TM-EX NEWSLETTER TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION EX-MEMBERS SUPPORT GROUP FALL 1991 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ZAMBIA Heaven's strange bedfellows Meditation guru and Zambian strongman Kenneth David Kaunda has ruled Zambia for 27 years, ever since the former British colony of Northern Rhodesia won its independence in 1964, largely through his efforts. His word has been law, his peculiar whims the stuff of public policy. With Eastern mysticism and Earth-friendly farming, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi--guru to the Beatles and creator of Transcendental Meditation--plans to relieve Zambia's crushing poverty while dispersing a wondrous aura of calm and anti-negativity throughout this forlorn country. He has persuded Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda to undertake the Maharishi Heaven on Earth Development Project, which--if it ever reaches fruition--will eventually encompass one-fourth of Zambia's land mass. Why? To create a paradise, they say. Zambia is in the middle of a national election. On Oct. 31, Kaunda will face opponents from other parties for the first time in more than 15 years, and the Heaven on Earth scheme has developed into one of the opposition's most potent issues. Kaunda's own political philosophy, which he calls ``humanism,'' a mix of egalitarian socialism and religious rhetoric, has been the Zambian state cult for two decades. But humanism has not kept the Zambian economy from the edge of ruin. An avowed spiritualist, Kaunda has his own Indian faith healer, with whom he worships daily in a private temple that few have seen but that everyone talks about. M.A. Ranganathan--who describes himself as a ``philosopher, scientist and holistic health consultant''--said he decided to dedicate his life to serving Kaunda when he first saw the president and noticed a great, golden halo around the leader's head. Others describe Ranganathan as a Rasputin figure, who always has the Big Man's ear and is consulted on every important decision of state. Stories of Kaunda weirdness abound. When an American con man came to Lusaka two years ago with a scheme to turn grass into oil, Kaunda and many top Zambian officials handed over thousands of dollars. The man promptly disappeared with it. And now Kaunda is hip-deep in a scheme with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to build an agrarian utopia among Zambia's six million poor. ``The gurus came to him with this idea to put up this funny project of theirs and found the president very, very receptive to the idea,'' said Robinson Makayi, editor of the independent Weekly Post. ``They are very clever. They see the psychology of the man and they exploit it.'' Opposition party spokesman Derrick Chitala said bluntly, ``I don't think he's completely normal anymore.'' Philadelphia Inquirer, Oct. 18, Oct. 24, 1991, Rick Lyman~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- KANSAS CITY Indian medicine proponents' tactics stir controversy: Promotional efforts of Dr. Deepak Chopra and other practitioners of Ayurveda are questioned Dr. Deepak Chopra considers himself immortal. And for $75--$60 in advance--Chopra will explain how you, too, can ``diet blissfully, eliminate fatigue and correct the mistake of aging'' It may take some oils. It may take some Indian pennywort and cinnamon. And it probably will take lots of Transcendental Meditation. Chopra is America's foremost proponent of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's version of traditional Indian medicine called Ayurveda, which treats illnesses with diet, herbs, oil massages and relaxation. But he now has more than just his mantra to occupy his mind. He faces a controversy over the tactics he and other followers of the Maharishi are using to gain publicity and respectability for Ayurveda. Within just the last week, people as diverse as a rookie on the Kansas City Royals and the editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association have said they've been caught up in publicity maneuvers by promoters of Ayurveda. Critics of the Maharishi say what's being done now to promote Ayurveda fits a pattern of deception used to advance the Maharishi's enterprises. Chopra defends his beliefs against the critics in organized medicine. ``The establishment panics when doctors try to wake up a patient's own healing ability instead of pumping him with drugs or cutting his body open,'' Chopra said from Europe in a statement released last week. ``If they want to paint me as a bogeyman, they have all the power and prestige at their command.'' Those who have complained about efforts to publicize Ayurveda say they were victims of the movement. ``I felt used,'' Royals catcher Brent Mayne told a sports writer for The Kansas City Star. Mayne found himself on the front page of the Wall Street Journal last month described as an ``Ayurvedic ballplayer'' who gets hosed with gallons of hot sesame oil and has ginger juice squirted up his nose. Mayne, it turns out, had been approached by an Ayurveda spokesman while on a road trip that included Boston and was offered free treatment at a nearby Ayurveda center. After Mayne accepted, members of the national press apparently were alerted to the story possibilities by the Ayurveda spokesman. The Journal of the American Medical Association, the voice of orthodox medicine, published in May a ``Letter from New Delhi'' by Chopra and other associates of the Maharishi that described in glowing terms herbal Ayurveda remedies sold by the Maharishi. The editors of the journal found out later, when they opened numerous letters from outraged physicians and anti-cult groups, that the authors had failed to disclose their financial and professional ties to the Maharishi, a serious breach of the medical association's rules. ``We did not realize that there was this connection,'' said Dr. George Lundberg, editor of the journal, known as JAMA. ``I'm annoyed that our review process didn't recognize the difference between traditional medicine and a commercial enterprise.'' JAMA launched a retaliatory salvo last week: a lengthy investigative article--an unusual effort for the scholarly journal--that turned up substantial evidence of deceptive tactics used to associate Ayurveda with respected universities, professional organizations and journals. The Ayurveda organization said Chopra wasn't involved in arranging Mayne's visit but he issued a virtual apology to the ballplayer. ``It certainly was never our intention to exploit him,'' said Roger Gabriel, Chopra's assistant. ``If that's what he felt happened, then we sincerely apologize...We always respect anybody's privacy.'' But Chopra was far from contrite about his dealings with JAMA. He charged the journal with conducting a witch hunt. ``They accused me of belonging to a worldwide conspiracy; they branded me a cult follower; they impugned my integrity as a physician without the slightest regard for objective proof,'' Chopra said in his statement. ``It eventually became quite clear to me that the journal exists to serve the interests of gigantic drug companies, and therefore any attempt to explore alternative medicine comes as a threat.'' Trained in India and the United States, Chopra had practiced endocrinology as a mainstream physician since 1971. But Chopra has said he became disillusioned with impersonal, high-tech