Book Review: "TRANSCENDENTAL DECEPTION: Behind the TM curtain - bogus science, hidden agendas, and David Lynch’s campaign to push a million public school kids into Transcendental Meditation while falsely claiming it is not a religion" by Aryeh Siegel

Published 2018 by JanReg Press
222 pages
Reviewed by Laurie


This book is different.  This book is special.

"...'Will my practice of Transcendental Meditation conflict with my religion?'  [TM spokesperson] Roth answers, 'No....' " (p. 79)

"...For our practice, we select only the suitable mantras of personal gods.  Such mantras fetch to us the grace of personal gods...."   [quote by Maharishi]. (p. 86) 

I have read many fascinating memoirs by people who have spent years in the TM world.  And I’ve read excellent books about Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and his Guru Dev.

But this book is different.  It doesn’t tell the story of one life.  Nor does it, like most exposes, focus on just one aspect of the TM organization (TMO), such as Maharishi’s sex life, or TM actually being a religious movement.

"...After giving meditation another shot...I had what superficially looked like convulsions and could not walk without assistance afterwards because my abdominals were clenched so tight, I was hunched over more than 90 degrees (that occurred on and off for nearly a week)...."  (p. 182-183)

Instead, it gives a comprehensive overview of the TM movement.  It brings together the many criticisms ~ over many years ~ in many fields ~ from many scholars. The result is compelling  evidence that deception is not an occasional aberration within the TMO, but one of its standard modes of operation.  Siegel documents how the TMO has:

(1)  Hidden the religious (Hindu) nature of the technique, the mantras and the TM philosophy.
(2)  Perpetrated biased research.
(3)  Posted websites claiming to be “independent.”
(4)  Misquoted people and organizations.

"...[W]idely promoted by TM as 'The Maharishi Effect,'...[is] group TM meditation impacting crime...."  (p. 101)

"...Utilizing raw data from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program released in September 2016, [a real estate platform] reported...'The crime rate in Fairfield is considerably higher than the national average across all communities in America from the largest to the smallest....' "  (p. 106)

(5) Invented statistics.
(6) Denied the harm that TM causes some individuals.
(7) Hidden where the money goes.
(8) Engaged in cult-like behavior.
…And so much more.  

Different sections devoted to different areas of deception, several pages of “Resources,” and over 200 footnotes make this book an excellent source for investigating the soul of the organization that seeks to spreads TM, at whatever price.

Siegel realized that with each passing day, more and more public schools would be teaching TM.  Therefore he wrote and published this book as quickly as possible.  So frankly, the writing is quite uneven.  And I wish that Siegel had omitted his personal conjectures and denunciations, which in my opinion only weaken the book, since the facts speak for themselves.  Making allowances for his time constraints, it is still the most comprehensive review of TM I’ve seen in decades.

"...The flaws in this study [Meditation for Childhood ADHD] are numerous.  The number of subjects is too small, there is no control group, and it isn't blinded....It is based purely on self-report....[Children] are told what the expected outcome of the trial is, that their symptoms will improve with TM...." (page 115) 

I strongly recommend this book to scientists, medical doctors, psychotherapists, politicians, theologians, educators, ethicists, parents, students, former- present- and future-TMers, cult experts and more.  It will help them evaluate the PR promulgated by the TMO.

I am saddened that the leaders of the TMO (from its founder on down) have seen fit to take a pleasant quasi-religious technique that helps a lot of people and harms a few, and have sullied it, themselves and the public, by slathering it with lies.

"...The overall evidence supports that TM modestly lowers BP (blood pressure).  It is not certain whether it is truly superior to other meditation techniques in terms of BP lowering...." - American Heart Association, 2013.  (p. 108)

"...The American Heart Association made a scientific statement that Transcendental Meditation was the only form of stress management and meditation technique to reduce blood pressure...." - www.TM.org.  (p. 108) 

Also - be sure to check out Siegel’s cool and very fun website, tmdeception.com, for intriguing videos, interviews, articles and insights into TM.

[Note:  To read more books reviews on TMFree, go to our main page, right hand column, last section "Labels," and click on "book review."]

Simon and Schuster misleadingly sells the latest TM promotional book

It's that time again. Every few years, another book selling Transcendental Meditation, written by a nearly life-long TM teacher or satisfied customer, lands on the store shelves, with the backing of a major publisher. The latest is "Strength in Stillness," written by David Lynch Foundation executive director Bob Roth as part of the Foundation's efforts to eventually recruit government and major institutions to promote and pay for the teaching of its particular version of meditation - a product of what's actually, by any measure, a fundamentalist religious sect originating in India - to vulnerable people, including public school students.

As has been true throughout the many reruns of this routine for the past fifty years, Roth and his movement actively recruit celebrities and wealthy people to publicly testify to their view of the personal value of TM. Since we can't read their minds, it's impossible to tell if we're just looking at people who are eager to further promote themselves by following the herd and latching onto what they think will be, yet again, a superficially popular cause, or if they're just a few of the still small minority of people who learn TM and stick with it for more than just a few months. It seems likely to me that some combination of both may be true, and that given the nature of celebrity and media, those who dissent, are indifferent, or think the whole thing to be ridiculous are very rarely, if ever, heard from. In popular culture and media, we almost always only hear from those with a positive, endorsing story to tell about such celebrity-endorsed causes and charities, because the nature of the process of image-making, publicity and stardom usually filters out any other message.

Once again, we have a book with a whole pile of endorsing celebrity quotes attached, that appear in every description of the book online, in promotional press releases and on the back cover. These are the words of satisfied customers who probably never took the time (or had their assistants take the time) to do a little research on what they're getting involved in. The David Lynch Foundation is founded on the premise that Transcendental Meditation is absolutely perfect in every way and is a panacea for almost anything that ails you, anyone, or society as a whole, because the anti-science, unchallengeable, absolutist, fundamentalist Vedic religious tradition from which it springs dictates that that is so. Prospective buyers of Transcendental Meditation must look elsewhere for even slightly critical or skeptical evaluation of the practice, the rest of the products they'll eventually be offered, or the history and purpose of the organizations that ultimately benefit, over the long term, from the promotion and practice of TM in the Western world.

Obviously some of these endorsing celebrities have no idea about even the basics of what they're now practicing, and that seems to be the case for one of the endorsers of Roth's book.

Here's one line from the "Editorial Reviews" of the book found on Amazon, that can also be found in the promotional copy for the book on the Simon and Schuster website.

“The beauty of TM is that it’s so forgiving. You can’t do it wrong.” —Robin Roberts

As a matter of fact, according to TM teachers or virtually anyone in authority associated with TM, you can do it wrong. In fact, there's a minor obsession with "correct" TM practice that's supposed to be ensured by a procedure they call "checking."

Anyone who's actually gone through the whole process of learning TM, and who didn't completely ignore most of the propagandizing and existential/philosophical material offered over the course of five daily sessions, would remember that they had their meditation "checked" after they learned it, because that's what happens at the beginning of the three follow-up sessions after learning TM. "Checking," in fact, is frequently offered, perpetually, to meditators for the rest of their lives.  The stated intent is to ensure no deviation from the allegedly pure and always beneficial method that supposedly is the unmodified product of some ancient Vedic tradition from India. But if you look at the actual "checking" procedure itself, you might notice that it's really an endless loop with no exit; it reinforces the absolute necessity of regular TM practice over every other individual concern, even when the meditator is experiencing negative consequences of the practice.

But TM teachers, when "checking," are to avoid anything that might cause the meditator to stop, or to view meditation in anything other than the most positive light.  It says so in the "General Notes" that are part of the checking procedure instructions dictated to every TM teacher in training: "Checkers should be careful to mention negative aspects as little as possible." "World peace" and other claimed collective benefits of TM, that they call the "Maharishi Effect," are to them completely dependent upon maximizing the total number of meditators on the planet, thus the constant insistence upon "correct" and regular practice.

