Talk:Transcendental Meditation/Sources

1960s

• How much does the meditation course cost? Maharishi's staff at the ashram, busy preparingfor the largest-ever influx of devotees, were reluctant to discuss charges, but a rough guide appears in one of the ashram's publications. For the construction a few years ago of a sound-proof meditation centre in the heart of London, the large sum required was raised mainly on the basis of one week's salary from each contributor. Slee, John, "Towards meditation (with the unmistakable fragrance of money)", The Age (November 4, 1967)

• Maharishi Mahesh Yogi imparted the secrets of transcendental meditation at a fee of one week's salary a course. Souter, Gavin, "Sydney 1967: Non-eternal city", Sydney Morning Herald (December 30, 1967)

• All you have to do is donate one week's salary (whether it be $100 or $1,000) to the Institutes of Transcendental Meditation, which are the guru's schools. Students have a reduced rate - a flat $35. Brothers, Joyce, "Maharishi is vague on happiness recipe", Milwaukee Journal (January 27, 1968)

1970s

• The introductory courses range in cost from $85 for a college student to $165 for a single adult and $265 for families.
  • DART, JOHN (October 29, 1977). "TM Ruled Religious, Banned in Schools". Los Angeles Times. p. 29.

• The fee for the course runs $55 for high school students, $65 for college students, $125 for adults and $200 if an entire family takes the course at the same time. Hanson, Tim, "Transcendental Meditation: Probing the world within", Spokane Spokesman-Review Sunday Magazine (December 21, 1975) p6

• Set fees are charged upon entrance: $125.00 for an adult; $45.00 for a student. A nonprofit, tax-exempt institution for education with its legal charter in California, the TM organization grosses $6 million a year in income from fees alone. Add to that the sale of publications and fees for advanced studies, and the total is even more impressive. [..] Ideally American is the idea of a single payment ($125.00/$45.00) with no regular dues ("Nobody will call").
  • The Secular Selling of a Religion by George E. La More, Jr., The Christian Century, December 10, 1975, pp. 1133-1137. [1]

1990s

• While an introduction to TM costs very little, a full basic course, including a personal mantra, costs $300 to $400. For intense enlightenment, a meditator can spend more than $10,000 in TM-Sidhi instruction, which includes a ritual chanted by a Hindu pundit in India who appeals to the gods for grace for the petitioner.
  • VEDA LAND The New Incarnation of the Maharishi REJECTION BY THE VOTERS ONLY SERVES TO MAKE THE NATURAL LAW PARTY'S APPEALS MORE URGENT, ITS PLANS MORE GRANDIOSE, ITS CLAIMS MORE STRIDENT. JACK KAPICA. The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ont.: Nov 27, 1993. pg. D.3

Bliss costs more this year. A lot more. Last summer, the Transcendental Meditation movement across the nation was charging adults $400 to learn the basic TM relaxation technique. Now, the charge is $1,000. That buys a mantra and instruction on how to use it while sitting quietly and, at best, letting stress drip away like sweat on a steamy day. TMers have billed what they hope to achieve through their mantras and techniques as "heaven on earth." The trip to heaven seems to have run out of bargain-fare seats. Even students, who were charged $155 last summer, now must pay $600. Why? "We have made the program available for the past 35 years at rates far below our expenses," said John Pronchik, a director at the Transcendental Meditation office in Center City. "To sustain our operation," he said, "we need to charge more." The adult charge was $35 in the 1960s, Pronchik said. In the mid-1970s, the mantra and instruction for adults cost $125. [..]

The 150 percent increase for adults has not been a successful approach to mass-marketing. The $1,000 charge has resulted in fewer new faces entering TM offices in this region, Pronchik said. It has become a sincerity test, he said, winnowing out those who might dabble in TM only for a while. "The course fee . . . is to help gauge the sincerity of the students," he said. "Those (entering) at this fee are not rich people, but people that value what TM really is. "So the quality of the students has improved," he said. "They take it more seriously." [..]

Among some TMers, the price increase appears to be a sensitive issue. Spokespersons at the TM national headquarters in Fairfield, Iowa, declined to comment. No one else at the national headquarters was available to comment. It took a week for a spokesman in Fairfield to arrange an interview with anyone who would speak for the record. "I think the price was raised because we hadn't raised the price in many, many years," said Shirley Boncheff, director of communications for Maharishi Vedic University in Asbury Park, who had been asked by a Fairfield spokesman to respond. Boncheff, who said she had been doing TM for 23 years, said she did not know in what year the price was last raised or what that previous increase had been. [..]

"My understanding is that there are many people out there who - more than we realized - are offering TM, because it's become generic in people's minds, as a standard for meditation. . . ." So are there TM offices around the nation offering a cut-rate fee? "If they're charging less," she said, "they're not official."

