TM-EX NEWSLETTER
TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION EX-MEMBERS SUPPORT GROUP
FALL 1990
Washington D.C.
GROUNDING THE GURU
More than 800 followers of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi convened at the
Omni-Shoreham Hotel late last month for a week long convention.
The confab also attracted members of TM-EX, an informal anti-TM group
composed of the guru's fallen that educates the public about TM and
offers ``exit counseling'' to those who want out of the movement.
Curtis Mailloux followed the guru for 15 years and was a 1979 graduate
of the movement's Maharishi International University (MIU) in
Fairfield, Iowa. Gaining access to the group's inner sanctum, he moved
to the Washington area in 1983 and in 1985 became the head of D.C.'s
TM Center. On June 29 at the Omni-Shoreham--Mailloux's 33rd
birthday--he denounced the organization as a cultist religion that is
exploitive, deceptive, and damaging.
Mailloux says involvement in the movement becomes ``a prison of
specialness''.
``Especially as a leader in the movement,'' he said, ``there's no way
you can leave this group and be [regarded by other devotees] as OK or
leave with dignity...I was only special as a nervous system which is a
`generator of purity', not as an individual."
Mailloux said he was ``an extremely contented member'' of the group
until a few years ago when he read Combatting Cult Mind Control by
Steve Hassan. ``It hit me from left field that something was wrong
with the movement,'' he recalled.
Mailloux's doubts about the ethics of teaching TM were heightened when
he studied hypnosis and saw the similarities between it and TM.
``[TM techniques] are the most sophisticated techniques for mind
control that have ever been used,'' he said. ``I have friends that are
40 years old and totally trapped in this...they're becoming unable to
work for a goal.'' Instead, they constantly beg distant well-wishers
for support money to keep them in various organization environments
like MIU.
In a phone interview, MIU legal counsel [Bill Goldstein] said the
organization uses its money to spread its programs among the needy,
and recently sent teams of teachers to earthquake-shattered Armenia.
Said Goldstein, ``We [didn't] provide them with clothes or food, but
we taught them TM,'' which his organization considers ``a specific
form of earthquake relief.''
City Paper [Washington, D.C.], July 13, 1990, Susan Gervasi.~
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Washington D.C.
APPEASING THE GODS FOR BETTER HEALTH?
Recently many meditators in the Washington D.C. community have
received pleas for help. A member of the movement has a debilitating
illness, endometriosis. A group of meditators are requesting money to
have ceremonies conducted in India called yagyas.
It seems that TM-affiliated Maharishi Ayurvedic doctors feel a $11,500
offering to the Hindu gods will do the necessary work. If that amount
cannot be raised, a $8,500 yagya would be ``less than recommended''.
If all else fails, a $3,300 yagya will suffice. According to the
letter being circulated, ``Dr. Lonsdorf's primary recommendation is
that the patient receive a Yagya as soon as possible''.
Mahesh Yogi in his translation of the Bhagavad Gita (1) says ``the
gross aspect [of yagya] deals with ritualistic performances to please
different Vedic gods and win their blessings, while the subtle aspect
[of yagya] deals with training the mind to contact higher powers and
receive their blessings.'' ~
1. Mahesh Yogi, Bhagavad Gita, New Translation and Commentary
Chapters 1-6 Livingston Manor, NY: M.I.U. Press 1976 pg. 142.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Fairfield
THE REAL STORY: SIDHA SUICIDE
I'd known Mark Totten for years. He had no medical problems. Likeable
and unassuming, my friend had cut his roots to his New England home
and heritage some years ago. He had reached for the Maharishi's exotic
offering; gave his money, mind and speech for Yogi's game of
enlightenment.
``He must have found something here,'' Norman Totten said, bewildered
in the M.I.U. chapel, afterhaving to ask for the time to speak at
his son's memorial service on Friday, November 30. He knew of nothing
that was wrong with his son. Mark's sister added she
didn't know why her brother killed himself.
Without his roots to sustain him on the Maharishi's nebulous and
distracting meditation path, Mark suddenly exchanged it all for the
certainty of a 200-ton locomotive: Four blocks from the M.I.U. campus
he placed himself in the path of the early morning coal train at the
North Main Street crossing.
The Maharishi's, ``self-referral dynamics of consciousness, laws of
nature, perfect health and freedom,'' the hyped benefits which Mark
had paid for with more than money, were not realized. Something else
was realized that morning, something alien to his New England
mind. Albert Miller~
Obituaries
Mark Totten
Mark Alan Totten, 27, a resident of Building 123 B, Maharishi
International University, Fairfield, Iowa, was killed early November
29, 1990 after apparently placing himself in the path of a oncoming
Burlington Northern train near the Fairfield depot.
The railroad crew reported hitting a body on the tracks at 2:12 a.m.
Totten originally was from the Boston area. He was the son of Norman
Totten of Newton, MA, and Peggyann Sekton of Weston, MA.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
India
THE SEARCH FOR IMMORTALITY
The quest for immortality is as old as man himself. Bottlers of potions,
purveyors of mystical herbal concoctions and the snake-oil salesman
from America's Wild West have one thing in common; they have all been
born of human mothers and have ultimately fallen prey to their own
mortality.
Dr. V.M. Dwivedi was one such man. He is former President of Maharishi
Vedic University in Washington, D.C. (If you can find the campus in
Washington, D.C., please let us know; it appears to be in name only.)
and was chairman of Maharishi Ayurveda Corporation of America's Scientific
Advisory Board.(1) According to M.I.U.'s Age of Enlightenment News,
Dr. Dwivedi was ``the great- est living exponent of Ayurveda''.
