Still "not a religion:" Video of puja, the religious ritual central to TM initiation

A video of a group performance of the puja, a central part of TM initiation, is now available as a Google Video. This video, recorded from the TM movement's Maharishi Channel, shows Maharishi Mahesh Yogi leading the ritual in January 2006, with a group of "rajas" of the organization's "Global Government." Each of these "rajas" had generally paid one million dollars each to dress in white robes, wear golden crowns, and at the time this video was recorded, were occasionally physically present with the movement's founder during the last years of his life.

What you'll see in this video differs from TM initiation in that initiations are done in private, with the prospective meditator standing with the initiator performing the ritual. The initiate would have contributed to this ritual by bringing fresh fruit, flowers and a hankerchief beforehand; they would, of course, need to be present for this ritual, and would be encouraged to kneel at the end (which occurs in the video at about 9:40 when all participants bow while seated).

Other elements that can be seen in this video are the same as what an initiate can expect to see before being instructed in the practice of Transcendental Meditation, particularly the puja set and picture seen in front of each participant, the use of incense, flame, water and flowers, the motions of offering various items "to the lotus feet of Shri Guru Dev," and of course the "Holy Tradition," sung in Sanskrit.

The puja and its translation have long been freely available online. To follow along, visit the "TM 'Holy Tradition'" page at Trancenet. For a discussion of the religious meaning of the puja, alternate translations, and an exploration of its source in commonly available scraps of Sanskrit poetry, see "Whose puja is it, anyway?" also at Trancenet. Also check out TMFB contributor Laurie's four part series here, Revisiting TM Initiation.

Revisiting TM Initiation, Part 4: Bowing Down

(Note: This essay is fourth in a series. See also Revisiting TM Initiation, Part 1, posted 11/11/2008, Revisiting TM Initiation, Part 2: The Puja ("Traditional Ceremony of Gratitude"), posted 11/20/2008, and Revisiting TM Initiation, Part 3: The Mantra, posted 12/5/2008.)


There is a knock at the door of the initiation room. The initiator opens the door and welcomes in the initiate, who is carrying his basket of fruit, flowers, handkerchief and initiation form. The initiator takes the basket, and both sit down.

Fantasy Initiation #4

Question from initiate: May I ask you a few questions about all this before we begin?

Answer from initiator: Okay.

Q: I've heard that at the end of this traditional non-religious ceremony of gratitude, you bow down to the floor in front of the painting of Maharishi's teacher. Is that so?

A: We don't bow down. We kneel.

Q: OK, whatever you call it, isn't that a problem for you?

A: No. Why should it be?

Q: Well, I understand that you're Jewish.

A: Yes, I am, but so what?

Q: Well, isn't it against your religion to bow down -

A: We don't bow down. We kneel.

Q: - to kneel before anyone other than God?

A: Oh. I see what you're getting at. Over 600 published scientific research studies prove that Transcendental Meditation benefits an individual in every area of life. To preserve this precious teaching, the teacher teaches it exactly as given. The nonreligious ceremony of gratitude, which has been passed down for centuries, is the traditional way to remind the teachers of their responsibility to preserve the purity of the teaching, so that the student gets maximum benefits. That traditional ceremony includes certain age-old words, objects, and gestures, and it includes kneeling at the end. For maximum benefits for the student, the teacher promises not to deviate from the correct way to teach it.

Q: That's very nice. But couldn't Maharishi make an exception, for people whose religion prohibits them from bowing down -

A: We don't bow down. We kneel.

Q: - from kneeling before anyone other than God?

A: Oh no. Maharishi said that if he made an exception for one group, other people would say that he should make an exception for their group too, and before you know it, the purity of the teaching is lost.

Q: Well, that's reasonable. But you still haven't answered my original question.

A: Which was what?

Q: Don't you feel you're going against the precepts of your own religion by bowing down-

A: By kneeling.

Q: - by kneeling before someone other than God?

A: No. Maharishi explained that it is not a violation of my religion to kneel before a picture of Guru Dev.

Q: Oh. That's nice. I didn't realize that Maharishi was an expert on Judaism.

