Transcendental
Meditation (TM) is a kind of meditation that focuses on the present moment
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi developed this religious institution, which focuses on
meditation teachings.
Transcendental Meditation (TM) emphasizes the many
advantages of meditation, as its name suggests: It enhances physical, mental,
and spiritual health in individuals, while it is believed to have pacifying
effects on the greater environment, resulting in less crime and hostility.
All of these benefits can only be acquired by rigorous
practice, but the initiation itself is simple to obtain—all that is necessary
is attendance at a seminar hosted by a TM teacher and payment of the requisite
money to get one's mantra, or holy utterance.
In recent years, TM's headquarters at Maharishi
International University in Fairfield, Iowa, has provided programs leading to
the development of superhuman abilities (siddhis).
Since an unhappy consumer who was unable to learn to
levitate won a lawsuit for damages, the claims of these programs have been
toned down.
Although meditation and the use of mantras are
well-established Hindu traditions, some aspects of TM's marketing are
unsettling to many orthodox Hindus.
The practice of purchasing (or selling) a mantra, which was
historically passed down from teacher (guru) to student only after extensive
connection, is a contentious issue.
A similar issue arises from the idea that superhuman
abilities may be bought and sold.
Because these abilities may be employed for both good and
evil, and because they have the potential to harm a spiritually immature
person, they are considered as immensely tempting.
Traditional wisdom agrees that a person should not pursue
such abilities knowingly since the act of seeking is considered as founded in
selfish aspirations.
People who have earned such abilities as a result of
spiritual development, on the other hand, are seen to be able to maintain them
in appropriate perspective.
