Two former Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment students charged with first degree murder

(Updated December 11, 2023 - both defendants have been sentenced to life in prison with minimums of 25 and 35 years.)

A school yearbook from 2013 contains photos of the two 16 year olds charged as adults with first degree murder, whose families are known to be part of the meditator community in Fairfield, Iowa. 

The Des Moines Register reports:

A southeast Iowa town is reeling after two high school students were charged with first-degree murder in the death of their Spanish teacher.

Police confirmed Thursday that human remains discovered Wednesday in Fairfield's Chautauqua Park were those of Nohema Graber, who had been reported missing earlier in the day, according to a news release from the city of Fairfield posted on Facebook.

Graber, 66, had taught Spanish at Fairfield High School since 2012. Police allege two students at the high school — Willard Noble Chaiden Miller, 16, and Jeremy Everett Goodale, 16 — are responsible for her death.

Both have been charged with first-degree homicide and first-degree conspiracy to commit homicide and will be charged as adults "based on the circumstances and their ages," according to the news release.

TM's "Enlightenment" Magazine

I was browsing through a recent TM organization (TMO) email, and discovered that the TMO publishes an ezine called "Enlightenment." 

Is this an appropriate name for the magazine?

I have heard that when young Brahmachari Mahesh (later known as Maharishi Mahesh Yogi) first taught in India, he put up a poster that said, "Enlightenment in Seven Days."  But as I don't remember the source, I'll call this a rumor, unless someone can confirm this in the "comments" section.

I heard from elder TMers that in the U.S., Mahesh promised that doing TM twice a day for 15-20 minutes would lead to enlightenment in 3-5 years.  Again, that was before my time, so can anyone confirm this?

But I can state from my personal experience that when I was instructed in TM in 1971, we were told that TM twice a day would lead to enlightenment in 5-8 years.

Anyone have confirmation of other promises Mahesh made?

I do remember that when Mahesh introduced the "Six-Month Courses" around 1975 (seeking confirmation on date), he said, "One Six-Month Course is enough to enlighten some people, two Six-Month Courses is enough to enlighten most people, and three Six-Month Courses is enough to enlighten a horse!  Ha ha!"  I assume he was joking about the horse, but not about the other things.

Does anyone remember any other promises about when enlightenment could be expected through TM?  By the time I was at my Teacher Training Course (about 1973/4), Mahesh was no longer giving out predictions.

Mahesh pronounced one man ("Andy") enlightened on my Teacher Training Course.  What's the latest about Andy?  Mahesh did or did not pronounce Robin Carlsen enlightened -- depending on your interpretation of his comment, "You are somewhere in the folds of Wholeness."  The last we heard from Robin (on TMFree), the "enlightenment" was a temporary state, and not in Robin's best interest.       

I understand that in Fairfield, there is a club for people who say they have reached "enlightenment."  What's become of that club?  All I know is the worst of the stories, of one young man in the club who has committed suicide.

Now it's "do the TM-Sidhis, eat ayurvedic, get yagyas, listen to chanting, live in a TM house," and some people have been doing all those things for decades.  How's it going?  Is anyone enlightened?

Personally, I think "Enlightenment" is a deceptive name for the magazine, but that's just my opinion. 

Emotional Problems Post-TM; Relating to Fairfield Relatives, Part II

[This is Part II of the previous article "Emotional Problems Post-TM; Relating to Fairfield Relatives, Part I" - ed.]

Second topic:  How to Relate to Fairfield TM Relatives

Reader's comment:

"I’d like to get back to some previous comment threads on how to relate to family in TM if you are not in it....

'...I don’t expect my [relatives] to give up TM, and I don’t even try to convince them much or argue with them. But I do want to be able to visit them and find things to do (even if by myself or with other family) that are not completely connected to TM or MUM.  I don't mind spending some time at MUM....

'There is certainly a lot of sensitivity to criticism of Maharishi by most I talk to. 

'I’m curious if others have found ways to visit Fairfield and their TM friends and family comfortably, or if it is always uncomfortable for those who are not part of TM any more (or never were).

'...Finally, I’d add that I’m continuing in my reading and effort to see TM as a new religious movement rather than destructive cult, even if some on this site think this misguided or impossible."

My response:

I don't have friends or family in Fairfield, so I won't respond to the first question.  I hope others have some pointers for this reader.  But I will respond to his/her final comment.