medicine. He began practicing Ayurveda in 1985, although he has said he continues to use conventional medicine when appropriate. When asked in a telephone interview how old he was, Chopra answered he was ``immortal.'' ``If you recognize you're a bundle of consciousness, seeds of information and energy that express themselves as matter, then by definition you are immortal,'' he said. The interview occurred before the JAMA controversy started. The Maharishi Ayurveda, Sanskrit for ``science of life,'' that Chopra espouses has its origins in a system of medicine that is thousands of years old and still practiced in India. A key component of the Maharishi's updated version is Transcendental Meditation, the brand name the guru has given to his technique for achieving inner peace. Chopra said in his statement that more than 500 articles in scientific journals proved the validity of Transcendental Meditation. However, a study commissioned by the U.S. Army that reviewed available research recently concluded that transcendental and other meditation techniques were no more effective at reducing stress or hypertension than simple rest. Scientific opinion about other aspects of Ayurveda isn't all negative. University of Kansas Medical Center researchers tested one Ayurveda herbal tonic, Maharishi Amrit Kalash-5, and found evidence it may boost the immune system of rats and mice. ``Based on my data, it looks like it's good,'' KU biochemist Kottarappat Dileepan said. Dileepan, whose grandfather was an Ayurvedic physician, said his interest in Maharishi Ayurveda was ``purely academic. I am not involved and not supported at all by this group.'' That some Ayurveda herbal remedies have benefits doesn't sur- prise William Jarvis, president of the National Council Against Health Fraud. ``I would be awfully surprised if some didn't,'' Jarvis said. ``I don't doubt there is some evidence that some of it is valid, but that does not validate the whole Ayurveda system. Each piece has to stand on its own merit.'' Patrick Ryan, who was in the Transcendental Meditation movement for 10 years before leaving to start a group for disillusioned former meditators, calls Ayurveda ``the latest marketing ploy by the Maharishi.'' ``Every time there's a declining enrollment they come up with a new program,'' he said. Ryan said the Maharishi's organization had a history of seeking credibility by associating itself with curious celebrities. ``If you just brush against TM you're counted,'' Ryan said. ``Burt Reynolds learned TM. Mary Tyler Moore learned TM. Anybody who learned, you used them until they weren't useful anymore.'' The Kansas City Star, October 6, 1991, Alan Bavley and Elaine Adams ~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ENGLAND PRESS RELEASE : The GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL, London, England October 25, 1991 Case concerning Dr. Roger Chalmers and Dr. Leslie Davis The Council's Professional Conduct Committee have found these two doctors guilty of Serious Professional Misconduct in relation to the facts found proved in the charges brought against them. The Committee directed that the names of Dr. Chalmers and Dr. Davis be erased from the Medical Register. In announcing the decision of the committee the chairman said: ``Dr. Davis, Dr. Chalmers, The Committee has very carefully considered each of your cases separately. It is not this Committee's function in this inquiry to assess the relative merits of differing forms of treatment or approaches to medicine adopted and practised by doctors in good faith. However in light of the facts found proved against each of you in the respective charges against you the Committee has judged each of you to have been guilty of serious professional misconduct in relation to those facts and has directed the Registrar in each case to erase your name from the Register. To each of you I say that the effect of the foregoing direction is that, unless you exercise your right of appeal, your name will be erased from the Register 28 days from today.'' Notes to Editors: The Professional Conduct Committee is the disciplinary committee of the General Medical Council. The case, which lasted 14 days, was heard by a panel of the committee made up of six doctors and two lay people. CHALMERS, Roger Alistair: Facts found proved: ``That, being registered under the Medical Act, 1. Since about 1987...you have been engaged in providing advice and/or treatment for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) (and) Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection (HIV)...notwithstanding that you have insufficient knowledge, training or experience in relation to the immunology and treatment of AIDS (and) HIV...to enable you competently to engage in independent practice in relation to the treatment of those conditions; 2. You have during the aforementioned period, promoted, recommended and provided a therapy, namely Maharishi Ayur-Veda (MAV), in return for fees, for the treatment of AIDS (and) HIV...notwithstanding that: (a) you have not conducted proper and approved clinical trials of MAV in the treatment of persons suffering from AIDS, HIV or ARC, in order to assess the effects of the therapy; (b) there is inadequate independent scientific evidence to support the use of the therapy in such treatments; (c) ... (d) you have not obtained and do not possess any formal or any adequate qualification in Ayur-Vedic medicine; 3. As part of MAV treatment you prescribed three substances, known as MA608, MA609 and MA610, the nature and composition of which were unknown to you; 4. You...sanctioned or acquiesced in the publication of a number of articles in the non-medical press and other information in connection with MAV for the purpose of promoting the claimed benefits of the therapy in reversing the ageing process; 5. (a) You caused...the publication of a document advertising a press conference on 8th February, 1989, at which you were to be one of the main speakers; (b) That document: (i) recommended that patients should ``stop using modern medicine''; (ii) contained misleading and unjustifiable claims concerning the value of MAV in relation to the treatment of AIDS; (iii) falsely claimed that the British branch of the ``World Medical Association for Perfect Health'' comprised 600 doctors; 6. (a) When on 15th August, 1989 you were consulted by the late Mr. `A' at the Health Centre, 7 Park Crescent, London, in connection with AIDS, a condition from which Mr. `A' was suffering, you recommended and prescribed MAV treatment for him, including special dietary arrangements and medication, without prior or subsequent consultation with the doctor or doctors already treating him; ``And that in relation to the facts alleged you have been guilty of serious professional misconduct.'' DAVIS, Leslie James Kenneth: Facts found proved: ``That, being registered under the Medical Act, 1. Since about 1987...you have been engaged in providing advice and/or treatment for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection (HIV) and other AIDS-related conditions (ARC), notwithstanding that you have insufficient knowledge, training or experience in relation to the immunology and treatment of AIDS, HIV and ARC to enable you competently to engage in independent practice in relation to the treatment of those conditions; 2. You have, during the aforementioned period, promoted, recommended