to leave. Whichever is the real story, it appears as if instead of boarding their appointed planes back to India, many fled the airport in the sub-zero weather and disappeared.)
- engaged with Chicago police and the local Indian community to locate missing Vedic Pandits who may have been wandering around Chicago.
- lodged a complaint with local police, Immigration officials, other Indian Consulates in the U.S. and the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi.
- issued a press release about the pandits.
- investigated the recruitment tactics and the contract between Vedic Pandits and their sponsoring university.
- demanded the complete list of Vedic Pandits who arrived, left and are missing from the compound.
- asked for travel and ticket details and matched this information with pandits' arrival (or failure to arrive) at Indian airports.
According to Hi India, the Chicago Consul General failed to do any of these things. The conditions of the pandits at the fenced compound at Maharishi Vedic City remains unmonitored by outsiders. And the "missing pandits," (who speak little English) who fled O'Hare Airport 8 months ago, are unaccounted for.
Well, we finally know the fate of one of those missing pandits. According to Hi India, Ajit Panday, age approximately 23, has been found in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. On August 24, 2014, he was shot to death by an unidentified armed robber at the Big Brother 2 Food Mart in Atlanta, while Ajit was closing up the convenience store for the night.
Ajit was brought to the U.S. by Maharishi University about two years ago. When the University brought him to the airport in January, he apparently snuck out of the air terminal rather than boarding a plane to India. He somehow ended up in Georgia, which is approximately 600 miles (approximately 1000 kilometers) south of Chicago, and entered the underground economy of undocumented workers.
In their statements, the Indian owners of the convenience store and of the property it stood on shrugged off responsibility for his death, stating that they had cautioned Panday to be careful in the night time.
As for how his countrymen have treated this undocumented man, Panday had been working without pay at the store for more than two months. He worked more than 15 hours per day, 7 days a week. No proper food, sanitation or security was provided in the back room of the store, where Panday lived. The owners claim Panday was a friend who they were helping out by giving him a place to stay, and in return he willingly volunteered his time at the store. There were insufficient security systems, insufficient security training and insufficient backup at the store.
Ajit Panday's body was still in the mortuary six days after the murder, apparently because his family in India is too poor to ship the remains home. Ajit was the only bread-winner in his family, which consists of a widowed mother and two younger siblings.
The owners of the store state the body is still in the U.S. because the family has failed to give authorization to ship the body.
Ajay Prakash Shrivastava, nephew of the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and head of global operations of the sponsoring Maharishi University, said that he could not trace the family, although all the information is available in office records.
Though Ajit is the first casualty that has come to light, there may well be other Maharishi Vedic Pandits being mistreated somewhere in the U.S. Not to mention those being mistreated in their fenced compound in Maharishi Vedic City in Iowa.
Hi India suggests that after the posting of their first report, the following actions should have been taken, but were not:
- The TM university responsible for the pandits should have invested more resources into improving financial compensation and living conditions for the pandits, rather than into damage-control of their image.
And further, that the Consul-General of India situated in Chicago should have done the following:
- sent someone to the compound to take a first-hand look at the living conditions of the Vedic Pandits.
- raised concern about the passports of the pandits being held as ransom by the sponsoring University, and insisted that the passports be returned to the Consul General’s office, in accordance with Indian policy.
- investigated the plight of the "165 missing pandits." (This was a group of 165 pandits that the TM University drove to Chicago's O'Hare airport after the uprising, in order to send them back home. It was never made totally clear if these Indian men requested their return to India, or if, following the uprising, the University picked out the pandits whom they perceived to be "troublemakers," and forced them to leave. Whichever is the real story, it appears as if instead of boarding their appointed planes back to India, many fled the airport in the sub-zero weather and disappeared.)
- engaged with Chicago police and the local Indian community to locate missing Vedic Pandits who may have been wandering around Chicago.
- lodged a complaint with local police, Immigration officials, other Indian Consulates in the U.S. and the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi.
- issued a press release about the pandits.
- investigated the recruitment tactics and the contract between Vedic Pandits and their sponsoring university.
- demanded the complete list of Vedic Pandits who arrived, left and are missing from the compound.
- asked for travel and ticket details and matched this information with pandits' arrival (or failure to arrive) at Indian airports.
According to Hi India, the Chicago Consul General failed to do any of these things. The conditions of the pandits at the fenced compound at Maharishi Vedic City remains unmonitored by outsiders. And the "missing pandits," (who speak little English) who fled O'Hare Airport 8 months ago, are unaccounted for.
Well, we finally know the fate of one of those missing pandits. According to Hi India, Ajit Panday, age approximately 23, has been found in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. On August 24, 2014, he was shot to death by an unidentified armed robber at the Big Brother 2 Food Mart in Atlanta, while Ajit was closing up the convenience store for the night.
Ajit was brought to the U.S. by Maharishi University about two years ago. When the University brought him to the airport in January, he apparently snuck out of the air terminal rather than boarding a plane to India. He somehow ended up in Georgia, which is approximately 600 miles (approximately 1000 kilometers) south of Chicago, and entered the underground economy of undocumented workers.
In their statements, the Indian owners of the convenience store and of the property it stood on shrugged off responsibility for his death, stating that they had cautioned Panday to be careful in the night time.
As for how his countrymen have treated this undocumented man, Panday had been working without pay at the store for more than two months. He worked more than 15 hours per day, 7 days a week. No proper food, sanitation or security was provided in the back room of the store, where Panday lived. The owners claim Panday was a friend who they were helping out by giving him a place to stay, and in return he willingly volunteered his time at the store. There were insufficient security systems, insufficient security training and insufficient backup at the store.
Ajit Panday's body was still in the mortuary six days after the murder, apparently because his family in India is too poor to ship the remains home. Ajit was the only bread-winner in his family, which consists of a widowed mother and two younger siblings.
The owners of the store state the body is still in the U.S. because the family has failed to give authorization to ship the body.
Ajay Prakash Shrivastava, nephew of the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and head of global operations of the sponsoring Maharishi University, said that he could not trace the family, although all the information is available in office records.
Though Ajit is the first casualty that has come to light, there may well be other Maharishi Vedic Pandits being mistreated somewhere in the U.S. Not to mention those being mistreated in their fenced compound in Maharishi Vedic City in Iowa.
TM-Free Blog has posted several articles about the Vedic Pandits. Click on any of these titles to see the TM-Free article:
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Some walls come tumbling down
Updates and summaries of recent newsworthy events for the TM Organization will come shortly.
We at TMFree apologize for delays in keeping our readers updated with the latest.
We maintain this web site in our non-existent spare time, thus are not able to write daily.
Less than 3 weeks ago, we could not keep up with exposing the manipulations funded by David Lynch Foundation's million$, as their promotional machine steam rolled media outlets.
Now we cannot keep up with summarizing the damning publicity coming out against the TMO.
Thanks to the dogged efforts by others who joined the fray, David Lynch Foundation pulled out of San Francisco Schools last week.
DLF's withdrawal from San Francisco schools coincided with Iowa new articles about a rebellion from the confined so-called pandits.
Infinite appreciation to the many who contributed efforts through armchair activism online!
And thank you for understanding TMFree's delay in posting updates.
We at TMFree apologize for delays in keeping our readers updated with the latest.
We maintain this web site in our non-existent spare time, thus are not able to write daily.
