TM-EX NEWSLETTER
TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION EX-MEMBERS SUPPORT GROUP
Volume V, No. 3, Summer 1993
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USA
Dhanvantari No More - Deepak dumped?
TM-EX has obtained a copy of two letters; one sent to ''Capital
Chairman and Council Governors'' dated July 16, 1993. from the
Maharishi National Council of the Age of Enlightenment.
The letter states: ''There have been many inquiries from Maharishi
City Capitals asking what our policy should be regarding Dr. Deepak
Chopra as they have heard he has left the Movement. This is to inform
you that Dr. Chopra has confirmed with us that he has left the
Movement to pursue his own career and desires to live a ''private and
quiet life.'' From his side Dr. Chopra has said that Centers,
Governors, Teachers, Sidhas and Meditators ''should ignore him and not
try to contact him or promote him in any way.''
Accordingly, we should discontinue promoting him, his courses, tapes
and books (including Creating Health, Return of the Rishi, Perfect
Health, Quantum Healing, Unconditional Life, etc.) Since he is no
longer affiliated with our Movement in any way, if you happen to hear
that Dr. Chopra is coming to your area to lecture you should in no way
try to contact him or organize for him. This policy is extremely
important for the purity of the teaching.
The pure and complete knowledge of Maharishi Ayur-Ved will now be
available to the whole population in the United States and Canada
through the courses Maharishi is preparing for the Maharishi Ayur-Ved
Universities which are being opened throughout North America. With
these new courses Maharishi Ayur-Ved Universities will launch a
campaign to create a disease-free, crime-free society and a
problem-free government and fulfill the highest goals of an affluent
society. Jai Guru Dev
---------------------------------------------
Dr. Chopra responded on July 30, 1993:
Dear Friends, There have been many rumors and misunderstanding
concerning my relationship to the TM organization. As I know many of
you personally and consider all of you my friends, I thought it only
fair to write to you myself.
Several months ago I decided that it would be best if I no longer held
any official position in the Movement. I had never felt comfortable in
the role of a leader and wished to pursue some personal projects
separate from those responsibilities. Soon after that time I was
approached by Sharp HealthCare, a large group of hospitals in San
Diego, who I had met previously, and asked to set up and direct the
Institute for Human Potential and Mind Body Medicine.
I view this as a wonderful opportunity to intergrate complementary
medicine into a traditional western medical setting. I have,
therefore, moved my office to San Diego to allow me to donate much of
my time to this project. The Institute will offer consultations and
treatment programs, a wide range of educational programs and carefully
documented research to monitor the progress of every patient and the
effectiveness of the treatment. This first out-patient clinic will
open at the beginning of September and a residential facility will
open a couple of months later. The programs will include Ayurvedic
medicine but we will also be open to other therapies that are found to
be effective. We feel that the Institute will help to realize the
goals of everyone who has been working in the area of mind-body
medicine and alternative healthcare.
I am not really sure what is meant when people ask me if I've left the
Movement. I still practice TM and the Sidhis and will continue to
recommend them and refer people to the Centers and Clinics. I will
also continue to support the Movement in other ways as my schedule and
other responsibilities permit. Although my focus is on in San Diego I
have not forgotten the support and friendship that so many of you have
shared with me over the years. I assure you that I will always remain
available to anyone in the Movement who feels the need [to] clarify
things a little and that we can all help create a [sic] and healthy
world. Best Wishes
---------------------------------------------
What about the Chopra techniques?
A call was placed to Dr. Chopra at Sharp HealthCare in San Diego
requesting that a sidha's ''primordial sound technique'' be checked. A
telephone appointment was given with Dr. Chopra. Dr. Chopra's
assistant, Sara, stated that the the ''primordial sound technique'' is
still being offered under the name ''Quantum Sound Workshop.''
Is this a repeat of the Bloomfield saga?
The next Quantum Sound Workshop is scheduled for November 16-17, 1993
in San Diego.
In the late seventies, Dr. Harold Bloomfield the author of the best
selling books TM Discovering Inner Energy and Overcoming Stress and
Happiness, TM and Enlightenment came into disfavor with movement
officials.
Bloomfield reportedly was associated with self-improvement techniques
that the movement felt violated ''the purity of the teaching."
On one occasion at MIU, the then president Larry Domash went to the
MIU Bookstore and asked that all Bloomfield's books be removed from
the shelves, sealed in cardboard cartons and then be placed in the
trash dumpster.
Does Chopra's leaving the movement signal a split with movement
officials?
Does Chopra's willingness to use "other therapies" conflict with what
the movement calls ''the purity of the teaching''?~
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CALIFORNIA
Sharp HealthCare announces an unorthodox, holistic institute
In an unconventional move, the Sharp HealthCare group is creating an
institute to offer and study holistic medical practices, including the
teaching of a Massachusetts physician known for unorthodox techniques.