During the Science, Consciousness and Ageing Conference at Maharishi
European Research University (described as a hotel room with many
desks by former M.I.U. physics department chairman, Dr. Dennis Roark)
in Switzerland, Dr. Dwivedi said ``the purpose of Ayur Veda is to
re-establish normality in life. Life established [in] perfect balance
means perfect health. Ayur Veda takes the whole of life and reestablishes
the harmony between all its constituents...What better bliss can there
be than this immortal body which is free from the ageing process.''(2).
At the same conference, Maharishi said ``the central theme of Ayur
Veda is to promote longevity to the extent of immortality; the mechanics
of producing immortality are the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi
programme.''(3)
Dr. Dwivedi's ideal was just that, an ideal. He has gone to dust,
as all men do. The TM organizations continue to use Dr. Dwivedi's
name and picture on their potions, such as Amrit Kalash. But they
seem to have forgotten to tell us of his death.
Good advertising does not cause cognitive dissonance, however death
to the purveyors of an immortal life certainly does. ~
1 M.I.U. Age of Enlightenment News, pg. 18 Summer 1984, M.I.U.
2 Science Consciousness and Ageing, Proceedings of the International
Conference 19-20 pg. 26, 35, January, 1980, M.E.R.U. Press.
3 Ibid. pg. 27
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
England
CULT DOCTORS INVESTIGATED OVER HERBAL ANTI-AIDS PILLS
Two Harley Street doctors have been accused of offering patients a
3000 pound-a-year treatment for AIDS, which offeres ``no substantive
benefit''. Dr. Roger Chalmers and Dr. Leslie Davis belong to front
organizations for the controversial Indian-based cult of
Transcendental Meditation, or TM, and the pills are provided by the
cult.
The General Medical Council has started preliminary investigations
after complaints by the partner of a dead patient and by Britain's
leading AIDS charity, the Terrence Higgins Trust.
Independent scientific tests...suggest that Maharishi pills are in
fact worthless as a potential treatment for AIDS. The tests, conducted
by the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control at
Potters Bar, found that Maharishi pills had at best a negligible
effect on the HIV virus, which cause AIDS.
The Institute arranged two sets of test-tube experiments. Weight for
weight, relative to any effect against HIV, Maharishi pills were found
to be at least 100,000 times more toxic that the established AIDS
drug, AZT.
Dr. Chalmers describes himself to patients as the ``Dean of Medicine
of the Maharishi University of Natural Law, Mentmore''. Dr. Davis
says he is the ``Dean of Physiology''. But the ``Maharishi University,
Mentmore'' is officially unrecognized, has no medical students and no
power to confer degrees.
The Maharishi Ayurveda health system, which was put on the market by
the Maharishi in about 1985, has helped boost sales of the
once-fashionable and very costly TM courses.
Sales are not limited to the AIDS market. Dr. Davis admits that ``the
main aspect of Maharishi Ayurveda is Transcendental Meditation''.
Warnings have been given about the side-effects of both TM and the
Maharishi Ayurveda diets. The British Dietetic Association has
recently advised AIDS patients about potential dangers from the
Maharishi Ayurveda diet.
The Independent on Sunday, August 19, 1990. ~
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
England
HEAVEN ON EARTH
Behind the grand claims, glossy brochures, scientific-sounding language,
and a plethora of imposing international organizations, there is evidence
of something more ordinary than an Age of Enlightenment. TM is in
effect a New Age philosophy blended with profitable courses, products
and gimmicks which achieve real power over people's lives.
One former British meditator who may have experienced severe defects
from TM is Pamella Bordes. She told the Daily Mail six months ago
how in June 1988 she had destroyed much of the furnishings of Sunday
Times editor Andrew Neil's flat, as well as his clothing. She did
not mention that she had done so in the middle of learning the advanced
TM-Sidhi technique. The press reported the incident as a result of
her suspicion that Neil had been dating another woman. But her meditating
colleagues, who were present on the evening she came to the TM centre
and talked about smashing the flat in a frenzy, suspected it had more
to do with TM. ``It's pretty well known that when people learn the
TM-Sidhi technique, they can get spaced out to the extent that they
don't know what they're doing,'' explained a fellow-student of Ms.
Bordes. ``People will almost brag about it. It's well known that people
have cracked up.'' After the incident, TM teachers declined to allow
Ms. Bordes to continue.
New Statesman and Society, September 9, 1990. ~
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Germany
W. GERMAN STUDY:
The Various Implications Arising From the Practice of Transcendental
Meditation
On May 29, 1989 the West German High court ruled the study valid.
Excerpts:
4.3.3 TM has a detrimental effect on the decision making process.
There is loss of self-determination and a turning toward the TM authorities
for guidance, i.e. in the case of important decisions. Also, the variables,
facial expression, bodily posture, voice and handwriting point to
the fact that the total personality is gravely altered under the influence
of TM.
4.5.4 Whereas before the TM phase performance at school was well above
average, and those investigated were most happy with their school
or job situation, a considerable worsening in these areas occurred
as a result of the practice of transcendental meditation. 56% had
decreased concentration abilities during the TM phase, only 16% reported
an improvement. 61% found it more difficult to manage the workload,
as against 13% who reported an increased capacity. TM had a negative
influence on the professional careers of 58% of meditators. Altogether
28 meditators (42%) gave up their studies or professional career in
order to work full time for the TM movement or to be able to go on
long courses. They did this on the basis of promises made them by
the movement. An analysis of the taped interviews and the stenographer's
scripts only serve to strengthen the suspicion that the TM organization
aims at cheap labor, which in the case of those people who became
unfit to work in the course of time, can be sent away again without
any real difficulty.