My take on it is that the reader is confusing him/herself by trying to compare apples and oranges.  Religions, whether old or new, are in my opinion defined by beliefs and practices.  Destructive cults, on the other hand, are not defined by beliefs and practices, (no matter how unusual the beliefs and practices.)  Rather, destructive cults are defined by the manner in which a person is drawn into and kept in the group.

There are several models to describe this process.  One of my favorites is this simple model:  A groups is a destructive cult if outsiders are: (1) drawn in my deception, and (2) kept in by mind control.

For example, when a person is given an introductory lecture on TM, is s/he told that if they learn TM, in a few years, they might be celibate, meditate  6 hours a day, spend thousands of dollars on astrology and Vedic rituals, wear beige or scarlet, eat a lacto-vegetarian diet, buy an expensive new house, and be convinced that if they don't do their daily TM program, will be personally responsible for World War III?  

Are they told that on relaxing residential retreats, the extra meditations will put them in a state of reduced critical thinking, where they will absorb quasi-Hindu doctrine?  And that in this state of cognitive vulnerability, they will be told that (sub-standard) research "proves" that TM is the solution to all human problems?         

My suggestion to the reader is to learn more about new religions and also more about destructive cults, and then decide for him/herself what they think TM is.  (It could be both!)  There are other models on what constitutes a destructive cult beside the 2-point one I've reviewed here.  I recommend googling Margaret Singer Ph.D., and Robert J. Lifton, M.D, and Steve Hassan, M.Ed's website as noted above, for other useful models.  Also you could look at websites listed on the right hand side of the TM-Free homepage for a start.

Thank you to all commenters for your many, many intelligent and insightful comments.  Also thanks to all who read TM-Free but do not send comments.  

If any other reader would like their comments placed in this position of prominence as a TM-Free Blog "post," please let us know, and we will try to oblige!

Emotional Problems Post-TM; Relating to Fairfield Relatives, Part I

Recently I saw two readers' comments on TM-Free Blog that caught my attention in that I thought they lent themselves to serious discussion.  

The first one mentioned psychological problems the reader has had since leaving the TM movement.  

The second one asked how others manage the tricky terrain of visiting true-believer TM relatives and friends who live in Fairfield and Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa.

I was surprised that no one responded to these two comments.  Since some TM-Free readers read only the essays, but not the reader comments, I suspect this may have been what happened, and these two topics slipped through the cracks.      

So I hope I have not overstepped these two readers' privacy by reprinting portions of their comments below:

First Topic:  Emotional Problems Post-TM?

 Reader's comment:   

"...My commitment to TM lasted about 8 years....I did not have any acute psychological trauma as a result of the rounding and the indoctrination, and the recovery, although a bit slow, was not traumatic either. But I sometimes wonder if some of my psychological/ emotional difficulties are related to my years with TMO [TM organization - ed]."

My response:  

It is not uncommon for people who have left high-demand groups and have re-integrated themselves into the non-cult world to find that they have emotional problems.  The problems may not seem connected to the group; therefore it may not occur to them that these problems are a result of their time in the group.  If they see a psychotherapist, the psychotherapist may also agree that the problems are due to pre-existing issues.  (Psychotherapists are only slowly being educated on this new field of post-cult syndrome.)  For example, long ago I told my psychotherapist that I walked around in constant terror that the world was about to blow up.  He interpreted it in the standard psychodynamic way.  That is, he theorized that I must be angry about something from my childhood, and that I was experiencing that anger in a disguised form, as fear of the world exploding.  

Then, I met with Steve Hassan, an exit counselor.  Steve asked me, "What did they tell you would happen if you left TM?"  I replied, "Why...they said that if I left Fairfield, I would be 'personally responsible' for World War Three!"  And as soon as I made the connection, the terror went away!

That's an obvious example, but it illustrates my point.  I recommend Steve Hassan's website freeminds.org, and his books.  I hope these help.        

Second topic:  How to Relate to Fairfield TM Relatives

Reader's comment:

"I’d like to get back to some previous comment threads on how to relate to family in TM if you are not in it....

'...I don’t expect my [relatives] to give up TM, and I don’t even try to convince them much or argue with them. But I do....

[NOTE:  Something's gone wrong with this computer program, so I will continue this article as Emotional Problems Post-TM; Relating to Fairfield Relatives, Part II. - ed.]

Meet Mumosa!

To enhance your enlightened enjoyment!

