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I received an e-mail inquiry asking me to expand on my suspicions that the Maharishi, the founder of Transcendental Meditation (TM), exhibits narcissistic tendencies. I want to be clear: I don't believe it is possible to diagnose a person merely on the basis of their public writings and appearances. So I am not saying the Maharishi is a narcissist. But a quick glance below is likely to make any open-minded reader suspicious, too.
The DSM-IV Diagnostic Criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder are:
A pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, lack of empathy, as indicated by at least five of the following:
1. a grandiose sense of self-importance
2. is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
3. believes that he or she is "special" and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)
4. requires excessive admiration
5. has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations
6. is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends
7. lacks empathy and is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others
8. is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her
9. shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes
A really good resource, created by a clinical psychologist, is this checklist of narcissism symptoms.
A quick comparison of the Maharishi's behaviors with the symptom list:
The Maharishi gave himself one of the most grandiose titles available in his tradition, usually reserved for saints such as Patanjali, Vyasa, and others. He allows his underlings, such as Bevan Morris, to insist that he has attained the highest state of consciousness of any human on the planet (Bevan's intro to SBAL). He states that his teaching is the highest knowledge available to humanity and so forth.
He is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, in the form of the World Government, the Global Country, Invincibility, Immortality, the Age of Enlightenment, and so forth, when in fact he is the leader of a relatively small religious movement that is having no discernible impact on the culture at large -- at least not since the 1970s.
He believes he is special and can only be understood by special people. Like many narcissists, the Maharishi surrounds himself with "name" people. He holds constant symposia to which he invites what he calls the leading lights in various fields to discuss the brilliance of his teaching. He insists that only "scholars" such as "physicist" John Hagelin can fully understand the subtlety of his teaching.
He requires excessive admiration in his insistence that he be called "Maharishi," be honored with flowers and other symbols of admiration, is accorded the utmost respect, appears only in sumptuously and ritually decorated speaking venues, surrounds himself with a regal retinue and countless bodyguards, and more.
People who have been close to the Maharishi know that he has a vast sense of entitlement. He makes extraordinary demands on his inner circle for unquestioned loyalty, unreasonable demands for volunteer work, and his unceasing demand for vast sums of money for his "knowledge," and more. He is interpersonally exploitive in his manipulative pitting of one person against another among his inner circle, his insistence that meditators attend courses to avert war or natural calamity, and more.
The DeNaro Affadavit documents his callous lack of empathy and inability to identify with the needs of his students, in that he has been aware for decades of the damage caused by excessive rounding and advanced meditation practices on his students.
He demonstrates envy of others in his jealous hoarding of students, not allowing them to study other teachers or religious leaders -- or even psychological movements -- something not demonstrated by other "spiritual leaders" that I am aware of. He also shows a narcissistic strain of paranoia in his insistence that the U.S. CIA, the American Medical Association, drug companies, and others are jealous of his "knowledge" and attempt to infiltrate his movement to learn his "secrets." Interestingly enough, Hagelin and other "luminaries" in the Movement appear to show a similar halo of paranoia when they insist that mainstream science -- or insert your favorite field of endeavor here -- ignore them because they are jealous of their accomplishments.
Doesn't this sound all too familiar?
Is the Maharishi a Sociopath?
Below is a list of the DSM IV symptoms of antisocial personality disorder. Note that the terms sociopath, psychopath, and antisocial personality are all roughly equivalent. The distinction sometimes made is that a psychopath becomes antisocial because of psychological influences (especially abuse), while a sociopath is born that way (genetics).
Symptoms:
A. There is a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age 15 years, as indicated by three (or more) of the following:
(1) failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest
(2) deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure
(3) impulsivity or failure to plan ahead
(4) irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults
(5) reckless disregard for safety of self or others
(6) consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations
(7) lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another
B. The individual is at least age 18 years.
C. There is evidence of Conduct Disorder with onset before age 15 years.
D. The occurrence of antisocial behavior is not exclusively during the course of Schizophrenia or a Manic Episode.
The Maharishi fails to conform to social norms in that he is wanted for tax evasion in Switzerland, the U.S., and India. He was found liable for fraud in the Kropinski trial. He has also been alleged to launder money, as well as smuggle money and material across international borders.
The Maharishi has been accused of repeated lying about the Transcendental Meditation techniques for his personal profit. Note the nature of the alleged offenses in the paragraph above; they relate to deceitfulness as well.
The Maharishi could be accused of a failure to plan ahead or impulsivity. This may at first seem strange, given his constant release of ever bigger "plans" for the world, peace, spiritual regeneration and so forth. But anyone who has worked on staff, as I and others have done, can relate war stories of his constant revision, addition, and scrapping of one "plan" after another. At the least, the Maharishi could fairly be termed "capricious."
With regard to irritability, I am certainly not aware of the Maharishi being in any physical fights. But there is little doubt that the man has become increasingly irritable over the years. This characteristic of the antisocial personality probably does not apply to the Maharishi.
The Maharishi could be alleged to have shown a reckless disregard for for safety of others, as evidenced by the DeNaro Affadavit, the list of 40 casualties in the Kropinski trial, and other firsthand accounts.
The Maharishi may have shown consistent irresponsibility in his financial dealings, such as the tax fraud alleged above. The constant haranguing of followers for funds to save the Transcendental Meditation movement from supposed bankruptcy indicate a lack of responsibility in financial matters as well. It can't be said that he does not work consistently, however.
To my knowledge, the Maharishi has never expressed remorse for any pain, discomfort, or financial ruin that he has had a hand in. The only mistake I have heard of him admitting to was the founding of the Natural Law Party. He has consistently rationalized the effects of his behavior with phrases such as "something good is happening," or stated that a "few" casualties may be necessary to achieve his World Plan.
I know nothing regarding the Maharishi's childhood, and therefore cannot comment about the onset of possible symptoms.
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