Maharishi Mahesh Yogi introduced the Transcendental Meditation technique in 1955, defining it as a simple, non-religious, universal technique for settling the mind, providing deep rest to the body and awakening life's unbounded potential.From the very beginning of his teaching activities, Maharishi described the practice as systematic, repeatable and testable, and therefore scientific — but never as a religion. In the earliest transcripts and recordings of Maharishi's talks, and in the earliest publications, the Transcendental Meditation technique is identified as a practice based on direct experience, not based on faith, dogma or belief.
In fact, the distinguishing feature of Maharishi's message is that the full potential of human awareness can be unfolded in a systematic, scientific way through correct meditation, and therefore it is everyone's birthright to rise to the highest stages of human development, regardless of their personal beliefs. Maharishi viewed the Transcendental Meditation technique as a way to restore the basic element of human experience that had been all too rare in society, in both the East and the West: direct experiential access to transcendental consciousness — a field which had previously been "shrouded in mysticism."
Certainly the language used to communicate the value of TM practice has evolved over the years. When Maharishi began, there was not a single, peer-reviewed scientific research study on the Transcendental Meditation technique. Wherever Maharishi would speak, he invited scientists in the audience to learn the TM technique and to investigate its effects on mind and body. Soon there were scores of research studies being published and Maharishi could speak credibly in more scientific terms. Noting that "scientific language is the language of our times," Maharishi hoped that scientific validation would be the key to more powerfully establishing the message that "life need not be lived in such stress and suffering."
However, Maharishi and the teachers of the Transcendental Meditation program never shied from emphasizing the spiritual benefits of the practice. An oft-stated goal of the TM program is to “realize the spiritual aspirations of mankind in this generation.” There are now hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific studies validating the benefits of the TM technique, and Maharishi's theory and practice may well be the most highly developed of any scientific approach to understanding the nature of consciousness. Still, there's as much open discussion of spiritual implications today as there was 50 years ago; in essence, nothing's changed.
Where did this misunderstanding come from? — the 1955 charter of the Spiritual Regeneration Movement
More about science, religion, and the Transcendental Meditation program
VIDEO: Is the Transcendental Meditation program a religion?
Bob Roth
Myth #1: Meditation is difficult and it takes a long time to get results.
Myth #6: Independent scientific reviews show that Transcendental Meditation practice produces no significant health benefits. (On the AHRQ report.)
Myth #7: Yikes! It's a cult!
Myth #8: TM began as a religion, then became scientific to reach more people.