— MEDITATION PROGRAM GOES FROM 'OM' TO 'OUCH'; TURNS OUT THAT EVEN REACHING NIRVANA ISN'T IMMUNE TO INFLATION.; TO THE TUNE OF 150 PERCENT. Walter F Naedele. Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa.: Aug 30, 1994. pg. B.2

• ...Transcendental Meditation movement turned toward increased emphasis upon unusual supernatural compensators, thus increasing its tension, after recruitment of new members collapsed. Most dedicated members were teachers of the TM meditation technique, and their hopes for increased financial rewards and social status depended upon a steadily increasing flow of students. So when the students practically stopped coming, the movement grew in tension rather than in membership.
  • The Sociology of Religious Movements By William Sims Bainbridge, Routledge, 1997 ISBN 0415912024 p. 82

2000s

2002

Critics of TM say it is a religion masquerading as a self-help program, while other says it is just a money-making scheme. A lifetime enrollment in the program cost $2,500.

— Seeking a Peace Palace for peace of mind; [West Bay Edition] CATHLEEN F. CROWLEY Journal Staff Writer. Providence Journal. Providence, R.I.: Sep 26, 2002. pg. D.01

2003

Instruction in Transcendental Meditation (TM) on the Island has been suspended indefinitely after overseas practitioners ordered the local office to start charging $2,000 for initiation lessons.

TM practitioner Dr. Emily Liddell said teaching of the ancient Vedic relaxation technique, which began in Bermuda 30 years ago, was in a state of "hiatus."

She said this was partly due to the emigration to Canada of the local branch's leader Brian Horsfield three years ago.

But she added the primary reason was a directive she received last August from the TM world headquarters in Holland which ordered the price for start-up lessons be jacked up from $385 to $2,000.

"I was considering taking up the role of teaching again but this was a curtain coming down on that," said Dr. Liddell, who was head of TM Bermuda for 15 years from 1984.

"I wasn't upset or angry but it was a bit like a bomb had dropped."

Former TM teacher Frances Eddy said she was "outraged" at the price hike.

"It makes it very difficult for teachers to ask for that kind of money and it excludes ordinary people.

"It makes it look like TM is something for the wealthy. But I felt that way before it got to $2,000."

• * *

Environmentalist and former Independent parliamentarian Stuart Hayward, who became one of the first teachers of TM in Bermuda in the 1973, said: "It's unfortunate that they have seen fit to do that.

"It would be better if it was more available. They have their reasons and I'm not privy to them."

He said local prices for TM lessons had been kept below the average international costs for many years, although even when lessons were $75 each years ago "people were saying it was too much. It's funny how people value things".

Greening, Benedict, "TM courses halted as fees soar", Royal Gazette(Bermuda) (August 16, 2003) Fladrif (talk) 23:21, 25 January 2010 (UTC)

2004

Here in the American headquarters of Transcendental Meditation, people like to brag that, much as in Garrison Keillor's fictional Lake Wobegon, "all the children are above average."

"The children are so enthusiastic to do things -- competitions, academics, and so on," said Ashley Deans, headmaster of Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment, a private K-12 academy with about 300 students. "And when they enter it, they win it -- time and time again."

The secret, school officials say, is Transcendental Meditation -- the practice of invoking a state of deep relaxation by mentally repeating a word or mantra.

Advocates say TM can spread success at other schools, and groups promoting it recently have appeared at public schools in California, New York, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and other places.

But critics, and there are plenty, say Transcendental Meditation in public schools straddles the line between church and state, and that other forms of meditation would be just as effective for students.

"I would call it a stealth religion," said Barry Markovsky, a University of South Carolina sociologist who researches social networks. "I would ask whether this is a group I would want to have teaching my children stress-reduction techniques."

Transcendental Meditation is a trademark technique brought to the United States by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a Hindu monk who became guru to The Beatles, Mia Farrow and other celebrities in the 1960s. In the '70s, he bought the bankrupt Parsons College in this southeastern Iowa city of about 10,000 and established Maharishi University of Management. [..]

A big stumbling block for widespread use in schools could be cost, with schools having to pay about $625 a year per student for TM training.

At Nataki Taliba Schoolhouse in Detroit, a public charter school where students practiced TM, the cost is covered by private donations and corporate grants from the likes of Daimler-Chrysler and General Motors.

"It's something that many will carry with them into high school and adulthood," said Jane Pitt, the TM counselor at Nataki Taliba.

— ENLIGHTENMENT Patrick Condon THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. Daily Breeze. Torrance, Calif.: Nov 6, 2004. pg. B.1

• Its insistence on fees for initial instruction has left some wondering at its motives, but the movement is not, to all appearances, an exploitative one
  • The complete idiot's guide to world religions By Brandon Toropov, Luke Buckles 2004 Alpha Books ISBN 1592572227, 9781592572229 [2]

2005

Beyond providing TM to schools, the foundation also hopes to form groups to meditate for peace, believing that group meditation can help reduce crime and war.

Steven Yellin, a spokesman for the national TM organization, says 40 schools are waiting for funds to provide TM. As the foundation builds an endowment, they will be first to receive the $2,500 per person training costs.

"The goal is basically to raise money -- I would like to raise $7 billion," Lynch says. "The interest would sustain teaching TM to any child, any person who wants it.

"I could do that with one-stop shopping with Bill Gates, who's a guy who's very interested in education," he says. "I would just love to talk to him about this."