To be called the Institute for Human Potential and Mind Body Medicine,
the program is designed to mold traditional Western medical concepts
with the theories of Dr. Deepak Chopra. He is an author and lecturer
long associated with transcendental meditation (TM), called a cult by
critics but a relaxation technique by advocates.
Chopra, an internal medicine specialist now in Lancaster, Mass., said
he will be the Institute's executive director, won't care for
patients, but will spend about half his time here lecturing and
conducting research.
The institute will include an initial staff of six physicians led by
Dr. David B. Simon, a San Diego neurologist who will be its clinical
director.
The planned institute has applied for a $30,000 grant from the
National Institute of Health's new Office for Alternative Medicine to
study the impact of Chopra's concepts on about 90 patients, Simon
said.
In his books, lectures and interviews, Chopra has advocated a variety
of holistic practices. They include TM, homeopathy, herbal therapy and
philosophy called ayurvedic medicine, which is based on ancient
practices from India.
TM is a movement led by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a guru in India who
taught the Beatles meditation in the 1960's. Some TM courses
purportedly teach people how to levitate, walk through walls and
achieve eternal youth.
Asked his age, Chopra said: ''Biologically 25; chronologically 47.''
Some national consumer groups have questioned Chopra's efforts. The
Loma Linda-based National Council Against Health Fraud said in a 1991
newsletter that ayurvedic medicine ''has become a marketing term for a
variety of health products and services of limited, questionable or
unproved value, which may serve as gateways into the TM cult.''
Regarding Chopra, Dr. John H. Renner, a physician who heads the Kansas
City-based Consumer Health Information Research Institute, said; ''He
is a mesmerizer. If there was Nobel Prize for selling, he would win
it.''
Also in 1991, the Journal of the American Medical Association ran an
unprecedented, lengthy article in which a staff editor accused Chopra
and two co-authors of deceiving the prestigious journal in an earlier
article on Indian medicine.
The Journal's article said the authors failed to disclose their
involvement in organizations that promoted or sold products and
services about which they wrote.
Chopra says he now has no official involvement with the TM
organization, but acknowledged TM's use. He said he also has
disassociated himself from organizations that promote TM, the
Maharishi, or ayurvedic medicine. Rex Dalton, The San Diego Union,
July 8, 1993 ~
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OHIO
TM movement purchases Ohio hotel-resort
The World Plan Executive Council of the transcendental meditation
movement is expanding its metropolitan hotel holdings to further its
TM programs.
The council closed late Friday afternoon on the purchase of the
249-room Aqua Marine Hotel and Resort in Avon Lake, Ohio, near
Cleveland, according to council president Thomas Headley of Santa
Barbara, Calif.
Headley said the council acquired the Ohio facility as part of an
overall program in the United States. Other hotel holdings are in
Houston, Denver and Detroit.
''One of the goals is to have a group of people meditating in
metropolitan areas--instead of out in the country--to reduce the crime
rate because of the affect of meditation on the larger population,''
Headley said.
''We have several different operations we can use now--Houston,
Detroit--which were. Part of these would continue to be used as
hotels.
An Ohio newspaper reported the assessed value of the property for tax
purposes was $4 million.
He said the facility will emphasize a healthful lifestyle. The hotels
offer ''a comfortable, natural environment; no smoking; a natural,
wholesome diet; programs on diet, therapy, a very pleasant environment
for a person coming in,'' he said.
The name [of the facility] will be changed to Heaven on Earth Inn.
The council has a policy of moving along relatively quietly, Headley
said. The council is one of several different, but affiliated
organizations within the TM movement based on sharing the same
philosophy as taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Marni Mellen, The
Fairfield Ledger, August 30, 1993~
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MASSACHUSETTS
FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION INVESTIGATES MAHARISHI PRODUCTS
Advertisements placed in many "new age" magazines state:
We proudly offer Maharishi Amrit Kalash as the ultimate answer. No
other Ayurvedic preparation equals it in effectiveness and strength.
No other herbal formula contains so much knowlege compressed into
one combination. It is composed of rare and precious herbs
hand-gathered from the thick forests and Himalayan mountains of India.
In 1986, the three foremost Ayurvedic physicians of our time dedicated
themselves to making Maharishi Amrit Kalash a reality once more. They
are Dr. V.M. Dwivedi [deceased], Dr. B.D. Triguna, and Dr. Balraj
Maharishi. These eminent doctors are top advisors on Ayurveda to the
government of India. By reviving the formula for Maharishi Amrit
Kalash, they now intend to benefit the health of the whole world.
Does the product live up to the claims?
When you buy Amrit Kalash is it the same as the last time you bought
it?
What are the standards used in production?
What are the standards of quality and purity?
FDA Inspection
The Food and Drug Administration conducted an inspection of MAPI,
Inc. [Maharishi Ayurvedic Products International], 417 Bolton Road,
Lancaster, MA on January 13-22, 1992. The following is the text from a
report by Ellen P. Madigan, Consumer Safety Officer.