A: Well, he pointed out that religious people kneel all the time in front of things that are not God.

Q: They do?

A: Yes. They kneel in front of closets and cars.

Q: What?

A: He pointed out that even the most religious people kneel in front of their closets to tie their shoelaces, and in front of their cars to change a tire.

Q: But isn't that totally different? I mean, you're not worshipping the closet or the car.

Q: Well, Maharishi explained that kneeling at the end of the non-religious traditional ceremony of gratitude is just a procedure. Bowing down would be worship, but kneeling is just a physical procedure, just like kneeling in front of a car. So there's no conflict with any religion.

Q: Doesn't Maharishi's answer strike you as a little disingenuous?

A: No.

Q: Oh. Well, does this mean that you're going to have to give up teaching TM when you get older?

A: Of course not. Why would it?

Q: Suppose your joints get too stiff to bow dow- to kneel.

A: Oh, I see what you're getting at. No, I wouldn't have to give up teaching TM when I get old. One woman on our TM Teacher Training Course said she couldn't kneel due to arthritis. She said that if she got down, she wouldn't be able to get up again! The instructor told her that was OK, she wouldn't be required to kneel.

Q: But you just told me that Maharishi said he couldn't start making exceptions, or before you knew it the purity of the teaching would be lost. Well, here he's making an exception for people with arthritis. How do you explain that?

A: I don't know.

Q: Could it be a matter of intent? The person with arthritis wanted to bow dow- wanted to kneel but wasn't able to, while the religious person was able to kneel but refused.

A: I don't know.

Q: Or could it be a matter of obedience? The person with arthritis wanted to obey Maharishi but wasn't able to, while the religious person was able to obey Maharishi but wouldn't?

A: I don't know.

Q: Don't you think you're a little bit lacking in healthy curiosity?

A: No.

Q: Could it be about the relationship with Guru Dev? The arthritic woman wanted to worship Guru Dev but wasn't able to, while the religious person was able to worship Guru Dev but wouldn't?

Q: We don't worship Guru Dev. That would be against my religion, and Maharishi says that TM doesn't conflict with any religion. TM is a simple, natural, nonreligious, scientific technique.

Q: So that's that? The woman with arthritis isn't required to kneel?

A: Right. But they did tell her to make a comparable gesture at that point.

Q: Oh! What gesture did they tell her to make?

A: No, no. They didn't show her a comparable gesture to make. They told her, "Make a comparable gesture."

Q: You mean she made up the gesture herself?

A: Yes.

Q: Did she run it by Maharishi after she decided on one?

A: No.

Q: Well, then how could they assure the purity of the teaching if they let any old person invent part of the ceremony?

A: I don't know. I'm sure the instructors knew what they were doing.

Q: Why?

A: Well, they were chosen by Maharishi.

Q: Don't you think you're showing a slight lack of intellectual acuity here?

A: Of course not. Over six hundred published research studies prove that TM improves all areas of life, including intelligence.

Q: But how could this woman know what gesture of her own choosing might be comparable to kneeling if the only rationale for the kneeling was "it's just a physical procedure" and "that's the way it's always been done"?

A: Oh, wait. I just remembered another reason for kneeling. Maharishi said, "We kneel so that we should not fall."

Q: Oh. Did he say that if you didn't feel in danger of falling, then you didn't have to kneel?

A: No.

Q: Did you ever feel you were in danger of falling?

A: No.

Q: Do you think maybe you were doing the ceremony improperly?

A: Certainly not.

Q: I mean, if you had done it properly, perhaps then you would have felt like you were in danger of falling.

A: No, I do the ceremony properly. Every word, every gesture has been passed down for centuries, and they didn't let us graduate until we could do it all properly.

Q: Then if you were doing it properly, why didn't you feel like you were going to fall?

A: I don't know.

Q: Do you think Maharishi was perhaps saying what was expedient?

A: No. He wouldn't lie.

Q: Did you know that you don't recognize weakness in logic when you hear it?

A: I don't think that's true.