But Lynch also wants to raise money from grassroots supporters, such as one of the extras on his current film, who donated the $50 she'd earned for the day. Or his barber, who recently gave back the money he'd paid for a haircut as a contribution to the cause.

— David Lynch wants to spread benefits of Transcendental Meditation to schools Peter Larsen. Knight Ridder Tribune News Service. Washington: Aug 15, 2005. pg. 1

Critics say the Maharishi is a shrewd businessman who has recycled old Hindu traditions and packaged them neatly for eager Western consumers. Under his umbrella fall several nonprofit and for- profit enterprises, spanning the globe. His land and business holdings are wildly complex, and the U.K.'s Guardian Newspaper has reported his net worth at $3.6 billion.

The cost to learn the TM technique is about $2,500 for the full course - roughly 20 hours of training - and a lifetime follow-up program where a person can check in with any certified TM teacher. There are also audio books, CDs, videos, hundreds of publications, toothpastes, oils and teas, even a coffee substitute called Raja's Cup.

Roger Grose is aware of the criticism and stands ready to defend the TM technique and its potential for good in the world. Without the Maharishi and his enterprises, Grose said, all the benefits of TM would not be accessible to a large audience.

"Everybody has the capacity for their full potential," he said. "It's just that very few use much of it."

— High on the peace plane ; Biddeford couple plans to open transcendental meditation center, raise money for Peace Palace.; TREVOR MAXWELL Staff Writer. Portland Press Herald. Portland, Me.: May 21, 2005. pg. C.1

Transcendental Meditation, which is thousands of years old, is one of several meditation techniques. It is patented and promoted by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the Indian guru made popular during the 1960s by the Beatles.

Learning the method takes two hours a day over the course of six days and costs about $2,500, Schneider said.

Some meditation techniques focus on breathing, while others, including Transcendental Meditation, use specific sounds or mantras. Some techniques require a particular posture, while those who perform Transcendental Meditation lie out on mattresses, pillows and lawn chairs.

Schneider said that while other techniques may require the participant to concentrate, Transcendental Meditation involves "watching your thinking go by."

— Study: Transcendental Meditation lowers death rate; [THREE STAR Edition] JOHN FAUBER Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Times Union. Albany, N.Y.: May 10, 2005. pg. D.3

2006

To an outsider, TM seemed intangible and a bit cultish at first. After observing the group meditation session at MUM, I met on campus with Roth and Norman Zierold, another spokesman for the TM movement.

"[It's] not hard or complicated," Roth said. "It's a deep- breathing technique that helps relax the body and mind. When people really get engaged in it, many of them want to change other aspects of their lives, such as diet. But TM doesn't require that." It calls only for practitioners to meditate for 20 minutes twice a day, he explained. The training can be received from specialists in almost any American city and costs $2,500, including four days of lessons and follow-up consultations.

— Enjoy a therapeutic journey to Iowa; [Final Edition] Gary Lee. The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, B.C.: Dec 12, 2006. pg. E.7.Fro

Bill Sands is director of the Maharishi Enlightenment Center in Paoli.

Michael Baime, a medical doctor who runs the University of Pennsylvania's Stress Management Program, says TM differs from other forms of meditation in a couple ways.

"It costs several thousand dollars," he says. "That's the biggest difference."

The initial TM course costs $2,500. By comparison, the Philadelphia Shambhala Meditation Center asks $15 for an introductory weeknight program, $35 all day on Saturday, or $100 for a full weekend course.

Yes, TM costs serious money, but the benefits are priceless, Sands says. Who wouldn't pay $2,500 for better health and a longer life?

— Phila. region to give peace palaces a chance; The Maharishi sees the centers as havens for TM practitioners to meditate on world peace. Jeff Gammage. Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa.: Nov 12, 2006. pg. A.1

Mr Hayden says he is still at the hopping stage, but he hopes to train Irish people in the advanced techniques.

He said that the US stock market rallied recently after a group of TM adherents quite literally put their minds to it.

In the last war involving Israel and Lebanon, war deaths dropped and peace talks prospered when sufficient people started meditating on the issue.

Sadly, TM is unable to solve all financial problems, so Mr Hayden needs [euro]1.5 million to get his plans off the ground. Basic courses cost about [euro]900, while more advanced instruction costs a hefty [euro]4,000.

— Problems 'solved'by yogi'shigh-flyers Paul Cullen. Irish Times. Dublin: Aug 1, 2006. pg. 3

Transcendental Meditation involves sitting quietly and focusing on a repeated sound, called a mantra, for about 20 minutes every morning and evening. The practice traces its roots to ancient India. Today, it costs $2,500 to learn Transcendental Meditation in a series of lectures, personal instruction and group meetings.

Previous studies have found meditation can lower blood pressure, but the new study is the first to show an effect on insulin function, Lane said.

— Meditation good for heart; [Final Edition] Beaumont Enterprise. Beaumont, Tex.: Jun 13, 2006. pg. A.6

Re: Yogic Flyers Want Schoolkids To Say 'Om,' May 16.