Less than 3 weeks ago, we could not keep up with exposing the manipulations funded by David Lynch Foundation's million$, as their promotional machine steam rolled media outlets.
Now we cannot keep up with summarizing the damning publicity coming out against the TMO.
Thanks to the dogged efforts by others who joined the fray, David Lynch Foundation pulled out of San Francisco Schools last week.
DLF's withdrawal from San Francisco schools coincided with Iowa new articles about a rebellion from the confined so-called pandits.
Infinite appreciation to the many who contributed efforts through armchair activism online!
And thank you for understanding TMFree's delay in posting updates.
Monday, March 03, 2014
Invincible Combustion - Pandit residence enflamed
Fairfield Ledger of March 3, 2014 reported that firefighters responded to a fire within Vedic City’s pandit compound on Sunday afternoon March 2. There were no injuries, but the burning roof of a residential mobile home collapsed and the building was destroyed. The cause of the fire remains unknown.
The original article can be viewed here : Fire destroys residence on pandit campus
Friday, February 21, 2014
Human Trafficking in Vedic City? Missing Pandits
January 24, 2014… hi India, Chicago’s weekly Newspaper for America’s Indian immigrants, published an in-depth article Pennies for Pandits about 163 Vedic Pandits missing from Vedic City.
This news flash was repeated by Al Jazeera, India Today, Times of India , ndtv, the thehindu, deccanherald, and more.
The report stated that :
“Under the project to recruit Maharishi Vedic Pandits, publicity literature is distributed in Indian villages, mostly in Hindi speaking areas, among people living under the poverty line. Children are enrolled with the permission of their parents, who are promised that their wards would be given education up to 12th standard, after which they would be turned into Pandits or masters of the art of Hindu religious rites and services.”
The report stated that :
“Under the project to recruit Maharishi Vedic Pandits, publicity literature is distributed in Indian villages, mostly in Hindi speaking areas, among people living under the poverty line. Children are enrolled with the permission of their parents, who are promised that their wards would be given education up to 12th standard, after which they would be turned into Pandits or masters of the art of Hindu religious rites and services.”
And
“Investigations by Hi India have found that the kids of the programme, enrolled at the tender age of five years, were rarely provided education beyond fifth standard. After investigation by the newspaper, it came to light that these Vedic Pandits were brought to the US from India and were kept in makeshift trailer homes to be guarded by round-the-clock guards.”
In 2012 TMFree posted about Iowa's fenced pandit compound in a linked 3-part series. The 3rd essay can be read by clicking on "Pandits for Profit".
Cultnews shared the story at this link : The truth about TM compound that Oprah Winfrey failed to see : Course Participants or Captive Pandits.
Four days after Hi India's report, Raja Hagelin attempted to quell anxiety among TM’s true believers with an insider email.
As TM's Raja of North America and their oft promoted "World Renowned Physicist" Hagelin stated :
“Over the weekend, a defamatory and wildly inaccurate article about the Vedic Pandit program appeared in a weekly Chicago Indian newspaper and was republished in part by other Indian media in the US and abroad."
Hagelin claimed that,
“Investigations by Hi India have found that the kids of the programme, enrolled at the tender age of five years, were rarely provided education beyond fifth standard. After investigation by the newspaper, it came to light that these Vedic Pandits were brought to the US from India and were kept in makeshift trailer homes to be guarded by round-the-clock guards.”
“According to the report, a contract is drafted in English but the copy is neither given to Pandits nor is it translated or explained to the fifth-grader emigrants who do not even understand English. The contract states that they will be given $50 compensation while in the US and another $150 in India. This $150 is not given on a monthly basis to the families of the Pandits but, rather, is considered as bond money.”
“The Chicago consulate, however, says the GCWP has never returned or deposited any passport and neither has it shared any missing person information. According the sheriff's department and police department of Fairfield, Iowa, no missing person report has ever been filed by the GCWP.”
In 2012 TMFree posted about Iowa's fenced pandit compound in a linked 3-part series. The 3rd essay can be read by clicking on "Pandits for Profit".
Cultnews shared the story at this link : The truth about TM compound that Oprah Winfrey failed to see : Course Participants or Captive Pandits.
Four days after Hi India's report, Raja Hagelin attempted to quell anxiety among TM’s true believers with an insider email.
As TM's Raja of North America and their oft promoted "World Renowned Physicist" Hagelin stated :
“Over the weekend, a defamatory and wildly inaccurate article about the Vedic Pandit program appeared in a weekly Chicago Indian newspaper and was republished in part by other Indian media in the US and abroad."
Hagelin claimed that,
"The article attempts to cast blame on the Global Country of World Peace for the plight which some adult Pandits now find themselves in. These are Pandits who have left the Pandit campus and program and apparently are seeking employment, unlawfully, in the US."
"Some of the Pandits have returned, realizing this was a foolish thing to do, and their airfare has been covered to return to India. Others have not yet come to this realization and are likely being manipulated by unscrupulous employers who take advantage of their innocence. We are working with the press to correct this matter and already are getting a positive response from responsible journalists which may result in some positive publicity for the Global Peace Initiative."
Hagelin’s message blamed the pandits themselves, while acknowledging that these "adults" have been held by the TM organization since childhood (!) :
“We have been dealing with a challenge in recent months where a few of the Pandits who have completed their 2-year stays or who say they need to go home to India for some reason are taken to the airport in Chicago. They then leave the airport without boarding the plane, in violation of the terms of their agreement with the Movement and apparently with the intention of violating the terms of their US visa. As you know, we always provide airfare to the Pandits when they come to the US and return to India, and our staff from the Pandit campus and volunteers from the community take the Pandits to Chicago and help them until they go through airport security."
"On a few rare occasions, Pandits have checked in for their flights and have gone through security and passport control — and then tried to leave the airport. In recent months, two such Pandits were stopped by authorities, but were released. This encouraged some other Pandits to try to leave in Chicago or even to slip off the campus."
"The law is that neither Global Country of World Peace that sponsors the Pandits in the US nor airport authorities can force these adult Pandits to board a flight."
"The Vedic Pandits seem to be doing this because they have heard stories that they can make what sounds to them like vast sums of money ($1,800 a month is often mentioned) working in low-level jobs at restaurants and other businesses. They seem to be dazzled by the idea of making a few thousand dollars, but they do not understand what it costs to live in the US or the legal implications of being in violation of the immigration law that result from their leaving the program. Most of the Pandits have been on Maharishi Vedic Pandit campuses in India in residence since ages 12 or 14, where they are honored and respected and all their needs are provided for."
Another message by Hegelin was sent on February 12, 2014, probably after TM attorneys had contacted news outlets :
“More than 30 Indian publications in the US and abroad have retracted the wildly inaccurate article about the Vedic Pandits that they had picked up from a Chicago Indian weekly. .....
This has ranged from direct retractions .... to publishing the detailed text of our responses, to new positive news articles about the Pandits.”
Hegalin claimed efforts at treating those retained inside the fenced compound as human beings by stating :
“Dr. Prakash Shrivastava and Raja Bob LoPinto held 5 days of meetings with the Vedic Pandits at the Maharishi Vedic City campus, working with them about this situation, educating them about the consequences of Pandits going off on their own, and addressing any concerns the Pandits have.
