Update on Maharishi Vedic Pandits

On January 24, 2014, Hi India, the newspaper serving the South Asian community worldwide, ran a 2-page article on the sorry plight of Maharishi Vedic Pandits residing in a fenced compound in Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa, U.S.A.

On August 30, 2014, Hi India published a second article about the Vedic Pandits. According to this article, (http://hiindialive.com/missing-pandit-brutally-killed/), despite their January expose, neither the Indian Consul General in Chicago, nor leaders of Chicago's Indian community, nor officials in India have initiated any action to help the Vedic Pandits.

Hi India suggests that after the posting of their first report, the following actions should have been taken, but were not:

- The TM university responsible for the pandits should have invested more resources into improving financial compensation and living conditions for the pandits, rather than into damage-control of their image.

And further, that the Consul-General of India situated in Chicago should have done the following:

- sent someone to the compound to take a first-hand look at the living conditions of the Vedic Pandits.

- raised concern about the passports of the pandits being held as ransom by the sponsoring University, and insisted that the passports be returned to the Consul General’s office, in accordance with Indian policy.

- investigated the plight of the "165 missing pandits." (This was a group of 165 pandits that the TM University drove to Chicago's O'Hare airport after the uprising, in order to send them back home. It was never made totally clear if these Indian men requested their return to India, or if, following the uprising, the University picked out the pandits whom they perceived to be "troublemakers," and forced them to leave. Whichever is the real story, it appears as if instead of boarding their appointed planes back to India, many fled the airport in the sub-zero weather and disappeared.)

- engaged with Chicago police and the local Indian community to locate missing Vedic Pandits who may have been wandering around Chicago.

- lodged a complaint with local police, Immigration officials, other Indian Consulates in the U.S. and the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi.

 - issued a press release about the pandits.

- investigated the recruitment tactics and the contract between Vedic Pandits and their sponsoring university.

- demanded the complete list of Vedic Pandits who arrived, left and are missing from the compound.

- asked for travel and ticket details and matched this information with pandits' arrival (or failure to arrive) at Indian airports.

According to Hi India, the Chicago Consul General failed to do any of these things. The conditions of the pandits at the fenced compound at Maharishi Vedic City remains unmonitored by outsiders. And the "missing pandits," (who speak little English) who fled O'Hare Airport 8 months ago, are unaccounted for.

Well, we finally know the fate of one of those missing pandits. According to Hi India, Ajit Panday, age approximately 23, has been found in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. On August 24, 2014, he was shot to death by an unidentified armed robber at the Big Brother 2 Food Mart in Atlanta, while Ajit was closing up the convenience store for the night.

Ajit was brought to the U.S. by Maharishi University about two years ago. When the University brought him to the airport in January, he apparently snuck out of the air terminal rather than boarding a plane to India. He somehow ended up in Georgia, which is approximately 600 miles (approximately 1000 kilometers) south of Chicago, and entered the underground economy of undocumented workers.

 In their statements, the Indian owners of the convenience store and of the property it stood on shrugged off responsibility for his death, stating that they had cautioned Panday to be careful in the night time.

As for how his countrymen have treated this undocumented man, Panday had been working without pay at the store for more than two months. He worked more than 15 hours per day, 7 days a week. No proper food, sanitation or security was provided in the back room of the store, where Panday lived. The owners claim Panday was a friend who they were helping out by giving him a place to stay, and in return he willingly volunteered his time at the store.  There were insufficient security systems, insufficient security training and insufficient backup at the store.

Ajit Panday's body was still in the mortuary six days after the murder, apparently because his family in India is too poor to ship the remains home. Ajit was the only bread-winner in his family, which consists of a widowed mother and two younger siblings.

The owners of the store state the body is still in the U.S. because the family has failed to give authorization to ship the body.

Ajay Prakash Shrivastava, nephew of the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and head of global operations of the sponsoring Maharishi University, said that he could not trace the family, although all the information is available in office records.

Though Ajit is the first casualty that has come to light, there may well be other Maharishi Vedic Pandits being mistreated somewhere in the U.S.  Not to mention those being mistreated in their fenced compound in Maharishi Vedic City in Iowa.

TM-Free Blog has posted several articles about the Vedic Pandits.  Click on any of these titles to see the TM-Free article:  

Triumph of the Incurious: Oprah Visits Fairfield's Pandits 

Pandits in Captivity - Fairfield's Conspiracy of Silence

CPs : Course Participants or Captive Pandits

Invincible Combustion - Pandit residence enflamed

Inside Pandit Compound with Rekha Basu - Des Moines Register

Human Trafficking in Vedic City? 

Missing Pandits

"Pandits for Profit"

Rekha Basu : "There's a little disconnect" in TM Pandit Compound

Pandit Protest or Freedom Cry

Regarding Maharishi Yagyas®

(Please note:  This website does not promote, encourage, approve of, recommend, or support the purchase of or the value of "Maharishi Yagyas."  This article is written solely for the purpose of education and discussion. - Laurie)


A friend of TM-Free Blog recently showed me an email he received on January 12, 2014 from one of the branches of the TM organization (TMO).  The email starts with the title "Maharishi Vedic Pandits Creating World Peace."  Excerpts from the email follow:

"We are delighted to...announc[e] a highly beneficial, affordable and exciting expansion to the Yagya program for individuals and families - the Maharishi Special Yagya Program."