4.6.6 In 76% of cases psychological disorders and illnesses occurred,
9% of meditators had had therapeutic treatment before the TM phase,
43% had psychiatric treatment or had to have medical treatment during
the TM phase. The psychological disorders most prevalent were tiredness
(63%), ``states of anxiety'' (52%), depression (45%), nervousness
(39%), and regression (39%). 26% had a nervous breakdown and 20% expressed
serious suicidal tendencies. Psychological illness already present
before the TM phase worsened considerably. TM can cause mental illness
or at the very least prepare the way for the onset of mental illness.
A lack of opportunity for the treatment of meditation experiences
and/or altered perception of reality create suitable conditions for
a pathogenic appearance. Added to this is the heightened delicacy
and increasing helplessness in the personality of the meditator, which
can develop into a complete depersonalization.
5.6.4 The suspicion grows that the meditation offered by TM, caused,
in the meditators' cases which we have investigated, a far reaching
alteration in the view of reality, which damages or causes further
damage to social relationships, the drive to achieve (motivation)
is considerably lessened, to the degree that practical work (i.e.
in a job) becomes intolerable to the meditator, in addition to all
conditions brought about by the intense practice of the meditation,
it gives rise to physical and mental damage.
Government Ministry of Youth, Family and Health, Germany, 1980. ~
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Germany
JUDGMENT OF GERMAN COURT
The ruling of the highest federal administrative tribunal, the
Bundesverwaltungsgericht on May 24, 1989 in Case number 7 C 2.87 is:
1) The Federal Government is competent and allowed to care about cults.
2) The Federal Government is allowed to warn of TM.
3) The Federal Government is allowed to designate TM a "Youth Religion"
as well as a "Psychogroup".
4) The Federal Government is allowed to say that TM is taught by teachers
who are not qualified [to deal with the TM problems].
5) The Federal Government is allowed to say, TM can cause psychic
defects or destruction of personality.
Copies of the German Study are available from TM-EX and the Cult Awareness
Network. ~
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Fairfield
M.I.U. IS NOT ON U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT'S TOP THIRD COLLEGES LIST
``M.I.U. makes claims to which it is not entitled''
According to a January 17, 1990 letter from Mel Elfin, Executive Editor
of [U.S. News and World Report's] ``America's Best Colleges'', M.I.U.
is not among the top third of the nation's colleges and universities
selected by the publication.
``I have thoroughly examined our latest edition of ``America's Best
Colleges'' and find, that [M.I.U.'s] claims are at odds with reality.
Strange things must happen to you when you spend a lot of time in
transcendental meditation.''
``Curiously, we like to believe that those we have put in charge of
molding the minds of our children would not submit misleading information...it
seems some deans will on occasion stretch the truth.''
``I have turned the material over to our attorneys who will take the
necessary action to insure M.I.U. does not make claims to which it
is not entitled.''
Note: M.I.U.'s current publications no longer make this claim. ~
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Iowa
M.I.U. - HIGHEST DEFAULT RATE ON STUDENT LOANS: 19.57%
M.I.U. claims ``Ideal Education'' although its graduates don't seem
to repay their loans, according to Iowa College Aid Commission. In
a October 17, 1989 breakdown by educational institutions, M.I.U.'s
cumulative default rate sets the record, a 19.57% default rate for
4 year independent institutions.~
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Fairfield
TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION & THE GAME OF ENLIGHTENMENT
After 20 years of TM and as a recent director of capital operations
on the MIU campus, I can affirm that sincere people seek fulfillment
by the TM and sidhis practice, expecting enlightened changes. But
significant changes and ``enlightenment'' itself always remain beyond
every effort and expense to get it, except by a self-induced assumption.
From being more rested perhaps and feeling the normal benefits of
relaxation, the big changes promised by the TM teacher don't happen.
What does happen, in my long observation and experience with people
at MIU and elsewhere in the movement, are variations of degraded performance,
psychomotor disturbances, lower productivity, being spaced out in
the head, becoming hypnoidal, paranoidal, assumptive and/or deluded.
Letter to the editor, Fairfield Ledger, October 11, 1990, Albert
Miller. ~
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
M.I.U. GRADUATES, FORMER STUDENTS AND FACULTY IN THE NEWS
The national television program Inside Edition featured former Maharishi
International University Physics Department chairperson, Dennis Roark,
former faculty member A. Denaro and M.I.U. graduate Patrick Ryan
('80) exposing the inner workings of TM.
According to the broadcast, break-ins in Fairfield were up ``500%''
during the last ``large group course'' in April. In preparation for
the show, Inside Edition reporters were told by M.I.U. faculty and
public relations persons that ``they had never heard of the West German
study'' It is amazing that the International Center for Research
on TM is unaware of such a important study. The TM movement fought
a long legal battle over this study in Germany.
P. Ryan appeared on Inside Report.
M.I.U. graduate Curtis Mailloux ('79) was interviewed by American
and European journalists; his interviews have appeared in Washington's
City Paper and the Des Moines Register. ~
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Fairfield
HEAVEN ON EARTH, BUT NOT FOR FAIRFIELD
The following is a `taste of heaven on earth', M.I.U. style, as reported
in the Fairfield Ledger:
January 90 5) Sidha company, Ritam Corp. reports theft of cash from
office.
Hayes Auction Service reports break-in and theft.
Fairfield resident charged with sex abuse with a child under the age
of 12.
11) Fairfield Ledger prints letter to editor ``Suppressing the truth?''
18) Fairfield police have wrapped up a succession of auto thefts and
break-ins mostly on the campus of M.I.U. - with a total of 16 charges
filed. ``Although the cases centered on the M.I.U campus, youths involved
were from both meditating and non-meditating families.''
19 ) Gerald Swanson, M.I.U. resident, reported the theft of two stereo
speakers and a Nintendo game.
23) ``Burglars hit Highway 1 south.''
