WHY I BELIEVE THE TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION ORG IS DANGEROUS

I got a recent email that I thought — at first — was pretty flip: “hey john, what is the problem with transcendental meditation? please let me know. ciao.”

But I realized, to my knowledge, no TM critic has ever created a concise, one-page summation of what’s wrong with TM.

Well, here’s my stab at doing just that.

To be clear, I believe most people who meditate are pleased with their practice. I consider meditation one of Nature’s miracles. But having worked with over 2,000 cult members, I know a significant minority report serious side-effects.

Most symptoms below come from anecdotal reports in my counseling practice. There is some documentation of side-effects in the “German Study” — although the “snowball” methodology and small sample size essentially renders those findings anecdotal, as well. (“Snowball samples” have come far since the 1980s. Professor Doug Heckathorn has increased their statistical validity.) But a randomized study by Otis found as many as 70% of TMers suffered from psychological problems — and the longer they meditated, the more likely they were to experience side-effects. And Persinger asks if Transcendental Meditation may be responsible for inducing epileptic-like signs.

(Double-click here for “A Word about Anecdotal Reports” & “The Nonrandom Nature of Most TM Research”)
No one experiences every symptom listed below. In fact, I’m not clear how many TM practitioners experience any. But I’ve dealt with hundreds of sufferers myself — and compared notes with other critics. It’s clear to me a significant percent experience at least one negative side-effect.

If Transcendental Meditation were a drug, it would have long ago been yanked from the shelves.

Possible Physical Side-Effects

• uncontrollable fatigue, sleeping during the day
• insomnia and hypersomnia
• withdrawal-like symptoms when stopping or missing meditation
• sleep paralysis (often understood as one form of “witnessing sleep”)
• night-time hallucinations (hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations, often understood as “visions”)
• possibly narcolepsy (See Persinger’s research, referenced here)
• eating disorders, including anorexia, binge eating, morbid obesity
• stomach and bowel complaints
• chronic neck and back pain (especially among “Yogic Flyers”)
• chronic headaches
• difficulty with the menstrual cycle
• involuntary body movements (twitching, spasms, head shaking, etc. in, and out, of meditation)
• serious health effects, including death, when TMers turn to Maharishi Ayurveda and ignore traditional medical treatment.

Possible Emotional Side-Effects:

• anxiety or fear
• obsessive ideas
• pathological guilt
• dissociation (trancing out, spacing out, staring into space, forgetting what one is doing, losing a space of time, feeling as if one is not real, inability to remember events or periods in one’s life, feeling separate from one’s body or mind)
• pseudo-identity (possessing both cult and non-cult personalities, similar to multiple personality disorder)
• unusual difficulty remembering names or words, frequently forgetting in mid-sentence what one is saying, being aware that others are speaking but not understanding what they are saying
• suicidal ideation, gestures, or successful attempts
• “nervous breakdowns” (lay term for depression or other mental illness that results in inability to function normally — or hospitalization)
• identity confusion: rapid changes in core beliefs such as spirituality, sexuality, personal interests; inability to settle on a career; unstable interpersonal relations
• psychosis (most likely an already-present tendency to this disease is triggered by excessive meditation)
• depression
• unusual avoidance of difficult people, situations, memories — frequently resorting to meditation or sleep to deal with them
• derivative narcissism
• delusional thinking
• auditory and visual hallucinations
• divorce, frequently multiple (frequently attributed to rapid spiritual growth and “outgrowing” one’s partner)

Possible Cognitive Side-Effects:

• significant difficulty with memory and/or concentration
• incessant jumping from one thought or action to another, constant activity without accomplishing a goal, distractibility

Possible Social Side-Effects:

• significantly decreased job or educational performance
• difficulty obtaining or maintaining a job, jumping from job to job
• relocating frequently, to the detriment of the individual

Possible Spiritual Side-Effects:

• conflict with birth religion (Judaism/Christianity/Islam: pape au Vatican, puja, use of graven images, mantras are names of Hindu gods, yagyas to Hindu deities; Buddhism: conflict with tenets such as anatta or no-self)
• spiritual confusion
• replacing birth religion with TM/Hinduism or other spiritual practices
• Problems with the Policies and Actions of the Transcendental Meditation Organization

Possible Lies and Fraud:

• The Transcendental Meditation Movement claims everyone can learn to meditate. In fact, some 20% of the population appears to experience “relaxation-induced anxiety” — a state of panic and increased anxiety that occurs when some people attempt to meditate
• The TM Org claims to be a secular organization, but is in fact at least religious in nature, if not a religion
• mantras are not meaningless sounds, but rather the names of Hindu gods
• (Double-click here for “Notes on the Why Mantra Meanings Are Important to Religious People”)
• there has never been a demonstration of successful TM-Sidhis (supposed supernormal powers, such as levitation, mind-reading, knowledge of past and future, etc. — the Maharishi was successfully sued for fraud over the sidhis in the 1980s)
• no TMer has ever been demonstrated to attain enlightenment, despite past claims this state would evolve in TM practitioners within 5-7 years
• claims of group TM practice causing world peace are belied by constant war in modern times, despite the Maharishi announcing world peace attained on numerous occasions since the 1970s
• claims large groups of TMers meditating together would cause a drop in crime, ending wars, or increase in stock market have never been demonstrated in a way that passes scientific scrutiny (note that the Maharishi’s organization predicted in summer 2007 that the stock market would hit 17,000 but it fell nearly 2,000 points within 6 months)
• the Maharishi claimed to be a celibate Hindu monk, but is alleged to have had numerous affairs.