This is already having a positive effect. Some Pandits who had left the Chicago airport without returning to India have returned to Maharishi Vedic City and been given flights home. The vast majority of the Vedic Pandits are very dedicated to their program and happy with campus life. "
To assure TM devotees that business continues as usual, another routine fundraising-for-pandits email was sent by Raja Harris and Arlene Kaplan on February 15, 2014, titled “Maharishi Vedic Pandits Creating World Peace”. They invited others to join them :
“Arlene and I wanted to warmly invite you to make your plans now to come to the Brahmasthan of India for next season, which starts the week of September 22 through the week beginning March 23, 2015. One important reason is that this coming season offers our guests two opportunities to attend the Navaratri Celebrations—the first from September 25 to October 3, 2014 and the second from March 20-28, 2015."
Claiming that :
"Listening to these nine days of recitations is said to bestow prosperity, health, longevity, knowledge and intelligence. Also lively during these Nine Days of Mother Divine are those impulses of Creative Intelligence responsible for helping to remove obstacles from the path of success and for helping to remove all kinds of fear, illnesses, and other negativity.”
This has ranged from direct retractions .... to publishing the detailed text of our responses, to new positive news articles about the Pandits.”
“Dr. Prakash Shrivastava and Raja Bob LoPinto held 5 days of meetings with the Vedic Pandits at the Maharishi Vedic City campus, working with them about this situation, educating them about the consequences of Pandits going off on their own, and addressing any concerns the Pandits have.
This is already having a positive effect. Some Pandits who had left the Chicago airport without returning to India have returned to Maharishi Vedic City and been given flights home. The vast majority of the Vedic Pandits are very dedicated to their program and happy with campus life. "
To assure TM devotees that business continues as usual, another routine fundraising-for-pandits email was sent by Raja Harris and Arlene Kaplan on February 15, 2014, titled “Maharishi Vedic Pandits Creating World Peace”. They invited others to join them :
“Arlene and I wanted to warmly invite you to make your plans now to come to the Brahmasthan of India for next season, which starts the week of September 22 through the week beginning March 23, 2015. One important reason is that this coming season offers our guests two opportunities to attend the Navaratri Celebrations—the first from September 25 to October 3, 2014 and the second from March 20-28, 2015."
"Listening to these nine days of recitations is said to bestow prosperity, health, longevity, knowledge and intelligence. Also lively during these Nine Days of Mother Divine are those impulses of Creative Intelligence responsible for helping to remove obstacles from the path of success and for helping to remove all kinds of fear, illnesses, and other negativity.”
One can register for such courses here : http://www.maharishiindiacourses.com
It will be interesting to watch this situation unfold.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
How much does TM cost? (including the "extras")
One of our readers recently asked in the "comments" section of this blog how much the entire TM program ultimately costs. I thought that was an important question, and decided to devote a post to answering it.
In some places I have just had to give educated guesses on costs. That's because some of the TM-sponsored websites describe the product or service but don't give a price. Also, some of the websites are old and the prices have changed. Also, sometimes policies change. Where I had to guess the price, I have guessed on the lower end rather than the higher end. If you have more accurate pricing information, please share it in the "Comments" section below.
TM-Free Blog and the author of this post do not offer, sell, teach, endorse, recommend, believe in, encourage the purchase of (etc., etc.) any of the products and services mentioned in this post. Neither do we non-endorse, non-recommend, discourage, etc. them. Rather, the purposes of this post are: to cast a light on the actual cost of living life the TM way, as opposed to the impression the TM organization (TMO) tries to give about the cost. Also to examine if the TMO, which bills itself as a secular educational movement, is actually trying to disseminate a type of Hinduism. Also to look at how ethical the TMO is in its advertising and in where the money goes, and how central to the TMO mission is their raising of money.
Please note that some of these costs are one-time only fees (such as cost for learning TM). Other costs can be repeated over and over. OK, here goes. All quotations are from TM-sponsored websites.
1. Cost of personal instruction in TM: $1,500 (?)
2. First Advanced Technique: $1,500 (?)
3. Second Advanced Technique: $1,500 (?)
4. Third Advanced Technique: $1,500 (?)
5. Fourth Advanced Technique: $1,500 (?)
6. TM-Sidhis Program: $5,000 (?)
7. Fee to practice TM-Sidhis program at a TM Center: $20?/month, or $240?/year
8. Weekend retreats: $250?/weekend. Recommended on their website as the most valuable thing you can do for your evolution. Recommended: at least 4 a year = $1,000?/year. "These beautiful advanced programs are the golden key to living the full potential of life in higher states of consciousness - Enlightenment - bringing perfect health, happiness, and the fulfillment of desires." - Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. (From "Advanced Programs for Meditators" at http:/www.advanced.tm.org/).
9. Comprehensive Life Kundali (in depth study for self): $400
10. Maharishi Jyotish Consultation (provides answers to questions or gives predictions): $150 for 15 minutes, $450 for 45 minutes.
11. Maharishi Yagya(SM) Performances "to create life-supporting effects and help avoid...unwanted...before it manifests." The larger (more expensive) yagyas are said to produce more effective results. Size should be "on basis of intensity of problems or speed of achieving objective." The principle to apply is, "Do not perform yagyas below one's financial capacity." (From www.maharishiyagya.org/apply/index.html.) No prices are given. Personal communications with author have stated that yagyas have been performed for $3,000, $5,000, $10,000 and $15,000. "Donations are used to support Maharishi Yagya performances and to promote education and training programs in Maharishi Vedic Science and Technologies(SM)....It is wise to enhance...influence[s] through Maharishi Yagya performances year after year, and even month after month...."
12. Muhurta (selection of favorable moment for beginning a new activity): $300.
13. Compatibility Analysis (marriage, business partnerships): $300
14. Ascertaining correct birth time (if you don't know a birth time, for TMO astrology services): $600
15. Nam Karan (provides first syllable for new baby or company): $200
16. Additions to a Comprehensive Life Kundali (adding relatives): $300 per relative. "It is vital...to have one's Comprehensive Life Kundali examined regularly...in order to determine what the future may bring...."
17. Maharishi Yagya(SM) performance for the nation, "to enliven total Natural Law for each nation....A new set of Maharishi Yagya performances for the nation will begin...approximately every 2 weeks...Many large contributions are needed...Catagory A donations are $1,000,000 (USD). ...Category J are $1,250....With a contribution of $1,250 or more, your name will be acknowledged in the Maharishi Yagya performance...The first priority is to have your personal Maharish Yagya performances on a regular basis...." You may pledge to donate for a Maharish Yagya performance for the nation anywhere from one time to "monthly forever."
18. Maharishi Vedic Vibration Technology - for health. Prices range from $187/session for serious health conditions, and take 12 sessions for a total of $2250; or $450 for a Standard session, or $900 for an "enhanced consultation." Sessions are 40 to 60 minutes. "The fees listed are RESEARCH FEES (emphasis in original) offered for those agreeing to participate in our Research Program by completing a short self-evaluation form after each session and periodic follow-up self-evaluations over the course of one year. For those unwilling to participate in the Research, the fee is US $4,000 per disorder for 3 sessions." (i.e. $1,333/session).
19. Maharishi Gemstones. Primary gem cost: ?
20. Maharishi Gemstones. Secondary gem cost: ?
21. Maharishi Ayurveda consultations: Cost ? Some components of the consultation are #22, 23 and 24:
22. Recommended Maharishi herbal food supplements. Cost: ?
23. Detoxification program. Cost: ?
24. Educational follow-up. Cost: ?
25. Maharishi Vastu Architecture. Services include: predesigned homes, custom design, consulting with developers. Cost: ? From 2010 website: "Over $400,000,000 (four hundred million dollars U.S.) in Fortune-Creating(R) homes and other buildings, and a score of communities have been built worldwide...."