Q: Oh well. Let's get back to that woman who was told to "make a comparable gesture" to keep from falling. What would be a comparable gesture?

A: I don't know. I've never thought about it. I don't have arthritis.

Q: Hmm, do you think she could have pushed a few chairs together, and at that point she could lie down on the chairs?

A: Of course not. That's ridiculous.

Q: Maybe at that point in the ceremony, she could grab onto the furniture to keep from falling.

A: I really think you're making a joke out of this.

Q: I am not.

A: Lying on chairs, grabbing onto furniture. That's no way to show reverence.

A: But there's no need to show reverence. Isn't this simply about keeping from falling?

A: Of course it's about reverence. Part of the translation of the traditional non-religious ceremony of gratitude goes like this:

"White as camphor, kindness incarnate, the essence of creation garlanded with Brahman, ever dwelling in the lotus of my heart, the creative impulse of cosmic life, to That, in the form of Guru Dev, I bow down."

Q: Don't you mean "I kneel"?

A: No. This is the translation. "Guru in the glory of Brahma, Guru in the glory of Vishnu, Guru in the glory of the great Lord Shiva, Guru in the glory of the personified transcendental fullness of Brahman, to Him, to Shri Guru Dev adorned with glory, I bow down.

The Unbounded, like the endless canopy of the sky, the omnipresent in all creation, by whom the sign of That has been revealed, to Him, to Shri Guru Dev, I bow down.

Guru Dev, Shri Brahmananda, bliss of the Absolute, transcendental joy, the Self-Sufficient, the embodiment of pure knowledge which is beyond and above the universe like the sky, the aim of "Thou art That" and other such expressions which unfold eternal truth, the One, the Eternal, the Pure, the Immoveable, the Witness of all intellects, whose status transcends thought, the Transcendent along with the three gunas, the true preceptor, to Shri Guru Dev, I bow down.

The blinding darkness of ignorance has been removed by applying the balm of knowledge. The eye of knowledge has been opened by Him and therefore, to Him, to Shri Guru Dev, I bow down. Offering a handful of flowers to the lotus feet of Shri Guru Dev, I bow down."

Oops. I don't think I was supposed to tell you the translation.

Q: Why not?

A: Er, because you might misunderstand it.

Q: What might I misunderstand?

A: Well, there's the possibility you might think TM is religious in nature.

Q: Oh, come on. How could I possibly think anything else after hearing that translation?

A: See? You did misunderstand. TM is just a simple natural non-religious scientific technique. Or you -

Q: Did you notice that any time I ask you a potentially embarrassing question, instead of thinking it through, you answer by quoting Maharishi like you're a broken record?

A: I don't do that. - Or you might misunderstand and think we worship Guru Dev.

Q: How could I possibly think anything else after hearing that translation?

A: You see? You misunderstood that too. The traditional non-religious ceremony of gratitude is just a procedure. It's not a worshipping of Guru Dev.

Q: Then why did you keep saying, "I bow down"?

A: That's just the translation. Oh, I just remembered another reason why we kneel. At one lecture, Maharishi explained, "When I was designing the ceremony, when I came to the final line, I was so overcome with emotion that there wasn't anything I could possibly think of doing at that point except kneel."

Q: What?! Do you know how many times in the last five minutes you've insisted that this ceremony is ancient?

A: I'm sure Maharishi didn't mean that the way it sounds.

Q: Oh. What do you think he meant, then?

A: I'm sure it's an ancient ceremony. Maharishi wouldn't lie.

Q: I'm sure he wouldn't. When was it written?

A: I don't know.

Q: Who wrote it?

A: I don't know.

Q: What were the author's qualifications?

A: I don't know.

Q: What happens if you teach TM without doing the ceremony?

A: I don't know.

Q: What happens if you do the ceremony without kneeling at the end?

A: I don't know. I'm sorry. We didn't learn any of that on the course.

Q: Didn't you ever have any doubts, or try to find out?

A: No.

Q: Despite all Maharishi's contradictions?

A: Maharishi doesn't contradict himself. He teaches a simple, natural, non-religious scientific technique.

Q: You don't think he shades the truth?