I am the result of a childhood spent in the Transcendental Meditation (TM) movement. My parents were Sidhas (purportedly those who could levitate and the highest level in the movement) during the 1970s and 1980s. I remember as a child thinking this was all a bit flaky and constantly questioning what they were doing.

Still, no harm came to them, or to us kids who, when we came of age, were initiated to the ways of the Maharishi. I was told a secret mantra, "ing" to be exact, that I was to repeat in my head while eliminating all other thoughts, during a ceremony involving flowers, rice and some humming and chanting from the instructor. This was to be done in a lotus position twice a day for about 30 minutes. I don't imagine it has changed very much in 25 years. I am offering up my mantra (a big no-no in the movement) to anyone who would like try, but doesn't have the cash for the initiation fee.

— Yogic flying won't bring world peace; (LTE) Cathy LeBoeuf. National Post. Don Mills, Ont.: May 17, 2006. pg. A.21

However Ali Temam, director of the ecoles Musulmanes de Montreal, a private Muslim school, said he was impressed by the "magnificent" program. "I strongly believe stress is one of the biggest problems in our schools," he said.

He was unaware -- because the workshop never mentioned -- that anyone wishing to practise transcendental meditation must undergo a three-day training that costs $2,500. Mr. Deans said the idea is to find donors in corporations or private foundations to cover the cost of training a class of meditators. He identified one potential donor as filmmaker David Lynch, who has created a foundation to promote transcendental meditation.

Mr. Deans held a similar meeting in Halifax last Saturday and has events planned in Ottawa tomorrow, Toronto on Thursday, followed by Edmonton and Vancouver next week, all part of his dream to make Canada "the country that creates world peace." It sounds like a lofty target, but that would be underestimating the powers of transcendental meditation, he said.

— Teaching kids to say 'ommmm'; [All But Toronto Edition] Graeme Hamilton. National Post. Don Mills, Ont.: May 16, 2006. pg. A.1.Fro

Stress and bad energy emanate from the e-mail. And that's kind of odd, considering where it's from: The local center that promotes Transcendental Meditation.

"Without community support, the Center will have to close," the e- mail warns.[..]

It's been tough going of late for the center. It's having problems attracting people to take the six-day course that believers say can do everything from increase happiness to reverse the aging process.

One problem is that the pathway to inner peace isn't cheap. It costs $2,500 to learn it, and that's one hurdle when it comes to landing clients. [..]

But Shapiro figures he teaches TM to only a couple of new students a month.

"We could benefit from higher participation," Shapiro acknowledged.

The price tag is an issue, of course. The cost, though, is an amount set nationally, Shapiro said.

It's worthwhile, considering the benefits, Shapiro said.

— San Diego too laid back to meditate?; [R,E,S,C Edition] Michael Stetz. The San Diego Union - Tribune. San Diego, Calif.: Dec 30, 2006. pg. E.1

2007

[Alison] BRODY [reporer]: It's also very, very expensive. TM-trained instructors charge $625 per student to teach the technique. Some of the money goes back to Maharishi University, the school in Iowa founded by the man who brought TM from India to the United States. To offset costs, Lynch has created a foundation. So far he's raised $5 million. His goal is to raise $7 billion so he can make TM an option for schoolchildren around the world.

— Transcendental Meditation Appears in the Classroom by Alison Brody, August 27, 2007, "Day to Day" NPR, [3]

Is it expensive to learn TM? A course costs pound(s)1,280 in the UK. This includes four consecutive days of instruction (90 minutes a day) with "as much follow-up as is required for the first three to six months." Whether that is expensive depends on the benefits it brings. Ozzy Osbourne thought it a waste of time. He said: "I tried TM but gave it up and smoked a joint instead." Some TM teachers have become concerned about the cost and have left the organisation to offer instruction on their own. In the UK there are 80 official TM teaching centres. Instruction begins with a short ceremony and then the student learns and begins practising the technique.

— The Big Question: What is transcendental meditation, and is it the cure for society's ills? Jeremy Laurance. Belfast Telegraph. Belfast: Oct 25, 2007. pg. 1

Convincing busy executives to invest the time and money to learn transcendental meditation might seem like a huge selling job. TM instruction at the enlightenment centers costs $2,500. Boxerman and his wife, Christine, are far from discouraged. They say stressed managers and executives are among the likeliest to realize they could benefit from TM. "I've had a number of them say, "I'd like to talk to you about this privately and learn more," Christine said. "They realize that their lives are out of balance." In addition to teaching TM, the centers sell ayurvedic herbal supplements, skin lotions, soaps and massage oils. They also sell organic cotton clothing, bed linens, towels and various gourmet food items. All are developed and manufactured "to support living according to natural law," explained Ariana Bennett, manager of the Iowa City store.

— Transcendental meditation expands scope Dave Dewitte. Knight Ridder Tribune Business News. Washington: Mar 13, 2007. pg. 1

With so many styles of meditation out there, how does a person choose? Should you pay a hefty sum to study transcendental meditation, or should meditation be free? Which is better -- Hinduist, Buddhist, Taoist, New Age? Or is it all essentially the same thing?

"There are different hats for different kinds of heads," says Diamond Way Buddhist Centre's president Mike Freeland, "different medicines for different diseases."