26. - or - buying or renting a MaharishiVastu Architecture home. Cost: ?
27. Regular requests for donations from the David Lynch Foundation, special appeals after tsunamis, requests for donations to transport TMers to group meditations, etc. Cost ???
28. The Raj (health spa): from $533 a day to $1,150 a day. Stay is from 3 days to 30 days. Repeat as desired.
29. TM Teacher Training: approx. $15,000
How much does that come to? Have I left anything out? What have been your experiences with the TMO and money? How much money have you given to the TMO? How much money have people you know given to the TMO? Have you found yourself spending more money for TMO products and services than you had anticipated? Have you found your TMO products and services to be worth the price? Have you ever been pressured or guilt-tripped into spending more? Other musings welcome!
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Selling Sizzle (not Steak) : Transcendental Meditation, David Lynch and Pandits
This “Africa for Norway” video exemplifies how TM’s fundraising sells feel-good sizzle, without evaluating the steak :
(To read more about this creative team highlighting racism and charity abuse, click here.)
The David Lynch Foundation is sponsoring (yet another) feel-good benefit gala to bring Transcendental Meditation to veterans with PTSD and at-risk youth.
The merit of the steak behind the DLF’s sizzle, Transcendental Meditation, has not been properly evaluated, and in this case may even be dangerous for the trauma victims they claim to help. TM is a dissociative meditation. TM's numbing dissociative meditation may cause further long-term harm to the targeted PTSD survivors and at-risk youth that David Lynch's Foundation claims to help.
The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation studies the very real phenomenon of dissociation related to trauma and PTSD. More can be found about dissociation and trauma in other psychology and public health journals. The Transcendental Meditation Organization breaches ethics by teaching trance-induction dissociative practices to this vulnerable population.
Oxford University research scientist Kathleen Taylor, author of 2004 Brainwashing; The Science of Thought Control, writes that soldiers with PTSD are especially vulnerable to suggestion. Experts on brainwashing, the late Margaret Singer and still-living Robert Jay Lifton conducted their first brainwashing research on military PTSD survivors, Korean War POWs.
The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation studies the very real phenomenon of dissociation related to trauma and PTSD. More can be found about dissociation and trauma in other psychology and public health journals. The Transcendental Meditation Organization breaches ethics by teaching trance-induction dissociative practices to this vulnerable population.
Oxford University research scientist Kathleen Taylor, author of 2004 Brainwashing; The Science of Thought Control, writes that soldiers with PTSD are especially vulnerable to suggestion. Experts on brainwashing, the late Margaret Singer and still-living Robert Jay Lifton conducted their first brainwashing research on military PTSD survivors, Korean War POWs.
Maharishi's promised “transcendental bliss” actually triggers dissociation in many practitioners. Anyone who has been around the TM Movement knows the “bliss ninnies” or “space cadets”, as we once called the walking zombie-like members of our beloved "TM Family" cult.
TMFree's Sudarsha wrote in a private email : “If politicians advocate something, no one believes them. If your parents advocated something, you couldn't get far enough away. If the minster/priest/rabbi/imam advocates something, everyone is suspicious ... but if a celebrity advocates something, everyone immediately believes it's real, good, desirable, necessary, right and certainly something one needs to get as quickly as possible.
Not sure why this is so, but, at least for those who might be seen as prone to addiction (very broadly, of course), this seems to be the case, so a fund-raiser by celebrities ... well, that's a no-brainer! Surely celebrities can and must be trusted!” Thanks, Sud'!
Meanwhile, another insider sizzle email provides updates on Vedic City's growing pandit compound. From Maharishi's invented Global Country of World Peace, we offer excerpts :
TMFree's Sudarsha wrote in a private email : “If politicians advocate something, no one believes them. If your parents advocated something, you couldn't get far enough away. If the minster/priest/rabbi/imam advocates something, everyone is suspicious ... but if a celebrity advocates something, everyone immediately believes it's real, good, desirable, necessary, right and certainly something one needs to get as quickly as possible.
Meanwhile, another insider sizzle email provides updates on Vedic City's growing pandit compound. From Maharishi's invented Global Country of World Peace, we offer excerpts :
To our dear Movement family,
The Vedic Pandits are finally coming—not just the original 556 but a total of 600!
We know you’ve been waiting for some time to receive this update. So we are delighted to finally have some concrete news to give you.
With the addition of this group of Pandits, we will achieve a stable Super Radiance group of 2,000 Yogic Flyers to create Invincibility for America, a goal we have all worked towards for 30 years.
Of course, they require more money to keep the sizzle popping :
What more is needed?
We still need $1,000 per Pandit or an additional $600,000 total for airfare and other associated costs to bring all of the Pandits here. More than ever, your contributions are crucial. Please donate now!
Donation details
Donations can be made online at www.GlobalCountryofWorldPeace.org or by check payable to Global Country of World Peace, 1900 Capital Blvd, Maharishi Vedic City, IA 52556.
We would be happy to speak with you about this in more detail. Please contact us directly or through Eloise Raymond at eraymond@globalpeaceinitiative.org or 641-470-7027.
The "Movement Family" fundraising letter closes with TM's Raja Royalty :
Warmest wishes,
Jai Guru Dev,
Raja John Hagelin
Raja Harris
Raja Wynne
Raja Bob LoPinto
Ramani Ayer
We at TMFree encourage everyone to learn about the steak behind any tantalizing sizzle. Don’t just donate or buy based upon feel-good advertising. Don’t fall for celebrity - studded good intentions.
Evaluate the merit of any campaign, the TM-DLF organization, politics, the sleek new car, or the fabulous online dating profile. Sizzle usually lacks ethics. Do your homework and don’t be duped!
Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Thankful for independent thought, lifelong learning, the loss of naiveté and so much more.
Jai to Freedom, to free thought and honest discourse,
The TM-Free Blog Moderators
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Pandits for (non)Profit
Essay 3 of a 3-part Series.
The first in this series may be read here - Pandits in Captivity.
The second essay may be read here - CPs : Course Participants or Captive Pandits.
The TM Organization focuses upon FUNDRAISING for Pandits, while promising magic. Despite TM's assertion, there is no evidence that Pandits' impact global harmony. After years of fundraising for world peace through chanting Pandits, neither Maharishi's Global Country of World Peace nor other TM nonprofits disclose finances related to these captive Indians.
In a recent TM Organization announcement, Raja (Dr.) John Hagelin encourages donations to support an 11-day national Yagya (prayer ceremony) to begin on September 19, 2012. The final date for payment for this particular yagya was to be September 13. For of a mere $1,250, a donor could designate someone to be named during the performance.
The message flatters donors for TM Pandits’ prayer ceremonies, “As a direct result of the generosity and vision of our donors, the Maharishi National Yagya program has grown into a powerful force for America.”
Hagelin credits the Pandits' Yagyas with Iowa’s summer rains, and for redirecting this summer’s Hurricane Isaac :
“A few people have asked about Isaac. Originally forecast to be a Category 3 or 4 hurricane, it only reached Category 1. While the storm produced flooding in some of the most vulnerable areas, the City of New Orleans was largely spared.”
