The Transcendental Meditation movement (TM) are programs and organizations that promote the Transcendental Meditation technique founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India in the 1950s. The organization was estimated to have 900,000 participants in 1977,Stark, Rodney and Bainbridge, William Sims (1985) University of California Press, The Future Of Religion, page 287 "Time magazine in 1975 estimated that the U.S. total had risen to 600,000 augmented by half that number elsewhere" =[900,000 world wide] "Annual Growth in TM Initiations in the U.S. [chart] Cumulative total at the End of Each Year: 1977, 919,300" a million by the 1980s, claims "more than a million" in the United States and Europe.Occhiogrosso, Peter. The Joy of Sects: A Spirited Guide to the World's Religious Traditions. New York: Doubleday (1996); p 66, citing "close to a million" in the United States.Bainbridge, William Sims (1997) Routledge, The Sociology of Religious Movements, page 189 "the million people [Americans] who had been initiated" and 5 million in more recent years.Analysis: Practice of requiring probationers to take lessons in transcendental meditation sparks religious controversy, NPR All Things Considered, 1 February 2002 | ROBERT SIEGEL "TM's five million adherents claim that it eliminates chronic health problems and reduces stress."Martin Hodgson, The Guardian (5 February 2008) "He [Maharishi] transformed his interpretations of ancient scripture into a multimillion-dollar global empire with more than 5m followers worldwide"Stephanie van den Berg, Sydney Morning Herald, Beatles guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi dies, (7 February 2008) "the TM movement, which has some five million followers worldwide"Meditation a magic bullet for high blood pressure – study, Sunday Tribune (South Africa), (27 January 2008) "More than five million people have learned the technique worldwide, including 60,000 in South Africa."Maharishi Mahesh Yogi – Transcendental Meditation founder's grand plan for peace, The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), 19 February 2006 | ARTHUR MAX Associated Press writer "transcendental meditation, a movement that claims 6 million practitioners since it was introduced." the movement claims to have five million followers,Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Spiritual Leader Dies, New York Times, By LILY KOPPEL, Published: 6 February 2008 "Since the technique's inception in 1955, the organization says, it has been used to train more than 40,000 teachers, taught more than five million people."
Programs include the Transcendental Meditation technique, an advanced meditation practice called the TM-Sidhi program ("Yogic Flying"), an alternative health care program called Maharishi Ayurveda, and a system of building and architecture called Maharishi Sthapatya Ved. The TM movement's past and present media endeavors include a publishing company (MUM Press), a television station (KSCI), a radio station (KHOE), and a satellite television channel (Maharishi Channel). Its products and services have been offered primarily through nonprofit and educational outlets, such as the Global Country of World Peace, and the David Lynch Foundation.
The TM movement also operates a worldwide network of Transcendental Meditation teaching centers, schools, universities, health centers, and herbal supplement, solar panel, and home financing companies, plus several TM-centered communities. The global organization is reported to have an estimated net worth of USD 3.5 billion.
The TM movement has been called a spiritual movement, a new religious movement,For new religious movement see:
For neo-Hindu, see: a millenarian movement, a world affirming movement,Dawson, Lorne L. (2003) Blackwell Publishing, Cults and New Religious Movements, Chapter 3: Three Types of New Religious Movement by Roy Wallis (1984), page 44-48 a new social movement,Christian Blatter, Donald McCown, Diane Reibel, Marc S. Micozzi, (2010) Springer Science+Business Media, Teaching Mindfulness, Page 47 a guru-centered movement,Olson, Carl (2007) Rutgers University Press, The Many Colors of Hinduism, page 345 a personal growth movement, and a cult. TM is practiced by people from a diverse group of religious affiliations."the TM technique does not require adherence to any belief system—there is no dogma or philosophy attached to it, and it does not demand any lifestyle changes other than the practice of it.""Its proponents say it is not a religion or a philosophy."The Guardian 28 March 2009"It's used in prisons, large corporations and schools, and it is not considered a religion." Concord Monitor
History
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi began teaching Transcendental Meditation in India in the late 1950s. The Maharishi began a series of world tours in 1958 to promote his meditation technique. The resulting publicity generated by the Maharishi, the celebrities who learned the technique and the scientific research into its effect, helped popularize the technique in the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1970s, the Maharishi introduced advanced meditative techniques and his movement grew to encompass TM programs for schools, universities and prisons. In the 1980s additional programs aimed at improved health and well-being were developed based on the Maharishi's interpretation of the Vedic traditions. By the late 2000s, TM had been taught to millions of individuals, and the Maharishi oversaw a large multinational movement which has continued since his death in 2008. The Maharishi's obituary in the New York Times credited the TM movement as being "a founding influence on what has grown into a multibillion-dollar self-help industry".