Those of us who've stepped back and critically examined TM and the teaching of it often notice that, when something bad happens to a meditator, others will likely reach for a few standard excuses for the fact that meditators often don't experience the benefits that are claimed to come with the practice. Very high on that list, if not the top two excuses, are "unstressing" and a blame-the-victim gambit that can be summarized, among other ways, as "improper technique" that should be corrected through "checking." (Even we critics are sometimes told that we're "unstressing" and "need a checking.") 

For an example of how these habits play out among meditators, you can read the undisputed facts in a Federal court decision in the lawsuit that followed the 2004 murder of Levi Butler in the TM Movement's own Maharishi University of Management cafeteria. To my critical eye, long-term involvement with TM and the organizations that teach it, and this particular preoccupation with how meditation is practiced, contributed to the inability of school administrators to get help for a student experiencing a psychotic episode. In the middle of that kind of crisis, an administrator was questioning the correctness of the student's TM practice and effectively blaming the student for his psychotic state. Avoidance of anti-psychotic medication, possibly encouraged by the well-known anti-medical views of the school's authorities preoccupied with medicine's "side effects," may also have been a contributing factor.

On March 1, 2004, suddenly and without apparent provocation, [Shuvender] Sem stabbed fellow student John Killian (Killian) in the face and throat with a pen. Two fellow students were restraining Sem when Dr. Samuel Boothby (Dr. Boothby), a MUM administrator, approached the group. Dr. Boothby led Sem into an adjoining conference room and discussed the attack. Dr. Boothby questioned Sem about any relationship Sem might have had with John Killian and what Sem had done earlier that day, including Sem's TM technique. Dr. Boothby informed Sem he was using an improper technique when completing his TM exercises. MUM administration did not summon law enforcement or campus security; instead, Sem was placed into the custody of MUM's dean of men, Joel Wynsong (Wynsong). Killian went unassisted to the hospital, where he received several stitches.

Wynsong took Sem to Wynsong's on-campus apartment. Once at his apartment, Wynsong began his own meditation exercises, and, after completing his meditation, Wynsong discovered Sem had left the apartment. Wynsong located Sem in the campus dining hall and decided to allow Sem to mingle with the students. Sem began another abrupt and unprovoked attack on fellow student Levi Butler, stabbing Levi multiple times with a knife. Levi died from multiple stab wounds to the chest.3

Sem was taken into custody, and on March 3, 2004, Dr. James Brooks (Dr. Brooks) performed a psychiatric examination. Dr. Brooks noted Sem had a history of chronic paranoid schizophrenia and had been treated with anti-psychotic medication but ceased taking the medication several weeks before coming to MUM in January 2004. Dr. Brooks also noted Sem had been to the MUM health clinic in January but had not been treated for psychosis at that time.

As for the rest of Roth's book, no, I haven't read it. I'd expect it to be yet another book-length infomercial that leaves a lot of readers disappointed that the book doesn't actually teach TM, it just sells it. The critical reviews on Amazon uniformly point out this discrepancy between buyer's expectations and the content of the book. This has been true of every book that Transcendental Meditation promoters, teamed with mainstream publishers, have offered for the past 50 years. 

Book Review: "The Secret of the Mantras" by Richard Blakely

I just finished reading "The Secret of the Mantras" by Richard Blakely, and I highly recommend it.  This memoir of a baby boomer growing up in the U.S. and moving to France in time for the student uprisings of 1968 includes a 3-month TM Teacher Training course in Rishikesh, India with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and the Beatles. 

What a fun read!  What a witty sense of humor Blakely exhibits as he confesses his own foibles, as well as the foibles of TM life.  Of particular interest to readers of TM-Free Blog may be the following revelations:

- In 1968, Mahesh gave new initiators three mantras, chosen by age.  (Nowadays there are about 16 mantras, chosen by age.)

- In 1968, Mahesh taught initiators only the Sanskrit and the hand gestures for the exotic ceremony preceding TM instruction.  (Nowadays, initiators must also memorize the English translation and the emotions one is attempting to experience during the rite.)  

-  In 1968, students meditated for hours non-stop on courses.  Due to the emotional unraveling of some Westerners, Mahesh added yogic stretching.  (Nowadays, short meditations are alternated with yoga stretches and breathing exercises.)  

- In 1968, Mahesh taught that TMers shouldn't force themselves to change habits such as smoking, drinking and meat-eating if they found the change stressful.  Mahesh said that with continued meditation, unhealthy habits would automatically fall away.  (Nowadays, "advanced" TMers are encouraged to take up vegetarianism, celibacy, early bedtime, silent meals, etc. etc.)

This last point particularly catches my attention.  I find Mahesh's level of hypocrisy? extent of unclarity on fundamental principles? unfathomable.  Whatever could he have been thinking, either then or now?  What kind of teacher is this?  

Book review: "Roots of TM: The Transcendental Meditation of Guru Dev & Maharishi Mahesh Yogi" by Paul Mason

Thank you, Paul Mason, for this book! 


The TM movement has an official story of how TM came to be spread to the world.  That story comes from the mouth of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.  But we know that Mahesh loved to embroider stories.  So - what does independent historical research reveal about Guru Dev, Mahesh, and TM?


Paul Mason doesn't give us his personal conclusions.  Rather, he researches and relates the facts, and lets us decide for ourselves.  What I have decided is that the procedure of Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation, of how to think the mantra, is virtually identical to one of the several meditation techniques taught by Guru Dev. 


But other aspects of Mahesh's Transcendental Meditation differ from his master's teachings.  Although Mahesh claimed to revere Guru Dev as "Divinity Incarnate," he disobeyed a number of his guru's wishes, and as the years progressed, altered more and more of his master's teachings.
 

From Guru Dev's instructions to meditate one hour, Mahesh decreased it to 30 minutes, then to 20 minutes.  From the necessity of sitting cross-legged to the acceptability of sitting in a chair.  From insistence on a straight spine during meditation to the acceptability of slouching.  From no money accepted, as per Guru Dev's strict rule, to a set fee. 


And then there is the choosing of the mantra, which is part of a guru's responsibility.  According to Guru Dev, only a perfect master is qualified to choose a mantra.  Guru Dev said (p. 98), "…[I]t is very difficult to obtain a perfect teacher.  The traditional Indian Scriptures are full of mantra…but until someone will tell which is fit…the pile…will really be next to useless…[O'bserving the energy and inclination of those devoted to spiritual achievement, in accordance to their qualification…the experienced guru…deduces the mantra of one's favored god which would be of benefit to the spiritual seekers."

Maharishi did not dispense the same mantras that his guru did.  Maharishi said, (p. 263), "It is very difficult for me to find what [mantras] he was using.  Because initiation is all in private.  And I was never interested in who was given what [mantra].  I was interested in myself."  

Not holding to Guru Dev's dual criteria for choosing mantras, (see above: aspirant's "energy and inclination" plus "favored god"), Mahesh reduced the criteria to only one: "favored god."  Mahesh explained (p. 259), "The gurus choose from the tendencies, from the cut of the face…I don't go into all these vibrations, botherations.  I ask [the aspirant] 'Which god you like?'…Ask him directly, 'What he likes?' and that is it." 

When he initiated Christians, Jews and Muslims, he could not very well ask, "Who is your favored god?"  And what could he possibly have asked when teaching atheists?!  So he made another change - to assign the mantras by age and sex.  I couldn't find any evidence in "Roots of TM" that there was any precedent for this criteria.  Later, Mahesh simplified the criteria yet again, to choose by age only.  Even in this he was inconsistent.  One year he would use one set of mantras and age; another year he would use another.  On occasion, he even broke these simple rules, for instance when he instructed some initiators to use teenage mantras for all adults, age 20 through 120.


And most paradoxically, was Mahesh disobeying his master by even teaching meditation?  Guru Dev had stated (p. 96), "…[N]ot everyone can be a guru.  Actually only members of the Brahmin caste are in the position to be a guru…."  Mahesh was from the Kshatriya caste, so according to his own guru, he was prohibited from teaching meditation.  (By the way, Mahesh was the secretary at the ashram.  Did you know that?) 