“The rain’s subsequent northward march provided welcome relief to some of the most drought-stricken areas of the country. When national invincibility is more firmly established, we can anticipate even greater protection against national disasters.”
Some True Believers continue to donate to these campaigns, otherwise why would the TM Movement continue to send such messages?
Deemed-scientific correlation between the Pandits and selective good news is as logical as Laurie’s (of TMFree) correlation that 99% of murderers begin their life drinking milk; thus milk leads to murdering.
Hagelin’s message continues, “We are on the verge of realizing Maharishi’s desire of 30 years. The generosity of our donors has brought us to this place. With your support, we will soon have the Super Radiance community we have worked so hard to build.”
Hagelin updates about plans to grow Pandit population :
“ * 556 Pandits now have passports, and 541 have completed their visa applications.
* The first phase of the kitchen expansion to accommodate the new Pandits has been completed, and the next phase is well underway.
* More than 1/3 of the funds needed to bring all 556 Pandits to the U.S. has been raised.
* The arrival of these Pandits will secure the daily Super Radiance numbers in Fairfield and Maharishi Vedic City at more than 2,000. Closing in on the Goal”
Another recent fundraising email from Stan Crowe earlier this summer declared,“a special 11-day National Yagya performance beginning on Guru Purnima, July 3. We chose this date to honor our beloved Maharishi on this most auspicious day, the day of the Guru. The Yagya will also coincide with America’s Independence Day, July 4.”
Donations are designated for “Increased harmony, peace, invincibility and prosperity for the nation and its citizens; AND increasing the number of Pandits in Maharishi Vedic City to our desired goal as quickly as possible.”
Having failed to create a permanent community of 2000 people practicing Maharishi’s TM-Sidhi program twice daily in MUM’s golden domes, In 2001 Maharishi decided to offer donors the opportunity to sponsor others to meditate for them. The sponsorship concept already existed on a smaller scale in the TM Movement. It used to be common practice for those with less funds to seek sponsorships, often arranged as tax deductible donations, to attend advanced TM courses. Wealthy TMers also often sponsored the celibate participants on the Purusha or Mother Divine programs for tax deductions, personal glory, and good karma.
Since 1979's first "World Peace Assembly" in Amherst Massachusetts, Maharishi and the TM Movement promoted the idea that a small percentage of the population could influence world peace, weather, crime and the economy through group meditation. This would create "The Maharishi Effect" to bring heaven on earth, or so Maharishi and the organization's retroactive selective studies claimed.
As Sudarsha suggested in a private message, this goal is as scientific as shooting a blank wall, then drawing a target circle around the spot you hit.
The goal of changing the world was and is used to inspire, or pressure, TM-Sidhi practitioners to devote their lives and funds to Maharishi's plans. This also feeds the narcissism of people who would believe their thoughts alone are powerful enough to influence government decisions and weather patterns.
Since that course in 1979 (Yes, I was there) Maharishi and his minions such as Bevan Morris, John Hagelin and others have long threatened Maharishi's followers with global warfare and other calamities unless a core group of at least 2000 people practiced Maharishi’s TM-Sidhi Program together twice daily.
For example, in 1979 Bevan Morris pulled me aside for a private audience in a small dark room, saying someone had reported me to him for not attending Program as prescribed. Bevan said that I personally would be responsible for bringing WWIII or economic collapse to the world because I did not fully participate in "Program" many hours daily. In response I said that motherhood and supporting my family took precedence over group meditations, that my family is my Program. I told Bevan that Maharishi did not have children, so he didn't understand families. Bevan excused me, seemingly without officially black-listing me. Others tell similar stories of intimidation and threats for their non-participation in program, or if they requested permission to leave.
In the early 1980's Maharishi claimed that donations to support participants on the celibate Purusha and Mother Divine programs would bring financial prosperity, health and speed enlightenment for donors. In fact, my (then)husband wanted us to tithe 10% of our income to support his former girlfriend on the Mother Divine course. They had attended and graduated together in 1981 from Maharishi International University. She was a sweet young woman, who vigilantly 'put her attention' on my husband's business daily and wrote us newsy letters about Maharishi's latest inspirations. The young woman's prolonged meditations did not enhance our economic status. My (then) husband often blamed his business problems on the bad karma that I brought to his business because I did not attend “Program” (6-8 hours) daily. This was a prevalent community attitude at that time.
Per their own counts, the TM Movement repeatedly fails to realize the mystical 2000 meditator/Sidhas for twice-daily Program attendance. Other TMers must be making similar choices about responsibilities, personal and family needs, thereby decreasing Program attendance.
To solve this problem, Maharishi came up with the brilliant idea of raising funds to import professional meditators from India. This idea was proposed as early as November 2001.
Note : Maharishi's idea is FUNDRAISING for Pandits, not to really improve the world through mystical practices.
In January 2002, after coming out of his annual silent retreat to begin the new year, Maharishi proposed that for a mere $250 Million, the world’s problems could be solved by establishing a permanent community with 10,000 Pandits.
Maharishi's fundraising scheme to support a group of meditating Pandits provided, then and now, a means for TM's wealthy donors to assure spiritual good karma, enlightenment or entry to heaven by donating large sums of money for others meditate in their stead.
This is remarkably similar to the Medieval Catholicism when noblemen paid servants to make spiritual pilgrimages for them, thereby gleaning heavenly accolades for both the nobleman and the pauper who made the pilgrimage.
I doubt the Movement will attain the 2000 which they claim necessary for a Super Radiance effect. This dream is an eternal carrot-on-a-stick, never to be achieved. After all, the Movement would lose credibility with its followers if 2000 Pandits meditate twice daily, and the world inevitably continues with political travails, natural disasters, environmental carcinogens and economic vicissitudes.
Being a practical Guru, Maharishi established nonprofit corporations so that donors could receive tax deductions while profiting their Guru. Despite public perception, a "nonprofit" organization does not have to meet any ethical qualifications. The primary difference between a nonprofit corporation vs a for-profit is the stated purpose of the organization, how funds are dispersed and taxed. Nonprofits are allowed to generate revenue surpluses (er, that would be synonymous with ‘profit’).
Using threats of global collapse to fear-monger for Pandit donations in October, 2003, a national conference call quoted (still living) Maharishi "'The world would not completely end, there will be a few people left...You don't know how fast the destruction is approaching. Do it, go fast... 'Don't wait until tomorrow when the whole thing collapses. If you don't prevent this, don't blame us.'"
In 2003, the Program "8000 Now" was created to fundraise for a Pandit program. Their website cleverly does not initially reveal their true intentions, until one clicks about on various links.
TMFree readers may enjoy videos on the "National Yagya Program" website. Among highlights, see Raja Dr. John Hagelin explain how important it is to “engage the power of natural law at a very deep level” through the performance of Yagyas to help Japan after their tsunami and nuclear crisis. Japan's Raja also reads aloud a letter of gratitude for Pandits he credits with helping Japan..
In his documentary film David Wants to Fly, David Seiveking interviews Earl Kaplan. Earl admits that he is not proud of his former TM-alliance and donations exceeding $150million to Maharishi. Earl also says he asked Maharishi about the promised Pandits; despite Earl's large donation for this purpose, none had been gathered together. Earl says that Maharishi told him "I don't know if it will work." In his former brainwashed state, Earl was shocked that his Guru had been recruiting for a cause that he was not sure would work. Earl, his twin brother David, and their wives then left the Movement.
