This Transcendental Meditation, or TM, is a
system of meditation which is generally practiced twice daily. One
is introduced to the practice of TM by a teacher. After
a short interview with an initiator (a teacher of TM), there
follows a short ceremony or puja to which the
initiate brings flowers, fruit & fresh cotton
handkerchief. During the ceremony the teacher murmurs a traditional
Sanskrit composition (a version of Acharya Vandana)
and performs a ritual set of offerings in front of a portrait of Guru Dev, a
revered Indian sage. Following this ceremony the initiate is given a mantra and an explanation of how to use the mantra to good effect in meditation.
Effects
The principal effects of twice-daily periods of
Transcendental Meditation are; 1. that some claim to feel more relaxed and 2.
that it is thought that afterwards one is
more capable of attending to one's everyday life. Subjectively, it is as if one were
stepping back a pace, within, drawing one's breath and taking some
moments to
compose oneself. One might also say that this TM meditation is
like routinely clearing one's vision or cleaning one's windscreen. But more importantly this
meditation seems to perform the
function of a circuit-breaker, automatically ridding one of accumulated
stress. In short, to many of its pracatitioners, Transcendental
Meditation is an invaluable practice,
as it seems to enable one to find solace from everyday entanglements
and pressures, whilst simultaneously recharging one's batteries. The
practice is held to yield these benefits without effort, therefore one
is
told that it is not necessary to change one's philosophy or lifestyle.
So, it is important to understand that one is not being persuaded to
adopt
Indian thinking or religion, merely to practice a routine that will
hopefully put a
light in the eye and a spring in the step!
Background
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi promoted this system of
meditation, first in India in 1955, and then throughout the West from
1959, dubbing it 'Deep Meditation', then 'Transcendental Deep
Meditation', before settling on the terms 'Transcendental Meditation' & 'TM'.
Importantly, Maharishi declared TM to be scientifically verifiable and not
dependant on any attendant philosophy. Equally important is that he also claimed that TM is not a
process of
auto-suggestion. However, one finds that the TM technique is
predominantly taught by Maharishi's devotees who, having become steeped in their Master's philosophies, are trained to impart Maharishi's thinking whilst teaching
TM. So, if one is being introduced to the technique of TM by one of Maharishi's devotees, one is certain to encounter his philosophies, which at times can appear far-fetched. For those who choose to look elsewhere, there are many meditation teachers outside of Maharishi's organisations who are also teaching TM, and some of those teachers call the technique something other than TM, so it is reasonable to assume that one might discover amongst them some who are teaching the TM technique with little or no reference to Maharishi or to his philosophies.
Notwithstanding the foregoing remarks, the
writings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi do provide some very intriguing food
for
thought, in that they appear to apply rigorous scientific method to the
subject
of Indian mysticism. Furthermore, the study of the teachings of his guru, Shankaracharya Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, often referred to simply as 'Guru Dev', offers an exceptional
opportunity to gain a broad understanding of traditional Indian
thinking.