So how then did Mahesh justify teaching meditation?  Page 143:  "I thought, 'What to do, what to do, what to do?'  Then I thought, 'I should teach them all in the name of Guru Dev.  I should design a system, a system of puja [ritual or ceremony] to Guru Dev. ' "  This decision did not follow the letter of Guru Dev's teaching; do you think it followed the spirit of Guru Dev's teaching? 


What went through Mahesh's mind as he made these changes?  Did he tell himself that he was not really changing Guru Dev's teachings?  Did he tell himself that some of his divine Guru Dev's teachings were imperfect?   Did he decide he had surpassed his guru?  Did he rationalize that the changes didn't matter because he was teaching "inferior" Westerners?  What do you think? 


"Roots of TM" helped me understand the fourth possibility more.  As I read, I realized how different Mahesh's world was from the Western world.  I realized that underneath India's veneer of westernization, the traditional Indian ways are vibrantly alive.  It is entirely a different world view from the West's.


For instance, Guru Dev taught (p. 81):  "The man who gives suffering to the cow goes to hell.  [Intermixing of Indian culture with Western culture] has caused ignorance of the Hindu scriptures, that the cow and Absolute Divine Truth are the same.  This devout scriptural knowledge is disappearing."  


Or, on p. 47, Mahesh relates how it is to be brought up properly in an Indian family.  "The children...are told to bow down to your mother, your father, your elders, your school teacher.  It provides a great shield of security and assistance for the child....[as] this later on develops in devotion to Almighty...."


And this excerpt from the chapter "Yoga Teachings of Swami Brahmanand (Guru Dev.)"  Pps. 98-99, (paraphrased by this editor), "The principal teaching of Swami Brahmanand Saraswati was that one should routinely practice a system of [mental repetition of a word of benefit to the spiritual seeker] in order to...realize the purpose of one's life.... Realization comes from doing word repetition....By practicing, sins are destroyed...."


From p. 231, "During his stay in San Francisco, Maharishi received his first press coverage in the USA, and was rather surprised that the meditation had been dubbed a 'non-medicinal tranquilizer.'  His comment was, 'Cruel!  I feel like running away, back home.  This seems to be a strange country.  Values are different here.' "


This book is filled with gems.  Arrange them together in different ways, and many questions can be answered about Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, his guru and his Transcendental Meditation. 

Paul Mason is one of the world's leading English-language experts on Transcendental Meditation, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and his guru, Swami Brahmanand Saraswti (Guru Dev).  He has written, co-authored, and translated from Hindi and Sanskrit over seven books on these topics.  He is a former co-editor for TM-Free Blog.   

New book published: "Roots of TM"

  

(Note:  In book cover photo above, Guru Dev is seated in center, surrounded by some of his close sannyasi [renunciant] disciples in traditional orange robes.  In front of dais, far right, is the young Brahmachari (bachelor student) Mahesh, later known as Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.  He is not wearing orange because he is not a sannyasi.  Those of his caste are not permitted to become sannyasis. - Laurie) 

Just published: 

ROOTS OF TM:

THE TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION
OF
GURU DEV & MAHARISHI MAHESH YOGI

by Paul Mason

more than 50 illustrations
304 pages, 234mm x 156mm

ISBN 978-0-9562228-8-6

UK £14.99   Europe €18.99   US $24.99  
Canada  $27.99  Australia $27.99

Paul Mason, the author of "Roots of TM" is a former contributor to TM-Free Blog.

"ROOTS OF TM" enables readers to better understand how and why Maharishi Mahesh Yogi spread the teaching of Transcendental Meditation around the world.

"ROOTS OF TM" provides background information on Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and his master, Swami Brahmanand Saraswati, (also called "Guru Dev,") and provides a source book of information about their teachings and techniques.

"ROOTS OF TM" is not intended as a general guide to Indian philosophy, nor as a study of the many ancient spiritual practices of India, nor as a mantra handbook.

"ROOTS OF TM" offers information about Maharishi's "missing years," from the time when his master passed away through to the gradual build-up of his stated mission: "Why can't we spiritually regenerate the world through this technique?"

"ROOTS OF TM" contains numerous quotations and rare transcripts of lectures by Guru Dev and by Maharishi. Furthermore, it details the course of events that would eventually find Maharishi lecturing at the Masquers Club, an actor's social club in Hollywood. It also tells how Maharishi came to adopt a businesslike attitude to financial matters, and how he planned to create a headquarters in the Himalayas where he intended to train others to teach Transcendental Meditation.

"ROOTS OF TM" digs deeply into rare materials in order to give detailed profiles of the teachings of both master and disciple, thus affording readers an opportunity to make informed comparisons of both these teachers' methods and their objectives.


Author Paul Mason explains:
 

"By the mid-1960's the term 'Transcendental Meditation' became fixed after Maharishi Mahesh Yogi had already spread the message of meditation far and wide across the free world. Maharishi then became very famous himself, largely due to his public association with celebrities and in particular the world-famous pop group The Beatles, who in 1968 attended an advanced training course with him in India.

When I traveled to India in 1970, I did so by hitch-hiking from Britain; and, having traveled across many countries, finally found myself in North India. Possibly because The Beatles had done so before me, I decided to visit the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, for 'a cup of cocoa and a chat about philosophy.'  I therefore made my way to the pilgrimage town of Rishikesh, close by the foothills of the Himalayas. Having crossed the River Ganges and climbed up to Maharishi Ashram, I was introduced there to a practice referred to as 'Transcendental Meditation.'

The teaching of this 'Transcendental Meditation' or 'TM' is preceded by a short ceremony called a puja, conducted before a portrait of the ascetic Indian teacher Swami Brahmanand Saraswati, known to TM meditators as 'Guru Dev.'  [Note:  The TM organization says the puja is a 'traditional ceremony of gratitude.'  According to merriam-webster.com, 'puja' is defined as 'a Hindu act of worship or propitiation.' - Laurie]

Surprisingly, despite the fact that Swami Brahmanand Saraswati was a prominent and influential public speaker, Maharishi's organizations share but scant information about Guru Dev's life story and disclose nothing about his teachings.

Very little seemed to be known about the early life of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi or about the origins and history of the teaching of Transcendental Meditation, so I set myself to discover as much information as could be found.

In the 1990's I was commissioned by Element Books to write the biography of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, which was published as 'The Maharishi: The Biography of the Man Who Gave Transcendental Meditation to the World.'

Later, in 2007, an ambition was fulfilled when a three-volume set of books on Guru Dev was published, all based on my translations of Hindi works on Swami Brahmanand Saraswati.

Then, in 2013, I compiled a book entitled 'Dandi Swami: Tales of meetings with Dandi Swami Narayananand Saraswati, the Guru's Will, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi & the Shankaracharyas of Jyotir Math.'

'Roots of TM' is the distillation of decades of research into the teachings of Maharishi, Guru Dev, and the Shankaracharya tradition."

"Roots of TM" can be purchased through Amazon.
 
I (Laurie) haven't read it yet, but I hope to read it soon.  I would love to hear peoples' reaction to the book.  Personally, I'm most interested in learning if Maharishi spread the teaching of his Guru Dev whom he claimed to adore, or if he spread contrary teachings.
                                                

"The Sopranos" illuminates Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

I recently read the book "The Psychology of The Sopranos:  Love, Death, Desire, and Betrayal in America's Favorite Gangster Family" by Glen O. Gabbard, M.D. © 2002.   I found these paragraphs:

"…In his study of how Nazi doctors could work at Auschwitz, [psychiatrist and thought reform expert Dr.] Robert Jay Lifton coined the term 'doubling' to characterize how the self was divided into two functioning wholes….They could spend their days committing genocide and their evenings listening to Mozart and helping their children with their homework.