and provided a therapy, namely Maharishi Ayur-Veda (MAV), in return for fees, for the treatment of AIDS, HIV and ARC notwithstanding that: (a) you have not conducted proper and approved clinical trials of MAV in the treatment of persons suffering from AIDS, HIV or ARC, in order to assess the effects of the therapy; (b) there is inadequate independent scientific evidence to support the use of the therapy in such treatments; (c) ... (d) you have not obtained and do not possess any formal or any adequate qualification in Ayur-Vedic medicine; 3. As part of MAV treatment you prescribed three substances, known as MA608, MA609 and MA610, the nature and composition of which were unknown to you; 4. (a) You promoted or acquiesced in and/or participated in a seminar, originally scheduled to be held at the London Lighthouse in November, 1989, on the subject of MAV in relation to the treatment of AIDS and HIV; (b) In promotional literature relating to that seminar it was claimed, inter alia, that; (i) the present therapeutic approach to such treatment must be fundamentally wrong; and (ii) the seminar would give ``practical advice on how the healing system can be stimulated in HIV infection through the procedures of Maharishi Ayur-Veda''; and it was thereby implied that MAV could offer respite to, or an improvement in the condition of, patients suffering from AIDS or HIV; 5. You...or acquiesced in the publication of a number of articles in the non-medical press and other information in connection with MAV for the purpose of promoting the claimed benefits of the therapy in reversing the ageing process; 6. (a) You caused, sanctioned or acquiesced in the publication of a document advertising a press conference on 8th February, 1989, at which you were to be one of the main speakers; (b) That document: (i) recommended that patients should ``stop using modern medicine''; (ii) contained misleading and unjustifiable claims concerning the value of MAV in relation to the treatment of AIDS; (iii) falsely claimed that the British branch of the ``World Medical Association for Perfect Health'' comprised 600 doctors; 7. (a) On an unknown date in the latter part of 1989 you telephoned Dr. Caroline Sarah Bradbeer about Mr. A, a patient who had consulted both Dr. Bradbeer and Dr. Chalmers concerning his health problems; (b) During the aforesaid telephone conversation you failed to provide Dr. Bradbeer with details of the contents of the medications that Dr. Chalmers prescribed for Mr. A, so that she could take steps to satisfy herself that the medications did not contain any substance which might be toxic to Mr. A. And that in relation to the facts alleged you have been guilty of serious professional misconduct.'' ~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- EXCERPTS FROM THE PRESS ``This is the beginning of a great alliance that Maharishi Ayur-Veda Association is going to form with the established associations, such as the American Medical Association and all the associations of medicine throughout the world. I hold the Medical Association of America to be the custodians of perfect health for all mankind... ``From today I'll cease to think that the American Medical Association has been, and is continuing to be, a puppet of the multinational [pharmaceutical companies].'' Maharishi, India, January 12, 1990 ``The Journal of the American Medical Association charged yesterday that followers of Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi duped the magazine into publishing an article touting a line of Hindu herbal medicine without revealing their own financial interests in the healing system. Dr. Deepak Chopra, the article's principal author, first called the journal's charges ``hilariously comical'' because the magazine is supported by ``multibillions of dollars'' in drug company advertising and then insisted that his movement was the victim of ``ethnocentric, racist and bigoted'' accusations.'' Flap on Maharishi's Medicine, San Francisco Chronicle, October 2, 1991, David Perlman ``Several experts on meditation and on traditional Indian medicine to whom Science showed the original JAMA publication concluded that the ``Letter from New Delhi'' was shoddy science to begin with.'' JAMA Gets Into an Indian Herbal Jam, Science, October 1991, Robert Harnett and Cathy Sears ``Critics charge that Maharishi Ayur-Veda was invented as a concept--and the name trademarked--to sell products and draw more followers into the Transcendental Meditation movement, founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.'' ``A series of letters to the editor in JAMA--many of whom view TM as a dangerous cult--also challenge the scientific validity of many of the studies cited in the original Ayur-Veda article.'' Furor over medical article highlights East-West rift, Miami Herald, October 4, 1991, Linda Roach Monroe ``An article in the current Journal of American Medicine charges that authors of an earlier article about the Maharishi Ayur-Veda system of preventative medicine failed to disclose their involvement in the marketing of Ayur-Veda health products.'' Journal claims TM deception, Fairfield Ledger, October 5, 1991, Marni Mellen ``Complaints from [JAMA] readers said Ayur-Veda is not traditional Indian medicine but ``the latest of the Maharishi's schemes to boost declining numbers of people taking TM courses, through which the movement recruits new members.'' AMA journal: Swami faithful hoodwinked us, Reuters, October 1991 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON GURU ECONOMICS: Maharishi's followers fight crime, think peace and plot a theme park If all goes well, these [TM] sessions will reduce violent crime in Washington 15 percent by the end of the year. So says the association [Greater Washington D.C. Association of Professionals Practicing the Transcendental Meditation Program]. Consider it a sign of the times that transcendental meditation is putting on a practical face. After all, what good does it do to get in touch with your inner self if your outer self keeps getting mugged on the way home from work? ``That will transform Washington from the murder capital of the world to the center of peace and prosperity in the world,''says the director of TM's Institute for Social Rehabilitation. Small-scale group meditation efforts already have produced a trickle of positivity, says Maharishi, who takes some responsibility for the thawing of East-West relations. He concedes, however, that the Persian Gulf war was a discouraging backward step for humanity. ``During those days people must have not been regular in their meditations, so the coherence effect went down,'' he says. Meanwhile Maharishi continues to hatch new ideas. His latest is Maharishi Veda Land, a $1 billion theme park, expected to open in 1993. He will unveil his theme park 34 years after first setting foot in the United States; 21 years after various Beatles, Rolling Stones and Beach Boys journeyed to the Himalayas for a dollop of his wisdom; 18 years after declaring the Age of Enlightenment; and seven years after a group of overenthusiastic TM disciples honored Ferdinand Marcos as ``founding father of the Age of Enlightenement in the Phillippines.'' Washington Times, May 13, 1991, Tom Dunkel~ INDIA The Troubled Guru: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Faces Tough Times Dr. Govind Sharma joined the NOIDA ashram [outside New