27) ``Secretary of Agriculture declared 41 Iowa counties damaged in
last year's drought as natural disaster areas.'' ["The seasons will
come in time", MMY].
29) Theft at M.I.U. Pod 127C where three persons had items missing
(coats and mountain bike).
February 90 1) Reported theft from women's dome of a purse.
2) Sidha-owned Best Western Hotel reports theft of cash deposits from
safe.
7) Break-in attempt at Happy Landings [Sidha flying cushion maker].
14) The window of a Buick at Great Midwestern Ice Cream Co. vandalized
[Sidha co.].
Shattered window of a Datsun by a blunt instrument at Utopia Park.
Broken rear window in a Ford at Utopia Park.
23) Vandalism to a Volvo parked on M.I.U. campus.
27) Two cars involved in an accident on M.I.U. campus.
Fairfield asking for a 3.8% increase in taxes.
March 90 1) County jobless rate rises by 1%.
"A total of 70 bad check charges have been handled in Jefferson County
in the past three weeks. Capt. Donald Raymond of the Fairfield police
says the number is not unusual. More the tip of the iceberg, Raymond
says the number of bad checks passed at Fairfield businesses far exceeds
the number of charges filed."
9) Ross Motors report break-in.
13) Fairfield hospital budget increases $1.5 million.
14) M.I.U. found liable for $5.7 million in damages in a suit filled
by a former M.I.U. student.
19) M.I.U. resident reported to Fairfield police that a tape player
had been ripped out of his 1984 Mazda.
30) A 1988 Volvo reported stolen by M.I.U. resident.
M.I.U. resident reported vandals smashed a window in her parked car.
Yet another M.I.U. resident reported items including car keys were
taken from his vehicle.
31) M.I.U. resident reports Honda motorcycle stolen.
April 90 2) M.I.U. student reported his car had been vandalized while
parked next to Yagya Vakya Hall. Mercedes hub caps were reported stolen
and the vehicle was damaged by white paint. The trunk emblem was broken
and the paint scratched.
13) A gemstone merchant reports two signs advertising her business
were stolen, value $250.
18) Members of TM-EX picket M.I.U. campus.
19 ) M.I.U. resident reports theft of mountain bike.
24) Dozens injured as Amtrak train derails near Fairfield.
May 90 1) A tool box containing $500 worth of tools was taken from
a vehicle owned by M.I.U.
3) Utopia Park resident reported theft of boxes of items from a storage
area.
5) Fairfield Ledger prints Albert Miller's letter to the editor ``M.I.U.
censorship revisited''.
14) ``Police rack up charges for alcohol by minors''; M.I.U. students
involved.
15) A missing bike was reported to have been taken from near the dining
hall at M.I.U..
18) Car stolen in test drive reported by Ross Motors.
23) M.I.U. resident reported two speakers had been taken from his
car and the windows of the vehicle had been smashed.
30) Bicyclist was taken to Jefferson County Hospital for treatment
when his vehicle collided with a car on the M.I.U. campus.
August 90 10) Vehicle on campus caught fire.
21) Fire call to M.I.U. campus. They attributed the 2:50 a.m. blaze
to spontaneous combustion of sesame oil on towels in a closet. There
was considerable fire, smoke and water damage.
25) The owner of a parked car which reportedly slipped out of gear
and rolled down an incline into another car was ticketed for failure
to have set the brake [M.I.U. resident].
28) Sidha-owned company Hawthorne Communications reports break-in.
Stereo was stolen.
29) SAT scores dropped to their lowest level in a decade, according
to the Fairfield Ledger.
30) The fire department, at the scene of one fire at M.I.U., was called
to a second fire on the campus. Firefighters extinguished a blaze
in the Ayurvedic Clinic where a pan of sesame oil left on a burner
had ignited.
In building 107 a fan motor burned out in a dormitory kitchen.
September 90 7) M.I.U. student reported theft of two Apple-MacIntosh
computers, a Rolex watch and a gold ring from his campus room.
11) Fairfield chiropractor has been charged with two counts of second
degree fraudulent practice.
12) Thefts of three bicycles were reported to police from the M.I.U.
campus.
19) The entire complex of M.I.U.'s campus condominiums sustained smoke
damage as the result of a fire caused by heated sesame oil on a stove
in one of the apartments.
A theft of coats valued at $1,700 from Overland Outfitters [a Sidha
company].
22) A 68 year old women was injured in a daylight mugging and robbery
in downtown Fairfield.
29) M.I.U. student reported the theft of a bicycle.
October 90 4) The theft of car keys, automatic teller machine card
and M.I.U. campus keys were reported.
15) Vandalism on M.I.U. campus was reported.
22) Fairfield Ledger letter to the editor calls M.I.U. its ``own worst
enemy".
A theft was reported of a bicycle from the Student Union at M.I.U.
27) M.I.U. student reports theft from dorm of personal items.
31) Three persons have reported the theft of a total of four bicycles
from or near the campus of M.I.U.
Female M.I.U. student was assaulted in Waterworks Park.
This is just a ``taste'' of the crimes surrounding the meditating
community at Fairfield, Iowa - the epicenter of coherence for the
world; the largest single group of Maharishi followers in the world.