In late October 2006, shortly after Howard Settle granted $600 per person monthly scholarship to hire pandits, up to one million dollars monthly, an initial group of Pandits arrived from India. The Movement announced "A permanent group of 1,000 Maharishi Pandits has been established in America”. Photos here show TM Movement dignitaries (note their requisite beige/gold themed suits) greeting Pandits at the airport, and chatting at the Pandits' welcome dinner.
Ostensibly, there are plans to bring enough Pandits for a permanent group creating a global Maharishi Effect of world peace, balanced economy, wealth, good weather, lush agriculture, and enlightenment for all!
The Pandits are hired to save the world by meditating en masse.
For obscure reasons, the Movement still fails to have the requisite number of Pandits together. Looks like stalling tactics to me, to keep donations flowing.
For those with special needs and the ability to make tax deductible donations, the Organization states Pandits can customize mystical Yagya ceremonies for special purposes. Even my late-father had purchased several custom Yagyas for himself.
Lacking foresight, when the first Pandits arrived to Iowa in autumn of 2006, they lacked proper clothing for Iowa’s subzero winters. Local meditators in Fairfield and Vedic City created a coat drive to garner winter wear so these thin Indian men could survive their first subzero winter. Many Pandits had arrived from India to the United States with only simple kurtas and shawls.
One year after their arrival, Maharishi approved the provision of winter coats in October 2007, for the Pandits. Separate fundraising efforts were conducted to purchase these coats,
Interestingly, Vedic City has an identity crisis about their Pandits.
Official Vedic City maps, provided by The Raj Spa's receptionist, do not identify the location of this fenced, guarded compound. Still, it’s easy enough to find. Just drive north in front of The Raj along Jasmine Ave., turn left, west, at 170th street at toward their touted luxury Rukmapura Park Hotel. The fenced Pandit compound is almost directly across 170th street from the hotel’s gravel driveway, conveniently outside the official grid of Vedic City's Master Plan, at the intersection of 170th Street and “Invincible America Ave.”
While not listed among Vedic City's attractions, a small image of meditating Pandits appears in the upper banner of Vedic City’s website.
Vedic City wants tax benefits for the Pandits, according to a February 2011 story from Iowa’s Heartland Connection, channel 3 KTVO posted on February 17th "Can Census Make 1000 Iowans Disappear? ”
Vedic City officials claim the US Census miscounted their residents, neglecting to include over one thousand residents of the pandit compound at 1675 Invincible America Drive. According to the 2001 Boundary and Annexation Survey file, the Pandit compound lies within Vedic City's boundaries.
Are the Pandits actually Iowans as claimed by KTVO news? Are they legal residents of Vedic City, Iowa and the USA? Are they guests, or students? Only their US State Department Visas know for sure.
As expected by anyone familiar with the TM Movement, Vedic City claims or disavows the Pandit presence according to what is most advantageous at any given moment.
“Funnily enough” (one of Maharishi’s phrases), 2010 tax returns for only one fundraising arm for the pandit and yagya donations can be viewed here - 2010 Exempt Organization Tax Return "Brahmananda Saraswati Foundation". And an overview of the financial status of Maharishi's Global Country of World Peace can be viewed here.
Transcendental Meditation Organizations keep separate legal and financial structures. Readers can glean a glimmer of this global organization by clicking on a few links and drop down menus on this site for Maharishi's Global Country or here for Peace Initiative Projects.
On a human note - One wonders if the fenced Pandits know their rights as foreign nationals within the United States. Human rights agencies queried in Chicago and elsewhere require a complaint filed by one of the Pandits themselves to initiate an investigation about unlawful restraint, confinement, or anything else.
How would an imprisoned person, with neither English language fluency nor outside access, inquire for assistance or file a complaint?
The first in this series may be read here - Pandits in Captivity.
The second essay may be read here - CPs : Course Participants or Captive Pandits.
The TM Organization focuses upon FUNDRAISING for Pandits, while promising magic. Despite TM's assertion, there is no evidence that Pandits' impact global harmony. After years of fundraising for world peace through chanting Pandits, neither Maharishi's Global Country of World Peace nor other TM nonprofits disclose finances related to these captive Indians.
* The first phase of the kitchen expansion to accommodate the new Pandits has been completed, and the next phase is well underway.
* More than 1/3 of the funds needed to bring all 556 Pandits to the U.S. has been raised.
* The arrival of these Pandits will secure the daily Super Radiance numbers in Fairfield and Maharishi Vedic City at more than 2,000. Closing in on the Goal”
Donations are designated for “Increased harmony, peace, invincibility and prosperity for the nation and its citizens; AND increasing the number of Pandits in Maharishi Vedic City to our desired goal as quickly as possible.”
Since 1979's first "World Peace Assembly" in Amherst Massachusetts, Maharishi and the TM Movement promoted the idea that a small percentage of the population could influence world peace, weather, crime and the economy through group meditation. This would create "The Maharishi Effect" to bring heaven on earth, or so Maharishi and the organization's retroactive selective studies claimed.
The goal of changing the world was and is used to inspire, or pressure, TM-Sidhi practitioners to devote their lives and funds to Maharishi's plans. This also feeds the narcissism of people who would believe their thoughts alone are powerful enough to influence government decisions and weather patterns.
Per their own counts, the TM Movement repeatedly fails to realize the mystical 2000 meditator/Sidhas for twice-daily Program attendance. Other TMers must be making similar choices about responsibilities, personal and family needs, thereby decreasing Program attendance.
To solve this problem, Maharishi came up with the brilliant idea of raising funds to import professional meditators from India. This idea was proposed as early as November 2001.
Note : Maharishi's idea is FUNDRAISING for Pandits, not to really improve the world through mystical practices.
In January 2002, after coming out of his annual silent retreat to begin the new year, Maharishi proposed that for a mere $250 Million, the world’s problems could be solved by establishing a permanent community with 10,000 Pandits.
Maharishi's fundraising scheme to support a group of meditating Pandits provided, then and now, a means for TM's wealthy donors to assure spiritual good karma, enlightenment or entry to heaven by donating large sums of money for others meditate in their stead.
This is remarkably similar to the Medieval Catholicism when noblemen paid servants to make spiritual pilgrimages for them, thereby gleaning heavenly accolades for both the nobleman and the pauper who made the pilgrimage.
I doubt the Movement will attain the 2000 which they claim necessary for a Super Radiance effect. This dream is an eternal carrot-on-a-stick, never to be achieved. After all, the Movement would lose credibility with its followers if 2000 Pandits meditate twice daily, and the world inevitably continues with political travails, natural disasters, environmental carcinogens and economic vicissitudes.
Being a practical Guru, Maharishi established nonprofit corporations so that donors could receive tax deductions while profiting their Guru. Despite public perception, a "nonprofit" organization does not have to meet any ethical qualifications. The primary difference between a nonprofit corporation vs a for-profit is the stated purpose of the organization, how funds are dispersed and taxed. Nonprofits are allowed to generate revenue surpluses (er, that would be synonymous with ‘profit’).
In 2003, the Program "8000 Now" was created to fundraise for a Pandit program. Their website cleverly does not initially reveal their true intentions, until one clicks about on various links.