Delhi, India] on April 1, 1984 as a ayurvedic physician. He spent almost three years there before quitting it on September 11, 1987. As a former inmate of the complex he recounts what goes on in the heavily guarded haven of the Maharishi, from his own experience: I saw that a great many illegal and anti-social activities went on there. I'll give you a small example of this. They make many ayurvedic drugs without licences and sell them abroad. They don't sell these here. They do have licences for some of the drugs but use these for exporting other drugs too. Chyavanprash, which is a popular preparation, is sold in large quantities. All these are made at the prasavanshala in the complex. There was a pharmacy as well but the government cancelled the licence over six months ago. They do not bother to get licences renewed for years. Before June this year, there were about 5000 people there. Labourers, daily wage workers, Sanskrit, Veda and meditation teachers. After the Maharishi came here they brought many people from the other centres. When Mrs. Gandhi was alive, he could not come to India since they did not get along. Twelve or 13 days after her death he entered the country. In August this year, after the strike by the workers union began, most of the foreigners fled the ashram. Earlier there were about 1500 of them. There are only some vaids there now. But their activities are suspended. The union was formed because the workers were disgruntled. There were no uniform working conditions. Those who kow-towed got more. The strike began at the end of June. The reason was that in June and the month before, some of the children at the ashram had died because of neglect. While the officials and their wives always have cars at their disposal, to go wherever they wanted, there were never any cars available for sick children or workers. As a result, every year there were four to six deaths. One boy died in June. Earlier, Bharat Chandra Panda of Orissa died due to severe dehydration. The newspapers publicised the fact. The boy who died in June was Kumar Chaubey. He hailed from Ballia district. He was under treatment by an unqualified vaid. When the other boys insisted that he should be sent to Delhi, when his condition began to deteriorate, the vaid was of the view that he would recover and that he should remain here. He died because of sheer callousness. The children used to suffer from malnutrition. The food was cooked in unhygienic conditions and it was so bad that even animals would not have been able to eat it. When people went to complain to the Mahesh Yogi, even showing him the bugs in the rice and roti, he would get agitated and say that this was being done deliberately, to defame him and that some disruptive elements had entered his ashram. He disliked hearing complaints of any kind. The strike did not have a successful outcome. The workers did not have the capacity for rebellion. What could they do? They needed a salary if they were not to starve. The Maharishi transferred the teachers to other centres and then terminated their services after a month or two. There were about 150-200 teachers on the whole. The teachers were appointed on the condition that each of them should recruit 35 students. While leaving, some of the teachers took their recruits along with them. Others were told to reach the students home and given their fare. In certain cases the boys never went back. Till today their parents are searching for them. Some of the children were taken to New Delhi and Old Delhi stations, given their fare and told to go home. And what happened subsequently was that a few of them fell into the hands of anti-social influences. Illustrated Weekly of India, January 17, 1988, Anuradha Dutt~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S.A. Blaming the Victim My earliest memories of feeling guilty have to do with getting sick. Whenever I came down with a cold or sore throat, my mother would stick me with the blame--in the winter for not wearing a hat, in the summer for getting my feet wet during a downpour. Since then, I've learned that illness and recrimination frequently go hand in hand. And it's not only parents, spouses, and well-meaning friends who may heap on the blame. All to often, it's the victims who blame themselves. Except for accidental injury, it's rarely clear why someone gets sick. Nonetheless, people tend to rummage through their lives--what they ate, touched, or breathed, or even how they felt. In this misguided search for answers, people almost invariably conclude that they're to blame. When the disease is cancer, that notion is bolstered by talk shows, best sellers, and magazine articles, which have turned conjecture, based on fragmentary evidence, into gospel truth. The media keep preaching that negative attitudes, negative emotions, and stress actually cause cancer, presumably by weakening the immune system and allowing tumors to flourish. It's true that suppressing the immune system in laboratory animals can increase the likelihood of some cancers. In humans, certain tumors, such as lymphoma and Kaposi's sarcoma, also tend to crop up when the immune system is impaired, for example by chemotherapy, by medications that help the body accept a transplanted organ, or by the AIDS virus. But those findings don't prove that weakened immunity encourages the onset of other cancers in humans. And the evidence that stress or depression actually does weaken the body's immune response is inconclusive. While some studies have found that stress or depression causes dips in immune function, other studies have found no such dips. And none of the studies that did find such changes induced by stress or depression went on to show that those changes actually made the subjects more susceptible to cancer. Other investigations have looked at the supposed causal link between psychological factors and cancer, without studying the immune system. Some of those studies have found an increased risk among people who are depressed, who habitually swallow their anger, or who face high levels of stress. But most if not all of those studies had major flaws in design. And for each of those psychological factors, many other studies that found no association with cancer. In a comprehensive review of the evidence on emotions and cancer published in the journal Psychosomatics this spring, the authors concluded that ``no clear associations (let alone causal relationships) have been proven.'' The same talk shows, best sellers and articles that proclaim negative emotions cause cancer also preach that positive attitudes can halt or even reverse its progress. Here again, anecdotal evidence abounds, but well-controlled investigations are virtually nonexistent. There is, however, some evidence that psychological support, either individually or in a group, can benefit people who already have cancer. It's clear that psychological counseling helps cancer patients deal with the fear and depression the disease can provoke. Recently, two well-controlled studies found that either psychotherapy or support-group treatment can help patients with advanced breast cancer to survive longer. The authors of one study speculated that the intense counseling may have helped motivate patients to follow the prescribed medical treatment, improve their diet, and increase their level of exercise (see, Consumer Reports Health Letter, 