…Lifton later studied fanatical religious cults and found similar mechanisms at work….Cult leaders often have the same form of division within the self.  Charismatic gurus may have the capacity for loving attachment and altruism in one corner of the psyche while promoting violence and mayhem from another sector.  Because the disparate aspects of the self remain unintegrated, they are less prone to come into conflict with one another and therefore less likely to cause guilt.  Hence the cult leader…may present an absolute certainty and conviction that is enormously appealing...."

Perhaps this explains the founder of the TM movement.  I have never understood what made him tick.  Unlike some former TMers, who feel Mahesh was always a con artist, I felt that he was sometimes very sincere in his beliefs.  Lifton's theory could explain Mahesh's personality dichotomy.

Review of "Mushroom Satori"

“Mushroom Satori, the cult diary” by Joseph Szimhart is a novel about a young man’s vulnerability, seduction and later retreat from a meditation cult community in the New Mexico desert. Szimhart based this novel upon decades of work exit counseling cult victims as they struggle with spirituality, purpose, and identity. 

Jake is a young man who lost his alcoholic Vietnam veteran father to a motor cycle accident. As Jake struggles to find meaning in an oft confusing world, he joins an emerging spiritual community in New Mexico whose Buddhist master provides direction and meaning to followers. Jake devotes his life to this community’s spiritual purpose and celibate lifestyle. He works without compensation, forms deep friendships while denying rumors of their leader’s abuses. After ten years, Jake returns to his family of origin without money or direction. While he finds validation in his humble community of origin, Jake initially struggles with identity and purpose, even landing a small stint in a mental hospital with a brief psychotic break before emerging to establish himself in mainstream society.

The characters of “Mushroom Satori” are both believable and likable, as are the vast majority of cult members. Jake’s spiritual Master combines an uplifting spiritual message with manipulative and ultimately abusive tactics. Jake’s intimate friendships, doubts, and desire for a meaningful life lead a reader from idealistic beginnings of cult seduction, through painful departure and eventual successful recovery and reintegration to society.

One friend of mine, also raised in the TM Movement, said of Szimhart’s book “ Very intense and gave me a great deal of insights into all the friends who lost it AFTER questioning or leaving the TM Movement or after doing drugs instead. WOW! It’s like a molotov cocktail to mix with other cults or drugs after cult involvement!” He continued “It’s amazingly dangerous, even after all I’ve read, I’m amazed that this part never fully hit me, that the dangerous part is the transition period OUT. Makes total sense since the mind’s ability to compartmentalize breaks down and you’re left with a reality that causes a mental system crash.”

The story entertains while educating. Szimhart’s compassion offers validation for former cult members, especially for those emerging from a group based upon Eastern philosophies. For family members of cult victims, Jake's personable character provides valuable insight into a cult member’s mindset.

Mushroom Satori is available in Paperback and e-book format through Aperture press here.

Or through amazon.com here.

For help with cult recovery or exit counseling a family member - Joseph Szimhart can be reached through his website here.

Book Review: "CULT" by William Howell

One of the things the TM movement promises is that the practice of TM leads to "enlightenment."  During his lifetime, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi confirmed that a very few people had reached enlightenment through his technique.

One of those people was Robin Carlsen, a TM teacher who, on a TM course in Switzerland in the 1970s, had an overwhelming experience of the divinity, beauty and unity of the creation.  At a subsequent course meeting, he described his experience to Mahesh (MMY).  Mahesh pronounced that Carlsen was "somewhere in the layers of wholeness."  Most course participants attending interpreted Mahesh's words to mean that that Carlsen had reached enlightenment.  (Mahesh never contradicted their belief.)

About a decade later, Carlsen, in the midst of lawsuits and countersuits against the TM organization, agreed to put the lawsuits to rest if Mahesh would unequivocally answer four questions.  The first question was, "Is Robin Carlsen enlightened?"  Mahesh answered "No."

We'll never know what Mahesh meant the first time.  However, after Mahesh's first comment, in Switzerland, Carlsen was generally believed by TMers to be "enlightened."  Carlsen then went on to slowly establish his own courses, techniques, ashram.  Over time, as he became more self-centered, manipulative and sadistic, his organization became spiritually and emotionally destructive and ground down the self-confidence and mental health of his followers.

William Howell, the author of "CULT," has changed most names in this memoir, but not the facts.  The name "Robin Carlsen" is never mentioned.  Instead, the former TM teacher at the center of this story is called "Justin Snow."  But this reviewer (that's me, Laurie) and  others believe that the book is about Robin Carlson.

The book "CULT" by William Howell tells the true story of how Howell, (then a TM teacher) had accompanied "Justin Snow" on his stroll in the Swiss Alps on the day that "Snow" had his divine experience.  Howell goes on to tell of how he followed Snow, lived at his community, followed his teachings, attended his courses, and suffered through years of increasing degradation and emotional stress until he left.  His other friends gradually left too.  They then helped each other, through mutual support, to exit, deprogram and rebuild their lives.  This book is that story of Howell's closing days with TM, his entry into Carlson's destructive cult, and his leaving and healing afterwards.  

I found this book fascinating because I have always wondered what a person would be like when they had reached the goal of "enlightenment" that we TMers were all ardently devoting ourselves to under Maharishi's guidance.  I also found this book helpful in that it detailed the exit and recovery of Howell and his friends.

You can read the book for free online here:

http://www.free-ebooks.net/ebook/CULT-A-Memoir/pdf/view

In the copyright section of the book, William Howell writes:  "This book is copyrighted solely to prevent its being misused.  People sincere about spiritual development, peace and growth of human awareness throughout the world have the author's permission to reproduce material from this book - with citing."

You can also read more about Robin Carlsen on TM-Free blog.  (Note tags/labels related to this post.)

Child of the Cult - with Transcendental Meditation chapter

Nori Muster spent several years researching, interviewing, and editing stories of adults who had been raised in a variety of cults for her latest book "Child of the Cult".





This book is now available, here as an ebook or kindle through amazon.com.

Through skillfully applied personal narratives, psychological and sociological analysis, along with historical context for each group, Nori uses the stories of five individuals, raised in different cult groups, to illustrate how cult dynamics contribute to child neglect and abuse in totalitarian systems.

This e-book is a valuable contribution to the literature on cult dynamics, child abuse, cult recovery and personal voice.

Because this book defies tidy publishing categories, traditional publishers rejected it. They didn't know how to market the book.

Thus, Nori opted for an e-book through amazon.
To support the children.

Yes, there is a summary chapter of an upbringing (moi) in Transcendental Meditation.

There are virtually no profits from sales of this book. This is a public service document to help former-children from cults, now in recovery. This is also a useful tool for therapists, school teachers and social workers who suspect that youth under their professional guidance may be living in a totalitarian abusive system.

About Nori : After working in the publications dept of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness. Ms. Nori Muster authored "Betrayal of the Spirit" about her time with the inner core of the Hare Krishna group.

Nori is an activist on behalf of children injured in cults, and on cult recovery in general.
You may read more about Nori at norimuster.com

Book Review. "Cartwheels in a Sari: A Memoir of Growing Up Cult" by Jayanti Tamm (2009).

Several exit counselors have explained to me that it can aid a person in recovery from a destructive cult to learn about a different cult. That's because it's hard to judge one's own experience objectively, but when one sees manipulation and inconsistencies in another group, it's easier to make the leap to understanding better one's own former group.

Therefore I thought it might be useful to some readers if I reviewed the book "Cartwheels in a Sari." This is the true story of growing up in the Sri Chinmoy movement. The author has a straightforward style. She doesn't beat the reader over the head with Chinmoy's reprehensible behavior. Instead, she tells the story through the innocent, non-critical eyes of the child she was - and damns Chinmoy in the telling.

Jayanti Tamm was born into Chinmoy's group. As a child, she naturally believed everything she was told about about "Guru": that he was godlike, that he gave everything to his devotees; and that in return they should totally believe, be totally devoted, and be totally obedient.