Possible Dangerous Policies:

• Centralized power, without oversight: The Maharishi centralized all power in himself and a few trusted followers, with no oversight. (This does not appear to have changed since his death.) Most religions have oversight by elders, the law, legislative bodies, and so forth.
• Invasion of Schools, Courts, Prisons: Despite losing the New Jersey Court Case in the 1970s and being kicked out of public schools, Transcendental Meditation is again attempting to invade public school systems, despite its obvious religious overtones. There is also conflict with the separation of church and state when people are sentenced to TM in American courts or when prisoners are coerced into taking up TM.
• Questionable Research: Much of the published research on Transcendental Meditation is questionable in methodology and objectivity of researchers — who usually include TM practitioners. A recent U.S. government-funded study finds nearly all meditation research questionable.
• Jealousy of Other Spiritual Leaders: Most New Age groups are quite inclusive. Followers pick and choose from teachings of many authors and leaders. The TM Movement differs: They ban members who seek spiritual teachers beside the Maharishi. Members who seek psychological counseling may be banned from “courses,” similar to being cut off from sacraments in a Christian church.
• “Impermissible Experiments”: The Maharishi taught his meditation techniques were passed down as “perfect” knowledge from guru to disciple for thousands of years. Actually, it appears the Maharishi either made up his techniques, read about them, stole them from other spiritual leaders (Yogananda and the "Age of Enlightenment Techniques, Lakshman Joo and the “Seven States of Consciousness,” et al.). He taught common, entry-level techniques as “supreme knowledge.” He then tested his eclectic techniques on participants in teacher training, “Six-Month Courses,” or other courses to see their effects.
• Course participants paid thousands of dollars to be used as guinea pigs.
• Not being an experienced meditation teacher who could guide his students past the dangers of the meditative path, the Maharishi’s results were thousands of TMers who experienced debilitating physical, mental, and emotional side-effects as outlined above.
• After World War II and the horrific Nazi human experiments, the international community developed the Nuremberg Code of Ethics. Parts of the Code were later incorporated into the Geneva Conventions. International law made it illegal to perform any human experimentation without informed consent. Informed consent requires “test subjects” be told in advance they are taking part in experimental procedures — and the possible side-effects. “Impermissible experiments” explicitly include psychological experimentation.
• Paranoid Thinking: In his final decades, the Maharishi’s thinking and policies became increasingly paranoid. He railed about the Movement being in danger from Rakshasas (Hindu demons) — who can only enter buildings from south-facing entrances, while gods enter buildings from east-facing entrances. He claimed the Transcendental Meditation Movement was infiltrated by the CIA, American Medical Association, and pharmaceutical companies. He complained about poisoned food. When confronted with allegations of child molestations on his Indian facility, he claimed these stories were planted by his enemies.
• Constant Emphasis on Money and Empire: The Maharishi charged $2,500 to learn the basic meditation technique. Initiates take about 1 hour to learn the technique, indistinguishable from traditional japa learned from a book. He charged ever larger amounts for succeeding advanced courses, the most advanced of which costs $1 million dollars. This is particularly ironic in that the Maharishi was not a Brahmin and was forbidden by Vedic law to initiate or charge money. Most spiritual teachers taught for the love of God, never charging their followers (for example Buddha, Christ, Mohammed). In addition to hundreds of millions raised through course fees, the Maharishi pressured wealthy followers to donate hundreds of millions of dollars to fund his dreams of empire. Press reports estimate the TM Movement’s net worth in the billions of dollars.
• Recruitment over Charity: Despite collecting billions of dollars, the Maharishi never engaged in charity among the world’s poor, choosing rather to surround himself with the ultra-wealthy. And rather than minister to the sick, the Maharishi attempted to cash in on health care with his very expensive Maharishi Ayurveda “medicines” and therapy. TMers were encouraged to avoid the poor and sick because it was believed meditators could be affected by their “stress” and low level of spiritual development.
• Inherent Danger in Isolated Communities: The Maharishi pressured followers to congregate in isolated communities. Course participants, often sequestered in out-of-the-way locations, may not mingle with non-participants. TMers are pressured to move to Fairfield, Iowa or other Movement enclaves to bask in the “purity” of an all-meditator community. TM Sidhas are encouraged to attend courses in Third World countries to avert an impending “World War III.”
• Any isolated community is subject to the tendency of “groupthink,” making them susceptible to believe — and act on — the wildly delusional, grandiose pronouncements of the Maharishi without benefit of critical thought. Groupthink contributed to the mass-suicide tragedy at Jonestown.

I write largely about people involved with the Transcendental Meditation Movement: meditating hours a day, practicing advanced techniques, attending long meditation courses with many hours of meditation for weeks or months at a stretch, becoming a Transcendental Meditation Teacher or Governor. It’s rare among the 2,000 people I’ve worked with in the last 13 years that someone practicing the original twice-a-day, 20-minutes-a-pop meditation has developed serious problems. (Although some have.)

The definition of a cult remains controversial. In my psychotherapeutic practice, I tend to focus more on cultic relationships than developing a list of “known” cults. Nevertheless, many critics have labeled the Transcendental Meditation Movement a cult founded by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Authors Lalich and Tobias, in Take Back Your Life (2006), outline the main characteristics of a cult. Decide for yourself if these characteristics are present in the TM Movement:

• The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.
• Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.
• Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).
• The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry — or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).
• The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar — or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).
• The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society.
• The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).
• The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members’ participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).
• The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt in order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.
• Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.
• The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.
• The group is preoccupied with making money.
• Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.
• Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.
• The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.
• Readers may want to make additions, deletions, or qualifications to the above. Please feel free to write me at jmknapp53@gmail.com with your suggestions. I will incorporate them into this article (with attribution, if you desire).

Homepage
WHY I BELIEVE THE TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION ORG IS DANGEROUS
COUNSELING FOR FORMER CULT MEMBERS
INFORMATION & COUNSELING FOR MEMBERS OF CULTS