1/90). It's not just cancer, of course. Any illness that's been linked to what people do or feel tends to breed recrimination. While it makes sense to reduce risk, our culture has turned personal health decisions into moral imperatives. Tell someone that you enjoy an occasional breakfast of bacon, eggs, and buttered toast, and you're liable to receive some well-intentioned advice on diet. I recently heard about a young woman who refuses to date anyone who doesn't exercise regularly. ``If a guy doesn't care about his health,'' she reasons, ``how can he care about me?'' Even more damning evidence of a corrupt character is an expanding waistline. Expect no sympathy for the difficulties of slimming down, including the metabolic or genetic obstacles. Some people will conclude it's your own slothful, gluttonous fault. It's true that if people ate less fat, exercised more, and stopped smoking, many lives would be saved. But there's no way of knowing whether your life would be among them. If you didn't make those changes and you eventually did get sick, I certainly wouldn't conclude that you have no one to blame but yourself. Consumer Reports on Health, August 1991, M. Lipman, M.D.~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S.S.R. Antiscience Trends in the U.S.S.R.: A prominent Soviet scientist traces the reasons underlying the current surge in superstitions, cults and antitechnological protests in his country The recent profound changes in the U.S.S.R. that we associate with perestroika and the policies of President Mikhail S. Gorbachev have, strangely enough, released a flood of antiscientific and antitechnological feelings. These public attitudes have found powerful expression in the rejection of nuclear energy in the aftermath of Chernobyl, in the general reaction against technological progress and in numerous manifestations of irrationality and interest in the supernatural. In understanding these social aberrations, it is important not to confuse the visible symptoms with the deeper reasons for this dramatic change in a society that until recently was purportedly pro-scientific, rational and even ``scientifically'' designed. These external symptoms are important primarily as signals of the underlying crisis. But they may also be a sobering portent of a more dangerous development. To put the current tendencies in Soviet society into perspective, we must understand the magnitude of the transition through which the country is passing. The cold war is over. When war is over, there are the victors and the vanquished. We know who won--Japan and Germany. It is not my purpose here to discuss how the U.S. fared. But the clear loser is the Soviet Union. Superstitions, cults and mysticism appear with surprising consistency during a social crisis. Today it is ESP and UFOs, astrology and clairvoyance, mystic cults and mesmeric healers. The growth of interest in such things is a sure indicator of social unrest, personal uneasiness, frustration and loss of purpose. These symptoms are also present in the West, particularly in the U.S., where they are more chronic; in the Soviet Union, however, we have an acute fever. The momentous changes happening now in the Soviet Union are the reason for this current upsurge of the irrational. What is important is the emerging extremism that they may signal. That is the real danger, one of our more observant social thinkers and writers has pointed out. Unfortunately, in the past, many intellectuals have supported the belief that the extreme may be right in public life just as it is in art and science. With the importance and responsibility of modern science and technology, we see that this simplistic attitude is not sufficient to resolve the issues at stake. In a basic way, we are once again looking at the fundamental disparities between our cultural experience and our technological civilization, between being and having. An age-old dilemma of the human predicament, it is now appearing in a new and less familiar way. I can only hope that good will prevails. The price that the Soviet Union has paid in the past to the demands of vulgar and egalitarian rationality is so enormous that we may understand, if not excuse, the current outburst of irrationality. Scientific American, August 1991, Sergei Kapitza ~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S.A. Out-of-Body Feeling Common, Persistent in Meditators At least some people who practice Transcendental Meditation are actually experiencing depersonalization, the well-known psychological phenomenon that makes people feel they are observing themselves. Richard J. Castillo, an anthropologist now at Harvard University, reported in the May 1990 Psychiatry that, over time, depersonalization can occur without warning. In some experienced TMers, it has ``become a continuous, apparently permanent mode of functioning.'' Depersonalization can account for the ``higher state of consciousness'' or ``enlightenment'' felt by some TMers. Meditators also describe the experience as the ``witness'' or ``witnessing.'' These meditators have no obvious sign of mental or physical illness, Castillo said. While experiencing depersonalization, they show no outward signs that anything is amiss, they believe they are performing better on the job, and they feel mildly happy or content during the experience. Yet they also have an ``apparent longterm loss of the ability to feel strong emotions, either negative or positive,'' he said. A survey by University of Manitoba psychiatrist Colin Ross, published in the November 1990 American Journal of Psychiatry, found that 29 percent of 1,055 Canadians said they occasionally felt they were watching themselves in a movie and 4 percent said they had the feeling frequently. A separate survey by David Spiegel, a psychiatrist at Stanford University medical school, found that about 10 percent of 90 people surveyed after the 1989 San Francisco earthquake reported having an out-of-body experience at the time. Depersonalization can be sparked by fear or by repeated stimuli, such as repeating a meditator's mantra. It is also apparently linked to near-death experiences. Skeptical Inquirer, Fall 1991, C. Eugene Emory, Jr.~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Washington D.C. Performance-Enhancement Techniques Found Flawed or Ineffective in Study: Research Council Says Many Training Methods Counterproductive Many of the most popular techniques to measure and improve human performance--including numerous military training programs, self-help ``subliminal learning'' tapes and meditation routines--are either badly flawed or totally ineffective, according to a new study by the National Research Council. According to the 291-page report, released yesterday, ``there is reason to be skeptical of some of the performance-enhancement techniques being promoted to the American public,'' said UCLA psychologist Robert Bjork, who chaired the 14-person research panel, and ``good intentions and dramatic claims are not enough.'' The two-year study reviewed the published scientific evidence for a number of training and performance systems, and entailed a minimum of original research. As a result, few of its highly eclectic conclusions will surprise psychologist or cognitive scientists; but they may disappoint many trainers and counselors in the armed forces, civilian business and the burgeoning self-help