My comment:  This seems to me like deceptive advertising.  Where is the proof that the yagyas are "highly beneficial"?  And why do they call these yagyas "affordable"?  I clicked around, and found that they cost from $1,000 to $10,000 apiece.

"Maharishi designed a beautiful series of Special Yagyas for important times in life: Birthdays, Weddings, Wedding Anniversaries, and for the Birth of a Child."

They say "Maharishi designed" them.  Well, Maharishi has been dead for several years, but they're only being advertised this year.  So did he design them after he died?  Or, if he designed them during his lifetime - for the benefit of humanity - why are they only being made available now?  Also, Maharishi freely admitted that he knew only a little Sanskrit.  If so, how could he design Sanskrit rituals?  So what's going on?  Personally, I believe that someone else designed them, but is attributing them to Maharishi because that gives them more credibility.  

The yagyas are called "beautiful," but since donors are not present when these rites are performed, we'll have to take the TMO's word for it.  Also, we'll have to take the TMO's word that these rituals are being performed at all.

"These Special Yagyas bring the blessings of Nature to individuals and families at transitional times when specific, supportive Laws of Nature are particularly lively and accessible...."

Here we have several unscientific and undefined phrases which however have strong emotional resonance.  This style of writing circumvents scientific inquiry, since science requires terms to be defined.  Evocative phrases include "blessings of Nature," "specific, supportive Laws of Nature" and "particularly lively and accessible."

"All funds from this program support the large group of Maharishi Vedic Pandits, which is bringing peace, affluence and harmony to our world...."

According to Wikipedia, in  January 2014 there were 41 armed conflicts on earth.  In 2012, there were 905 natural catastrophes  which resulted in approximately $200,000,000 USD worth of damage.  So to me it seems inaccurate to state that the Pandits are bringing "peace, affluence and harmony" to our world.

But to backtrack, you may be asking, "What is the Maharishi Yagya program?"  Here is the answer, from maharishiyagya.org.

 "...the remedial measures one can take to avert problems seen in the birth chart to be coming to the individual.  It is a practical means to help protect us from unwanted influences - such as illness, accidents or loss; and also to support positive influences.  Regular Maharishi Yagya performances help maintain life in balance.

..Maharishi Vedic Astrology expert has seen something in the birth chart; and it's destined for the person.  But some influence could be created to change that destiny - and that's the Maharishi Yagya program...." 

More evocative and undefined phrases.  The above quote sort of explains what a Maharishi Yagya supposedly does.  But it doesn't explain what a Maharishi Yagya is.  Other TMO sites explain that it is a TMO-style Sanskrit chant plus ceremony performed by one or more TMO-trained Indian men.  The many TMO websites are vague, but apparently each yagya takes one day or less. TMO literature clearly states that the more money you spend on your yagya, the more powerful its effect.  They also strongly urge the customer to buy the most expensive yagya one can afford.

How much money is the TMO earning from this program?  A TMO email from December 18, 2013 states that:

"...the National Yagya program is now averaging (i.e., receiving donations of - Laurie) $429,000 USD per month....The whole world is enjoying the blessings of the daily performance...."

That's $5,148,000 a year income for the "National Yagya program" alone.  (The TMO says that the National Yagya program -- that is, the 350 Indian men in Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa who live in pre-fabricated, under-heated homes and earn $100-200/month apiece -- costs $600,000 a month to run.  I'm not sure why it should cost that much.  Anyone have any ideas?)  And there are many other "Maharishi Yagya" programs, which also bring in money for the TMO.

The announcement/advertisement for this new yagya program states that:

"the oral tradition of Vedic chanting has been declared an intangible heritage of humanity by UNESCO."  (United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization - Laurie).  

This sounds impressive, but by now I always double-check anything the TMO says.  So I researched the "Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity" UNESCO project.  Their website states that their list of intangible cultural heritages is made up of those "elements that help demonstrate the diversity of this heritage and raise awareness about its importance."  From 2008-2013, 282 intangible heritages were listed by UNESCO.  Aside from yagyas, other examples of "intangible heritages" included woodcrafting in Madagascar, textile art of Peru, ox-herding traditions of Costa Rica, and Sardinian pastoral songs of Italy.
  
By the way, payment for these yagyas is legally designated as a "donation," and donations are tax deductible for U.S. tax payers.  All U.S. non-profits must make public their finances, and the financial audit can be found at www.vedicpandits.org/pdf/BSF-Audited-Financial Statement-12-31-2011.pdf.

Inside Pandit Compound with Rekha Basu - Des Moines Register

This morning's Des Moines Register featured Rekha Basu's visit to Vedic City's Pandit Compound :





Read the full article and enlightening comments at :
Maharishi Vedic City: Inside the compound with Rekha Basu

Ms. Basu wrote an eloquent summary of the conditions of these young men.

She reported in such a way that insightful readers will question implications between the lines.
As she said in the above video "Decide for yourself".

Hopefully this report brought up enough questions that an external investigation will ensue.

TMFree hopes that investigators will fully evaluate the circumstances of this camp.
Where there is smoke, there is often fire.

Transparency is necessary.

One correction to the Register's article - TMFree is NOT Gina's blog.
TMFree is a co-moderated blog with several contributors listed in the right side bar. Mike Doughney "owns" the blog. (Thank you, Mike!)

Human Trafficking in Vedic City? Missing Pandits

January 24, 2014…  hi India, Chicago’s weekly Newspaper for America’s Indian immigrants, published an in-depth article Pennies for Pandits  about 163 Vedic Pandits  missing from Vedic City. 