This information was acquired via a Freedom of Information Act request
of the Boston District Office.
FDA Report
On January 22, 1992 the Food and Drug Administration, Department of
Health and Human Services-Public Health Service issued the following
report:
For the products: Maharishi Amrit Kalash; Rasayana for Women; Rasayana
One; Rasayana Two, this inspection found the following:
1. There are no written procedures for the receipt, identification
storage, testing, and approval or rejection of components or the final
product.
2. There are no written procedures for the production, and process
control that assures the drug product has the desired strength,
identity, quality, and purity.
3. Lot yields are not calculated and reconciled with the theoretical
yields.
4. Firm does not have batch records for production that are approved
by the most responsible person.
5. There is no master batch records to assure uniformity in production
from batch to batch and no packaging and labeling procedures and batch
records.
6. Samples of product do not include a test to verify the identity of
each component of the product.
7. Each component is not tested for conformity to all appropriate
written specifications for purity, strength, and quality.
8. Labels are not held under strict control so as to determine
discrepancies between quantity of drug product finished and the
quantity of labeling issued.
9. There are no expiration dates assigned the products as determined
by appropriate stability testing.
Freedom of Information Act Request
A follow-up Freedom of Information Act request was submitted.
I must deny your request for...an inspectional report with results and
exhibits from the investigation of ... MAPI, Inc., Lancaster, MA.' I
understand our Boston District Office sent you the FDA 483
(Inspectional Observations) issued at the inspection of January 13-22,
1992. However, the related Establishment Inspection report and a
second one dated November 19-22, 1991, along with exhibits and related
records presently constitute records compiled for law enforcement
purposes, the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to
interfere with enforcement proceedings. Thus, they are exempt from
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552 (b) (7)
(A). The Department of Health and Human Services' regulations
implementing the Act, 45 CFR 5.68 (a) (1), also provide for
nondisclosure of such law enforcement records. Copies of the Act and
regulations are enclosed for your information.
Sincerely yours,
Donald C. Mc.Learn
Acting Associate Commissioner for
Public Affairs, FDA~
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WASHINGTON D.C.
Knott Necessarily
Meditations on a calm and coherent Washington
It's not going to be the same around here without the followers of
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
You know how it works with Mr. Maharishi and his crowd. You go to a
room, get really comfortable, focus on a word and repeat it to
yourself for however long necessary. Good things are supposed to
follow these sessions of Transcendental Meditation.
I recently tried this.
My mantra was lotto.
Lot-to. Lot-to. Lot-to...
So far, no luck. Perhaps it's because I'm not a professional.
The professionals recently completed their seven-week goodwill stint
in the city, spreading ''calm and coherence'' through meditation.
I don't know about you, but I was so ''calm and coherent'' while they
were in town that I was beginning to feel like Perry Como.
They came to the District, 4000 of them did, seeking to reduce violent
crime. Predictably, they claim to have been highly successful, cutting
the city's violent crime rate by 24 percent from June 7 to July 30.
Try telling that to the poor man from Manassas [VA] who noticed he was
missing part of his anatomy on the morning of June 23. [The man's wife
cut off his penis].
Well, he no longer is the poor man from Manassas, and he no longer is
anatomically incorrect.
His name is John Bobbitt, and her name is Lorena Bobbitt, and they now
have lawyers and the like, and sadly, it appears as if their marriage
is in serious trouble.
Or perhaps the group's ''calm and coherence'' did not reach the outer
suburbs of Manassas.
Whatever.
There is a price tag for all this ''calm and coherence,'' and it comes
to $20 million a year.
Somebody by the name of John Hagelin (Remember him? He was the Natural
Law Party's presidential candidate last year and scored a whopping
31,408 votes) says the group is willing to keep 2,000 meditators in
the city if the D.C. government or a group of private donors will pick
up the $20 million tab.
''The mayor should move quickly on this or be prepared to answer to
taxpayers,'' Mr. Hagelin says.
This has the scent of blackmail.
Pay up if you want to maintain the ''calm and coherence'' in your
midst or return to your murderous ways.
To be honest, this is not too ''calm and coherent'' on the part of
Mr. Maharishi.
He shows us the light for seven weeks at no charge. Now he wants $20
million a year to leave the light on. Name one power company that can
get away with this kind of rate increase.
It's doubtful Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly is ever going to respond to
Mr. Maharishi, much less pay $20 million a year for his services.
Besides, there's is some dispute over whether the group was
successful. The Metropolitan Police Department is still examining the
results.
One fact is certain. There where six more homicides this year than
last year. Obviously, the message did not reach everyone. But that's
all right. Nobody is perfect.
Mr. Maharishi certainly talks a good game. If he didn't, he wouldn't
be a guru.