~
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
`` WE TAKE CARE OF THE CRIME'' -- MAHARISHI, 1975
Inaugurating his Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment, the Maharishi warbled,
``One police post takes care of all the criminal tendencies. Now
a meditating home is like a police post that takes care of all the
the criminal tendencies...So these few meditation houses in the city,
which every mayor can very easily erect, will take care of all the
negative tendencies in the city.''(1) ~
1 Mahesh, Yogi, Inauguration of the Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment,
M.I.U. Press, Publication 6186 1975.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear TM-EX - a letter for your readers: The MIU/Fairfield TM community
has been taking credit for the increased political and economic freedom
in Eastern Europe. If 1,600 Sidhi flyers at M.I.U. can influence Europe,
should they not have a beneficial effect on crime in Fairfield? Crimes
filed in Jefferson County (home of M.I.U.) rose from 127 in 1987 to
146 in 1988 and 187 in 1989. For the same three years the number of
incidents called into the Fairfield police were 7,505, then 7891 and
in 1989 the police were notified of 8,265 incidents. According to
Fairfield police statistics, reports included 3 rapes, 11 suicide
threats or actual suicides, 32 assaults, 130 family offenses, 45 motor
vehicle thefts, 87 burglaries, 437 thefts and 470 motor vehicle accidents.
For a town of 10,000 people that is supposed to be an important center
of world harmony, Fairfield seems terribly normal to me.
Did you know that M.I.U and World Plan Executive Council financial
statements are available from the I.R.S.? You might be interested
in having a look at them. (The employer numbers speed up I.R.S. processing
considerably; M.I.U.'s is 95-2790401 and W.P.E.C.'s is 95-2485909).
In the early 1970's Maharishi used to say that enlightenment would
arise in five to seven years from twenty minutes of TM twice a day.
Now that many of you have been practicing the TM-Sidhi program for
one and a half to three hours twice daily for, say five to ten years,
how spiritually advanced do you feel? Where will you be five years
from now, using the progress of the past five as an indication of
your rate of growth? Enquiringly, Fairfield Resident
Note: Related story, "Heaven On Earth, But Not for Fairfield" pg.
5.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear TM-EX, As an Associate Teacher of TM in 1982 I ``checked'' the
meditation of a woman whom I quickly befriended. Recently initiated,
her eyes were wide with wonder over having discovered TM. She marveled
over the charismatic Maharishi and had already volunteered to support
the Philadelphia TM Center. Being a good MIU graduate I invited her
to an advanced lecture. She came to the next lecture with eager anticipation,
but left abruptly during one of the ``Humboldt tapes''. She was visibly
disturbed. I felt strangely anxious. I chose to remain through the
lecture.
Later we discussed what had happened. I used every Movement cliche
I could recall to overcome her ``doubts''. She stuck to her opinions.
``The people at the lecture...They accept everything Maharishi says
without question...He is not infallible!''
My mind reacted with thoughts of a trained disciple: ``She does not
understand. She has not yet been exposed to enough Knowledge.'' I
persisted, ``Maharishi wants us to question. The people at the lecture
have been convinced by their own experience as long-term meditators.
It would be good for you to come to another lecture - to question
and learn.'' My frustration grew as the arguments I had been conditioned
to make were confronted by a wall of logic and reason. My friend was
fighting to control her own mind.
Finally she said, ``The Movement will have to change, if it is to
attract thinking people.'' I was stung. Next day I sat in a park and
felt like I was waking from a daze that had obscured my vision for
nearly a decade. ``Thinking people,'' I thought. ``I, too, want to
think again. I do not know where thinking for myself will take me,
but I want to exercise my right to determine how I live my own life!''
Four years later I severed my connections to TM. During that period
I believed no one could understand my inner turmoil as I sorted out
the conflict between what I observed and what Maharishi and his devotees
told me I should believe. Relying on my conscience enabled me to gradually
resume building a life based on my own values.
Many others have freed themselves from the mental paralysis that years
of meditation, and rounding, and indoctrination can cause. If you
are uneasy about how TM has affected you, TM-EX can help you confront
the sometimes daunting prospect of questioning Maharishi's authority.
As unsettling as testing our adopted beliefs against reality can
be, I believe the rewards of taking control over our own lives is
worth it. Ken Keefer, Philadelphia,PA B.A. M.I.U Class of 1977
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear folks at TM-EX, I was initiated in NYC in 1969. In those days
the Movement lingo was just moving into the ``deep rest and stress
release'' phase; away from too much esoteric and Hindu stuff.
I attended Maharishi's wonderful lectures in Humbolt in 1970. In 1971
I took off for Mallorca, Spain for one of the first Teacher Training
Courses. It was a three month course and I ended up staying for three,
the last in Fiuggi, Italy.
I had an out of the body experience for 4 days. Since new and exciting
experiences were the thing, I was examined by two medical Drs., an
herbalist and a spiritualist, treated with exercise and baths and
sniffing an orange peel three times a day, and labelled a heavy unstressor.
I credit my husband and doctor for their work in keeping me here.
One friend did not make it.
We would visit Maharishi at Lake Tahoe and he would `see' us. Literally,
we'd be led to his room after sitting and waiting for hours, he'd
sit and look at us as we'd do the same. Some times he would nod off
for a minute or two.
In 1976, after contacting Maharishi and asking if we could go to one
of the Sidha training courses (which we could never afford, having
been paid room and board for the past 5 years) we were told to go
out and earn the money. So off we went to New York.
The transition back into the workaday world was devastating...self
esteem and ability as a breadwinner was shot. I felt alone and impoverished
and completely unfamiliar with my feelings and their normal expression.
I grew depressed, my husband wandered in a daze of disbelief and ineptitude.
After one year we moved to Fairfield to be close to M.I.U. It was
a year of poverty and confusion, lies and frustration. Inner and outer
reality were so disparate. What the mind knew and what the mouth said
could not be reconciled. If you spoke your pain you were ``unstressing'',
and that was punishable by ostracism. We were truly like drowning
fish out of water, we were totally unsuited to life in relative existence.
We failed and failed and set ourselves up for more - all the while
singing, ``Something good is happening''.
I took control, so to speak, stopped meditating regularly, started
reading again, enjoying life and what it had to offer. I was truly
reborn as they say. But reborn to balance, peace with passion, body,
mind and spirit.