Like the Buddha, Freeland encourages skepticism. He says people should check out different kinds of meditation and "pay attention to the vibe." Some retreat from society like monks, while others, like Diamond Way Buddhists, swallow life as it comes.

"Everything you see, smell, taste becomes teaching, whether you're waking or sleeping," he says.

Freeland and Weinlick are skeptical of meditation classes that cost money. They say it creates a culture of elitism, which goes against the Buddhist philosophy.

But yogic meditation students aren't complaining about the investment -- or the sore butt. Dolynski says working with a veteran yogic meditator like Peyrow is inspiring.

"When you have a good teacher, they don't need to tell you about the effects of yoga and meditation. You can see it in the way they live, in the way they talk."

— Cleaning the mental house; [Final Edition] Elizabeth Withey. The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ont.: Jan 27, 2007. pg. J.2

One difference between TM and other forms of meditation, says Hamilton, is that TM "allows the body to experience the deepest state of rest. The body gets the chance to eliminate stress and not just manage stress."

Another difference is the price. A typical seven-day TM course costs $2,500. Considering the benefits, says Sands, the director of Philadelphia-area programs, it is a bargain.

— Transcendental Meditation regaining popularity NORA O'DOWD. Newhouse News Service. Washington: Jan 9, 2007. pg. 1

2008

In 1967, George Harrison took fellow Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney to hear the Maharishi lecture in London. Soon the fourth band member, Ringo Starr, joined them in a seminar for British initiates who, for a $35 fee, received their own mantra. Today, the basic course costs $2,500. [..]

Among the earliest sceptics was the writer Kurt Vonnegut, who met the Maharishi in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1968. He described a beneficial effect on his TM-practising wife and daughter, but in the end took a dim view of the movement. TM, he wrote, was "a very good religion for people who, in troubled times, don't want any trouble".

Later, critics labelled TM a "cult" and likened its meditation techniques to hypnotism. In 1986, a former TM follower sued the Maharishi university for $9 million, charging fraud, neglect and emotional damage. A jury awarded him $138,000. Networks of dis- affected TM practitioners began to appear, offering similar stories. Among those who broke away was later best-selling author and lecturer on natural healing, Deepak Chopra.

— Founder of TM movement who was guru to the stars Irish Times. Dublin: Feb 9, 2008. pg. 12

I'm not suggesting the Maharishi's brand of Transcendental Meditation was what Ledger needed. It's hard to understand what the so-called giggling guru's specific teaching amounts to, other than that it requires substantial fees, results in bizarre bouncing activities, and has created a trust worth some 600m. Perhaps the trust's role is to spread the message, whatever the message is.

I understand that the pop star Donovan, a long-time devotee, and film-maker David Lynch are currently proselytising for the cause. I am not sure I want the man who makes spooky films, and created the nightmare vision behind the 1986 shocker Blue Velvet, to be my spiritual guide.

Whether the Maharishi was a genuine inspiration or simply an old fraud is beside the point. Meditation, as part of Eastern philosophy, has an ancient and respectable past, and in bringing it to the attention of young people in the West thrown into confusion by the 1960s drug culture he did something worthwhile. The West already had its tradition of meditation too, of course, but it was falling out of favour. It is known as prayer.

By contrast, I learned what I know of meditation for nothing more than the cost of a book, called Teach Yourself Meditation. I was planning to visit India for a second time and already knew that the density of that country's spiritual life has a strange and disturbing effect. So I took the book along with me just in case. And when the moment came - a calm and beautiful place, a restful time - I sat cross-legged on a cushion and opened its pages.

— Meditation is more than flower-power indulgence; [1ST Edition] JOAN BAKEWELL. The Independent. London (UK): Feb 8, 2008. pg. 46

It has been labelled a cult and the Maharishi himself was even accused of fraud. Although learning TM is said to be very simple, it is also very expensive. It costs nearly pound(s)1,300 to take part in the seven-step programme and it will set you back another pound(s)2,000 if you want to learn yogic flying - a process which involves jumping cross-legged around a huge collection of mattresses and is said to heighten brain activity.

Mr Hughes says he has heard all this before and has an answer for the critics. "People have called us a cult and accused us of being weird but that isn't the case at all," he adds. "What I would say to them is come along and see us for yourself.

"This is nothing to do with religion. It is nothing to do with lifestyle.

People in the community lead perfectly normal lives and are free to follow any religion they want. The only thing they do differently is that they practise TM twice a day. Yes, we charge to teach the process of TM but that is because we have to because the Government will not make it available to everyone. It is the same as any organisation which teaches anything - there is always a charge. I don't even think it is a particularly high charge.

"We take pound(s)1,280 as a one-off payment and you can use TM for the rest of your life. Some organisations will ask for a percentage of your salary every year. That's not what we do. It is frustrating to come up against scepticism like this sometimes because we have these great techniques that are not as widely used as they should be. I don't believe that the money has anything to do with it, it is the perception: people think we believe in this weird thing and don't want to get involved."