 This news flash was repeated by Al Jazeera, India Today, Times of India , ndtv, the thehindu, deccanherald, and more.

The report stated that :


“Under the project to recruit Maharishi Vedic Pandits, publicity literature is distributed in Indian villages, mostly in Hindi speaking areas, among people living under the poverty line. Children are enrolled with the permission of their parents, who are promised that their wards would be given education up to 12th standard, after which they would be turned into Pandits or masters of the art of Hindu religious rites and services.”

And

“Investigations by Hi India have found that the kids of the programme, enrolled at the tender age of five years, were rarely provided education beyond fifth standard. After investigation by the newspaper, it came to light that these Vedic Pandits were brought to the US from India and were kept in makeshift trailer homes to be guarded by round-the-clock guards.”

“According to the report, a contract is drafted in English but the copy is neither given to Pandits nor is it translated or explained to the fifth-grader emigrants who do not even understand English. The contract states that they will be given $50 compensation while in the US and another $150 in India. This $150 is not given on a monthly basis to the families of the Pandits but, rather, is considered as bond money.”

“The Chicago consulate, however, says the GCWP has never returned or deposited any passport and neither has it shared any missing person information. According the sheriff's department and police department of Fairfield, Iowa, no missing person report has ever been filed by the GCWP.”

In 2012 TMFree posted about Iowa's fenced pandit compound in a linked 3-part series. The 3rd essay can be read by clicking on  "Pandits for Profit".

Cultnews shared the story at this link : The truth about TM compound that Oprah Winfrey failed to see : Course Participants or Captive Pandits.

Four days after Hi India's report,  Raja Hagelin attempted to quell anxiety among TM’s true believers with an insider email. 

As TM's Raja of North America and their oft promoted "World Renowned Physicist" Hagelin stated :

“Over the weekend, a defamatory and wildly inaccurate article about the Vedic Pandit program appeared in a weekly Chicago Indian newspaper and was republished in part by other Indian media in the US and abroad."

Hagelin claimed that,

"The article attempts to cast blame on the Global Country of World Peace for the plight which some adult Pandits now find themselves in. These are Pandits who have left the Pandit campus and program and apparently are seeking employment, unlawfully, in the US."

"Some of the Pandits have returned, realizing this was a foolish thing to do, and their airfare has been covered to return to India. Others have not yet come to this realization and are likely being manipulated by unscrupulous employers who take advantage of their innocence. We are working with the press to correct this matter and already are getting a positive response from responsible journalists which may result in some positive publicity for the Global Peace Initiative."

 Hagelin’s message blamed the pandits themselves, while acknowledging that these "adults" have been held by the TM organization since childhood (!) :

“We have been dealing with a challenge in recent months where a few of the Pandits who have completed their 2-year stays or who say they need to go home to India for some reason are taken to the airport in Chicago. They then leave the airport without boarding the plane, in violation of the terms of their agreement with the Movement and apparently with the intention of violating the terms of their US visa. As you know, we always provide airfare to the Pandits when they come to the US and return to India, and our staff from the Pandit campus and volunteers from the community take the Pandits to Chicago and help them until they go through airport security."

"On a few rare occasions, Pandits have checked in for their flights and have gone through security and passport control — and then tried to leave the airport. In recent months, two such Pandits were stopped by authorities, but were released. This encouraged some other Pandits to try to leave in Chicago or even to slip off the campus."

"The law is that neither Global Country of World Peace that sponsors the Pandits in the US nor airport authorities can force these adult Pandits to board a flight."

"The Vedic Pandits seem to be doing this because they have heard stories that they can make what sounds to them like vast sums of money ($1,800 a month is often mentioned) working in low-level jobs at restaurants and other businesses. They seem to be dazzled by the idea of making a few thousand dollars, but they do not understand what it costs to live in the US or the legal implications of being in violation of the immigration law that result from their leaving the program. Most of the Pandits have been on Maharishi Vedic Pandit campuses in India in residence since ages 12 or 14, where they are honored and respected and all their needs are provided for."

Another message by Hegelin was sent on February 12, 2014, probably after TM attorneys had contacted news outlets :

“More than 30 Indian publications in the US and abroad have retracted the wildly inaccurate article about the Vedic Pandits that they had picked up from a Chicago Indian weekly. .....
This has ranged from direct retractions ....  to publishing the detailed text of our responses, to new positive news articles about the Pandits.”  

Hegalin claimed efforts at treating those retained inside the fenced compound as human beings by stating : 

“Dr. Prakash Shrivastava and Raja Bob LoPinto held 5 days of meetings with the Vedic Pandits at the Maharishi Vedic City campus, working with them about this situation, educating them about the consequences of Pandits going off on their own, and addressing any concerns the Pandits have.
This is already having a positive effect. Some Pandits who had left the Chicago airport without returning to India have returned to Maharishi Vedic City and been given flights home. The vast majority of the Vedic Pandits are very dedicated to their program and happy with campus life. "

To assure TM devotees that business continues as usual, another routine fundraising-for-pandits email was sent by Raja Harris and Arlene Kaplan on February 15, 2014, titled “Maharishi Vedic Pandits Creating World Peace”. They invited others to join them :

“Arlene and I wanted to warmly invite you to make your plans now to come to the Brahmasthan of India for next season, which starts the week of September 22 through the week beginning March 23, 2015. One important reason is that this coming season offers our guests two opportunities to attend the Navaratri Celebrations—the first from September 25 to October 3, 2014 and the second from March 20-28, 2015."