A new site http://mumosa.com exposes fallacies of Maharishi University of Management and life in Fairfield, Iowa - the North American mecca for the Transcendental Meditation Movement.

Enjoy!

Guest Post: "A Teenager Joins the Cult"

The first post of a new series by "Former Future Enlightened Leader," whose earlier contribution was a response to the recent Oprah Winfrey program featuring Fairfield and the Maharishi School.

A Teenager Joins the Cult

Part 1

My mom and step-dad learned TM when I was 12ish.  It was after my mom had gone to the loony bin.  She was in the nice part for people with eating disorders and depression not the padded walls part but try explaining that to the kids at school.

All my stepbrothers and I knew about mediation was that after work my step dad would sit in his recliner for a while quietly before turning the TV on and mom would go to her room.

If we got too loud playing baseball in the front yard my mom would scream out the window to be quiet because she was meditating.  Adding to her fame in the neighborhood.

My mom didn’t scream at us as much any more so meditating seemed like it wasn’t such a bad idea.  The strangest thing about it in the beginning was that my step dad actually did it.  Instead of going square dancing or playing cards with friends they would go to the TM Center. My stepfather was a simple man.  He was a shop foreman who could draw anything, made pancakes in animal shapes and built his own house.  He didn’t read Leo Buscaglia books and go to group therapy like my mom.  Meditation just didn’t seem like the kind of hobby they would share.

It was spring when they split up.  They had argued often, less after they had learned to meditate, so none of us saw it coming.  I was crouched down in the long grass of our front yard.  I had just cut through the neighbor’s yard on my way home so I didn’t know what started the fight.

My stepfather was in the driveway next to our golden-rod boat of a car; he’s yelling at my mother, who I can’t see yet with one bony finger in the air, his lean muscles flexed under his plaid flannel shirt.  My stepbrothers are in the car, deep in the back seat, waiting.  It’s hunting season, bows not guns, the car is packed for the trip and my mom comes in to view.  Here cheeks are red, her nose even redder.

Guest Post: "An Alumni's Response to Oprah's Visit to Maharishi School"

Previously: Triumph of the Incurious: Oprah Visits Fairfield's Pandits

Previously: Oprah Winfrey's Transcendental Meditation episode airs Sunday, and open thread

Today's guest post was contributed by an alumnus of the Maharishi School in Fairfield, Iowa; this school is one of the Transcendental Meditation movement institutions that was featured in the recent episode of Oprah's television program. - Mike

An Alumni's Response to Oprah's Visit to Maharishi School

Oprah visited my home town; she visited my high school. This would be a big deal for any alumni of any school but the reason she chose mine is unique. At my school we meditated together every day. Oprah is a new inductee in to the celebrity Transcendental Meditation club and she is going all-in by having her staff learn TM and dedicating an entire 1 hour show to her visit to Fairfield, Iowa.

I wasn’t angered by her visit or even her endorsement of TM; live and let live. I grew up in Fairfield and I was used to wealthy and famous people being toured around our school. Musicians, politicians, movie stars, magicians etc. The celebrity TM club is large. What did disturb me was how she kept parroting the movement line that TM is not a religion. She keeps saying this while they show students reading Sanskrit texts from Hindu holy books. She says this while standing around with chanting Hindu monks from India. I suppose I should have expected this but then Oprah said something to the teenage girls wrapping up their afternoon meditation session that stopped me cold.

She told them they were changing the world.

This is when I sighed. It was a moment in the show where I almost cried; Oprah is good at that.

There were clips in the show with people I know; people, who helped raise me, cared about me and truly believed they were giving me the best education possible. I love my teachers at Maharishi School; they were mostly good people with good intentions. I had a counsellor who recognized that my mother had mental issues and could be abusive which takes a keen eye and real bravery in a secretive town full of eccentrics, to put it mildly. That counsellor reached out to me and saved my already bombarded psyche. I do not hold a grudge against these teachers. However there is a price to pay for everything in the movement. For a Maharishi School student that price is earning glory; glory for the school, glory for the movement, glory for the choices their former hippie, baby-boomer parents made.

Triumph of the Incurious: Oprah Visits Fairfield's Pandits

Previously: Oprah Winfrey's Transcendental Meditation episode airs Sunday, and open thread

Update: An Alumni's Response to Oprah's Visit to Maharishi School

Remember when reporters actually practiced something that used to be called "investigative journalism?" When they used to ask embarrassing questions on TV shows like "60 Minutes" and not let go until they got an answer - or, when the subject's silence made it clear they had something to hide?