— Mystic who inspired the Beatles: the town that lost its guru ; The death of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, champion of transcendental meditation, has robbed the world of one of its most appealing figures. But in one small town in Lancashire they are feeling his loss particularly keenly. Mark Hughes reports Belfast Telegraph. Belfast: Feb 7, 2008. pg. 1

The Maharishi originated the transcendental meditation movement in 1957 and brought it to the United States in 1959. Known as TM, a trademarked name, the technique consists of closing one's eyes twice a day for 20 minutes while silently repeating a mantra to gain deep relaxation, eliminate stress, promote good health and attain clear thinking and inner fulfillment. Classes today cost $2,500 for a five- day session.

The TM movement was a founding influence on what has grown into a multibillion-dollar self-help industry, and many people practice similar forms of meditation that have no connection to the Maharishi's movement.

Since the technique's inception in 1955, the organization says, it has trained more than 40,000 teachers, taught more than five million people, opened thousands of teaching centers and founded hundreds of schools, colleges and universities.

In the United States, the organization values its assets at about $300 million, with its base in Fairfield, Iowa, where it operates a university, the Maharishi University of Management. In 2001, disciples of the movement incorporated their own town, Maharishi Vedic City, a few miles north of Fairfield.

Last March, a branch of the organization, Global Financial Capital of New York, moved into new headquarters it bought in Lower Manhattan.

— Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Beatles' spiritual guru Founder of transcendental meditation OBITUARIES; [1 Edition] Lily Koppel. International Herald Tribune. Paris: Feb 7, 2008. pg. 2

Suddenly a whole generation of western youth was lighting joss sticks and willing calm on the world while sitting cross-legged and muttering mumbo-jumbo in Sanskrit. People talked about achieving "cosmic consciousness" and feeling "good vibrations". Initiates were given a secret "mantra", a word whose vibrations would harmonise with those of the person himself. By concentrating on it in twice- daily sessions of half an hour, the practitioner would be able to dispel "gross" thoughts while achieving oneness with the infinite. A week's salary was the suggested initiation fee.

TM became big business, and the Maharishi's Spiritual Regeneration Movement (SRM) marketed the product with all the zeal of a multinational corporation - which is, effectively, what it became. The Maharishi's empire grew to include a 24-hour global satellite television channel pumping out TM courses - on a subscription basis - in 22 languages to 144 countries. A complex network of companies sold such merchandise as massage oils, books, CDs, courses and spiritual consultations.

There were also new-age health centres patronised by the rich (a fortnight's all-inclusive stay at the Ayurvedic clinic in Valkenburg, Holland, with a full course of therapy, cost pounds 6,000 in 2001), along with universities, charitable trusts and headquarters in each of five continents - not to mention the Heaven on Earth property company and a business which advised architects and home owners on how to build according to Vedic principles.

It would be easy to poke fun at the Maharishi and his teachings - and many did. But almost alone among the cults of the 1960s, TM survived in the less congenial atmosphere of the succeeding decades. In Britain general elections of the 1990s were enlivened by the yogic flying of the Natural Law Party, which was closely allied to the TM movement and promised "Heaven on Earth", lower taxes and a herb village in every town. But after his brief moment of stardom in the 1960s, the guru himself rarely appeared.

— Obituary of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Indian guru to the Beatles who built a business empire based on transcendental meditation The Daily Telegraph. London (UK): Feb 7, 2008. pg. 023

shi" is a title traditionally bestowed on Brahmins. Critics of the yogi say he presented himself with the name, which he was ineligible for because he was from a lower caste. The Maharishi originated the Transcendental Meditation movement in 1957. Known as TM, a trademarked name, the technique consists of closing one's eyes twice a day for 20 minutes while silently repeating a mantra to gain deep relaxation, eliminate stress, promote good health and attain clear thinking and inner fulfilment. Classes today can cost $2,500 for a five-day session.

The TM movement became a lasting influence on what has grown into a multibillion-dollar self-help industry, and many people practise similar forms of meditation that have no connection to the Maharishi's movement. The group vehemently denies it is a religion, even taking the issue to court - and losing - in the United States. Followers claim their beliefs are based on science, embracing theories such as quantum physics.

Since the technique's inception in 1955, the organization says, it has trained more than 40,000 teachers, taught more than five million people, opened thousands of teaching centres and founded hundreds of schools, colleges and universities. [..]

The Maharishi's movement began losing followers during the early 1980s after people were put off by the organization's promotion of a more advanced form of TM called Yogic Flying, in which practitioners try to summon a surge of energy to physically lift themselves off the ground. They have never gone beyond more than an initial stage of flying, described as "frog hops."

In 1990, the Maharishi took up residence in Vlodrop in the Netherlands. With 50 adherents, he moved onto the wooded grounds of a monastery about 200 kilometres southeast of Amsterdam. There, the Maharishi tried to breathe new life into TM, establishing in 2000 his "Global Country of World Peace," with the goals of preventing war, eradicating poverty and promoting environmental sustainability. One effort tried to reach young people across the United States with the support of celebrities such as Donovan and filmmaker David Lynch, who went on a speaking tour of colleges to promote the cause.