Claiming that :

"Listening to these nine days of recitations is said to bestow prosperity, health, longevity, knowledge and intelligence. Also lively during these Nine Days of Mother Divine are those impulses of Creative Intelligence responsible for helping to remove obstacles from the path of success and for helping to remove all kinds of fear, illnesses, and other negativity.”

One can register for such courses here : http://www.maharishiindiacourses.com

It will be interesting to watch this situation unfold. 

TM Leader Hagelin Perverts Science to Sell Expensive TM Products

John Hagelin is the national director of the Transcendental Meditation(R) Program in the United States.  (His official title is "Raja of Invincible America").  He has a Ph.D. in physics from Harvard University.

A reader of TM-Free Blog who is on a TM email list was kind enough to send the TM-Free co-editors an email which he received from the TM organization in early September 2012.  It included a letter from Dr. Hagelin.  Highlights from Hagelin's letter are as follows.  (All quoted material is in red).

"Dear Friends,

As a direct result of the generosity and vision of our donors, the Maharishi National Yagya(SM) program has grown into a powerful force for America.  ["Maharishi Yagyas" are, briefly, large groups of people chanting Sanskrit for many hours or days in a manner taught by the TM Organization -ed.].  

We are beginning to see a correlation between the specific appeals of these massive Yagyas and positive developments for the Nation.

Last month our National Yagya included an appeal for rain where needed[.]

- Since the start of that Yagya we have been receiving many beautiful reports from supporters all around the country of welcome and refreshing rain. 

- In Fairfield, Iowa, where the largest number of National Yagya supporters reside, it started to rain when the Yagya began in India....

Previous National Yagyas included an appeal to increase the number of Pandits [TM org. chanters - ed.] in the U.S. campus[.]

- 556 Pandits now have passports....

- The first phase of the kitchen expansion to accommodate the new Pandits has been completed....

...In this time of great opportunity we hope that you will be inspired to give and-if at all possible-to commit to regular monthly sponsorship.  [Emphasis in original.]

Our next 11-day National Yagya will begin on September 19.  Please click now [emphasis in original] to offer your support....

With a donation of $1,250 or more, you-or anyone you designate-will be named in the Sankalpa [intention - ed.] of a National Yagya(SM) performance.

For smaller donations, a new feature on our web site allows you to make a gift in honor or memory of someone...."

As to the scientific sophistication of this national leader with a Ph.D., I quote from a Wikipedia article entitled "Correlation does not imply causation."  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correlation_does_not_imply_causation):

"Correlation does not imply causation" is a phrase used in science and statistics to emphasize that a correlation between two variables does not necessarily imply that one causes the other....

Example 
     With a decrease in the wearing of hats, there has been an increase in global warming over the same period.  
     Therefore global warming is caused by people abandoning the practice of wearing hats.

The website Sceptic School (http://scepticschool.com/2012/05/07more-logical-fallacies/) offers an excellent introduction to logical fallacies.  The author of the website teaches logic to 12-14 year olds, so one would think a Ph.D. would be familiar with this stuff.  From the website:  

"Post-hoc ergo propter hoc - saying that because A happened before B, A must have caused B....[C]laiming that because a rooster crows before the sunrise, a rooster's crow causes the sunrise."

So let's look again at Hagelin's comment:  "We are beginning to see a correlation between the specific appeals of these massive Yagyas and positive developments for the Nation."  i.e. the yagyas caused rain, and caused more chanters to head to the U.S.

Whatever is Hagelin thinking?  Why does he write messages like this?  Does he get a commission?  Is he so cynical that he thinks gullible people will believe him?  Is his mind so damaged by the cult-think of Maheshism that he can no longer think scientifically?  

And what about the people who buy the yagyas?  Have they lost the capacity to think logically?  Lots of people must be convinced, because the IRS tax form for non-profits (yes, you can get a tax deduction for buying Maharishi yagyas) for the Brahmananda Saraswati Foundation (http://www.vedicpandits.org/pdf/BSF-2011-Form-990.pdf) shows that in 2010, total donations received for purchase of yagyas were $2,027,650, and in 2011 total donations were $3,714,902. 

If you want to read more hard sell, guilt-induction, begging and flattering to obtain money; and pseudo-science, you can google "Maharishi yagyas."

Do you have any experience with the TM organization's yagyas?  With the pandits?  With the TMO's begging for money?  With the TMO's guilt-tripping?  With their poor science?

Pandits for (non)Profit

Essay 3 of a 3-part Series.
The first in this series may be read  here - Pandits in Captivity.
The second essay may be read here - CPs : Course Participants or Captive Pandits.

The TM Organization focuses upon FUNDRAISING for Pandits, while promising magic. Despite TM's assertion, there is no evidence that Pandits' impact global harmony. After years of fundraising for world peace through chanting Pandits, neither Maharishi's Global Country of World Peace nor other TM nonprofits disclose finances related to these captive Indians.

In a recent TM Organization announcement, Raja (Dr.) John Hagelin encourages donations to support an 11-day national Yagya (prayer ceremony) to begin on September 19, 2012. The final date for payment for this particular yagya was to be September 13. For of a mere $1,250, a donor could designate someone to be named during the performance.

The message flatters donors for TM Pandits’ prayer ceremonies, “As a direct result of the generosity and vision of our donors, the Maharishi National Yagya program has grown into a powerful force for America.”