An early memory of Tamm's: the devotees are sitting on the ground before "Guru," who is sitting on an awning-covered platform. All are prepared for a long meditation session. Then, far off, lightning flashes and thunder roars. "Guru" announces that he will perform a special meditation to stop the rain. He closes his eyes, and sure enough, the rain holds off for 10 minutes. Jayanti is thrilled. Her guru can even control the weather! But then the rain starts. "Guru" then reveals that some disciples had doubted his ability, therefore he held off the rain only for a limited time! Now he would teach them a "true lesson." And so the devotees sat contritely in the mud and rain for hours, meditating.

Cult recovery scholars call this technique "mystical manipulation," that is, making an everyday event seem miraculous, and ascribing it to the cult. In TM, an example of mystical manipulation was Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's contention that when a TMer experienced involuntary jerking movements, stress was being released and the TMer was purifying his/her nervous system. Another was ascribing improvements in the stock market to people "flying" together. Another was, during the construction of the Fairfield domes, we were told that the winter weather miraculously turned warm on the days we had to pour cement. Actually, the crew supervisors listened for the weather reports, and when the weather was warm, then they poured. Can you think of other examples?

Like the founder of TM, Sri Chinmoy (born "Chinmoy Kumar Ghose," 1931-2007) bent the truth for the sake of publicity. For instance, Chinmoy instructed several of his devotees to seek employment at the United Nations. Once hired (in clerical positions), they started a lunchtime social club, and invited "Guru" to speak. Chinmoy's goal was realized: his publicity could now state that he was a speaker at the U.N.

Similar TM organization technique: give honorary Maharishi University Ph.D.s to supporters of TM, and then have these "doctors" extol TM. Can you think of other examples?

"Robes of Silk Feet of Clay" press release

Judith Bourque, author of "Robes of Silk Feet of Clay" has given TM-Free Blog permission to reprint in full her latest press release. Good news for U.S. readers of TM-Free: Judith will be in the United States from February 17 - March 21, 2011.

---------------------------------------------------------------
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW BOOK REVEALS LOVE AFFAIR WITH BEATLES/DAVID LYNCH GURU

ROBES OF SILK, FEET OF CLAY by JUDITH BOURQUE

This new book is the true story of a love affair with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the Indian Guru followed by the Beatles, David Lynch, Donovan, Mike Love, Mia Farrow, Deepak Chopra, as well as 6 million other meditators around the world. Maharishi was very successful in spreading his technique of Transcendental Meditation. But rumours that he was not the celibate monk he claimed to be have been circulating for decades. In this book Judith Bourque describes the love affair she experiences with Maharishi when she travels to India as a young woman to become a teacher of Transcendental Meditation. She then follows him around the world for an intense period of two years until she discovers he is also intimate with other young women. Frightened and disillusioned, she leaves the TM movement forever. She also shares the methods and means of her healing journey back to forgiveness and gratitude.

Judith Bourque is an American residing in Sweden. She will be coming to the Los Angeles/Santa Barbara area February 17- March 2 and be available for interviews. From March 2 - March 21 she will be in the Boston area and Camden, Maine. On March 15th she will be present for the DOCYARD screening of "David Wants to Fly" * at the Brattle Theatre at Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts. After the film she (in person) and director David Sieveking (via Skype) will have a question and answer period for the public.

* "David Wants to Fly" is a whistleblowing, award winning documentary by German Filmmaker David Sieveking about his journey through the world of Transcendental Meditation. He starts with meeting David Lynch, his idol, and ends up unexpectedly discovering the shadow side of the TM movement: Judith is interviewed with respect to her role as Maharishi's former lover.

cell: +46733012147
email: judithbourque@email.com
Skype address: bourque.judith
facebook: 1) Judith Bourque
2) Robes of Silk Feet of Clay
book can be purchased at: www.robesofsilkfeetofclay.com

Media:

"Well written and exciting by Maharishi's mistress"
Swedish Net Magazine, Månssonskultur.se at
www.manssonskultur.se


"An out of the ordinary love story"
Swedish Daily Newspaper, Nya WermlandsTidningen
www.nwt.se/mera/helg/article758545.ece


Robes of Silk Feet of Clay is a very sensitive story, full of love. And yet it contains a truth that has to come out. This book lifts the blinders from our eyes so we can put Maharishi in the proper perspective, ie a human being like all others with the same needs for intimacy and warmth. And yet we are able to keep our respect for what he gave us: knowledge of meditation and transcendental consciousness. Thank you Judith for your concrete and trustworthy report from the inner circle of the TM organisation. Conny Larsson, former TM teacher, actor, and author of Beatles, Maharishi och Jag (The Beatles, Maharishi and I), Norstedts, www.norstedts.se/bocker/utgiven/2010/Var/larsson_conny-beatles__maharishi_och_jag-inbunden/

Book Review: "Robes of Silk Feet of Clay" by Judith Bourque

"Robes of Silk Feet of Clay" by Judith Bourque, published 2010, is the true story of Ms. Bourque's 1971-1972 love affair with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. I'd like to share some of my thoughts about the book.

First of all, I believe Ms. Bourque did not make up this story. One, because her account, along with the photos, make internal sense, and fit with other things I have learned over the years about Maharishi and his international staff. Two, because the book is profoundly non-sensational. If Bourque's goal was to write a (fictional) best-selling, the book would not have been so temperate, so lacking in spicy, sexy, torrid, tell-all details.

The gist of this book is that Maharishi did indeed break his vow of celibacy, and then kept it a secret from the world. That's the explicit message. However, what I also found educational were the insights I could tease out from between the lines - details that help me continue to piece together the mystery that was Maharishi. So I will share my musings here, hoping they will be helpful to others.

First, I notice that Maharishi never courted Bourque in the way that many other supposedly celibate gurus courted their students. That is, he didn't promise her that having sex with him would benefit her spiritually, that it was a special privilege to have sex with him, that he would give her spiritual energy, or anything like that. This is surprising to me, since I have read so much about Maharishi being an opportunist and a liar. I wonder why he did not court her in this way. What do you think?

I also note that Bourque did not feel an awe-inspiring super-human overwhelming energy coming from Maharishi, as some people, including myself, have experienced. Why didn't she? (Or why did I? Did you?)

I was very surprised by Maharishi's reaction after the first time he had intercourse with Bourque. It was so different from what I would have expected from a celibate Western religious who had broken his vow. A Westerner, I am guessing, would have felt shame, or guilt, or would have tried to hide it, or would have rationalized it, or would have gone to his superior for confession and counsel. Maharishi, instead, called together his Indian celibate buddies, and they spent the afternoon with him. It seemed as if breaking a vow of chastity was a common event, calling for neighborly consolation and tried-and-true advice. Maharishi seemed to view his slip-up not as a moral or spiritual issue (as perhaps a Catholic monk might), but rather as a practical health/spiritual energy issue. "The energy is used to going up!" he told Bourque, as if the core of the dilemma were physical, not ethical. (Come to think of it, isn't that how he looked at the path to enlightenment? A mechanical physical approach, repeated by rote, rather than a path of prayer or self-examination, as a Westerner might.) In line with this view of his problem, one of his solutions to his slip-up was, logically, also physical: someone gave him a foot massage.

This whole event just confirms for me how little we in the West really understand of Maharishi's worldview.

As I read this particular section of the book, I was reminded of Maharishi's comment at (I think) Humboldt State College in Arcata, California, USA, in the summer of 1972. At one point, he said, "What this movement needs is a few good celibates." At the time, I heard something unusual in his voice, but I couldn't put my finger on exactly what it was. Now I wonder if what I heard was a wistfulness in his voice. Could he have been alluding to the fact that he wished that he had been a good celibate. Or am I being too generous? Maybe it was nostalgia for his ashram days? Or maybe it was just his embarrassment (noted many times in the book) around sex.

I also sadly note that after he had intercourse with Bourque for the first time, Maharishi was concerned about his own well-being, but he never expressed any concern for hers.