A: Of course not.

Q: Don't you think he discourages you from questioning his word?

A: No.

Q: Don't you think you have an impaired capacity for logical thinking?

A: Of course I don't.

Q: Have you noticed that you often contradict yourself?

A: I don't. This is a scientific technique, backed up by science.

Q: Did you notice that you lie to your students?

A: I wouldn't do that!

Q Did you know that you lie to yourself and aren't even aware of it?

A: I really can't agree. I don't do any of those things. Over six hundred published research studies prove that TM benefits an individual in all areas of life. Well, any more questions? No? Alright then, shall we begin? I said, shall we begin? Excuse me? Sir? Shall we begin?

- end -

(Note: The author attended TM Teacher Training in La Antilla, Spain in 1974. What she learned there informs this article. People who attended other courses may have learned different things.)

Revisiting TM Initiation, Part 1

(Note: This is a four-part series. Revisiting TM Initiation, Part 2: The Puja ("Traditional Ceremony of Gratitude") was posted on November 20, 2008. Revisiting TM Initiation, Part 3: The Mantra was posted on December 5, 2008. Revisiting TM Initiation, Part 4: Bowing Down was published on January 1, 2009.)

Since leaving the TM movement 27 years ago, I have been impressed with how tenaciously my mind has held onto illogical TM beliefs, even though I have researched mind control, studied the dishonesty in the TM movement, been exit counseled, learned about suggestibility, etc.

I used to think that my indoctrination occurred on my five-month Teacher Training Course, where I meditated up to 12 times a day, leading to a state of heightened suggestibility. Later, I decided that the indoctrination came earlier, at a one-month course I had taken the previous year, where I meditated up to 6 times a day.

Now I realize that TM mind control started even earlier. I see now that some of the groundwork was already set in place by the day of "initiation" (personal instruction). I don't mean the specific beliefs were in place, like "Don't eat meat - it's bad for your spiritual evolution," but a basic mindset necessary for further indoctrination into the TM world view was already in place. These never-explicitly articulated, yet understood ground rules included: Don't ask awkward questions. Obey. Don't rock the boat. Overlook inconsistencies. Collude. Don't embarrass the teacher. Believe everything Maharishi says.

I did see people showing independent thought and asking difficult questions at the Introductory Lecture and the Preparatory Lecture. But by the time of initiation, I was already a lot more sheep-like. And the other people who learned TM the same day as me seemed to be, too. I mean, I don't recall hearing any pointed questions in the three days of follow-up.

So let's go back in time to the "Initiation." Fortunately for me and for you, the reader, I can tell you almost exactly what happened in your and my initiation room, even though it happened to me 37 years ago, because the initiators had to learn the initiation verbatim. My thanks to the website minet.org/steps.html. for writing up the initiation word-for-word.

In the waiting room, the assistant asks the initiate (student) to remove his/her shoes, and then, to carry the basket containing the fruit, flowers, handkerchief and initiation form, and to follow the assistant to the initiation room. The assistant knocks, the initiator welcomes the initiate in, the assistant departs, and the initiator closes the door.

The initiator offers the initiate one of two chairs and both sit down in front of an altar, set with a painting of Guru Dev on a raised dais, a brass tray, brass water holders with water, incense holder with incense, candlestick with candle, etc. The initiator takes the basket from the initiate and looks at the initiation form again.

Here is what the initiator has been memorized to now say, verbatim: "In this personal instruction, you will receive a mantra, or sound, and then the procedure how to use it properly. Once you know the mantra, or sound, by tradition, we keep it to ourself. Also, the actual procedure of meditation that you receive is to be kept private. For maximum results, all that we learn in private, we keep private. Do you agree? (Initiate agrees.)

Now, please come, stand here, (both stand) you would like to have a flower? (hands initiate a flower) and witness the ceremony which I perform in gratitude to the tradition of Masters who have given us this wisdom of integration of life. This is a picture of Guru Dev, His Divinity Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, Maharishi's Master, from whom we have this meditation. Now I'll begin -- and you just witness." (Initiator performs ceremony and then instructs initiate in how to do Transcendental Meditation.)