Hagelin credits the Pandits' Yagyas with Iowa’s summer rains, and for redirecting this summer’s Hurricane Isaac : 

“A few people have asked about Isaac. Originally forecast to be a Category 3 or 4 hurricane, it only reached Category 1. While the storm produced flooding in some of the most vulnerable areas, the City of New Orleans was largely spared.” 

“The rain’s subsequent northward march provided welcome relief to some of the most drought-stricken areas of the country. When national invincibility is more firmly established, we can anticipate even greater protection against national disasters.”

Some True Believers continue to donate to these campaigns, otherwise why would the TM Movement continue to send such messages?

Deemed-scientific correlation between the Pandits and selective good news is as logical as Laurie’s (of TMFree) correlation that 99% of murderers begin their life drinking milk; thus milk leads to murdering.

Hagelin’s message continues, “We are on the verge of realizing Maharishi’s desire of 30 years. The generosity of our donors has brought us to this place. With your support, we will soon have the Super Radiance community we have worked so hard to build.”

Hagelin updates about plans to grow Pandit population  :

“  * 556 Pandits now have passports, and 541 have completed their visa applications.
   * The first phase of the kitchen expansion to accommodate the new Pandits has been completed, and the next phase is well underway.
   * More than 1/3 of the funds needed to bring all 556 Pandits to the U.S. has been raised.
   * The arrival of these Pandits will secure the daily Super Radiance numbers in Fairfield and Maharishi Vedic City at more than 2,000. Closing in on the Goal” 

Another recent fundraising email from Stan Crowe earlier this summer declared,“a special 11-day National Yagya performance beginning on Guru Purnima, July 3. We chose this date to honor our beloved Maharishi on this most auspicious day, the day of the Guru. The Yagya will also coincide with America’s Independence Day, July 4.”

Donations are designated for “Increased harmony, peace, invincibility and prosperity for the nation and its citizens; AND increasing the number of Pandits in Maharishi Vedic City to our desired goal as quickly as possible.”

Having failed to create a permanent community of 2000 people practicing Maharishi’s TM-Sidhi program twice daily in MUM’s golden domes, In 2001 Maharishi decided to offer donors the opportunity to sponsor others to meditate for them. The sponsorship concept already existed on a smaller scale in the TM Movement. It used to be common practice for those with less funds to seek sponsorships, often arranged as tax deductible donations, to attend advanced TM courses. Wealthy TMers also often sponsored the celibate participants on the Purusha  or Mother Divine programs for tax deductions, personal glory, and good karma.

Since 1979's first "World Peace Assembly" in Amherst Massachusetts, Maharishi and the TM Movement promoted the idea that a small percentage of the population could influence world peace, weather, crime and the economy through group meditation. This would create "The Maharishi Effect" to bring heaven on earth, or so Maharishi and the organization's retroactive selective studies claimed.

As Sudarsha suggested in a private message, this goal is as scientific as shooting a blank wall, then drawing a target circle around the spot you hit.

The goal of changing the world was and is used to inspire, or pressure, TM-Sidhi practitioners to devote their lives and funds to Maharishi's plans. This also feeds the narcissism of people who would believe their thoughts alone are powerful enough to influence government decisions and weather patterns.

Since that course in 1979 (Yes, I was there) Maharishi and his minions such as Bevan Morris, John Hagelin and others have long  threatened Maharishi's followers with global warfare and other calamities unless a core group of at least 2000 people practiced Maharishi’s TM-Sidhi Program together twice daily.

For example, in 1979 Bevan Morris pulled me aside for a private audience in a small dark room, saying someone had reported me to him for not attending Program as prescribed. Bevan said that I personally would be responsible for bringing WWIII or economic collapse to the world because I did not fully participate in "Program" many hours daily. In response I said that motherhood and supporting my family took precedence over group meditations, that my family is my Program. I told Bevan that Maharishi did not have children, so he didn't understand families. Bevan excused me, seemingly without officially black-listing me. Others tell similar stories of intimidation and threats for their non-participation in program, or if they requested permission to leave.

In the early 1980's Maharishi claimed that donations to support participants on the celibate Purusha and Mother Divine programs would bring financial prosperity, health and speed enlightenment for donors. In fact, my (then)husband wanted us to tithe 10% of our income to support his former girlfriend on the Mother Divine course. They had attended and graduated together in 1981 from Maharishi International University. She was a sweet young woman, who vigilantly 'put her attention' on my husband's business daily and wrote us newsy letters about Maharishi's latest inspirations. The young woman's prolonged meditations did not enhance our economic status. My (then) husband often blamed his business problems on the bad karma that I brought to his business because I did not attend “Program” (6-8 hours) daily. This was a prevalent community attitude at that time.

Per their own counts, the TM Movement repeatedly fails to realize the mystical 2000 meditator/Sidhas for twice-daily Program attendance. Other TMers must be making similar choices about responsibilities,  personal and family needs, thereby decreasing Program attendance.

To solve this problem, Maharishi came up with the  brilliant idea of raising funds to import professional meditators from India. This idea was proposed as early as November 2001.

Note : Maharishi's idea is FUNDRAISING for Pandits, not to really improve the world through mystical practices.

In January 2002, after coming out of his annual silent retreat to begin the new year, Maharishi proposed that for a mere $250 Million, the world’s problems could be solved by establishing a permanent community with 10,000 Pandits. 