Yeah, I'm idealizing the way TV used to be, and it's easy to forget that that sort of ambush-style reporting wasn't always the norm. Today, though, there's Oprah and her new series, where something like the reverse is true. An important question gets asked - and it just sort of sails off into thin air, forgotten, while the subject gets to divert the viewer's attention to something else completely innocuous. Perhaps it's just the cost of doing business, when one's remaining career has devolved down to making the rich and famous but utterly bogus look good. Very good.

Maharishi Vedic Pandit barracks. (Google Maps)

In my post over the weekend I mentioned that Oprah's "Next Chapter" episode focusing on Fairfield, Iowa, and Transcendental Meditation might be noteworthy if only because it would be the first time a videographer from the outside world would visit the relatively "mysterious" pandit compound two miles outside of town - a clear manifestation of the religious inner core of the global Transcendental Meditation organization. I'd asked, what kind of spin would the TM movement's spokespeople need to apply, to reframe those images into something innocuous, that wouldn't serve as a complete show-stopper to prospective meditators?

It turns out, no spin is necessary, if the questions never get asked - or, if asked, answers are never pursued.

I am, of course, talking about an episode of a program that was little more than an infomercial for Transcendental Meditation, along with plenty of supporting advertising material and links on the show's own website. The hour was filled with the usual personal testimonials, bracketed by footage provided by the David Lynch Foundation and a documentary filmmaker long associated with the DLF. By the end of the next-to-last segment, the address of the tm.org website was prominently displayed, after most of an hour of Oprah being easily impressed and "shocked" about everyday life in Fairfield, and the idea that both children and adults would take time out of their day for other things besides work.

Oprah Winfrey's Transcendental Meditation episode airs Sunday, and open thread

Update: Triumph of the Incurious: Oprah Visits Fairfield's Pandits

Update: An Alumni's Response to Oprah's Visit to Maharishi School

The episode of "Oprah's Next Chapter" that resulted from Oprah Winfrey's brief visit to Fairfield, Iowa, last October is scheduled to air at 9pm Eastern time tomorrow night (25 March 2012) on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), in the U.S. and Canada. This segment of Oprah's signature show, which has received very little press coverage, arrives just as she and her network are receiving considerable attention for having just laid off one fifth of the network's staff amid poor ratings and rumors of its impending doom.

Last November, as news of this celebrity visit to Fairfield began to ooze into the tabloid press, and other celebrities including Ellen DeGeneres were publicly endorsing TM in the run-up to David Lynch's yearly gala for his TM-supporting foundation, I wrote about the absurdity of this sort of spectacle: the fact that one of the world's most powerful women, Oprah Winfrey, was "endorsing a program that can only be purchased from a blatantly sexist organization, that allows no women in leadership positions, and that enforces a strict separation of the sexes when administering its programs."

The TM movement has cultivated celebrities for decades, both for recruitment and donations, as Gina reviewed in "Transcendental Celebrity Shtick;" the first or historically most prominent of many of those celebrities was, of course, the Beatles. Meditators used to brag about their associations with celebrities, even the most brief encounters with them. Not much has changed, as Oprah's visit to Fairfield spawned its own set of stories in the local paper, another round of personal stories of having seen her, or been seen with her, in town or in the dome.

Tomorrow night's airing of this episode of "Oprah's Next Chapter" may be noteworthy if only because it might provide an unusual glimpse inside the religious inner core of the TM movement. As the press release reads: "Also, for the first time, cameras are allowed inside a top-secret, 80-acre compound where 800 Indian men live spending eight hours a day meditating and chanting." These "Indian men" are pandits, or effectively, Vedic clergy, performing religious rituals that, according to TM movement doctrine, will bring about "world peace." We will likely get to watch some serious gyrations as TM spokespeople, along with a perennially "shocked" Oprah, attempt to reframe these religious habits as completely scientific and rational, and how they should be just more reasons why you, yes you, should sign up for a session with a recertified Transcendental Meditation teacher right now, without delay.

We can also expect a great deal of exaggeration about the benefits of living in Fairfield, as is clear from the 30 second preview. I suppose Fairfield has "virtually no violent crime" if by "virtually" you exclude a murder that occurred in the cafeteria at the TM movement's own Maharishi University of Management nine years ago. A faulty or very selective memory does appear to be one lasting benefit that comes from many years of practice of Transcendental Meditation.