It is my opinion that in these twelve minutes, from taking off their shoes in the waiting room to hearing their mantra for the first time, the initiate has systematically relinquished more and more independent thinking and has fallen into the TM mindset. Let me explain why I believe that.

Let's return to the moment when the initiate and the initiator sit down in front of the altar. Let's slow down the initiation to a snail's pace, so that the initiate can maintain his/her ability to think independently and capacity to process inconsistencies. Let's see what questions the initiate might have asked if he/she were not already falling under the pressure to not ask awkward questions, to obey, to not rock the boat, to overlook inconsistencies, to collude, to not embarrass the initiator, and to believe everything Maharishi says.

My Fantasy Initiation:

Question from initiate: Is it okay if I ask you a few questions while I'm learning?

Answer from initiator: Sure.

(Stop the film! I would like to point out that, on Teacher Training, we were NOT taught to answer questions honestly. What we were taught to do was to give the answer that Maharishi wanted us to give. Thus, whenever I as a TM teacher was asked a question, I had four possible options:

1) If Maharishi had so instructed, answer truthfully.
2) If Maharishi had so instructed, answer with a prepared lie.
3) If Maharishi said to keep it a secret, find a way to hedge.
4) If Maharishi never told us what to say regarding a certain question, try to figure out what I think Maharishi would have wanted me to say - using the three choices above as guidelines - and say that.)

Start rolling the film again. Let's see what an initiation might look like if the initiate continues to use their critical thinking and does not fall under the TM unspoken ground rules. It is astonishing how many opportunities for slippage into unclear thinking exist in just 126 words.

Question from initiate: Is it okay if I ask you a few questions while I'm learning?

Answer from initiator: Sure.

Q: Why was I told to take off my shoes?

A: Um....It's part of the traditional ceremony of gratitude.

Q: Why do you take off your own shoes?

A: Same reason.

Q: But why did the assistant take off her shoes? She's not in the ceremony.

A: Um...tradition.

Q: You said I wouldn't participate in the ceremony, only watch it. Now you're asking me to take off my shoes. That makes me part of the ceremony.

A: Well, it's to show respect.

Q: I respect a lot of things, but I don't take off my shoes for them.

A: Well, it's the traditional way.

Q: Why was I instructed to bring fruit, flowers and a white handkerchief?

A: For the traditional ceremony of gratitude.

Q: But why those particular items?

A: Um...tradition.

Q: Why the fruit?

A: Well, it's symbolic.

Q: Fruit and flowers I can understand. But why a handkerchief?

A: Um...well originally it was a white cloth.

Q: But why?

A: Um....It's traditional. I'm sure you'll like the ceremony.

Q: But why are you doing a traditional Indian ceremony? We're Americans.

A: Um....Maharishi's request. For the teacher to remember to preserve the teaching in its purity.

Q: Then why not do it alone? Why do I have to be present?

A: Um....

Q: Is it in English?

A: No, it's in Sanskrit.

Q: Do you understand Sanskrit?

A: Just a little. I understand the translation of the ceremony.

Q: Will you translate it into English for me?

A: No.

Q: Why not?

A: Um....

Q: How do you know I'd be comfortable with its sentiments if you won't translate it?

A: Um...It's just a ceremony of gratitude.

Q: Then why won't you translate it for me?

A: Um....

Q: Will you explain the ceremony to me?

A: No.

Q: Why not?

A: Um....

Q: Well, that's all the questions I have for now. I'm ready to proceed.

Initiator: "In this personal instruction, you will receive a mantra or sound --"

Q: How do you choose the mantra?

A: Um...Well, by the individual's characteristics. We were carefully trained.

Q: What characteristics do you look at?

A: Um....

Q: Are you allowed to tell me how you choose the mantras?

A: No.

Q: Why not?

A: Um....to keep the purity of the teaching. So only people properly trained will teach.

Q: How many mantras do you choose from?

A: Um...a handful.

Q: How many?

A: Um....

Q: Are you not supposed to say?

A: That's right.

Q: Why not?