Maharishi's fundraising scheme to support a group of meditating Pandits provided, then and now, a means for TM's wealthy donors to assure spiritual good karma, enlightenment or entry to heaven by donating large sums of money for others meditate in their stead.

This is remarkably similar to the Medieval Catholicism when noblemen paid servants to make spiritual pilgrimages for them, thereby gleaning heavenly accolades for both the nobleman and the pauper who made the pilgrimage.

I doubt the Movement will attain the 2000 which they claim necessary for a Super Radiance effect. This dream is an eternal carrot-on-a-stick, never to be achieved. After all, the Movement would lose credibility with its followers if 2000 Pandits meditate twice daily, and the world inevitably continues with political travails, natural disasters, environmental carcinogens and economic vicissitudes.

Being a practical Guru, Maharishi established nonprofit corporations so that donors could receive tax deductions while profiting their Guru. Despite public perception, a "nonprofit" organization does not have to meet any ethical qualifications. The primary difference between a nonprofit corporation vs a for-profit is the stated purpose of the organization, how funds are dispersed and taxed. Nonprofits are allowed to generate revenue surpluses (er, that would be synonymous with ‘profit’).

Using threats of global collapse to fear-monger for Pandit donations in October, 2003, a national conference call quoted (still living) Maharishi "'The world would not completely end, there will be a few people left...You don't know how fast the destruction is approaching. Do it, go fast... 'Don't wait until tomorrow when the whole thing collapses. If you don't prevent this, don't blame us.'"

In 2003, the Program "8000 Now" was created to fundraise for a Pandit program. Their website cleverly does not initially reveal their true intentions, until one clicks about on various links.

TMFree readers may enjoy videos on the  "National Yagya Program" website. Among highlights, see Raja Dr. John Hagelin explain how important it is to “engage the power of natural law at a very deep level” through the performance of Yagyas to help Japan after their tsunami and nuclear crisis. Japan's Raja also reads aloud a letter of gratitude for Pandits he credits with helping Japan.. 

In his documentary film David Wants to Fly, David Seiveking interviews Earl Kaplan. Earl admits that he is not proud of his former TM-alliance and donations exceeding $150million to Maharishi. Earl also says he asked Maharishi about the promised Pandits; despite Earl's large donation for this purpose, none had been gathered together. Earl says that Maharishi told him "I don't know if it will work." In his former brainwashed state, Earl was shocked that his Guru had been recruiting for a cause that he was not sure would work. Earl, his twin brother David, and their wives then left the Movement.

In late October 2006, shortly after Howard Settle granted $600 per person monthly scholarship to hire pandits, up to one million dollars monthly, an initial group of Pandits arrived from India.  The Movement announced "A permanent group of 1,000 Maharishi Pandits has been established in America”. Photos here show TM Movement dignitaries  (note their requisite beige/gold themed suits) greeting Pandits at the airport, and chatting at the Pandits' welcome dinner.

Ostensibly, there are plans to bring enough Pandits for a permanent group creating a global Maharishi Effect of world peace, balanced economy, wealth, good weather, lush agriculture, and enlightenment for all!  
The Pandits are hired to save the world by meditating en masse.

For obscure reasons, the Movement still fails to have the requisite number of Pandits together. Looks like stalling tactics to me, to keep donations flowing.

For those with special needs and the ability to make tax deductible donations, the Organization states Pandits can customize mystical Yagya ceremonies for special purposes. Even my late-father had purchased several custom Yagyas for himself.

Lacking foresight, when the first Pandits arrived to Iowa in autumn of 2006, they lacked proper clothing for Iowa’s subzero winters. Local meditators in Fairfield and Vedic City created a coat drive to garner winter wear so these thin Indian men could survive their first subzero winter. Many Pandits had arrived from India to the United States with only simple kurtas and shawls.

One year after their arrival, Maharishi approved the provision of winter coats in October 2007, for the Pandits. Separate fundraising efforts were conducted to purchase these coats, 

Interestingly, Vedic City has an identity crisis about their Pandits.

Official Vedic City maps, provided by The Raj Spa's receptionist, do not identify the location of this fenced, guarded compound. Still, it’s easy enough to find. Just drive north in front of The Raj along Jasmine Ave., turn left, west, at 170th street at toward their touted luxury Rukmapura Park Hotel. The fenced Pandit compound is almost directly across 170th street from the hotel’s gravel driveway, conveniently outside the   official grid of Vedic City's Master Plan, at the intersection of 170th Street and  “Invincible America Ave.” 

While not listed among Vedic City's attractions, a small image of meditating Pandits appears in the upper banner of Vedic City’s website.

Vedic City wants tax benefits for the Pandits, according to a February 2011 story from Iowa’s Heartland Connection, channel 3 KTVO posted on February 17th "Can Census Make 1000 Iowans Disappear? ” 

Vedic City officials claim the US Census miscounted their residents, neglecting to include over one thousand residents of the pandit compound at 1675 Invincible America Drive. According to the 2001 Boundary and Annexation Survey file, the Pandit compound lies within Vedic City's boundaries.
  
Are the Pandits actually Iowans as claimed by KTVO news? Are they legal residents of Vedic City, Iowa and the USA? Are they guests, or students? Only their US State Department Visas know for sure. 

As expected by anyone familiar with the TM Movement, Vedic City claims or disavows the Pandit presence according to what is most advantageous at any given moment. 