industry. ``Transcendental'' and other meditation techniques are no more effective at reducing stress or hypertension than ``resting quietly,'' the panel concluded. The $300,000 report, titled ``In the Mind's Eye,'' was produced at the request of the U.S. Army Research Institute, which serves the world's largest training institution. It is the second in a series of three studies. The first, published in 1988, examined a number of ``new-age'' techniques for enhancing human performance. The third, now in preparation, will focus on cooperative and group training environments and active rather than passive learning. Washington Post, September 25, 1991, Curt Suplee ~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S.A. WONDER CURE? Fringe Medicine: Big claims, No Proof. A look at farther-out cures, from aromas to reflexology. MAHARISHI AYUR-VEDA: WHAT IT IS. A form of natural healing based on ancient Indian texts recently translated for Westerners by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who introduced the world to transcendental meditation. THE CLAIM. All illness results from ``imbalances'' in such functions as respiration, circulation and metabolism and can be treated through meditation, massage and herbal medicines. THE EVIDENCE. In May, the Journal of the American Medical Association ran a three-page letter--not a study--from proponents citing positive findings from a range of investigations. One U.S. study found that so-called Ayurvedic herbal compounds reduced the incidence of breast cancers in ``up to 88 percent'' of experimental animals. It will take many solid studies to make doctors overlook Ayur-Veda's mystical precepts. U.S. News & World Report, September 23, 1991, Doug Podolsky ~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear TM-EX: My journey in the TM movement has had its ups and downs. I started TM about 20 years ago. Throughout my years with the movement I learned that I must look, act, speak, mimic the so-called ideal TMer to be allowed to participate in the movement. That always bothered me. I was always an individual, and to fit into their ideal mold was a strain. I stayed away from the TM Centers for about 10 years, but I kept on meditating. Thirteen years went by, I got a few more advanced techniques, and as the years went on I realized it wasn't in the stars for me to have gone on to teacher training. But the sidhis program still lured me. I knew some of the sutras from a renegade 10 years ago but never used them, for fear of ``bad karma.'' This year the sidhis came to town and I had a spare $4000 so I decided to go for it. It was hell trying to get accepted to the course. You still had to parrot what National had in mind for your application answers. You had to sign away all liabilities of the world. (I should have suspected something then.) To add insult to injury it had to be cash. Nothing you could stop payment on or cancel. The price, $3000, plus $1200 flying block, air fares, lost wages, etc. cost a fortune. It is apparent that the movement is the Yuppie movement, a rich man's movement. After all this you really wanted something spectacular from the sutras. You really had to experience ``the flavors''--after all you just spent about $9000 with all the fees and lost wages on them. To boot you were to fill out experience forms to be graded, and evaluated and to be discussed so you had to make up stuff to look good, and flashy. (Peer pressure, National pressure.) What a rip off. I couldn't believe that I just spent that much money on some words that I had read in a Patanjali's yoga sutras. Then came the flying room. As a doctor I saw extra pyramidal disorders, psychotic episodes, epileptic seizures, etc. It was the most bizarre experience I ever had. I never so-called ``flied.'' I never screamed, growled, had spasmodic episodes, or any inclination to hop or move, etc. I felt deep silence, and motionless. I couldn't relate to any of the things happening in that room, except that I didn't like it in there, and that I would have preferred to have stayed in my room. I guess I am not easily hypnotized or placeboed. But again you had to remain positive in filling out these experience forms or be labeled a ``red-unstressor'' or a ``blue-no progress,'' more bull. I arrived back home depressed, lethargic, tired and unmotivated. I didn't go back to work for another week and a half. It took me most of the day to do my program. After the oil massage, sun salutations, asanas, pranayama, meditation, sutras, rests, sama veda, and rig veda there went three hours, twice a day. I didn't have time to go to work. I slept most of the time in between. This was crazy. Finally the realization that if I didn't get my butt to work I was not going to be able to pay the rent, I started cutting my program down, eliminating steps and got down to the basics, but it is still hard to get it in twice a day. The fact that my mantra is a Hindu blessing does not bother me. It is a blessing because I have always had an intense interest in Hinduism, and Buddhism. So, honestly, I am delighted. It has given me new meaning to my practice. I just wish the movement was honest about it from the start. It should be a religion, and the mantras, and sutras should be free or by donation only. I don't like deception. I just wonder where all the money is going? Everything is overpriced. My herbal preparations from Dr. Raju would cost about $400 a month. That is ridiculous. The $150 consultation was come and gone before I knew it. I could have spent a couple thousand at the CIC course in a matter of minutes. Amazing. It is not like the old days when I paid twenty five dollars to learn TM. I want you to know that I appreciate what your group is doing. It is nice to have a format to express your opinions honestly without being told you are unstressing, or fear of reprisal from the governors or National, etc. Whoever National is. I have always wondered who it is that is in control of our fate. Thank you for being here. Please accept my check for a subscription to your newsletter. I don't want to quit meditating, but I would like to know the truth, and have contact with people who have maintained their individuality. California P.S. Please don't print my name. I didn't write this letter to be printed. If you want to you can print any or all of it, that is alright, but not my name. I guess I just needed someone to talk to. Thank you. CIC 28 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TM-EX: You folks might as well save yourself some postage and take me off your mailing list. Boy, are you barking up the wrong tree. Send me no more of your useless little pieces of paper. There's nothing you can write that can change the truth. B.M., Fairfield ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Gentlemen: I am a TM meditator (of about 2 years) and was recently shown a copy of your newsletter. I am concerned about getting into TM any deeper and would like to know more about information and publications available from your organization (e.g. how to receive the newsletter regularly, books, articles, etc.) Thank you. Yours truly, R.S., Canada ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Sir, I learned of your organization from a friend and from an article in the Washington Post, July 2, 1987. I am writing to you because I am concerned about a family member who has been practicing TM for about 4 