TMFree readers may enjoy videos on the "National Yagya Program" website. Among highlights, see Raja Dr. John Hagelin explain how important it is to “engage the power of natural law at a very deep level” through the performance of Yagyas to help Japan after their tsunami and nuclear crisis. Japan's Raja also reads aloud a letter of gratitude for Pandits he credits with helping Japan..
In his documentary film David Wants to Fly, David Seiveking interviews Earl Kaplan. Earl admits that he is not proud of his former TM-alliance and donations exceeding $150million to Maharishi. Earl also says he asked Maharishi about the promised Pandits; despite Earl's large donation for this purpose, none had been gathered together. Earl says that Maharishi told him "I don't know if it will work." In his former brainwashed state, Earl was shocked that his Guru had been recruiting for a cause that he was not sure would work. Earl, his twin brother David, and their wives then left the Movement.
In late October 2006, shortly after Howard Settle granted $600 per person monthly scholarship to hire pandits, up to one million dollars monthly, an initial group of Pandits arrived from India. The Movement announced "A permanent group of 1,000 Maharishi Pandits has been established in America”. Photos here show TM Movement dignitaries (note their requisite beige/gold themed suits) greeting Pandits at the airport, and chatting at the Pandits' welcome dinner.
The Pandits are hired to save the world by meditating en masse.
For obscure reasons, the Movement still fails to have the requisite number of Pandits together. Looks like stalling tactics to me, to keep donations flowing.
For those with special needs and the ability to make tax deductible donations, the Organization states Pandits can customize mystical Yagya ceremonies for special purposes. Even my late-father had purchased several custom Yagyas for himself.
Lacking foresight, when the first Pandits arrived to Iowa in autumn of 2006, they lacked proper clothing for Iowa’s subzero winters. Local meditators in Fairfield and Vedic City created a coat drive to garner winter wear so these thin Indian men could survive their first subzero winter. Many Pandits had arrived from India to the United States with only simple kurtas and shawls.
One year after their arrival, Maharishi approved the provision of winter coats in October 2007, for the Pandits. Separate fundraising efforts were conducted to purchase these coats,
Interestingly, Vedic City has an identity crisis about their Pandits.
Official Vedic City maps, provided by The Raj Spa's receptionist, do not identify the location of this fenced, guarded compound. Still, it’s easy enough to find. Just drive north in front of The Raj along Jasmine Ave., turn left, west, at 170th street at toward their touted luxury Rukmapura Park Hotel. The fenced Pandit compound is almost directly across 170th street from the hotel’s gravel driveway, conveniently outside the official grid of Vedic City's Master Plan, at the intersection of 170th Street and “Invincible America Ave.”
While not listed among Vedic City's attractions, a small image of meditating Pandits appears in the upper banner of Vedic City’s website.
Vedic City wants tax benefits for the Pandits, according to a February 2011 story from Iowa’s Heartland Connection, channel 3 KTVO posted on February 17th "Can Census Make 1000 Iowans Disappear? ”
Vedic City officials claim the US Census miscounted their residents, neglecting to include over one thousand residents of the pandit compound at 1675 Invincible America Drive. According to the 2001 Boundary and Annexation Survey file, the Pandit compound lies within Vedic City's boundaries.
Are the Pandits actually Iowans as claimed by KTVO news? Are they legal residents of Vedic City, Iowa and the USA? Are they guests, or students? Only their US State Department Visas know for sure.
As expected by anyone familiar with the TM Movement, Vedic City claims or disavows the Pandit presence according to what is most advantageous at any given moment.
“Funnily enough” (one of Maharishi’s phrases), 2010 tax returns for only one fundraising arm for the pandit and yagya donations can be viewed here - 2010 Exempt Organization Tax Return "Brahmananda Saraswati Foundation". And an overview of the financial status of Maharishi's Global Country of World Peace can be viewed here.
On a human note - One wonders if the fenced Pandits know their rights as foreign nationals within the United States. Human rights agencies queried in Chicago and elsewhere require a complaint filed by one of the Pandits themselves to initiate an investigation about unlawful restraint, confinement, or anything else.
How would an imprisoned person, with neither English language fluency nor outside access, inquire for assistance or file a complaint?
Thursday, August 30, 2012
CPs : Course Participants or Captive Pandits
Essay 2 of a 3-part series.
For the first essay in this series on Vedic City's Vedic Pandits, please click here.
Turning right, or north, onto Jasmine Ave I pass the turn to a few residences and the flagged Capital building for the Global Country of World Peace whose annual revenue, as a registered non profit agency, is in the range of $19 million,
And the entry sign for Maharishi Vedic Observatory, enhanced with bullet holes to document the sign's dual purpose for both vedic marker and target practice (click on image to enlarge).
I stop briefly at Vedic City's central information desk in The Raj spa which features costly Maharishi Ayurvedic treatments (more about visiting the "Observatory" and "The Raj" in another essay).
Exiting the Raj's tree-lined entry drive,I return to two-lane Jasmine Ave heading north as I pass farmland to my right and a few "Vedic" buildings on the left.
I turn left, or west, onto 170th Avenue’s country road along Vedic City's perimeter. After passing a few Vedic housing developments that are evidently slow on sales, I arrive to the lauded luxury Rukmapura Park Hotel's gravel entry.
Almost directly across from the most elegant hotel of Fairfield or Vedic City lies the fenced "Invincible America Campus", or pandit compound, with rows of white prefabricated buildings capped with golden ornaments, called kalashes, to maximize each building's spiritual energy.
An uniformed visitor could possibly mistake the pandit compound for an agri-business, but not for long.
“Women are not allowed past that fence. Actually, no one is allowed unless they have special permission and an escort. You can stand at the edge of this fence to take photos.” The friendly guard informs me from the simple wooden guardshack at the entrance to Vedic City’s pandit compound only a few miles north of Jefferson County’s courthouse in Fairfield, Iowa.
The third essay in this series may be read here.
For the first essay in this series on Vedic City's Vedic Pandits, please click here.
Oprah Winfrey’s televised visit to Maharishi Vedic City’s pandit compound provided an opportune excuse for a drive to the pandit compound during my recent visit to Fairfield, Iowa.
Oprah’s pandit visit is summarized in this short video clip :
As I drive north of Fairfield on Highway One, in less than one mile I follow the highway's directional arrow left on Airport Rd toward Maharishi Vedic City.
Following the arrow due west 2 miles on Airport Rd / 180th Street, I drive through open farmland and pass a few vedic houses, identifiable by uniform east facing entrances with strange roof ornaments, and Fairfield's small airport where Fairfield's TM-wealthy house private airplanes and a leer jet or two. Two miles west of Highway One's turn off, I arrive at an empty country intersection for Jasmine Ave, the beginning of Vedic City.
Turning right, or north, onto Jasmine Ave I pass the turn to a few residences and the flagged Capital building for the Global Country of World Peace whose annual revenue, as a registered non profit agency, is in the range of $19 million,
And the entry sign for Maharishi Vedic Observatory, enhanced with bullet holes to document the sign's dual purpose for both vedic marker and target practice (click on image to enlarge).
I stop briefly at Vedic City's central information desk in The Raj spa which features costly Maharishi Ayurvedic treatments (more about visiting the "Observatory" and "The Raj" in another essay).
Exiting the Raj's tree-lined entry drive,I return to two-lane Jasmine Ave heading north as I pass farmland to my right and a few "Vedic" buildings on the left.