Now, I am not bitter, though heaven knows I went through my angry
stage. I still use ``Something good is happening'' as a general affirmation,
though now it does not cover or submerge the truth as it is from my
eyes.
As for Maharishi, I am glad I had the opportunity to spend so much
time in the presence of such a rich and full minded guy. He taught
me about blind trust and not so blind trust.
And the movement; last summer [a friend] took me to a celebration
at the Capital for SCI. There were some old friends, and shared sweetness
was a delight. There was a Puja, which was soothing in it its way.
There were also the insincere calls for cash, pitches for elixirs
and health treatments and Maharishi's taped message, beatifically
lit and appropriately cut for the impatient viewer. My underlying
feelings were very sad and angry.
I remember in Humboldt, 20 years ago, the story of the man who wanted
to bottle the juice of the gods and sell it for enlightenment. I remember
a jocular Maharishi Mahesh Yogi saying that this was not the way to
do it, that the secrets were within and only through transcendence
would enlightenment come. He called the bottler a fraud and allowed
that if you ever met this thief you were forewarned. Last summer,
for the first time, I felt I had gone to a old friend's home and met
the thief.
Whatever else you are trying to accomplish, you have done me a favor
in inspiring me to write this. Best regards, C.T. Asia
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``Thank you...for your important work of exposing the harm done through
lack of scruples of the TM organization. I have a lot of anger towards
Maharishi and TM as my marriage was nearly destroyed because of it.
Please keep sending me your newsletter.'' L.C. Canada
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``You know, I'm wondering about how many jobs I didn't get because
on my resume I list M.I.U. as the place where I got my B.A. Geez,
every interview I've ever had was mostly spent explaining what M.I.U.
is, and then having the interviewer look at me as if I had antenna
growing out of my head.'' C.M. Connecticut, U.S.A., M.I.U. Class
of 1980
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``Please send your information on and newsletter, maybe also former
ones. In Germany teachers want to start to create a network which
tries to be independent.'' D.A.O. Germany
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``I just finished Combatting Cult Mind Control, per your suggestion.
It was quite an eye opener. The discussion of mind control and ``cognitive
dissonance'' really struck me. Lots of other topics really clicked:
elitist mentality, loaded language, group will over individual will,
obedience, manipulation, and on and on. It's all there.''H.D. California,
U.S.A.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``Please send me your ``newsletter''. I haven't seen it yet, but heard
about it from a friend. I'm especially interested in reading Dennis
Roark's letter.'' J. Fairfield, U.S.A.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``Stop sending us your insulting newsletter. Your lack of respect
for the individual freedom to choose only reflects on your own state
of confusion and immaturity. We all know that your motivation for
doing this is not what you claim it to be.'' T.W. Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
Note: It seems the movement propaganda machine is attempting to link
TM-EX to another cult leader, Swami Prakashanand Saraswati of the
International Society of Divine Love (I.S.D.L.). Let the facts be
known; TM-EX has helped three former TM members who cult-hopped,
(as is common with TM'ers caught in "magical thinking") into I.S.D.L.,
out of that group. TM-EX is in no way linked to the group I.S.D.L..
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``A friend passed along an old copy of your newsletter, and I'd like
to be on your mailing list. Please let me know if you have TM-EX members
or any sort of ex-member support program in Manhattan.'' S.C.J. New
York, U.S.A.
Note: The Cult Awareness Network and F.O.C.U.S. hold regular meetings
in New York. Former TM members attend.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``Take your advanced techniques pamphlet and shove it up your de-evolving
*******.''
Note: This telephone message was from a Governor of the Age of Enlightenment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``We appreciate your taking time to chat with us. Since then we've
been through a lot - we've stopped TM, read a lot and thought and
talked a lot. Life has really changed for the better.'' Walt Gibbons
Virginia, U.S.A.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``I was involved in TM over 10 years ago, but I am shocked at how
much influence it still has over my life.'' E.W. Manhattan, Kansas,
U.S.A.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``I was given a copy of your pamphlets ``Just Say No!'' by the Cult
Project in Montreal. I had been meditating for 10 years and had been
experiencing for the last several years very uncomfortable meditations,
i.e. I felt that I was hypnotizing myself, my head was spinning and
I felt very bad and tired. I came to the conclusion that I had not
been taking charge of my life all these years. (I guess I felt that
by the practicing TM, my life would take care of itself.) Needless
to say I stopped then and there. It was a difficult adjustment but
I feel much better now. Thank You.'' J.V. Canada
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``I'm an M.I.U. graduate and I'd like to hear what you're doing. I'd
like the opportunity to communicate with you or others about our common
experience with TM. I've been out of school for two years, haven't
been able to keep a job (I quit all of them before I got fired) -
work problems have revolved around lack of ability to concentrate
and general depression. I also feel socially awkward and uninformed,
like waking up after a long sleep and finding that the world has changed.
I have huge student loan payments to make which I'm not very happy
about since It's hard to get a job or be taken seriously with an M.I.U.
degree. I often wonder how they got accredited."
S.D. New England, U.S.A. M.I.U. graduate 198?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``It has been so very hard to find ex-TM people to discuss my anxieties
with. I wonder why that is so. I am totally convinced that there is
something fundamentally wrong with the TM organization.'' Canada
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``I just finished TM and Cult Mania and am sending it out to [friends]
at M.I.U. It explained much of how and what happened to me over the
past 15 years. I'd be interested in joining TM-EX.'' M.T. Psy.D. Hartford,
Connecticut, U.S.A.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``Please take me off your mailing list. I have gone to a lot of trouble
to be programmed.'' K.D. Fairfield, Iowa, U.S.A.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``I received your mailing a few weeks ago. I am living at the [...]