In 2005, the Maharishi set his mind to building an international peace palace on two islands off Nova Scotia. His organization bought George Island and Piscatqui Island near the town of Canso for about $350,000, and planned a $1.2-million development that was to include a peace tower, a conference centre and a school. Along with six other sites around the world, the islands were to be part of a "Community of Global Peace."

The islands, which have remained largely undisturbed, were not the first spots in Canada to catch the Maharishi's eye. In 1992, his group announced at a press conference that it would build a $900-million theme park in Niagara Falls, Ont. With Mr. Henning as spokesman and president, reporters learned of plans to build a $1.5-billion theme park that promised no less than peace in the world, heaven on earth, 5,000 permanent jobs and an annual tax revenue of $364.3-million.

Despite Mr. Henning's best efforts, Veda Land never materialized. In 1993, the Quebec Securities Commission stepped in with a cease-trading order in the Montreal Stock Exchange, and the project further suffered with the arrival of a casino. [..]

At the time, opponents of the transcendental meditation movement accused the Maharishi of the same thing. Mr. Henning died in 2000 and the park came to nothing.

While Canadian figures are less freely available, the organization values its U.S. assets at about $300-million. Last March, a branch of the organization, Global Financial Capital of New York, moved into new headquarters it bought in Lower Manhattan.

— Spiritual leader and guru to the Beatles founded Transcendental Meditation Lilly Koppel. The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ont.: Feb 7, 2008. pg. S.8

It has been labelled a cult and the Maharishi himself was even accused of fraud. Although learning TM is said to be very simple, it is also very expensive. It costs nearly 1,300 to take part in the seven-step programme and it will set you back another 2,000 if you want to learn yogic flying - a process which involves jumping cross- legged around a huge collection of mattresses and is said to heighten brain activity.

Mr Hughes says he has heard all this before and has an answer for the critics. "People have called us a cult and accused us of being weird but that isn't the case at all," he adds. "What I would say to them is come along and see us for yourself.

"This is nothing to do with religion. It is nothing to do with lifestyle. People in the community lead perfectly normal lives and are free to follow any religion they want. The only thing they do differently is that they practise TM twice a day. Yes, we charge to teach the process of TM but that is because we have to because the Government will not make it available to everyone. It is the same as any organisation which teaches anything - there is always a charge. I don't even think it is a particularly high charge.

"We take 1,280 as a one-off payment and you can use TM for the rest of your life. Some organisations will ask for a percentage of your salary every year. That's not what we do. It is frustrating to come up against scepticism like this sometimes because we have these great techniques that are not as widely used as they should be. I don't believe that the money has anything to do with it, it is the perception: people think we believe in this weird thing and don't want to get involved."

— THE TOWN THAT LOST ITS GURU; [1ST Edition] Mark Hughes. The Independent. London (UK): Feb 7, 2008. pg. 16

The 65-acre site, dubbed the Global Country of World Peace, claimed its own currency, laws and government.

Five to six million people worldwide have learned his copyrighted TM techniques, typically paying a GBP 1,300 fee. The money financed "peace palaces" around the world, with two colleges in the United States and 200 schools.

— Beatles' guru leaves much to meditate upon; [FINAL Edition] Tim Cornwell Arts Correspondent. The Scotsman. Edinburgh (UK): Feb 7, 2008. pg. 3

By the 1970s the Maharishi was said to have more than five million people practising Transcendental Meditation, or TM. Practitioners spend 20 minutes every morning and evening reciting a single sound, or mantra to help them to reduce stress and improve concentration. The Maharishi also taught "yogic flying" - or bouncing in the air in the lotus position.

By the 1980s he had set up schools across the world, founded the Natural Law Party and built a multimillion-pound business empire including a property dealership and a company selling Ayurvedic medicine and cosmetics. Most were financed by donations and a $2,500 fee to learn TM.

In 1990 he moved his headquarters to a former Franciscan monastery in the southern Dutch village of Vlodrop, from where he controlled his Global Country of World Peace movement. There he lived as a recluse in a pavilion and communicated by video link.

The Maharishi was widely ridiculed in 2002 when he announced that he could combat terrorism and war if he could raise $1 billion to train 40,000 expert meditators. Sceptics also scoffed at his plan to raise $10 trillion to end poverty by sponsoring organic farming in the poorest countries.

— High-flying yogi to the stars dies a recluse; [Final 1 Edition] Jeremy Page. The Times. London (UK): Feb 7, 2008. pg. 43

2009

Beloved of hippie celebrities everywhere since the 1960s, TM's expensive teaching courses risked it being priced into oblivion until Lynch was credited with persuading Maharishi Mahesh Yogi - to whom he became close in 2003 after paying $1m to participate in the guru's four-week "Millionaire's Enlightenment Course" - to radically reduce the TM learning fee so that more younger people could learn the practice.

— Front: And now children, it's time for your yogic flying lesson Jacqueline Stevens, Patrick Barkham. The Guardian. London (UK): Jan 27, 2009. pg. 1

Back in the real world, I've one final question. What does it cost to discover your inner-self ? "TM is taught through a registered educational charity, which means there's no profit, and scholarships are available for those who may have trouble affording the proper fee," Patrice explains.