years. We recently visited MIU in Fairfield, Iowa. I spent my time talking to people and visiting the library and bookstores trying to find out what was going on. I was greatly distressed by what I learned--by the cult-like religious practices, the facist philosophy, the outrageous claims and their pseudo-scientific explanations, the credulous, utterly uncritical attitude on the part of the participants, and the barefaced brainwashing techniques. My family member now meditates two hours and day and I fear for their well being. Can you help me? Could you please guide me to the current literature on TM in newspapers and magazines, and in professional journals? Most of what I found in Fairfield is about 15 years old. Do you have information about lawsuits and their outcome? What about the possibility of harmful psychological effects? Is there anyone in my area that I might contact? I would appreciate anything you can do. Sincerely, Canada ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Editor, Thanks for the TM-EX newsletter. I'll pass it on. Has anyone had chiropractic difficulties as a result of the levitation practice? Good luck in your endeavors! C.C., MI ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Madam/Sir, I gather from a note on an electronic bulletin board that you have written material available on the subject of TM, more specifically descriptions of experiences by former participants in the TM movement, and maybe analyses of TM. I'm interested in any material you have. Sincerely yours, J.N., Netherlands ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear TM-EX: Thank you very much for sending me a copy of your newsletter. It has really helped me re-feel, and reframe and gain understanding of my experience as a TM meditator and teacher 20 years ago. Bittersweet sadness and loss... What a good thing it would have been, if it had integrity. Thank you again so very much for gathering such careful, accurate information. Sincerely, D.C., California ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Editor: Thank you for sending copies of the TM-EX Newsletter. It appears you're doing a worthwhile job in the face of difficult opposition, and I wish you well. I note your name doesn't appear in the Newsletter--is this purely to protect yourself? If so, this is a deplorable situation. Good luck with what you do, and Best wishes. T.H., England ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear TM-EX: I would appreciate any information you might be able to direct me to. I would also like to set up a time and phone number when and where I might be able to talk with one of your support people. I am a long time parent of TM'ers--almost 20 years and have always fought the workings and teachings of the organization. Another parent gave me your address. Thank you. Parent, Mid-West ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TM-EX: Is there a closer group of TM-EX to the Seattle area? vIs there a mailing list? If so, please put me on it. I got your address from CAN in Chicago. I'd like more information about past and pending lawsuits. We have a family member involved with this destructive cult. Thank you. Parent ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear TM-EX: You are doing a great job. We are very impressed with your most recent newsletter. Sincerely, Parents, East Coast ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Sir, Would you please send me information relative to your newsletter on TM? My oldest son, his wife and two children are all involved in TM, and I'm really concerned about their psychological health. Sincerely, Parent, East Coast ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TM-EX: Thank you for the information you sent recently. Enclosed is a check for postage and printing. Please put me on your mailing list. I applaud your efforts as volunteers and congratulate you all for leaving this mind control outfit. Parent, Washington ----------------------------------------------------------------------- FAIRFIELD IOWA The Maharishi Effect 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 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.'' The Fairfield community has the largest contingent of TM meditators in the world. Over 20% of the population have learned the TM technique. Additionally, there are reportedly 2500 TM-Sidhi practioners, many of whom participate in the ``super radiance'' program. FAIRFIELD LEDGER EXCERPTS: SEPTEMBER 3) $4000 damage to car by hit-and-run driver. Man charged with operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. Cases of theft and vandalism reported to police including damage to: school crossing sign, theft of cassette-radio, stereo tapes and a car stereo from a car on the MIU campus. 4)Man ticketed for failing to yeld resulting in an accident and $2400 damages. MIU resident reported theft of tools and registration papers from a vehicle parked on the MIU campus. Driver lost control of car resulting in $8500 damages and personal injuries. Utopia Park resident pleads guilty to second-degree burglary charges. Trial set for man charged with commercial bribery. 5)Man charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a suspended license. A companion was charged with public intoxication. Damage to apartment in breaking and entering attempt. Stereo theft from residence. 7)Radar detector, stereo and speakers reported stolen. Collisions result in $2000 damages. 9)Police are investigating thefts from Eagles Club. Theft of pickup reported. Four persons reported that glass in their vehicles or houses had been broken. Theft reported from home, $925 value. Two vehicle collision, damages $1000. 12)Burglary at the Corn Popper reported. Car window reported broken. Theft report from residence. Fire destroys barn. Iowa prisons to get fuller. Expected to increase prison population by 12% over next five years. 13)Women charged in accident, $2000 damages. $1150 damage in a second accident. Police arrest man for driving under the influence of alcohol. Theft of bike reported. Trial dates set for cases involving; public intoxication, three cases of OWI. 17)Three people involved in accidents, $1750 damages. 18)Two vehicles collide, $4000 damages. Driver charged with driving under the influence. Theft of tapes reported. Bank bag reported stolen. Jewelry reported stolen. Damage reported to Corn Popper. Parked car hit, $4500 damages. Sentencing set for man on charges of second-degree burglary and felony escape. Windshield of motor home damaged by gun shots. Arson causes fire at Howard Park. 19)Vandals caused $500 damage to windshield. Camper burglary reported. 20)Fire causes $1000 in damages. 21)Driver hit horse on roadway. 23)Backpack taken from car parked on MIU campus. Man arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. Two cars each received an estimated $2000 damages in accident. $2050 damages in a separate accident. Door and lock damaged at an office on third street. Theft of a bicycle from Howard Dormitory on the MIU campus. Car antenna reported damaged. Car window reported broken. 26)Car overturned in ditch. Utopia Park resident charged in a accident resulting in $2600 damage. 27)Two cars collided on East Broadway. Sentences were imposed on three persons for OWI, possession of marijuana and public intoxication. 