I found the photo on page 205 very interesting. This is a snapshot of Maharishi's scribbled notes. He had met with initiators from around the world to hear how some mantras had meanings in various tongues. For instance "rama" means "branch of a tree" in Spanish. (I looked it up in my Spanish-English dictionary.) And "aem" (also spelled "aim" or "ayim"), he notes, speaks to egotistical aspirations in English with its pronunciation as "I am." Maharishi scribbled on his notes"change it." He did, in fact, drop "rama," but not "aem." What about the eternal unchangeable tradition of how to choose the mantras? Or about his insistence that the sound is meaningless. Or that the sound becomes so faint that the exact pronunciation doesn't matter? Or about the mystical, never-to-be-spoken aloud, fragile-as-glass way we were taught to view mantras; and here he was, robustly marking the mantras down, fiddling with foreign languages, notating practical changes for a satisfied customer base.

Finally, I've heard Maharishi lecture many times that an enlightened person "averts the danger that has not yet come;" that an enlightened person "is not able to make mistakes." Therefore, the fact that Maharishi had sex - which he felt was unhealthy for him - would indicate either that he was lying to us about what an enlightened person is really like, or that Maharishi was not the enlightened person he implied he was. Or maybe both. What do you think? Did Maharishi believe those things, or was he just trying to entice us? Did he learn those things from Guru Dev?

Did you read the book? Would you like to share your thoughts about it here? Or your comments about my musings?

"Robes of Silk, Feet of Clay" at reduced price

Today I went to the website selling the book "Robes of Silk, Feet of Clay" by Judith Bourque. It turns out they're having a "Christmas sale".

"Robes of Silk, Feet of Clay" is the true story of Judith Bourque's (sexual) love affair with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Posts about this book can be found on TM-Free Blog.

According to Ms. Bourque's site, the usual price for U.S.ers for one book is $37.53 (including shipping and handling). The Christmas sale price is $24.82 (including s & h).

No, I do not get a commission. I don't even know Judith Bourque! I just thought some of our readers would like to know.

As far as I have been able to research, this book is not available in any U.S. library. When I have time, I intend to suggest to my local library that they purchase it. I wonder if any of the Maharishi school libraries would be open to ordering a few copies, since it gives first-person recollections of time spent intimately with Maharishi.

Book Review. In the Shadow of Fame: A Memoir by the Daughter of Erik H. Erikson by Sue Erikson Bloland, 2005, 219 pages.

Commentors and contributors to TM-Free have been recommending relevant books for some time. I have recently read a few of these, and thought you might enjoy some book reviews. This review is fourth in a series.

Erik H. Erikson, Ph.D., was a renowned psychologist of the "second generation" after Freud. He was a child psychologist, author and theorist. He added to Freud's theories by positing that the social and cultural environment, and not only the intrapsychic environment (inner drives, etc.) influence the child and help determine what sort of strengths and weaknesses the individual will come to have. He also disagreed with Freud regarding the developmental stages of human life, replacing Freud's "psychosexual stages of development" (oral, anal, phallic stages) with "psychosocial stages" (hope, will, purpose, competence, etc.) Therapists today tend to favor Erikson's, rather than Freud's, theory of developmental stages.

This is the autobiography of Erik H. Erikson's daughter, who grew up in the giant shadow cast by a man idolized by the psychological community of his day. His public face, seen through movies, lectures, interviews, and books, radiated a "compassionate paternal authority" as the "quintessential parent and provider of emotional nourishment to the young." But Bloland grew up with the "real" Erikson, and he was very different.


Bloland went on to become a psychologist herself, and her life experience "in the shadow" of her father led her to specialize in the study of fame. Here are some of the things she discovered:

1. A person's public face can be very different from their private face.

2. They can exhibit greatness in their public life and mediocrity in their private life.

3. Fame does not heal core issues, such as loneliness and insecurity.

4. Fame does not imply inner greatness.

5. Unresolved issues can lie surprisingly close to the person's area of expertise.

Bloland got to see the all-too-human side of her father, who was a distant and mediocre parent. He was insecure and uncomfortable in social situations, and most comfortable and capable of intimacy only when he was at work or discussing his work. He had low self-esteem, didn't turn to therapists when he had personal problems, and lied to his children to save himself the awkwardness of having to deal with their feelings.

Bloland also observed a "system" by which people were eager to idealize Erikson as a godlike figure. Sometimes when she introduced herself to psychologists as Eric H. Erikson's daughter, they would say, "May I touch you?" Erikson abetted their idealization because he was brought to life by their adoration. The family also abetted in preserving his public image. Bloland's mother, for example, would not confide freely to her best friend because "it would hurt Dad's reputation."

Bloland discovered that sometimes fame is an outcome of a painful childhood. While childhood trauma often makes people less functional, sometimes it causes the child to bury him/herself in a study or practice in order to avoid the intolerability of home life. Mikhail Baryshnikov, the ballet dancer, who was raised by his curt, cold soldier father, is an example of this. Or sometimes a child will fanatically pursue a field in order to make a connection with a parent who is otherwise unavailable. Charlie Chaplin fell into this catagory, pursuing acting to connect to his mother, who was an actress before she descended into mental illness.

Fame can be an addiction. It produces a "high." The public's adoration can temporarily fill the void left by parental neglect. The comedian Jerry Lewis reported that applause sounded like "Good baby, good baby." But like other drugs, the sense of well-being only lasts briefly, and then the person is left to face their inner pain again. They need another dose; and like other addictive substances, the person needs ever larger doses to feed their emptiness. They never feel they've ever really made it, (although they believe their role models have.) For that reason, retirement is problematic for them, for they never have a sense that enough has been accomplished.

Fame does not provide healing, because the person experiences the fame as directed towards their public persona, not their true being. On the other hand, even minor criticism, is experienced as a critique of the real self. The more spectacular the grandiose image, the more self-contempt and shame the person may feel for the extent of their duplicity.

The anthropologist and philosopher Ernest Becker wrote in his book The Denial of Death, "We must have heroes...because the real world is simply too terrible to face without them." We are born helpless and vulnerable. It is intolerable to believe that our parents will not protect us. Idealization lets us feel safe enough to grow and discover our real self. But the people we idealize are only slightly different from ourselves. The price we pay, noted Erich Fromm, the social psychologist and philosopher, is that we diminish our belief in ourselves, which heightens our anxiety and helplessness.

Bloland says that we never fully lose the tendency to idealize others. Despite her expertise on fame, she found she could hardly breathe when she met Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Bloland suggests that what we need to do is to continue to examine our idealizations, and ponder how they may be inhibiting our growth. She says a particularly useful approach is to notice our anger at how our idealization deprives us of ourselves.

I read this book wondering if it could give me some insight into Maharishi. Does Maharishi match the template of someone pathologically driven by the hunger for fame? Like Erikson, Maharishi's charismatic, saintly public face differed greatly from his "off-duty" persona. I had to read comments from former members of his staff to learn what an "average," "human" sort of person he was in private.

Like Bloland's family, we who idealized Maharishi covered for him to keep him looking good. We didn't ask him the embarrassing questions, we made excuses for his inconsistent behavior. Like Erikson's admirers, we thought his touch could bless. "Will you touch my coral beads?"

Like Bloland's fame seekers, Maharishi never felt he had accomplished enough. He kept adding ideas, teachings, beliefs, organizations, titles, plans to his movement. Two months before his death at age 89, he was still expanding his dream. Like other famous people, he believed that his role model, Guru Dev, had achieved true greatness. (Incidentally, Guru Dev did not seem afflicted by the hunger for fame.)

Did Maharishi experience criticism to be directed at his true self, as Bloland writes? Possibly. I recall on my Teacher Training Course in 1974, a student told Maharishi that Maharishi was mistaken about something. Maharishi drew himself up to his full height and anger flamed from his eyes. "I?! I am mistaken about something?!" he demanded.

Bloland noted that a great deceiver feels shame around their deception. Could this explain why Maharishi felt contempt for those who idolized him?

Bloland says that sometimes fame springs from an unhappy childhood. We know little about Maharishi's childhood, but we do know that he had an older brother who was so bullying that Maharishi left home at an early age to live with an uncle.