You know all that flooding in the Midwest?
Mr. Maharishi makes a connection to his group. Now follow closely.
Many of the meditators in the District were from the Maharishi
International University in Fairfield, Iowa. Their absence in the
Midwest, Mr. Maharishi says, contributed to the flood by creating ''an
upset in the balance of nature.''
Hmm. It sounds good. Yeah, I can buy that.
The group also claims to have had a positive effect on the Clinton
administration.
Basically, if you're Mr Maharishi, you can take credit for just about
anything that happens.
Let's say you get hit on the head by a gang of thugs this
week. Exactly,. It will be because Mr. Maharishi's group is no longer
in town.
I want to believe in Mr. Maharishi's power, although not at $20
million a year.
The District was able to muddle along without Mr. Maharishi before
June 7 and undoubtedly will be able to do so in the weeks, months and
years ahead.
Seriously, there are places in far worse shape than the District.
There are places where 4,000 meditators could achieve lasting
prominence by spreading ''calm and coherence.''
Sarajevo, to name one, could use some ''calm and coherence.''
Maybe the D.C., government should book the flight for the meditators.
Please, make it one way. Tom Knott, August 3, 1993, The Washington
Times~
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UNITED STATES
Where has all the money gone?
The movement has requested $20 million dollars to keep Washington
D. C. calm. Who will pay the tab?
The movement publicity machine suggested the Washington,
D.C. government or a group of private donors should pay. I personally
like the idea of a group of private donors picking up the tab. I also
have a lead on the perfect group.
This group has large sums of money. Its stated goals are to
''eliminate the problems of crime and all behavior that brings
unhappiness to the family of man.''
We are a family, aren't we?
When the Maharishi inaugurated his World Plan in 1972 he laid out
seven goals.
The "Seven Goals" of the World Plan are;''
1- To develop the full potential of the individual,
2- To improve governmental achievements,
3- To realize the highest ideal of education,
4- To eliminate the problems of crime and all behavior that brings
unhappiness to the family of man,
5- To maximize the intelligent use of the environment,
6- To bring fulfillment of the economic aspirations of individuals and
society,
7- To achieve the spiritual goals of all mankind in this generation
Admirable goals - lofty ideals. I worked for them for almost 10 years
myself.
But who can afford the $20 million dollar price tag?
I think we have a perfect match in the Maharishi's own bank accounts.
Let's ask the Maharishi to fund the $20 million.
Although he claims to have ''no pockets,'' he does talk about the
''field of all possibilities.'' I think he has access to field of all
possible ''laxshmi'' - money.
The organizations of which he is the ''spiritual head,'' have
transferred MILLIONS out of the United States to ''affiliated
organizations" over the past few years.
Maharishi, please ask those affiliates to help keep Washington D.C.
calm. Please keep that ''positive effect on the Clinton
administration'' going. It is within your World Plan goals, after
all.~
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WPEC & MIU TAX RETURNS
From the ''World Plan Executive Council - United States (WPEC) and
Maharishi International University (MIU) tax returns, obtained via the
Freedom of Information Act; "Return of Organization Exempt from Income
Tax, Id# 95-2485909, 95-279040:"
WPEC 1987: WPEC transferred under the category Grants and Allocations,
for the nine months and year ending June 30, 1987:
$117,000 to Chapters of World Plan Executive Council - United States,
$43,937,000 to the Maharishi Educational Fund,
$233,000 to the International Association for the Age of
Enlightenment,
$356,000 to the Maharishi International University of Natural Law,
$18,000 to International affiliated organizations,
$915,000 to Association of the International World Plan Executive
Council.
Total WPEC 1987: $45,576,000.
WPEC 1988: WPEC transferred under the category Grants and Allocations,
for the nine months and year ending June 30, 1988:
$6,117,000 to the Maharishi Educational Fund,
$191,000 to the International Association for the Age of
Enlightenment,
$391,000 to Age of Enlightenment Trust,
Total WPEC 1988: $6,699,000.
MIU 1983-1984: Maharishi International University's Board of Trustees
have adopted a resolution for the payment of $2 per day for the
academic year per full time paying student to MERU for assistance in
the development of course material and research. During the years
ended June 30, 1984 and 1983 the University complied with the
resolution. Amounts for course development were:
$ 303,000 in 1984,
$ 320,000 in 1983,
Total To MERU 1983-84: $623,000.
In addition, the Board of Trustees adopted a resolution to pay fees to
the Age of Enlightenment Trust (AET) for assistance in the development
of course materials and research. The fee amounts are based upon a
stipulated percentage of fees of the various courses offered at the
Washington, D.C. Campus. Such course development fees were:
$ 171,632 in 1984,
$ 569,000 in 1983,
Total to AET 1983-84: $740,632.