30)Grass fire reported. Two man charged with OWI. Man charged with driving under suspended license. Fairfield resident pleaded guilty eluding police and speeding. OCTOBER 1)Fairfield resident arrested on charge of terrorism. Theft of women's bicycle reported. Man wanted on three counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault. 4)Man charged with contempt of court for violating restraining order, stemming from domestic abuse. He was arrested again on four counts for violating their restraining order and serious assault. MIU resident reported items stolen from MIU building 107. 5)Man charged with operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. $4000 damage to two cars that collided. One car registered to Tower Construction, a Sidha company. 10) Charges were filed against two drivers in a three-car accident on Highway 1 at the MIU entrance. Police received several theft reports. Theft of purse. Theft of car reported. Door glass and leather purse reported stolen. Body of a man found. 12) Accident results in $800 damage. Criminal mischief results in damage to utility trailer. 14) Criminal mischief reported to police, damage to vehicle. Radar detector, cash reported taken from car. 15)Battery and cable taken from great Midwestern Ice Cream Co. Floodlights and motion detector reported stolen. AM-FM radio-cassette player reported stolen. Damage to a door jam reported. Theft of a truck tire reported. Accidents resulting in $1600 damage. 18) Women charged in accident resulting in $2500 damage. Man charged with OWI. Woman charged with first-degree murder. Authorities found her husband's torso and body parts scattered on his farm. An autopsy has confirmed that the man first was fatally shot then the body was mutilated. The State Examiner said a knife and probably a circular saw were used to dismember the dead man's body. Internal organs had been removed. The man was castrated, his heart removed, and his legs and one of his arms sawed off.~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- FAIRFIELD The main arm of the TM movement is moving its headquarters from Washington, D.C. to MIU. The extremely high crime rate in Washington had a negative effect on coherent thinking, said N. Isquith, secretary to the Board of Trustees, WPEC. The council was originally located in Washington as part of an effort to concentrate meditators where it was believed the TM practice would have a positive effect on national and international leadership and world affairs, Isquith said. ``The key number there at one time was 400 people meditating in Washington and the crime rate went down in 1984-1987.'' He said, however, that enough meditators moved that their percent of the Washington population fell below what was necessary to have an effect on the larger population. The increasingly high crime rate hurt concentration, he said. TM offices are moving to Fairfield, Fairfield Ledger, Marni Mellen, Sept. 19, 1991~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- UNIFICATION CHURCH Moonie Church Faces Tough Legal Challenge in Japan A class-action lawsuit in Japan is challenging Unification Church activities there. Forty former Unification Church followers filed the class-action lawsuit in Tokyo district court this past spring, claiming 405 million yen ($2.96 million) in damages for what they described as their lost youth. Most of the plaintiffs are in their late 20s. The plaintiffs' lawyers argue that the church used brainwashing to infringe on the freedom of religion guaranteed under Japan's constitution and that the church activities violated civil laws. The Unification Church has settled most of the Japanese lawsuits out of court to avoid having a formal legal ruling made against it, according to Hiroshi Yamaguchi, a Tokyo lawyer representing plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit. In addition to spreading the doctrine of Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, the church in Japan also is running many lucrative businesses, including hotels, restaurants and news organizations. Many former followers have said Moon's church is using its members as cheap labor in its Japanese businesses to raise money for the church empire. Reuters News Service, April 24, 1991 Deaths Charles Garry, 82, a lawyer whose clients included Black Panther Bobby Seale and religious cult leader Jim Jones, died Aug. 16 at a hospital in Berkeley, Calif., after a stroke. In the 1970s, he represented Jones, the cult minister who in 1977 moved most of his People's Temple from San Francisco to Guyana, on the northern coast of South America, and was there in 1978 when Jones led more than 900 followers to their deaths. He escaped the mass suicide-murder by fleeing through the jungle. Washington Post, August 19, 1991 Swaggart Blames `Demon Spirits' Evangelist Jimmy Swaggart explained to his ministry in Baton Rouge, LA, Sunday that the Devil made him do it. Without going into the details of his recently being pulled over in California with a prostitute in his car, Swaggart told his Family Worship Center congregation: ``In my mind I knew it was demon spirits...without warning, without any stimulation. Psychology says something has to trigger it...but when demon spirits function, they don't have to have any stimulation or triggering devices.'' He said he was temporarily stepping down but ``will not quit.'' Washington Post, October 22, 1991~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Cults on Campus, International Cult Education Project (ICEP), 1991. ICEP, P.O. Box 1232, Gracie Station, New York, New York 10028. Information about campus cult-recruitment techniques and why college students are so vulnerable. Some Thoughts on Recovery, by Wendy Ford. A former cult member shares insights on her own recovery from seven years involvement in a destructive cult. For those traumatized by groups that use psychological manipulation. Discusses leaving a group; understanding the experience; and rebuilding one's life. [Available through CAN] FOCUS Newsletter. FOCUS is an international network of people who were once associated with high-demand groups. Covers issues on recovery; adjusting to life after a cultic or totalistic involvement; opinions and comments. [Available through CAN] Nutrition Action Newsletter, Center for Science in the Public Interest, 1875 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste. 300, Washington, D.C. 20009. Latest nutrition news and advice; consumer advocacy. Skeptical Inquirer, Box 229, Buffalo, NY 14215. Journal of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism, by Dr. Robert J. Lifton, M.D. A classic textbook and case study on victims of thought reform and the elements of thought reform programs. NCAHF Newsletter (National Council Against Health Fraud), P.O. Box 1276, Loma Linda, CA 92354. To aid in activism against health fraud, misinformation and quackery. Cults & Consequences: The Definitive Handbook, edited by Rachel Andres and James R. Lane. Contains invaluable information which could prevent someone from joining a cult or help those who are dealing with a cult problem. Cultic Studies Journal, American Family Foundation, P.O. Box 2265, Bonita Springs, FL 33959. Health Schemes, Scams and Frauds, Consumer Reports Books, 51 East 42 Street, New York, N.Y. 10017. A consumer's guide to identifying and avoiding health quackery. 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. 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.]