TM center. I am sincerely interested in finding out more...since I've
been living here at the center I've become aware of many of the problems
and inconsistencies [with] which you spoke.'' J.M., U.S.A.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``Thank you very much for your support during the past year. It was
very helpful in understanding TM and its movement.'' K.T., Japan
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``I have not been getting the TM-EX newsletter, please put me on the
mailing list.'' M.G. Massachusetts, U.S.A.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``I am an M.I.U. graduate, class of 82. A friend recently sent me
a copy of your current newsletter. You can continue sending it.''
Eugene, Oregon, U.S.A., M.I.U. Class 1982
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``I was involved with TM for about four years and involved with the
man who talked me into learning. He broke up with me when my questioning
of TM had reached the point that it was, in his view, generating too
much stress in his system and slowing down his path toward enlightenment.
I got really caught in the TM maelstrom and ``magical'' thinking.
It's so clear to me now that our relationship was more and more that
of the TM organization towards its meditators; telling lies, being
deliberately deceptive, withholding information, saying not what is,
but that which is most likely to keep the listener's interest.''
E.B. MA, U.S.A.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``I just read that Maharishi's wealth is estimated to be in excess
of $3.5 billion dollars. Yet, MMY finds it necessary to ask the U.S.
government (and for that matter, people in the movement - often lower
income people who can barely pay their own bills) for funds to create
his sidha community to create world peace. If MMY has any concern
for world peace, he would create this himself. It is information
like this that makes me wonder how I stayed in the movement for 17
years and how these people continue to swallow these lies and give
this rich egomaniac money''. Gina Martin, Virginia, U.S.A.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``The press, the public and even some anti-cult groups think of TM
as a benign self-help exercise, just a 20 minute, twice a day relaxation
from stress.
As parents who have seen their son ``progress'' from 40 minutes to
two hours to six or more hours a day, we know that TM is a Hindu religious
cult, masquerading as a secular self-help group under the watchful
eye of the Maharishi.
The ultimate in the TM hierarchy is the Purusha group, which LIFE
magazine recently referred to as ``meditating monks''. My son, a
Purusha, has dropped out of the mainstream and leads a monk-like,
celibate life in an isolated environment.
If the Purusha group is ever dissolved, he will have a difficult time
making it in the real world.'' A Parent, U.S.A.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``My child has been in TM for 20 years. His life has been totally
dominated by his relationship with TM. His involvement has become a
total tragedy for our family.'' A Parent, U.S.A.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``I intend to speak out against Maharishi and TM whenever and however
I can, and to hope that one small voice might be heard against all the
powerful media coverage TM has been getting. If enough of us expose
the truth of what has happened to our loved ones, won't someone begin
to hear us?'' Sara Jones, Parent, Bermuda
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``We've had the heartbreaking experience of watching firsthand the
machinations of the TM movement on young adults. We have seen bright
college students, at the top of their class, become victims of this
deceitful organization. Over an 18 year period, they were drawn to
the top of the TM movement, living, for the most part, a monk-like
existence. In so doing, they sacrificed their most productive years
career-wise and for starting a family. TM robbed them of these
opportunities. It destroyed their critical ability to analyze their
TM experience.
Maharishi has created the greatest crime: the stealing of a person's
mind and will.'' Parents,U.S.A.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
``Letters'' is a forum reflecting the views of the authors and does
not necessarily represent those of the editors. Due to the volume of
letters, not all can be published. We reserve the right to edit for
space and clarity. Please send letters, essays, and articles to
TM-EX. Because of the sensitive nature of our publication, authors'
names printed by request only.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
World
CULTS TAKE CREDIT FOR EUROPEAN CHANGES
Countless groups known as "cults" are making inroads in Eastern Europe.
Many are taking full credit for the changes that have occured. Claims
are being made that by "chanting", "meditating", "decreeing", "visualizing",
"breathing", "channelling", "intending" and a host of other "magical
processes", the Berlin Wall came down.
Unification Church Unification Church-linked newspaper, the Washington
Times reported Maharishi's wealth at over $3.5 billion dollars in
a recent article.
The Unification Church's student wing, CARP (Collegiate Association
for the Research of Principles) is recruiting 250 students from the
USSR for a free 3-4 week stay in the U.S. this summer. Rev. Moon also
recently met with Soviet President Gorbachev.
The Unification Church in February held an ``Introductory Seminar
on the Unification Movement'' in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Over 150
professors and clergy from Eastern European countries attend.
Rev. Moon's stated goal is to "conquer and subjugate the world" [Master
Speaks].
Insight Upfront, a program on Manchester Television, (England),
was the setting for allegations on May 20 by involved individuals
who say that trainers for Insight Training Seminars, which is connected
with John-Roger's Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness, have sexually
exploited those who open themselves up emotionally while seeking guidance
for their problems through Insight Seminars.
EST Former employees of est founder Werner Erhard say they were forced
to obey the pop psychology guru in a manner ``akin to God'' and to
submit themselves to ``numerous instances of verbally and physically
abusive behavior''. San Francisco Chronicle, 4/3/90
Siddha Yoga The town of S. Fallsburg, N.Y. has placed $1.5 million
of property owned by the tax-exempt Siddha Yoga Dham Foundation [SYDA]
on the local tax rolls. A resident suggested that at least two members
of the Town Board owed their seats to block voting by SYDA, and claimed
SYDA should lose its tax exemption because it had actively engaged
in the political process and had allowed at least 12 business to operate
from its grounds. Catskill Democrat, 3/16/90.
Swami Rama, Since the early 1970's, women have been claiming sexual
abuse at the hands of this prominent spiritual teacher. No one had
thoroughly investigated, until jounalist Katharine Webster decided
to spend two years researching their allegations. Yoga Journal
November/December 1990, issue 95.