"Fees for a full six-month course vary according to earnings: from Pounds 590 down to Pounds 290 for a person earning under Pounds 15,000 per annum."

— LIE BACK AND RELAX; As the new Bristol Transcendental Meditation Centre opens its doors to anyone with an interest in "finding their inner selves", feature writer David Clensy pays a visit to find out more Anonymous. Evening Post. Bristol (UK): Oct 13, 2009. pg. 18

A Wall Street centre for transcendental meditation is being offered for sale for US$45 million, eight times more than the followers of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi paid for it in 2004.

The neo-classical five-storey building at 70 Broad Street has 15,000 square feet of office space and luxury apartments, according to the property listing by residential brokerage Brown Harris Stevens.

The non-profit Global Country of World Peace bought the property in the financial district, two blocks south of Wall Street, for US$5.5 million in May 2004. The Iowa-based group used the city's backing in 2005 to obtain US$6.2 million in financing through tax-exempt bonds. The group uses the building to teach meditation.

"Thanks to a remarkably flexible zoning, 70 Broad Street can be used either as an office, mixed-use property or residence and is ideal for a corporation, individual, or institution," reads the listing by broker Danielle Grossenbacher. The building was subject to "an extensive and complete renovation" this year.

Grossenbacher referred calls to a Brown Harris Stevens spokeswoman who declined to comment. Robert Roth, a spokesman for Global Country of World Peace, confirmed that the group is selling the building. [..]

One of the luxury apartments inside the building is sometimes used by John Hagelin, the Natural Law Party's 1996 and 2000 candidate for US president, Roth said. Hagelin is the chairman of the Center for Leadership Performance, the transcendental meditation programme based at 70 Broad that is geared towards chief executives and business professionals.

Roth said the centre was formerly known as the Maharishi Invincibility Center, while the website refers to it as the International Center for Invincible Defense.

Meditation classes at the Broad Street location cost US$750 to US$1,500 for a one-hour-a-day programme that spans four days, Roth said.

Global Country of World Peace benefited from a city economic development programme that allowed non-profits to use triple tax-exempt bonds to help pay for capital projects.

In 2005, the New York City Industrial Development Agency issued US$6.2 million in bonds on behalf of Global Country of World Peace, said David Lombino, the agency's spokesman. The programme is now defunct.

— Wall Street meditators seeking US$45m for five-storey building Bloomberg in New York. South China Morning Post. Hong Kong: Sep 23, 2009. pg. 5

The fifth, sixth and seventh step involve group instruction and discussion. A four-month follow up is included in the tuition, which costs $1,500.

Scholarships and tuition assistance are available and Inella said that ultimately no one is turned away for lack of funds. The money is paid to the Maharishi Vedic Education Development Corporation, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching the transcendental technique.

— Transcendental meditation's goal is to utilize your 'full potential' Vikki Matsis. The Post and Courier. Charleston, S.C.: Aug 6, 2009. pg. F.18

Followers of the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi have recently abandoned plans to build a $3 million Peace Palace at an Interstate 80 interchange just west of Lincoln.

The 27-acre plot is now being offered for sale for $180,000.

Proceeds would be used for other Peace Palaces and other projects, including a recent push to use Transcendental Meditation in troubled public schools to improve academic performance.

"Everything that you've been reading about the economy affects us as well," said Kent Boyum, director of government relations for the Global Country of World Peace, an affiliate organization that owns the Seward County plot.

Several other properties owned by Maharishi-affiliated groups are being sold off as the organization reassesses its priorities in the troubled economy and in the wake of the death of the Maharishi last February, Boyum said.

The downturn has even affected fees charged for an introductory course in Transcendental Meditation, which were recently reduced from $2,500 to $1,500. People with financial hardships can sign up for as little as $750, according to Wally DeVasier, who directs three Peace Palaces in the Fairfield, Iowa, area.

"Everyone's been hit by this," DeVasier said.

— If you lived here, you'd be om now Paul Hammel. McClatchy - Tribune Business News. Washington: Apr 27, 2009.

The Maharishi Foundation claims its techniques will calm pupils, make them more attentive to work and can even mitigate some of the problems experienced by Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder sufferers.

But critics will say it is another step in the expansion of a multi-million-pound global empire built on the fees charged for training in the technique.

Schools will be offered training over the space of a year in a programme that normally costs pounds 340 per person. But subsidies are being offered as part of an international drive funded by the filmmaker David Lynch to encourage children to meditate.

— National: Meditation courses for problem pupils Polly Curtis. The Observer. London (UK): Mar 29, 2009. pg. 23

Another economic growth opportunity is blossoming in West Virginia. The Transcendental Meditation movement of the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi paid $750,000 for a Hampshire County tract and plans a $15 million spiritual retreat. The late astronomer Carl Sagan wrote: "The worldwide TM organization has an estimated valuation of $3 billion. For a fee, they promise through meditation to be able to walk you through walls, to make you invisible, to enable you to fly."

— EDITORIAL: Potpourri: Jan. 19, 2009 Anonymous. McClatchy - Tribune Business News. Washington: Jan 19, 2009.