A: Um....

Q: I'm through with questions for now. Please go ahead.

Initiator: "In this personal instruction, you will receive a mantra, or sound, and then the procedure how to use it properly.
Once you know the mantra, or sound, by tradition we keep it to ourself --"

Q: Why?

A: To go inward.

Q: But you said it's the natural tendency of the mind to go to the Transcendent. So my saying it out loud or not wouldn't interfere with that.

A: Um....

Q: Why do you say "we." I'm the one who's learning it, not "we."

A: It's a little more polite to say "we."

Q: Why do you say "ourself?" That's not even a word.

A: Um....

Q: I'm through with my questions for now. Please go on.

Initiator: "Also, the actual procedure of meditation that you receive is to be kept private--"

Q: Why?

A: So that it's only taught correctly, by someone thoroughly trained.

Q: Please go on.

Initiator: "For maximum results, all that we learn in private, we keep private--"

Q: Why does it bring maximum results if all that I learn in private I keep private?

A: I just explained. To make sure it's only taught by thoroughly trained teachers.

A: No, you explained that to keep the purity of the teaching, I shouldn't teach it if I'm not trained. But you didn't explain why for maximum results, all that I learn in private I should keep private. Why will keeping it private lead to maximum results?

A: Um....

Q: When you say "all that I learn in private" do you mean just the mantra and how to meditate, or do you mean the ceremony, the altar, etc.?

A: Um....

Q: I'm done with questions for now. Please go ahead.

Initiator: "Do you agree?"

Q: Do you mean, do I agree to keep this private?

A: Right.

Q: If I don't agree to keep this private, then what happens?

A: Then I can't teach you.

Q: Well, I want to learn. This seems like a great technique. OK, I agree.

Initiator: "Now, please come, stand here--"

Q: Why should I stand?

A: To witness the ceremony.

Q: I can see it fine from my chair. Can't I stay seated?

A: No.

Q: Why not?

A: Um....

Q: You said I wouldn't participate in the ceremony, just observe it.

A: Um....

Q: Well, go on.

Initiator: "You would like to have a flower?--"

Q: Why would I want a flower?

A: Maybe you'd like to hold one.

Q: What for?

A: To feel part of the ceremony.

Q: But you said I'd just watch it, not participate.

A: Okay, don't take the flower.

Q: Go on.

Initiator: "And witness the ceremony that I perform in gratitude to the tradition of Masters who have given us this wisdom of integration of life --"

Q: "Tradition of Masters"? What does that mean?

A: One person taught the next, down through history. That's why we have Transcendental Meditation today.

Q: Then why is there only one person in the painting?

A: Um....I don't know. I guess that's traditional. That's Maharishi's direct teacher.

Q: What do you mean by "integration of life"?

A: One hundred percent inner life, 100% outer life.

Q: What do you mean by 100% inner life and 100% outer life?

A: Complete unfoldment of inner potential, complete successful activity in the world.

Q: Do you have 100% inner life and 100% outer life?

A: No.

Q: Do you know anyone who does?

A: No.

Q: Then how do you know that TM produces this?

A: Um...Well, Maharishi says so.

Q: Does Maharishi have 100% inner and 100% outer life?

A: Yes.

Q: How do you know?

A: Um....well, I know. He says so....Well, he never exactly says so. But you can tell....

Q: How can you tell?

A: Um....

Q: Did he get this 100% of inner and outer life by doing TM?

A: No, he got it by being in the presence of his teacher.

Q: Please go on.

Initiator: "This is a picture of Guru Dev, His Divinity Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, Maharishi's Master, from whom we have this meditation --"

Q: Why do you call him "His Divinity?"

A: Um....

Q: Is he God?

A: No.

Q: Do you worship him as a God?

A: No.

Q: Does Maharishi think he is a God?

A: Um...I don't think so.

Q: Please go on.

Initiator: "Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, Maharishi's Master, from whom we have this meditation--"

Q: But you just said you have the TM from a tradition of Masters. Now you're saying you have the TM from Guru Dev.

A: Um....