Practitioners and participants The TM movement has been described as a "global movement" that utilizes its own international policies and transports its "core members" from country to country. It does not seek to interfere with its member's involvement in their various religions.
In 2008, The New York Times, reported that TM's "public interest" had continued to grow in the 1970s" however, some practitioners were discouraged "by the organization's promotion of ....Yogic Flying." The organization was estimated to have 900,000 participants worldwide in 1977 according to new religious movement scholars Stark, Bainbridge and Sims. That year the TM movement said there were 394 TM centers in the U.S., that about half of the 8,000 trained TM teachers were still active, and that one million Americans had been taught the technique. The movement was reported to have a million participants by the 1980s, and modern day estimates range between four and ten million practitioners worldwide.Stephanie van den Berg, Sydney Morning Herald, Beatles guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi dies, (7 February 2008) "the TM movement, which has some five million followers worldwide"Meditation a magic bullet for high blood pressure – study, Sunday Tribune (South Africa), (27 January 2008) "More than five million people have learned the technique worldwide, including 60,000 in South Africa."Financial Times (2003), 5 million, ; Asian News International (2009), 4 million As of 1998, the country with the largest percentage of TM practitioners was Israel, where 50,000 people had learned the technique since its introduction in the 1960s, according members of the TM movement. In 2008, the Belfast Telegraph reported that an estimated 200,000 Britons practiced TM.
The TM movement has a flexible structure that allows varying degrees of commitment. Many are satisfied with their "independent practice of TM" and don't seek any further involvement with the organization. For many TM practitioners their meditation is "one of many New Age products that they consume." Other practitioners are "dedicated" but are also critical of the organization. Still others, are "highly devoted" and participate in "mass meditations" at Maharishi University of Management, perform administrative activities or engage in a monastic lifestyle. Likewise the organization has a "loose organisational hierarchy". Transcendental Meditators who participate in group meditations at Maharishi University of Management are referred to as "Citizens of the Age of Enlightenment". Regional leaders and "leading Transcendental Meditators" trained as TM teachers and graduates of the TM-Sidhi program are called "Governors of the Age of Enlightenment". There are also "national leaders" and "top officials" of the "World Peace Government" that are called Rajas.
Notable practitioners Notable practitioners include politicians John Hagelin and Joaquim Chissano; musicians Donovan, The Beatles, Sky Ferreira, and Mike Love; celebrities David Lynch, Clint Eastwood, Mia Farrow, Howard Stern, and Doug Henning. Practitioners who became spiritual teachers or self-help authors include Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Deepak Chopra, John Gray and Barbara De Angelis.
TM-initiated celebrities include Gwyneth Paltrow, Ellen DeGeneres, Russell Simmons, Katy Perry, Susan Sarandon, Candy Crowley, Soledad O'Brien, George Stephanopoulos, and Paul McCartney's grandchildren. As of 2013, Jerry Seinfeld had been practicing TM for over 40 years.
Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Oz dedicated an entire show to TM.
Programs
Transcendental Meditation
The Transcendental Meditation technique is a specific form of mantra meditation developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It is often referred to as Transcendental Meditation or simply, TM. The meditation practice involves the use of a mantra, and is practiced for 15–20 minutes twice per day, while sitting with closed eyes. It is reported to be one of the most widely practiced,"transcendental meditation (TM) is the most widely practiced and investigated" and among the most widely researched, meditation techniques, with hundreds of studies published. The technique is made available worldwide by certified TM teachers in a seven step courseTM Program Official web site (Australia), retrieved 2 November 2012 and fees vary from country to country.TM Course Tuition TM official web site, retrieved 30 May 2012TM fees and course details Official web site in the UK, retrieved 2 November 2012 Beginning in 1965, the Transcendental Meditation technique has been incorporated into selected schools, universities, corporations and prison programs in the United States, Latin America, Europe, and India. In 1977, the TM technique and the Science of Creative Intelligence were deemed religious activities as taught in two New Jersey public schools. Subsequently the TM technique has received some governmental support.