“Funnily enough” (one of Maharishi’s phrases), 2010 tax returns for only one fundraising arm for the pandit and yagya donations can be viewed here - 2010 Exempt Organization Tax Return "Brahmananda Saraswati Foundation". And an overview of the financial status of Maharishi's Global Country of World Peace can be viewed here.

Transcendental Meditation Organizations keep separate legal and financial structures. Readers can glean a glimmer of this global organization by clicking on a few links and drop down menus on this site for Maharishi's Global Country or here for Peace Initiative Projects.

On a human note - One wonders if the fenced Pandits know their rights as foreign nationals within the United States. Human rights agencies queried in Chicago and elsewhere require a complaint filed by one of the Pandits themselves to initiate an investigation about unlawful restraint, confinement, or anything else. 

How would an imprisoned person, with neither English language fluency nor outside access, inquire for assistance or file a complaint?

Transcendental Meditation Wants YOUR Money for Religious Rituals

File this in your "Yes, We Are No Religion" folder, Episode IX—The Guru Strikes Out.

The TM Org is selling special Maharishi Yagya® performances "for the nation."

And they have a special deal for you in March! Just $1,250 to $100,000 each, while supplies last.

If you're not familiar with yagyas, known as yajñas in non-copyrighted Sanskrit, they are Hindu rituals to various gods that involve chanting mantras or verses from the Vedas as Hindu priests pour offerings into a sacrificial fire.

Examples include yagyas to Ganesh, to promote prosperity and removal of obstacles, to Lakshmi, for all forms of spiritual and material progress, and to Shiva, for health and immortality (invincibility), among others.

The TM Org has been selling yagyas, which one can have performed at any local Hindu temple, since at least 1997. For more information, here's my critical article on TM yagyas and here's what the TM Org chooses to reveal.

The Indian branch of the TM Org, led by the Maharishi's lifetime celibate nephew, Brahmchari Girish Verma, offers a little more detail.

(Take a second look at the picture. Doesn't Girish look exactly like the Maharishi? Here's hoping ruthless money-grubbing doesn't run in the Varma gene pool.)

The Indian movement is reported to be splitting with the TM Org based in Europe—taking the Maharishi family fortune with him. This may be triggering the panic the TM Org appears to be in to raise funds.

Here are relevant quotations from TM Admin:

Dear Friends,

Starting on the Day of Lasting Achievements (27th April, 2009) a series of Maharishi Yagya® performances began in India, requested by responsible citizens who have come forward to sponsor Maharishi Yagya performances for their nation. If you wish your country to be included in the Maharishi Yagya performances for the nation, you are invited to contribute to the new set of performances:

From 3rd March to 13th March 2010

.... Every contribution towards the Maharishi Yagya performances for nations is welcome. If your contribution meets a minimum level of $1250.00, your name will be included in the Sankalpa of the Maharishi Yagya performance....

Jai Guru Dev

©2010 Maharishi Vedic Foundation. All rights reserved.
® Maharishi Yagya is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and Maharishi Jyotish and Maharishi Vedic are unregistered marks. All are used in the U.S. under license or with permission.

Following the link to the application form, one finds a very general discussion of the purposes of these "national" yagyas—with specific donation amounts suggested.

 $100,000  $50,000  $25,000  $10,000  $5,000  $2,500  $1,250  _______ Other (minimum $50.)

1) Promoting coherence in the national consciousness of the nation
2) Promoting affluence for the nation
3) Promoting invincibility for the nation
4) Radiating harmony and nourishing influences from the nation to every other nation in the world
5) Promoting peace and harmony in the nation
6) Helping to eliminate negativity and disharmony in the nation
7) Promoting Heaven on Earth in the nation
8) Promoting peace and prosperity in the nation
9) Helping to establish Consciousness-Based EducationSM in the nation
10) Promoting an ideal system of health in the nation
11) Promoting Maharishi Vedic Organic AgricultureSM in the nation
12) Promoting buildings according to Maharishi Vedic ArchitectureSM in the nation
13) Helping to create a fulfilling economy for the nation
14) Promoting an ideal system of defense for protecting the nation
15) Promoting total knowledge based science and technology for the nation
16) Promoting a frictionless communication system in the nation
17) Promoting an ideal system of administration in the nation
18) Helping to create religious harmony and cultural integrity in the nation
19) Promoting law and order in the nation
20) Promoting an ideal system of finance and planning in the nation
21) Promoting perfect health, fulfilling wealth and infinite wisdom for all people of the nation
22) Helping to fulfill Maharishi’s desires for the nation
23) To promote spiritual progress for your nation
24) Helping to bring the people of your nation in tune with Natural Law (Dharma)

If your contribution is $50,000 or more, you may formulate your own Maharishi Yagya purpose according to your desire. Please contact the Maharishi Jyotish and Maharishi Yagya programs office for details.

Money talks. Bullshit walks.

J.

Critiquing Transcendental Meditation's "scientific research"

Question: How valid is TM's scientific research?
Answer: Not very.