MIU 1985 MIU's 1985 tax return states: Maharishi International
University's board of Trustees have adopted a resolution for the
payment of $2 per day for the academic year per full time paying
student to MERU for assistance in the development of course material
and research. During the years ended June 30, 1985 the University
complied with the resolution. Amounts for course development were:
$257,000 in 1985,
Total to MERU 1985: $257,000.
In addition the Board of Trustees adopted a resolution to pay fees to
the Age of Enlightenment Trust (AET) for assistance in the development
of course materials and research. The fee amounts are based upon a
stipulated percentage of fees of the various courses offered at the
Washington, D.C. Campus. Such course development fees were:
$ 16,000 in 1985,
Total 1985 To AET: $16,000.
MIU 1986 MIU's 1986 tax return states: Maharishi International
University's board of Trustees have adopted a resolution for the
payment of $2 per day for the academic year per full time paying
student to MERU for assistance in the development of course material
and research. During the years ended June 30, 1986 the University
complied with the resolution. Amounts for course development were:
$ 174,000 in 1986,
Total 1985 to MERU: $174,000.
$53,828,632 Transferred
According to WPEC and MIU tax returns, the total transferred to TM's
affiliates was $53,828,632 over just four years. This was only from
two of TM many branches.
The tax returns include the following statement: ''All organizations
receiving disbursements have organizational purposes identical or
similar to this organization in that they further the Transcendental
Meditation and TM-Sidhi Programs and meet the organizational and
operational test of Section 501 (c) (3) of the IRS Organizations."~
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UNITED STATES
TM fees increase
Would you like to get enlightened? Would you enjoy saving the world?
Do you want immortality?
Do you want to help the crime rate in Washington, D.C.?
Well the price has just gone up. Remember the days when ''personal
instruction'' was just your allowance? Not any more -- TM fees have
hit the ceiling.
Maharishi recently ''spoke with a friend in America,'' and realized
that TM was too cheap.
Not anymore - he has raised the ''course fee'' to $1000, that's
correct, ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS. Meaningless sounds apparently are not
cheap.
The TM-Sidhi program now costs $4000. That's $210 for each word
(sutra); I guess words with meanings cost less, per unit than
meaningless sounds?!.
I remember when TM was $45 in the 70's.
Then came the ''Merv Griffin wave'' and with the wave TM's cost went
to $125.
With the 80's inflation, the fee went up to $200 and then, $395.
Well it's 1993 - I think Mr. Mahesh has gotten greedy. $1000! Dr.
Benson's book, The Relaxation Response, is a steal at $4.95.~
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WASHINGTON D.C.
Rumors from the course
Not only did the crime rate get lowered in Washington, D.C. this
summer, but great rumors were generated.
The thing that we all remember about the movement is its use of rumor.
You don't have to lose the enjoyment of Rumor Central just because you
decided to leave the movement.
A dictator said that everyone tells little lies. But when you tell a
''big lie'' people think, ''that's not true - but there must be some
truth in it".
The the rumors from Washington D.C. are top quality. [Here we go]:
Sixteen Mother Divine women are ''H O V E R I N G.'' You got it. Yes,
they are h o v e r i n g.
During one of Mr. Mahesh's conference calls to the course, he
commented on one women's experience of hovering: ''did her neighbor
see it?'' Even Mahesh had a question about someone hovering.
On the subject of hovering, a women in the South Jersey Capital of the
Age of Enlightenment has reportedly also started hovering. There is
some doubt in the community if it is possible: she is not too stable,
they whisper.
Personally, if they can demonstrate hovering, I'd be back. Although
I'm not sure I'd be welcome.
During one of Mahesh's calls he discussed EXPERIENCES. One woman
reported experiencing extreme ''heat'' in meditation. Mahesh
reportedly responded, ''a very fortunate experience.''
I've heard since then that a whole lot of people have been
experiencing
a lot of ''heat'' in meditation since the course. "How many have
had that experience--let's see hands--almost everyone."
While on the subject of experience, I thought ''it would be good'' to
look back at some of the movement's claims of ''experiences.''
My source is an advertisement from 1977, "The Year of Ideal Society -
Third Year of the Age of Enlightenment." The pamphlet is called
''Enlightenment and the Siddhis Citizens' Advanced Course - To Develop
Consciousness as the Field of All Possibilities and to Create An Ideal
Society In the Age of Enlightenment.''
Note the spelling of the word ''Siddhis'': two 'd's'--this is the
traditional way it is spelled. It seems the movement could not
copyright the common word ''siddhi,'' so they changed the spelling to
''sidhi.''
In the section "Experience of Higher States of Consciousness Through
the Transcendental Meditation Program," I found the following
experience reported:
''During the flying technique I had a vision of my spine and chest
being just white light, and then my body moved up and down on the
couch two, three times. The next experience was of hearing my body
touch down on the floor. I say 'hearing' because I didn't feel it
until after I heard it, so soft was the landing. I moved about a
six-foot distance at that time.'' C.T., New York.