I turn left, or west, onto 170th Avenue’s country road along Vedic City's perimeter. After passing a few Vedic housing developments that are evidently slow on sales, I arrive to the lauded luxury Rukmapura Park Hotel's gravel entry.
Almost directly across from the most elegant hotel of Fairfield or Vedic City lies the fenced "Invincible America Campus", or pandit compound, with rows of white prefabricated buildings capped with golden ornaments, called kalashes, to maximize each building's spiritual energy.
An uniformed visitor could possibly mistake the pandit compound for an agri-business, but not for long.
“Women are not allowed past that fence. Actually, no one is allowed unless they have special permission and an escort. You can stand at the edge of this fence to take photos.” The friendly guard informs me from the simple wooden guardshack at the entrance to Vedic City’s pandit compound only a few miles north of Jefferson County’s courthouse in Fairfield, Iowa.
The guard sits alone or with one other at the fenced compound’s gate, surrounded by otherwise open farmland and a large torquoise sky. Maybe the job is boring or perhaps he enjoys sitting in the quiet countryside and reading.
I’m relieved that the friendly guard in khakis, a light plaid shirt and clip-on security badge is happy to chat. I hope this essay does not jeopardize his emplyment.
I’m relieved that the friendly guard in khakis, a light plaid shirt and clip-on security badge is happy to chat. I hope this essay does not jeopardize his emplyment.
"Since I can’t enter, may I walk along that road between the fences, still outside the pandit compound?" I ask while pointing to the moat-like dirt road separating the compound from the parking lot where we stand.
"Nope." he responds. "Private property. You can take pictures from this parking lot fence." He extends his arm indicating the fence encircling the small gravel parking area.
I retort with a smile, “But Oprah filmed inside.”
The guard laughs, “But you’re not Oprah.”
"True enough.” I wink and continue, “Maharishi always gave extra benies to the wealthy. It’s about public relations and donations. Too bad I don’t have a zoom lens.”
The guard observes from his small shack while I walk freely in the fenced gravel parking lot, clicking photos with my red point-and-shoot camera across double fences to the pandits .
Pandits play baseball on a seemingly unmarked grass field.
Three Indians in white gauze kurtas notice me. They walk closer to sit under a tree near the fence, watching the guard talk with me. They remind me of captive animals in a zoo who had watched my children and me from behind fences. I wave. The pandits wave back.
Two beige former school buses parked beside the drive marked “Residents Only Private Drive” remind me of childrens' summer camp transportation. The guard informs me that buses transport pandits for occasional special performances at Maharishi University's Golden Domes or elsewhere, to return the same day.
Between snapping photos and chatting about the weather, I introduce myself.
“I just saw Oprah’s show and found this fascinating since I used to live here. I graduated from Fairfield High School 1975 as the first 'Ru to graduate from Fairfield High, before MIU began their high school here.
('Ru is slang term awarded by Fairfield residents to the meditators who invaded their town in 1974, shortened from Iowa-accented GuRUuuu. MIU, Maharishi International University, later became MUM, or Maharishi University of Management)
('Ru is slang term awarded by Fairfield residents to the meditators who invaded their town in 1974, shortened from Iowa-accented GuRUuuu. MIU, Maharishi International University, later became MUM, or Maharishi University of Management)
Seeking commonality, the guard names some high school classmates from his graduating class a few years before mine.
After thinking a moment, I respond. “No, I don’t remember them. I only attended FHS for my senior year; that’s when we moved here. You and your friends were out of school by then, so I didn’t meet them. I remember Myron Gookin who is now Iowa's local District Court judge. Myron was either our senior class president or the student body president. I think his family lived on North Main Street at the time, in a meticulous yellow house if I remember correctly. They moved to the other side of town after the 'Rus took over that end of town. I arrived with the first group that came here with MIU from California. My mother was an MIU Student. I fell in love with Iowa, but the old Parsons campus was such a mess!”
“I remember.” he smiles and nods.
We laugh together while sharing memories of 1974's awkward campus BBQ welcoming MIU’s arrival to Fairfield, when skinny vegetarian MIU students refused to eat barbequed pork donated by local farmers.
I add, “I always loved Iowa. My children were born here. My daughter attended Pence elementary school on the south side of town,” thereby implying that I was not a die-hard 'Ru, since my own children attended a local public school rather than MSAE, Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment. "Eventually I couldn't take it and moved away."
The guard nods, then begins to open up. "There are 850 pandits here now. The Movement plans to have 1200 to keep the numbers here up for when dome numbers drop. They keep saying more will arrive soon," referring to Maharishi’s plan for a specified number of (TM-Sidhi) Program participants for the ever-promised "Super Radiance effect" that would magically create World Peace.
"There are 88 buildings now and expanding." He points to one building with an orange and purple entry, "That's their Durga, or temple. The white entrance by a larger building is the administrative building. The large gymnasium is in back. Another building is the meditation building. All their needs are provided for.”
He suddenly sounds scripted, “They meditate, have food, study and exercise time. They study Sanskrit and Vedic scriptures. You can see they’re playing baseball now.” He nods to the ball game before us, speaking as though this is normal. "A clinic will be coming to take care of their medical needs." he adds.
“They visit local doctors and the hospital now?” I ask.
“Usually. But there’s a doctor who comes to see them out here sometimes.”
“Have there been cases of tuberculosis or other infectious diseases?”
“I wouldn’t know.” He shrugs.
"I’m in the medical field. It’s good they provide medical care. This is impressive.”
I wonder if the TM Organization is building a private clinic to avoid alerting public health authoritites, or if the clinic merely provides a cost-saving convenience.
We stand quietly looking at the compound and pandit baseball game for a few minutes in the Iowa sun. Not sure what to say next, “Where does the money come for all this?" I ask.
The guard shrugs, shaking his head, "I'm not part of the Movement."
He points to his left, behind the guard shack, past open fields to a few rows of distant rectangular yellow buildings.
"American pandit-types live there. I forgot what they're called."
"Purusha?" I ask,
"Yes. Purusha. Some Mother Divine women live near them. But most of the women are in New York or North Carolina. Purusha men are sometimes allowed to attend pandit ceremonies. They once allowed a couple of Mother Divine women to attend a pandit ceremony, but apparently it became a scene. Women are too distracting for the pandits. So no more females." After a moment, guard adds, "There's no problem with Purusha men and Mother Divine woman living nearby. "
“I wonder how the pandits controlled themselves when Oprah visited.” I say.
The guard laughs.
After taking my few photos, I thank the guard and drive away, wishing I had better planned my questions.
Stopping briefly along the side the compound to photograph the street sign for "Vedic America Drive", one pandit approaches me.
A moat-like ditch filled with knee-high prickly weeds deters me from getting close enough to the fence to talk comfortably. I wish I wore different shoes.
I wave “Hello" to the lone pandit.
He returns my greeting.
"It's a beautiful day!" I call to him from the roadside, standing beside my car.
"Yes" he agrees.
"How are you today?"
"Fine."
"How long have you lived here?"
"One hour," he reponds while wobbling his head side to side, Indian style.
I realize he does not understand. I speak more slowly.
"How many years you here?"
"Two years."
"Are you happy?"
"Yes." He wobbles his head.
"May I please take your photo?" I hold up my camera.
"No." he turns to walk away from the fence, then quickly returns. "OK."
I snap his photo while the guard watches us from his perch.
"I have to go now." We wave good bye.
The third essay in this series may be read here.
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