Q: Did these Masters only teach it to one other person, so that the technique was passed down from one person in each generation to one person in the next generation?

A: Um....I don't know.

Q: Or just like Maharishi trained teachers to teach it to many people, didn't these ancient sages teach it to many people?

A: Um...I don't know.

Q: How do you know these ancient teachers taught TM?

A: Um...well, it's part of the tradition.

Q: India is a country that has been in a lot of trouble for centuries. Are you saying that TM has been taught for centuries and yet India is such a mess?

A: Well, there were times when the purity of the teaching was lost. Guru Dev revived it and passed it on to Maharishi.

Q: So then there isn't really a "tradition of Masters." You're saying there were breaks in the teaching.

A: Um...yes.

Q: Never mind, go on with the lesson.

Initiator: "Now, I'll begin and you just witness."

Initiator begins to do ceremony, singing in Sanskrit and waving the fruit, flowers, water, candle, etc. around.

Q: Why are you holding that flower in that odd position?

A: Um....

Q: Why are you dipping the flower in the water?

A: Um...it's the traditional way to give gratitude.

Q: Why are you shaking the flower over your head?

A: It's traditional in India. It's different from the way we do things in America.

Q: Who devised this ceremony?

A: Um....

Q: How long ago was it invented?

A: I don't know.

Q: Why are you putting objects on the tray?

A: Um...Traditional way to give thanks.

Q: Are they gifts to Guru Dev?

A: Um, metaphorically, I guess.

Q: It's only a painting. The painting doesn't have any use for flowers and fruit.

A: Well, that's true.

Q: Why is the painting on a dais, higher than everything else?

A: I guess to honor him.

Q: What's in that bowl?

A: Sandalwood paste.

Q: What's sandalwood paste?

A: I'm not sure. I think it's ground up wood from the sandalwood tree.

Q: What's it for?

A: I think in India, people put it on their foreheads.

Q: Why?

A: I don't know.

Q: What's that stuff there?

A: That's camphor.

Q: What's camphor?

A: I don't know.

Q: What's it good for?

A: I don't know.

Q: What's that stuff?

A: Those are rice grains.

Q: Why are you placing them in front of the picture?

A: Traditional ceremony of gratitude.

Q: I can understand what a flesh-and-blood teacher could do with fruit or flowers. But what's he going to do with a few grains of rice?

A: I don't know.

Q: Why are you waving the candle and incense in circles in front of him?

A: Um....

Q: Now you're holding the flowers in your hands in a prayer position. Are you praying to Guru Dev?

A: No.

Q: Then what are you doing?

A: Um....

Q: Why are you kneeling?

A: It's the traditional ceremony of gratitude.

Q: Are you worshiping Guru Dev?

A: No.

Q: It looks like you're worshiping his picture.

A: No, I'm not.

Q: The Ten Commandments said "Thou shalt have no other Gods before me. Thou shalt not make graven images of God." I think this ceremony conflicts with my religion.

A: No, it doesn't.

Q: You said in the introductory lecture that TM doesn't conflict with my religion.

A: It doesn't.

Q: You don't even know what my religion is; so how can you know if it conflicts with my religion or not?

A: Um...TM is just a simple, natural non-religious technique.

Q: You said TM isn't a religion, but you're certainly kneeling in front of that painting like it's a religion.

A: Um....

Q: You gestured for me to kneel.

A: Um....

Q: I can't kneel before a graven image.

A: Okay, then stay standing.

Q: You told me that I would not participate in the ceremony, that I'd just witness it. But you just gestured for me to kneel.

A: Um....

----

End of article.

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?

Photos of Maharishi Tower of Invincibility

Photo of the tower itself and one of the pundits who performed a yagya there.

J.

Guru-Tender

First Truly International Currency?
Articles about the Raam - the official currency of Maharishi's Global Country of World Peace.

"Dutch Give Nod to Guru Currency" BBC News, April 2003

Online Essay about the Raam, by udayms, 24th Mar, 2007

"The Raam Development Currency" Appropriate Economics, undated, anonymous author

Discussion of the Raam, The Edge; Environmental News from the Brink, November 2002

"Raam" by Answers.com

THINK FREE: 02/18/07

THINK FREE is a regular feature of TM-Free Blog. It features a summary of news about TM and other orgs labeled "cults" by critics.