France The latest issue of Bulles features articles on meditation
as an instrument of dependence. Shorter articles deal with the movement
of cult groups east of the Berlin Wall. Vol. 25 ~
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
World
THE MAHARISHI EFFECT
M.I.U. and movement authorities claimed last June they had accomplished
world peace and nearly ``Heaven on Earth'' by the superradiance world
effect of all the practice-flying sidha meditators in the Fairfield
golden domes: (This is not to mention the additional 4000 super-radiating
boy-brains meditating at the yogi's ashram in India.
DATELINE the world since the M.I.U.-movement announcement:
Iraq invades Kuwait, Arab now pitted against Arab; Hitlerism rises
in the cradle of civilization; Persian Gulf million-man-war is imminent;
worldwide terrorism threatened; South Africans kill each other; West
Texas crude hits $40 a barrel; rate of reported crimes worldwide is
growing faster than national economies and populations; embezzlement
and fraud rose 30% between 1980 and 1986, and violent crimes grew
9%. Killings in the United States are at the rate of one every 22
1/2 minutes. 1990 may surpass the 1980 high of 23,044 killings.
In the Soviet Union, more than a million crimes were reported in
the first half of 1990-lawlessness is up 17%, Mafia-style organizations
are capitalizing on the disintegrating economy and social flux to
purvey illicit drugs and black-market products like rifles; world
welfare and peace in serious jeopardy.
Could the 'Effect' theory be wrong? ~
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S.A.
MAHARISHI'S MEDICINE MAN
Most of the findings [on Maharishi Ayurveda] are still unpublished,
and so haven't been reviewed by other scientists. And some argue that
the research carries a bias because it was either done primarily by
scientists who are avowed meditators or affiliated with a Maharishi
International University or it was funded by a Maharishi linked foundation.
``We realize the importance of scientific research by people who aren't
`insiders','' says Chopra in response to such criticism. ``But what
are we to do if a scientist becomes so convinced of their value that
he begins meditating and following all the practices himself? That
happens all the time.''
One such scientist, pathologist Hari Sharma of Ohio State University,
has for two years studied Maharishi Amrit Kalash. ``I didn't expect
to see positive results,'' he says. ``I had to be shown, and now I'm
a convert.'' In Health, May/June, 1990, Debra Franklin Note: Documents
obtained from the Iowa Consumer Protection Division (July 1977) list
Hari M. Sharma, M.D. as one of the "people currently on Citizen's
Advanced Courses Phase 1." It seems Dr. Sharma was a "convert" long
before doing research on Maharishi Ayurveda. ~
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
TM-EX Korea
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA, Bill No. 1366, Case: Request
for re-investigation of crimes committed by TM, introduced March 28,
1990
``The petitioner, Mr. J.D. Kim [appointed by Maharishi as the National
Leader of TM for the Republic of Korea], was involved in manufacturing
and exporting Korean traditional handicrafts and lacquerware inlaid
with mother of pearl in joint venture with SCI (Sidha Corporation
International) and found out that they (SCI) are not a genuine business
firm aiming for business operation, but engaged in swindling by extorting
properties from the people by turning them into entranced state through
religious rite known as `Transcendental Meditation'.'' ~
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S.A.
SUGGESTED READINGS:
PSYCHIATRY: INTERPERSONAL AND BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES, Volume 53, Number
2, May 1990, ``Depersonalization and Meditation''. Study of six long-term
TMers.
PSYCHIATRIC ANNALS, Volume 20, Number 4, April 1990, ``Thought Reform
Programs and the Production of Psychiatric Casualties''. Reviewing
the history of thought reform and mind control programs [case examples
include TMer].
Combatting Cult Mind Control, by Steven Hassan. MUST reading for
anyone who has been touched by cult phenomena.
TM and Cult Mania, by M.A. Persinger, Ph.D. An in-depth investigation
into the claims of TM, hypnosis and research.
Influence: The New Psychology of Modern Persuasion, by Robert B. Cialdini,
Ph.D. A landmark publication in furthering our understanding of the
persuasion process.
Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism, by Dr. Robert J. Lifton,
M.D. A new re-issued edition of a classic textbook and case study
on victims of thought reform and the elements of thought reform programs.
Books and full reprints of most articles are available from the Cult
Awareness Network, 2421 West Pratt Blvd., Suite 1173, Chicago, Illinois
60645, (312)-267-7777. ~
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHAT IS TM-EX?
Transcendental Meditation Ex-Members Support Group (TM-EX) was founded
by former Maharishi International University (MIU) faculty, students,
TM teachers, sidhas, meditators, and caring relatives of members of
the TM movement. TM-EX is a support network to help former and current
members of the TM movement in making the transition to life outside
the TM movement. As former members, we have experienced the transition
and are available to assist you.
WHAT DO WE DO?
We are a referral network and source of information to movement members,
former members, exit counselors, family members and experienced
therapists and professionals.
THE TM-EX newsletter is a forum for a varitety of opinions that often
cannot be expressed within the movement without fear of reprisal.
Contributors do not represent any particular philosophy, opinion or
lifestyle.
Although numerous religious based groups have challenged TM in the
past, TM-EX is not affiliated with any of these. Its members come
from a wide variety of religious and philosophical backgrounds. What
we do have in common, is our desire to assist those leaving the movement;
to make the public aware of the fraud within the movement; and
the physical and psychological harm, that has resulted for many, from
the practices of the TM Program.
We welcome your input: comments, articles, letters, help with printing
and postage.
Call or write TM-EX:
P.O. Box 7565, Arlington, VA 22207
(202) 728-7580 [All telephone calls will be returned collect.]