Finally, Bloland notes that unresolved issues can lie surprisingly close to the area of expertise. I am reminded that, despite Maharishi's supposed expertise in the area of ayurvedic medicine, when he had a heart attack, he turned to western medicine.

So what do you think? What need or needs drove Maharishi? The desire for fame? The desire for power? Sex? Money? To feel loved? To feel like a good person? To spiritually uplift humanity? To create world peace? Revenge? What?

Book Review. The Relaxation Response by Herbert Benson M.D. with Miriam Z. Klipper

(NOTE TO READERS:

I originally published this book review on TMFree on October 15, 2008, but for some reason it has disappeared. So here it is again. - Laurie)


Published 1976 by William Morrow & Co., 181 pages.

Commentors and contributors have been recommending books on TM-Free Blog for some time now. I have recently read a few of those books, and thought you might enjoy some book reviews. This is my second review in a series.

First, a little background information about this book, (from my memory, so a few facts may be off). About 1970, Herbert Benson M.D. (not a TMer) and Robert Keith Wallace (a TMer), then either a new M.D. or a post-graduate student writing his thesis, collaborated on research on the effects of TM. Theirs was the first scientific study on TM, and a long line of scientific studies on TM by them and others were to follow, now officially touted by the TM organizations as "over 600 scientific research studies, published in peer-reviewed journals, showing the benefits of the Transcendental Meditation program in all fields of life." (Skeptical and alternate TM websites have pointed out the inaccuracy of many of these studies.)

Benson's and Wallace's research focused on physiological changes in the subjects during the practice of TM itself, in areas such as blood pressure and oxygen consumption. All indices pointed to a state of reduced physical activation, or relaxation, yet wakefulness, a state they called "restful alertness." If my memory serves me, this first research project of Benson and Wallace was published in approximately 1970 in The Lancet, a respected British medical journal.

These early experiments gave scientific standing to the heretofore esoteric practice of Transcendental Meditation. I remember that in the TM introductory lectures I attended in 1971, I and my friends were much impressed and influenced by this scientific validation.

As my friends and I got deeper into the TM world, Benson and Wallace were our secular "heroes" for the legitimacy they had given TM. The first crack I recall in this "love affair" was Benson's wistful comment that he now had so much evidence on the benefits of TM that he would love to do it himself, however he felt that if he learned TM his impartiality as a researcher would be compromised.

Some time after this, Benson made the leap to the theory that the state of "restful alertness" must be a physiologically imbedded state, and therefore be attainable through ways other than Transcendental Meditation. He then went on to theorize, study and research, and out of that came his book The Relaxation Response.

Benson studied many meditation, contemplation and prayer techniques from around the world and from many centuries, techniques developed by mystics, saints, nuns, monks, and so on from different spiritual traditions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, etc.) and discovered that other teachings appeared to use similar techniques to TM and appeared to produce
similar results to TM.

When I was on my TM Teacher Training course back in 1974, I was taught contempt and condescension for all other techniques, which, Maharishi taught, were all completely different from - and inferior to - his Transcendental Meditation. (Please see my TM-Free Blog post, published 10/13/2008, "Book Review. The Maharishi: The Biography of the Man Who Brought Transcendental Meditation to the World by Paul Mason," where I describe how Maharishi isolated himself from all other traditions.) So, in reading The Relaxation Response in 2008, I was struck, humbled and shamed to see the obvious similarities between TM and techniques handed down by myriad traditions. One example, "dhikr," from the mystic Islamic tradition known as Sufism, will suffice to show the similarities. The instructional language is poetic with its emphasis on divine love and religious devotion, but the underlying technique is strikingly similar.

"Let [the practitioner] sit alone in some corner....Let him not cease saying continuously with his tongue 'Allah, Allah,' [God, God,] keeping his thoughts on it. At last he will reach a state when the motion of his tongue will cease, and it will seem as though the word flowed from it. Let him persevere in this until all trace of motion is removed from his tongue, and he finds his heart persevering in the thought. Let him still persevere until the form of the word - its letters and shape - is removed from his heart, and there remains the idea alone, as though clinging to his heart, inseparable from it....If he follows the above course, he may be sure that the light of the Real will shine out of his heart."

I was struck by how much these instructions resemble the instructions I memorized on TM Teacher Training in 1974, on how to instruct someone in TM. Following the puja (ceremony), the TM teacher says, "Aem, aem, aem, aem," (or some other mantra, all of which are the names of gods). Teacher gestures to student to repeat the mantra. When the student is doing so, teacher gestures to the student to sit and continue repeating. When student does so, teacher says, "Close the eyes and continue....More quietly....More quietly....More quietly....Now, mentally, without moving tongue and lips....Slowly open the eyes. It's easy? Mental repetition is not a clear pronunciation. It's just a faint idea. Now close the eyes and continue...."

Benson determined that all these different techniques - including TM - had four elements in common: (1) a quiet environment, (2) a mental device such as a word, phrase, object to be gazed at, etc., to be repeated in a specific fashion, (3) a passive attitude, in which ideation drifts into the mind, and one does not concentrate or be concerned with how well one is doing it, and (4) a comfortable position, but not a lying down one which might induce sleep.

After reviewing the similarity of various techniques. Benson studied subjects doing six different techniques that followed these four rules in order to see if they did indeed produce the same physiological results as TM. Benson tested subjects during the practice of TM, Zen and yoga, autogenic training, progressive relaxation, hypnosis with suggested deep relaxation, and sentic cycles for changes in oxygen consumption, respiratory rate, heart rate, alpha waves, blood pressure and muscle tension. The results were almost indistinguishable.

I can imagine the horror, disbelief and denial I would have experienced if I had read this book in 1974, after I became a TM teacher. I repeat the heresy: The results of the six techniques were almost indistinguishable from each other and from TM.

I do remember Benson's name fading from TM lectures after the the publication of this book. I remember what contempt and pity we TM teachers had for Benson for "betraying the movement." I remember never bothering to read his book until 2008. I remember hearing with triumph (and relief) that people who took up Benson's "relaxation response" technique were soon bored and gave it up, but we TMers found our experience fulfilling and kept at it. I remember one TM teachers saying dismissively, "Well, you get what you pay for."

This short, easy-to-read, down-to-earth book is food for thought, a "how-to" book on how to achieve the relaxation response, and also a useful tool for people wanting to take the next step in deprogramming themselves from the TM mindset.

Book Review. My Father's Guru: A Journey through Spirituality and Disillusion by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson. 1992, 174 pages.

From time to time, commentors and contributors to TMFree have suggested books that they have found relevant. I have recently read a few of them, and thought you might enjoy a few book reviews. This is the third in the series.

In 1947, when Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson was 6 years old, his father brought home "Dr." Paul Brunton, a soft spoken, mild mannered sweet little Englishman. Brunton, a minor author of "spiritual" literature in the early 20th century, was to become Masson Sr.'s guru for the next 19 years. During those years, "Brunton" (the name he gave himself) lectured, philosophized, led, cajoled, encouraged celibacy (leading to mental health problems in the family), supported fasting, advised, taught a form of meditation which brought no results but which the family nevertheless practiced for over a decade, inspired, instructed, lived with and sponged off the Masson family.

He was modest and disarming, underwhelming in appearance. He never took sexual advantage of his disciples, and he didn't always accept the large sums of money Mason Sr. offered him. But what he did do was claim to have a Ph.D., be a Sanskrit scholar, foresee the future, talk with higher beings, have a grand mission to save the human race, remember his past lives, be a sage, be from another planet, and to know the answer to all questions.

He invented a quasi Hindu/ Buddhist/ Theosophical system. He never admitted ignorance on any topic, secular or spiritual. If he didn't have an an answer, he would give a mysterious smile that seemed to say that he had secret knowledge that he was not at liberty to share, or alternately he would invent an answer.

Here are a few of his teachings (paraphrased), to give you a taste of what he offered.

On his powers: "Should you ever feel a hostile force, immediately kneel, then say very firmly, 'I command you in the name, by the power and compassion of Paul Brunton, to come out of my body.' Then make a sign of the cross...No evil force can withstand this."