• TM Re-Certified Teacher Frank Lotz's Mahashivaratri Celebration Google Video [Yes, We Are Still No Religion!]
  
• IRS & FBI Charge Individuals Over Cult-Like Investment Scheme Law Fuel [Making Money the Old-Fashioned Way]
  
• J. Lo Believes 400 Women Victims of Grisly Cult in Juarez Sunday Mirror
  

Have a hot tip? See something we missed? Email jmknapp53@gmail.com.

Yes, we are no religion

[the line breaks didn't translate from the original, so I have broken the speech up as I saw fit, but no words or punctuation has been altered. /s]

from: Yahoo Group Transcendental_Meditation

Maharishi Worships Mahasarasvati
[Yes, We Are No Religiion!]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maharishi after the Puja to Mahasarasvati
on Vasant Panchami Day, 23 January 2007

Jai Guru Dev.

Having done Puja to Guru Dev today on this Vasant Panchami Day, the day of Mahasarasvati; having worshipped Mahasarasvati today, we are resolving with the grace of Guru Dev to have our world family of 192 countries be blessed by all the Devatas.

5 Vedas, and each has sponsored 5 Devatas. And the protection of all these Devatas, according to all the Vedas, has to be secured by us, who have the blessings of Guru Dev. And we feel, with his blessings, we are competent to have protection for everyone in our world family - individually and nationally.

Administration of a nation is administered by the collective consciousness of the nation. It is the collective consciousness that administers a nation. Everywhere we find - for centuries in the past - administration of any nation was not satisfactory. Now we have with the blessing of Guru Dev insight into the mechanics of administration. Government is governed by the collective consciousness.

And when we want government administration to be successful, so that everyone is living life on the top of his efficiency -- perfect health, peace, prosperity prevails in every nation -- then we have to improve the quality of collective consciousness.

We have with the grace of Guru Dev established a principle of improving collective consciousness of every nation. And that is with these Vedic Performances through the Yagyas and Yogic performances through the Yogic flyers.

That is what is our task before us.We want to offer to Guru Dev our world free from suffering - every nation in perfect health, every nation of the level of invincibility.

That is the task before us.

And we have performed Puja today on the day of Mahasarasvati; the Goddess of Wisdom, the Goddess of Total Science and Technology -- Mahasarasvati. Beautiful Puja has been performed after performing the Puja to the lotus feet of Shri Guru Dev today.

So we are setting ourselves to create all the nations -- 192 countries in the world -- to have the support from coherence, harmony, peace and happiness -- created by the groups of Vedic Flyers in as many countries as possible.

Soon and ultimately as soon as possible all the countries should have support from the Yogic Flyers and Vedic Pandits performing Yagyas, in whatever measure possible, we are going to start our operation now and from now on.

What we have found, all the main Devatas, each has so many Mantras. We are going to have Vedic Pandits allocated, many Pandits allocated, depending on the number we can engage; many Pandits allocated for each Mantra of each Devata and thereby exploring all possibilities for leaving no stone unturned for permanent peace in our family of nations.

So from today, from today, from today, we will be exploring the possibilities of starting these Yagyas with the resolution of Heyam Dukham Anagatam -- avert the danger that has not yet come.

Whatever --. is going to happen in any country, we will be performing Yagyas and creating strong influence of coherence so that the forthcoming calamities may not befall the nation. It is a beautiful task.

We bow down again and again to the lotus feet of Shri Guru Dev and now today to Mahasarasvati and pray that our efforts be successful and soon we will have a healthy, wealthy and wise national life in every country.

Jai Guru Dev.

Prime Minister-ji, a great task before us. And you will succeed with all your Ministers; you will succeed to bring this toffee to our dear Raja Nader Raam, that in his reign suffering belongs to noone -- Raam Raj dukh kahu na vyapa.

So Prime Minister, we'll start from today.

Jai Guru Dev