An Anti Maharishi Article

[Guest guest]

Namaste, Im posting this article not becasue I agree with it but in

order to keep everyone aware of what is in the media. who is saying

what about whom? Its important to know the critics.

V

 

Joe Kellett knows gurus. He says he was one.

 

For years, Kellett was a disciple of the transcendental meditation

movement, then a teacher. He now runs an anti-TM webpage.

 

His problem is complicated by the fact that TM is based on - but does

not mirror - 2,000-year-old ayurvedic health rituals from India. That

gives it credibility, as do studies showing it can be good for your

health.

 

"When TMers say 'TM is not a religion' they are talking about the

purely mechanical mental technique," says Kellett. "However, 'TM the

technique' is never taught without introducing recruits to 'TM the

religion' during three days of instruction following initiation.

 

"Mahesh initially came out of India openly as a teacher of

spirituality. Then in the early '70s he abandoned that approach and

began disguising his message in the language of scientific analogy.

But the core message is still the same under the semantic covers: do

TM for long enough and you will become 'enlightened.' "

 

You might also have negative consequences. A compendium of 75 studies

of TM technique in 2000 found that 63% of practitioners suffered

long-term negative mental health consequences from the repeated

dissociation - or disconnection - with reality caused by going into a

trance-like state.

 

TM counters that by pointing out it can produce 600 studies showing

the benefits to everything from high-blood pressure and stress

reduction to slowing the aging of cells, reducing mental fatigue and

improving clarity of thought.

 

Health benefits or drawbacks notwithstanding, Kellett argues, TM

teachers were tasked with withholding information from students until

they were susceptible enough to accept dogmatic positions related to

the maharishi's own Vedic Hindu background.

 

"Dissociative 'bliss' is often an easily produced substitute for true

personal growth," says Kellett.

 

"As teachers we memorize almost everything we are to tell students. We

were very careful not to tell them too much less they become

'confused' by things that they 'couldn't yet understand'.

 

"Only after they had the 'experience,' could we start very gradually

revealing TM dogma in easy, bite-sized chunks, always after they had

just finished meditation and were therefore likely to be still in a

dissociative state."

 

When he left the group, Kellett took direction from cult deprogrammer

Steve Hassan, who established a technique for what he calls

"re-establishing reality testing" - taking people who've been addicted

to the sensation of dissociative bliss and making them critical

thinkers again.

 

"I realized that everything I had believed and experienced was based

on the premise that Mahesh was truly an enlightened man with the

highest spiritual teaching on the planet," he says.

 

"When I abandoned that assumption, the whole thing fell like a house

of cards."

[Guest guest]

http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/World/2006/04/17/1537341-sun.html

I forgot to put the source of the article. Perhaps someone may want to

contact them regarding their bias.

 

vediculture, "Vrndavan Parker" <vrnparker

wrote:

>

> Namaste, Im posting this article not becasue I agree with it but in

> order to keep everyone aware of what is in the media. who is saying

> what about whom? Its important to know the critics.

> V

>

> Joe Kellett knows gurus. He says he was one.

>

> For years, Kellett was a disciple of the transcendental meditation

> movement, then a teacher. He now runs an anti-TM webpage.

>

> His problem is complicated by the fact that TM is based on - but does

> not mirror - 2,000-year-old ayurvedic health rituals from India. That

> gives it credibility, as do studies showing it can be good for your

> health.

>

> "When TMers say 'TM is not a religion' they are talking about the

> purely mechanical mental technique," says Kellett. "However, 'TM the

> technique' is never taught without introducing recruits to 'TM the

> religion' during three days of instruction following initiation.

>

> "Mahesh initially came out of India openly as a teacher of

> spirituality. Then in the early '70s he abandoned that approach and

> began disguising his message in the language of scientific analogy.

> But the core message is still the same under the semantic covers: do

> TM for long enough and you will become 'enlightened.' "

>

> You might also have negative consequences. A compendium of 75 studies

> of TM technique in 2000 found that 63% of practitioners suffered

> long-term negative mental health consequences from the repeated

> dissociation - or disconnection - with reality caused by going into a

> trance-like state.

>

> TM counters that by pointing out it can produce 600 studies showing

> the benefits to everything from high-blood pressure and stress

> reduction to slowing the aging of cells, reducing mental fatigue and

> improving clarity of thought.

>

> Health benefits or drawbacks notwithstanding, Kellett argues, TM

> teachers were tasked with withholding information from students until

> they were susceptible enough to accept dogmatic positions related to

> the maharishi's own Vedic Hindu background.

>

> "Dissociative 'bliss' is often an easily produced substitute for true

> personal growth," says Kellett.

>

> "As teachers we memorize almost everything we are to tell students. We

> were very careful not to tell them too much less they become

> 'confused' by things that they 'couldn't yet understand'.

>

> "Only after they had the 'experience,' could we start very gradually

> revealing TM dogma in easy, bite-sized chunks, always after they had

> just finished meditation and were therefore likely to be still in a

> dissociative state."

>

> When he left the group, Kellett took direction from cult deprogrammer

> Steve Hassan, who established a technique for what he calls

> "re-establishing reality testing" - taking people who've been addicted

> to the sensation of dissociative bliss and making them critical

> thinkers again.

>

> "I realized that everything I had believed and experienced was based

> on the premise that Mahesh was truly an enlightened man with the

> highest spiritual teaching on the planet," he says.

>

> "When I abandoned that assumption, the whole thing fell like a house

> of cards."

>