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Belief in brief: A section of faith facts

Transcendental Meditation

By MOLLY OBERMEIER

December 17, 2006 | 12:00 a.m. CST

The stock market has risen, unemployment rate has fallen, and this year’s hurricane season whimpered compared to the last. Chalk it up to Transcendental Meditators. Boasting 6 million practitioners, the group began their “Invincible America Assembly” on July 23 and expect nearly 2,000 followers around the world to attend the group meditation in Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa, in the coming weeks.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of Transcendental Meditation, believes when large numbers of people meditate at the same time it relaxes the world. By reaching deep into their consciousness, some of the men practice “yogic flying,” or an involuntary leap in the air while meditating, causing more brain wave activity, which, they believe, positively affects society.

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History

In 1955, Maharishi, now said to be 89, began spreading the message that the purpose of life is expanding happiness, and everyone has the ability to find it effortlessly. His simple message grew worldwide, and when Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa, closed in 1973, the campus became the site for the Maharishi International University, now the Maharishi University of Management. To date, Maharishi has trained some 40,000 teachers in addition to opening thousands of teaching institutions, according to tm.org. Transcendental Meditation’s holy Maharishi also served as a “spiritual guru” to the Beatles.

Practices

Based on an ancient Indian tradition of knowledge, Transcendental Meditation offers practitioners the ability to tap into the source of all knowledge, or the self-referral consciousness. It is believed that the program has the ability to enrich a practitioner’s life by offering insight and knowledge resulting in changes in behavior and the body. The ancient traditions are said to be gained through a seven-step program, including seminars, lectures and private lessons. The first major step to experiencing the benefits of the program, however, is to desire a better life, Maharishi told Larry King in 2002.

Sources: CNN.com; Maharishi University of Management; tm.org; Invincibleamerica.org; Beliefnet.com.

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