WOW--what an e x p e r i e n c e. Where is this levitating meditator?
They would surely have won the ''yogic flying competition locally,
nationally and internationally.''
Remember the rumor of the man who was levitating over Lake Lucerne?
Or the women who became invisible? And then there was the man who
created a Mexican dinner--hot to the touch. And I haven't forget the
promise of enlightenment in five to seven years.
Well, enough for this issue, this is Rumor Central signing
off. Patrick Ryan, MIU Class of '80~
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TM linked to Cult Cartel
Having been denoucned one after the other, the cults have decided to
counterattack as a group through a new weapon, called FIREPHIM. Such a
cartel is an old dream, dating back to the '80s, when the Church of
Scientology and TM formed an ephemeral "St. Bartholomew's Committee."
But in recent years, wounded by the same enemies, the Justice
Department, the Department of General Investigation, and above all
ADFI (the Association for Defense of the Family and the Individual),
an anti-cult organization that has become the cults bete noire, the
groups are reorganizing. In 1990, Rael and Daniel Gounord, head of
the French Scientologists, met in Claremond-Ferrand. Soon jailed in
Lyon with other Scientology directors on criminal charges in
connection with the church's operations, Gounord got a letter from a
Unification Church official, and not long after there followed a
meeting among representatives of Moon, Scientology and Rael, and later
contacts were made with other groups and an association registered
with authorities. The groups, agreeing never to discuss philosophies,
is based in Strasbourg to influence the European Parliament, which
meets there.
FIREPHIM has joined demonstrations against racism and xenophobia in
France and Germany, saying that their human rights, too, are being
violated, because they are ''minority religions.'' The new lobby has
declared January 7 a day of ''National Observance of Religious and
Philosophical Movements,'' and is setting up what appears to be an
intellectual wing. Thus far they have gained the support of a Sorbonne
professor. Under the Mask of the Cartel, Le Point, February 27, 1993~
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TEXAS
TM Meditators Turn Away Hurricane Gilbert
[The Age of Enlightenment News Service issued the following Press
Release reprinted here in its entirety:]
September's Hurricane Gilbert, the most intense Atlantic Storm on
record, spared Texas, and Transcendental Meditation (TM) is claiming
credit.
As Texans prepared for the worst, the TM centers in Austin, Houston,
Dallas, and San Antonio mobilized large groups of experts in Maharishi
Mahesh Yogi's TM and TM-Sidhi program to meditate and practice
TM-Sidhi Yogic Flying together. TM center leaders believed that the
coherence these meditators created in the environment would avert the
impending disaster.
According to Michael Lang, chairman of the Austin Maharishi Capital of
the Age of Enlightenment, it was their group practice that turned the
terrible storm away from the heavily populated southern Texas cost.
The Call Went Out
''Our efforts began in earnest on Wednesday, September 14,'' Mr. Lang
said, ''when the Austin American-Statesman's headlines warned, 'Killer
Hurricane nears Mexico,' and 'Texans preparing for the worst.''
As the storm wheeled toward the Gulf of Mexico, people all along the
coast boarded up their homes. Galveston was completely evacuated, and
many people fled inland from Corpus Christi. As far as Austin, 200
miles from the coast, shelters filled up with the refugees.
''Gilbert was predicted to hit land at Corpus Christi, near the center
of the coast,'' Mr. Lang said. ''That was when the call went out to
all our experts in Texas. we told them to come practice Yogic Flying
and TM together twice each day in as large groups as possible. We knew
that would help the situation.''
The Yogic Flyers Saved Texas
A community of TM meditators called Radiance has grown up in Austin,
and in its center is a large, golden-domed structure specially built
for group practice of the TM and TM-Sidhi program. On Wednesday
evening the Radiance Golden Dome was full.
In Houston twice the usual number of people came to the evening group
practice. In San Antonio the number also doubled, and Dallas reported
a big turnout. Altogether nearly twice as many Texans as usual were
practicing Yogic Flying together by Wednesday evening, and all the
different groups were practicing at the same time.
Mr. Lang said the positive effect of their collective practice was
immediate. That night the winds of Gilbert dropped from 175 to 120 mph
and its expected landfall began shifting south from Corpus Christi.
''After our morning and evening group practice on Thursday, the
projected path of Gilbert was revised again. If it stayed on course,
Gilbert would hit land some 200 miles further south,'' Mr. Lang
said. ''But National Weather Service forecasters still predicted a
returned higher winds and a more northern landfall in a heavily
populated area. Then, on Friday morning, a live TV report from the
shores of Corpus Christi showed a dissappointed newsman saying he
hadn't expected to be able to stand on the beach at this time, and in
fact it wasn't even raining.''
Gilbert reached land on late Friday afternoon about 120 miles south of
Brownsville and the US/ Mexico border. It never returned to its
original force and never took a northern turn to the Texas coast.