On reincarnation: "All my incarnations were not on this planet. Life on other planets are inhabited by higher beings. They never come to visit us because we are not worthy."

On evolution: "Man did not evolve from the monkey. The race of apes came from a sexual union between primitive man and female beasts."

On his mission: "Buddha himself foresaw that a new teacher would arise within a few thousand years after himself...with a higher spiritual status than himself, within this current century."

On the family's financial problems: "Either earn more or spend less." (This said in a solemn, sage voice.)

On his teachings: "Any negative thought my disciples may have about this path, their guru and his powers are at best tests and at worst the work of external mischief-makers."

Jeffrey lived a double life. His normal-looking outside life consisted of school, extracurricular activities, friends, etc. Then there was the secret life he, his family, the other disciples and Brunton shared. Jeffrey never told his friends that there was a guru living in his house on and off for 19 years, that his family was specially favored by God, that his parents sometimes fasted for 40 days until they were skeletal, and that the only topics discussed in the house was spirituality and esoterica, filtered through Brunton's philosophy.

After 19 years, the family fell out with Brunton after he inaccurately predicted the imminent arrival of World War III and had his disciples pull up stakes in the U.S. and move to South America to avoid the coming radioactive fallout. Jeffrey made his own escape when adolescent independent thinking kicked in. He studied Sanskrit and Pali, and discovered that Brunton had lied about being a Sanskrit scholar, and that Buddha had never made any predictions about a guru appearing in the 20th century. He broke the family's "gentleman's agreement" of not asking Brunton embarrassing personal questions, forcing Brunton to reveal his inconsistencies. And he caught Brunton in a parlor trick which Brunton was perpetrating in order to convince his disciples that he had psychic powers.

I felt both horror and fascination as I read this book. What, I wondered, would make perfectly intelligent people give their minds, their money, and 19 years of their life to a person and a system so obviously flawed and fraudulent? Here is some of what I theorize happened to the Masson family. Perhaps as Isaac Newton said, things in motion tend to remain in motion and things at rest tend to remain at rest. Objects continue on their paths until they are met with an immovable object. Continuing to believe in Brunton was the path of least resistance. Brunton combined the carrot and the stick - he appealed to his disciples' pride, desire to be special and to have esoteric wisdom, and to their fear of falling outside the loop of this charmed life. Also, Masson's family lived in a closed system - they socialized only with other disciples, who could reinforce each other's awe for Brunton. And maybe Jeffrey's family and Brunton got caught in a strange unconscious dance, where he craved to be admired and they craved a guru. He offered "proofs" of his specialness, which caused them to put him on a pedestal, and then to demand more extreme proofs of his specialness, which caused him to produce grander and more entrenched lies, until eventually Brunton himself may have come to believe his own lies. And, the longer the Masson family followed Brunton, the harder it became to admit that they had been hoodwinked.

Ever since I left the TM movement after 10 years in it, I have been asking myself how I could have totally believed a system so full of contradictions, and why I found it so hard to leave. An exit counselor once told me that a helpful tool in assisting a person to leave a cult is to educate them about a different cult. The objectivity that comes with distance makes it easy to see the craziness of the other group, and the cult member can then more easily spot the dysfunctional systems holding oneself hostage to ones own cult. As I ponder what held the Massons captive, I am struck by some of the parallels
with Maharishi and the TM movement. Maybe reading about this family will help others gain more insight into their own life journey and become a little more free.

Book Review. The Maharishi: The Biography of the Man Who Brought Transcendental Meditation to the World by Paul Mason

(Oops! I accidentally deleted this post today. So here it is again. Originally posted 10/11/2008.)

Over the years, many commentors and contributors to TM-Free Blog have recommended books that they have found relevant. I have recently read a few of those books, and thought you all might enjoy some book reviews.

The Maharishi: The Biography of the Man Who Brought Transcendental Meditation to the World, a 300-page book written by Paul Mason and published by Element Books Ltd. in 1994, provides an overview of Maharishi's life from the mid-1950's to about 1993. When I read this book, I was reminded of the saying, "If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, the chances are good that it is a duck." Maharishi comes across as a simple, straightforward, not-too-deeply thinking salesperson intent on selling his product.

The book is rather moderate in tone, with a slightly jaundiced undertone, neither adoring or damning of Maharishi. The author matter-of-factly quotes Maharishi's many contradictory statements, leaving the readers to draw their own conclusions.

Of the many points Paul Mason covered, I found three to be of particular interest. The first
was Maharishi's "utter...isolat[ion] from comtemporary faiths and teachings," (p. 83.) Maharishi taught that all other gurus and teachers were misguided, and that he alone had the truth. Mason quotes Maharishi's writings from an uncompleted commentary to the Bhagavad Gita as follows, "Thus we find that all fields of religion and philosophy have been misunderstood for many centuries past."

Second, Mason shows that Maharishi's original intent was to spread a spiritual knowledge. In fact, his first organization was called the Spiritual Regeneration Movement. Quotes from Maharishi's early days give insight into his original teachings. For instance, "Between human species and these [gods are the]...finest levels of creation, the celestial level of life, gods. Huge numbers of...angels and gods," (p.162). By the early 1970's, however, Maharishi was saying, "In this scientific age we use scientific language," and spiritually-loaded language disappeared (for instance "God" was replaced with the term "Creative Intelligence") and his organizations were incorporated as educational non-profits. (Some time after the book was published, Maharishi did return to his religious roots and speak about more "spiritual" matters.)

An example of Maharishi's early comfort with revealing the spiritual basis of his teachings is in his pamphlet Beacon Light of the Himilayas, published about 1955. He wrote, "We do not select any sound like mike, flower, table...etc. For our practice we select only the suitable mantras of personal Gods. Such mantras fetch us the grace of personal Gods...."

Which leads to my third point, which is the ease with which Maharishi dissembled about the mantras, leaving me to wonder what else he lied about. In his early days, Maharishi stated, "Through long practice of usages of these mantras for different types of people, certain universal formulae have been obtained and using those formulae of judgment the selection of a proper mantra is brought about...." "[Mantras] are passed on from the master to the disciple in every generation and this is the teaching that concerns very fine levels of the whole creation...." "The tradition of masters is the most authentic place to take these suitable thoughts from. Authenticity from the tradition is the only measure which will give us some confidence about the absolute suitability of the mantra...." "One percent unsuitable effect [from the wrong mantra] will become million times greater...." After pages of this, Mason dryly drops the fact that the mantras are chosen by age.

Actually, Maharishi was not consistent in what mantras he gave to TM teachers. On one Teacher Training Course, he gave out one set of mantras to be chosen by age, on another course a different set of mantras to be chosen by age, on a third course a set to be chosen by age and sex, and so on.

Mason also includes anecdotes that leave the reader wondering what stories lie behind them. For instance someone mentions in passing that "Maharishi converses with the Heirarchy." What is "the Heirarchy"? A stranger in an airport in Europe accosts Maharishi with, "You're a fraud!" What did he mean? Jerry Jarvis, the onetime president of Maharishi's Students' International Meditation Society says, "Using the sutras [in the TM-Sidhis technique] is a strain on the nervous sytem and some people flip out." What had he seen?

This is not a comprehensive biography. At least two things are missing: the private life of Maharishi, and his impact on the life of others. Regarding his private life, for instance, there is no mention of his attempt to lead the Ouspensky organization in Europe, his sexual relations with women on his staff, his heart attack and subsequent (non-ayurvedic) treatment by western medicine, or his contempt for those who put him on a pedastal. Regarding his impact on the lives of others, there is no mention of the hundreds, myself included, who uprooted themselves and moved to Fairfield, Iowa at his bequest, or the hundreds of people who gave years of their lives, thousands of dollars and sometimes their mental and physical health to Mahrishi's dream.

On the plus side, this is a quickly-moving, easy-to-read book for people looking for an introduction to the life, mind, and public face of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi from aproximately 1954 to 1993.