A Brief Overview of TM Research:
According to the Transcendental Meditation organization (TMO), "...More than 600 scientific studies have been conducted at more than 250 universities and research institutes in 33 countries. These studies have been published in over 100 leading scientific journals worldwide, and they objectively document the profound physiological, psychological, and sociological benefits of Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Programme in every area of life...." (1)

What the TM organization does not publicize, however, is:
(1) that a high percentage of these studies are suspect. The research is specifically designed so that TM will come out looking good. (See http://trancenet.net/research/index.shtml

In addition, the quote above from the TMO website does not mention that:

(2) a lot of the research is done by TMers or funded by TMers, and is therefore inherently biased; and
(3) when non-TM scientists do research, they compare various types of meditations, and the results have been that each meditation has its own strengths and weaknesses. TM does not stand out as best. These studies are ignored by the TMO. For information, google "Google -- Scholar" and type in something like "comparision meditation techniques research results." Also, see http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/expressnews_template/article.cfm?id=8572and
(4) Research has shown that TM can sometimes be harmful. These studies are never quoted by the TMO. (See http://minet.org/research.html.)

So where do we come in?
While most TMFree readers are not professional researchers, I think we can contribute something useful to the research, specifically to the bias problem mentioned in item (1) above. Critics of the research papers have done a good job in critiquing what has been published. But what if something questionable was done that was not reported in the final paper?

So that's where we come in.

Many of us have "insider" experiences with the TMO. During our time in the TMO, we may have accidentally stumbled upon a small piece of the research that was unscientific. So I invite readers to search their memories. Do you recall incidents which at the time seemed simply quirky or isolated, but in retrospect, were examples of a violation of the scientific method? You may have to think outside the box or reframe the incident to see how it is related to the scientific method. You may have to consider not what was done, but what was not done; not what you saw, but what you didn't see....

Our stories will only be anecdotes, and anecdotal evidence is not scientific proof. However, these anecdotes provide glimpses which may inspire researchers to dig deeper into questionable practices.

So, to get the ball rolling, I will share my own memories that relate to the biased quality of TM research. In addition, I will relate a few anecdotes from old TMFree posts and comments. Unfortunately I have neither the time nor the inclination to dig up all the original posts and comments, so I apologize in advance for any errors in my memory or interpretation.

So here goes. To reiterate, the question for the day is:

Did you ever personally see evidence of violation of the scientific method in TM studies?

1. The year was 1980, I think. I lived on the MIU campus in Fairfield, Iowa, USA. I did the TM and TM-Sidhis program in the meditation hall from 2 to 4 times a day with up to 700 other women. One day, after everyone was seated on the mattresses, the leader announced that we were all going to add something to our program. She had something like an electric meter in her hand. She spoke a phrase that went something like: "Turn back the meter." She instructed us to think this phrase in the same manner as we thought the "sutras" in our TM-Sidhis program (the technique in which the phrase we thought was supposed to manifest in the world.) We were to think the above phrase 2 or 4 times (I can't remember which), after we finished TM but before we started the TM-Sidhis. She didn't tell us who had ordered this change, or who had designed it, or why we were doing it. The only additional thing she said was, "Do not say a word about this to anybody!"

We did this practice for about a week, and then we were told to stop doing it. We weren't told why we were now stopping. We were reminded, "Do not mention this to anyone!" And we never heard another word about it.

What was this all about?

Today, I believe we were guinea pigs in an experiment to prove that the TM-Sidhis actually produced effects in the physical world. (An illegal experiment, I might add, since we had not volunteered, and we had not been warned about possible harmful effects.) If 700 sidhas had actually succeeded in causing the meter's hand to move even a millimeter, I think they would have published that. I think we failed to produce the result they wanted, so the experiment was scrapped, we were warned against spilling the secret, and the failure was never reported.

2. A few years ago, one of our TMFree regulars (possibly Sudarsha) wrote that he once saw Maharishi sit with someone and review a line graph illustrating the results of a study showing the benefits of TM. Maharishi asked, "Couldn't you draw the line 'this' way instead of 'that' way, in order to make the results look better?" The other person agreed to make the change.

3. About a year ago, one of our readers shared that she had chatted with a researcher at MIU who was studying the "Maharishi Effect." (The ME states that when a certain percentage of the population practices TM, quality of life improves, as shown by crime statistics, pollution, unemployment rate, etc.) The research compared cities that had comparable demographics but a different percentage of TMers. The researcher told her, "In some cases, the city with the higher percentage of TMers did not show an improved quality of life. So we deleted those groups of cities from our final study."

4. A few months ago, contributor Gina wrote that when TM researchers in Fairfield were studying TMers to prove TM's benefits, they first eliminated "heavy unstressers" from their sample.

5. An old TMFree post is a reprint of a public letter from Earl Kaplan, a TMer who together with his brother David had donated over $100 million dollars (U.S.) to the TMO. He writes that "Mahesh for years had been raising hundreds of millions of dollars for his world peace groups...." (World peace groups were the gatherings of thousands of pundits to one location to chant together, thus assuring world peace forever.) According to Earl's letter, Earl said to Maharishi, "Maharishi, since you have the money and supposedly you have enough pundits, why don't you create a 10,000 group in India and the world will experience peace?..." (Several years previously, his brother David had obtained U.S. governmental approval to bring one or two thousand pundits to the USA. before this could happen, he got word that Maharishi had changed his mind and felt it was not a good time to send them.) Mahesh looked at Earl like he was crazy and said, "Earl, if we created the group then we don't know if it would create world peace or not. We would have to have the group and then see what the effect it has." Earl and David have since left the TMO.

Aside from the contempt and deceit Maharishi exhibited, I believe Maharishi was also saying that he did not want an experiment to be performed if the results would not make TM look good, i.e. if the results disproved the "Maharishi Effect."

OK, those are my offerings. Anyone else have memories about TMO's corruption of the scientific method in TM studies?

Footnotes:
(1) www.globalgoodnews.com/research.html