After four days of anticipation, over 400 journalists, manning
hundreds of millions of dollars worth of equipment, left Corpus
Christi with little to report.
A Very Humanitarian Path
On Saturday, September 17, The New York Times said on its front page,
''Hurricane roars into Mexico again, its fury diminished...Few people
are in its way...Storm lets loose heavy rain and tornadoes but spares
southern Texas coast.''
The Times' article read, ''It vented most of its fury in lightly
populated areas...The storm, billed as the hurricane of the
century...failed to do the catastrophic damage to the United States
mainland that many had feared. In the Caribbean and the Yucatan
Peninsula of Mexico, with winds of 175 to nearly 200 miles an hour,
the storm killed a total of at least 66 people and caused damage in
the billions of dollars. But its finale was relatively merciful as it
turned away from heavily populated parts of Texas and northern
Mexico.''
According to Mr. Lang, the influence the twice-daily group meditations
had on Hurricane Gilbert demonstrated the ''Maharishi Effect,'' a
phenomenon of coherence that occurs throughout society and the
environment when a small proportion of the population practices the TM
and TM-Sidhi program together in a group.
Mr. Lang said that the Maharishi Effect works at the deepest level of
nature:''During the TM and TM-Sidhi program a person naturally
experiences the state of pure consciousness, the most silent and
powerful state of the mind. According to Maharishi's Vedic Science,
pure consciousness is the most fundamental level of natural law, what
modern physics is now describing as the unified field of all the laws
of nature.
When we enlivened the unified field during our group program, we
expected greater balance to be created in nature. Hurricane Gilbert's
behavior has borne this out.''
Mr. Lang concluded with the simple advice: ''Whenever collective
disaster threatens, people should meditate and practice Yogic Flying
in groups to avert the disaster.'' Age of Enlightenment News Service
[This press release was produced by the TM movement.]~
We ask:
Should the families of the 66 people who died blame the meditators for
sending the hurricane toward them?
Should we inform the insurance companies that paid the claims into the
billions of dollars of those whom caused the hurricane to avoid its
natural course?
What happened to the ''coherence generated by group flying'' when the
Mississippi River went over its banks?
Using TM-movement logic of "painting the bulls-eye around the arrow,"
we could say:
"TM Causes Hurricane Damage into the Billions."~
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Dear TM-EX, Please could you send me your newsletter for about 2/3
worth of the enclosed donation. The other 1/3 is for 'the cause.'
I've seen the newsletter before, about a year or more ago. I don't
want to be 'anti-TM' anymore that I was pro-it at one time. But
certain issues are arising where it would be helpful to have a bit of
pepper to clear the debris out. (Sounds a lot more calculating than it
is.) This sum is a one off and won't want to continue.
I saw an interesting article by Dr. Susan Blackmore in the ''New
Scientist' on meditation. Its far from perfect, but it represents the
best I've yet to read. Apart from the TM movement's sort-of-mechanized
and slap-dash manipulation of meditators for its own absolutist aims,
I reckon that it is highly likely that certain types of meditators are
[prone to these] conditions. We need to know a great deal more about
these cocktails of techniques and metabolisms/mind sets/conditions.
The Benedictines teach a mantra meditation, and the ways that it has
been taught that I have encountered lead me to believe that, while it
is not commercial or absolutist, it is quite as glib as TM.
As someone who, I now realize, has a propensity towards suppression
and denial I reckon that a mantra meditation very easily becomes a
means toward inner dictatorship and was wholly inappropriate for any
length of time for me. This is a theory but it is interesting that I
started to get migraines about a year after starting TM. I might have
got them anyhow but the technique was supposed to relieve that sort of
thing.
Our times like quick panaceas and are not sympathetic to relative
answers...I continued for eleven years, so maybe in this, at least, I
may be in time with the times! JW, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Dear Sir/Madam, As you can see from the enclosed newspaper articles,
TM is being presented in a big way in Dublin. Could you please send
some up to date literature concerning TM. Is there a video dealing
with the harmful effects of TM? Thank You, ICM, Dublin
Dear Sir or Madam: I came across a reference to the TM-EX group in
Kurt Butler's ''A Consumer's Guide to Alternative Medicine.''
Please send me information and/or newsletter.
For your convenience, enclosed is a self-addressed envelope. RB,
Columbus, OH~
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Cults in the News
LaRoucheites Running for Office Nancy Spannaus, a follower of
imprisoned political extremist Lyndon La Rouche is running as an
independent candidate for governor of Virginia. She said that La
Rouche supporters will run in 19 Virginia House of Delegates districts
in the November election. There are some 100 seats in the
running. Cult Observer
Cults on Tokyo Campuses The Japan Times reported last fall (''Groups
pray for prey in universities,'' 9/26/92) that an estimated 20
religious groups are active on the Kombu Campus of Tokyo
University. They include the Unification Church, Soka Gakkai, and the
Institute for Human Happiness. '' There are many 'gentle people' on
campus, sometimes in pairs of girls, who approach students and say
'let's have a talk' with a 'soft sell' smile.'' Some rent houses or
rooms near the campus to conduct their activities. The busiest time is
immediately after new students enroll. Many of those come from the
provinces and have no connections in Tokyo. The paper quotes Kenjo,
23, who nearly got involved in a group whose members initially only
gave advice on campus life and then urged him to attend a two-day
course, followed by on of seven days. Kenjo was urged to join the
group in communal living, but refused and left it. FAIR NEWS [London,
Spring 1993,3]
Books on Cults High in Reader Poll Churches That Abuse, a book by
Westmont College (Santa Barbara, CA) sociology professor Ronald
Enroth, was chosen sixth in a readers poll taken by Christianity Today
for the 1993 ''Book of the Year.'' (Christianity Today,
4/5/93. [Professor Enroth, a nationally known authority on cults and
aberrant Christian groups, is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board
of the Cultic Studies Journal, which is published by the American
Family Foundation.]~
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Exit Counseling: A Family Intervention How To Respond to Cult-Affected
Loved Ones, by Carol Giambalvo. Published by the American Family
Foundation, the leading professional organization devoted to cultic
studies, this important new book, with an introduction by Dr. Michael
Langone, provides practical information for families concerned about
a cult-involved relative. It describes the process of exit counseling,
a voluntary approach to helping cultists makes informed decisions
about their group affiliation. Exit counseling is the most effective
alternative to the controversial process of deprogramming, which involves
coercion.
Combatting Cult Mind Control, by Steven Hassan. MUST reading for
anyone who has been touched by cult phenomena. A former Moonie tells
his story.
Zillions: Consuper Reports for Kids, P.O. Box 54861, Boulder, CO 80322
Kids learn critical thinking by evaluating popular culture and
advertising aimed at them.
TM and Cult Mania, by M.A. Persinger, Ph.D. An in-depth investigation
into the claims of TM, hypnosis and research. [Available from TM-EX]
Trauma and Recovery, by Judith Lewis Herman, M.D. An in-depth exploration
into the commonalities of traumatic experience and the process of
healing. [See review, Summer 92]
Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism, by R.J. Lifton, M.D.
A classic textbook and case study on victims of thought reform and
the elements of thought reform programs. [See excerpt, Winter 92]
Heaven on Earth: Dispatches From America's Spiritual Frontier, by
Michael D'Antonio. A Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter visits America's
spiritual communities including MIU, Fairfield, Iowa. [See review,
Spring 92]
Cultic Studies Journal: Psychological Manipulation and Society. A
refereed semi-annual journal published by the American Family Foundation
(AFF), P.O. Box 2265, Bonita Springs, FL 33959. The CSJ seeks to advance
the understanding of cultic practices and their relation to society,
including broad social and cultural implications as well as effects
on individuals and families. [See ``The Use of TM to Promote Social
Progress in Israel, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1986]
Cult Awareness Network (CAN) News, 2421 West Pratt Blvd., Suite 1173,
Chicago, IL 60645, (312) 267-7777. Founded to educate the public
about the harmful effects of mind control as used by destructive cults.
CAN confines its concerns to unethical or illegal practices, and passes
no judgment on doctrine or beliefs.
How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday
Life, by Thomas Gilovich. An investigation of how even highly educated
people become convinced of the validity of questionable or demonstrably
false beliefs about the world, and the unfortunate impact of these
beliefs.
Skeptical Inquirer, Box 229, Buffalo, NY 14215. Journal of the Committee
for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, which
attempts to encourage the critical investigation of paranormal and
fringe-science claims from a responsible, scientific point of view.
[See Winter 1983-84, ``An investigation of the effects of TM on the
Weather.'']
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.
Influence: The New Psychology of Modern Persuasion, by Robert B. Cialdini,
Ph.D. A landmark publication in furthering our understanding of the
persuasion process.
Now Available From TM-EX
Reprints--including early TM studies, journal research and news articles.
Investigative reports from BBC, CBC and other news media available
on audiotape. Write for a complete list.~
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The TM-EX Newsletter is published by the Transcendental Meditation
Ex-Members Support Group (TM-EX), a not-for-profit educational
corporation.
Subscription information: Receive the TM-EX Newsletter, plus special
Bulletins and Research Review for a donation of $50 or more; OR with
a minimum donation of $25, receive the TM-EX Newsletter.
Please be advised that TM-EX has received tax exempt status as a
501(c)(3) charitable organization.
For inquiries: P.O. Box 7565, Arlington, VA 22207, (202) 728-7580, FAX
(703) 841-2385. Our volunteers respond more quickly to mail requests;
all telephone calls will be returned collect.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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
Messages: (202) 728-7580
Fax: (703) 841-2385