maharishiville

Beatles' Mystical Guru Dies

2008-02-07T07:29:00.000-08:00

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a guru to the Beatles who introduced the West to transcendental meditation, died Tuesday at his home in the Dutch town of Vlodrop, a spokesman said. He was thought to be 91 years old.

"He died peacefully at about 7 p.m.," said Bob Roth, a spokesman for the Transcendental Meditation movement that Maharishi founded. He said his death appeared to be due to "natural causes, his age."

Once dismissed as hippie mysticism, the Hindu practice of mind control known as transcendental meditation gradually gained medical respectability.

He began teaching TM in 1955 and brought the technique to the United States in 1959. But the movement really took off after the Beatles attended one of his lectures in 1967.

Maharishi retreated last month into silence at his home on the grounds of a former Franciscan monastery, saying he wanted to dedicate his remaining days to studying the ancient Indian texts that underpin his movement.

"He had been saying he had done what he set out to do," Roth said late Tuesday.
With the help of celebrity endorsements, Maharishi -- a Hindi-language title for Great Seer -- parlayed his interpretations of ancient scripture into a multi-million-dollar global empire. His roster of famous meditators ran from Mike Love of the Beach Boys to Clint Eastwood and Deepak Chopra, a new age preacher.

After 50 years of teaching, Maharishi turned to larger themes, with grand designs to harness the power of group meditation to create world peace and to mobilize his devotees to banish poverty from the earth.

His rise to fame came with his association with the Beatles, who first attended one of his lectures in August 1967 in Wales as they looked for a way of attaining higher consciousness in the aftermath of that year's Summer of Love.

The Beatles were so charmed by the self-effacing guru that they agreed to stay with at his India compound, starting in February 1968, an astonishing choice for what was then the world's most celebrated music group.

But once there, Maharishi had a falling out with the rock stars after rumors emerged that he was making inappropriate advances on attendee Mia Farrow. John Lennon was so angry he wrote a bitter satire, "Sexy Sadie," in which he vowed that Maharishi would "get yours yet."

Maharishi insisted he had done nothing wrong and years later McCartney agreed with him. Deepak Chopra, a disciple of Maharishi's and a friend of George Harrison's, has disputed the Farrow story, saying instead that Maharishi had become unhappy with the Beatles because they were using drugs.

Director David Lynch, creator of dark and violent films, lectured at college campuses about the "ocean of tranquility" he found in more than 30 years of practicing TM.

In a telephone interview with The Associated Press, Lynch said it has aided him "in every aspect of life."

He said he believed Maharishi has laid the groundwork for world peace, even if that was not immediately apparent from world affairs.

"The world appears in bad shape on the surface, but I compare it to a tree: there are yellow sickly leaves dropping off but Maharishi has brought nourishment to the roots. Hang on for a little while longer, it's coming."

His followers say that some 5 million people devoted 20 minutes every morning and evening reciting a simple sound, or mantra, and delving into their consciousness.

"Don't fight darkness. Bring the light, and darkness will disappear," Maharishi said in a 2006 interview, repeating one of his own mantras.

Donations and the $2,500 fee to learn TM financed the construction of Peace Palaces, or meditation centers, in dozens of cities around the world. It paid for hundreds of new schools in India.

In 1974, Maharishi founded a university in Fairfield, Iowa, that taught meditation alongside the arts and sciences to 700 students and served organic vegetarian food in its cafeterias.

In 2001, his followers founded Maharishi Vedic City, a town of about 200 people a few miles north of Fairfield. The city requires the construction of buildings according to design principles set by Maharishi for harmony with nature.

Ed Malloy, a TM practitioner and mayor of Fairfield, said Maharishi's followers in Iowa were spending Tuesday evening meditating and holding a "celebration of gratitude for everything he's given."

Supporters pointed to hundreds of scientific studies showing that meditation reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, improves concentration and raises results for students and businessmen.
Skeptics ridiculed his plan to raise $10 trillion to end poverty by sponsoring organic farming in the world's poorest countries. They scoffed at his notion that meditation groups, acting like psychic shock troops, can end conflict.

"To resolve problems through negotiation is a very childish approach," he said.
In 1986, two groups founded by his organization were sued in the U.S. by former disciples who accused it of fraud, negligence and intentionally inflicting emotional damage. A jury, however, refused to award punitive damages.

Over the years, Maharishi also was accused of fraud by former pupils who claim he failed to teach them to fly. "Yogic flying," showcased as the ultimate level of transcendence, was never witnessed as anything more than TM followers sitting in the cross-legged lotus position and bouncing across spongy mats.

Maharishi was born Mahesh Srivastava in central India, reportedly on Jan. 12, 1917 -- though he refused to confirm the date or discuss his early life.

He studied physics at Allahabad University before becoming secretary to a well known Hindu holy man. After the death of his teacher, Maharishi brought his message to the West in a language that mixed the occult and science that became the buzz of college campuses.

Maharishi's trademark flowing beard and long, graying hair appeared on the cover of the leading news magazines of the day. But aides say Maharishi became disillusioned that TM had become identified with the counterculture.

In 1990 he moved onto the wooded grounds of a monastery in Vlodrop, about 125 miles southeast of Amsterdam.

Concerned about his fragile health, he secluded himself in two rooms of the wooden pavilion he built on the compound, speaking only by video to aides around the world and even to his closest advisers in the same building.

John Hagelin, a theoretical physicist who ran for the U.S. presidency three times on the Maharishi-backed Natural Law Party, said that from the Dutch location Maharishi had daylong access to followers in India, Europe and the Americas.

"He runs several shifts of us into the ground," said Hagelin, Maharishi's closest aid, speaking in Vlodrop about his then-89-year-old mentor. "He is a fountainhead of innovation and new ideas -- far too many than you can ever follow up."

I AM INVINCIBILE!

2007-08-09T07:37:00.000-07:00

Unlike some people who feel that America is dead, there is at least one group of people who feels that America is invincible. I would of course be talking about none other than the Maharishi who recently dedicated the Tower of Invincibility!.

What is the Tower of Invincibility? The tower of invincibility is a 45 foot tower covered with marble tiles and topped with a stepped dome and gold-colored kalash. It was dedicated here at the center of the universe in Fairfield, Iowa on July 29th.

Isn't 45 feet kind of small to portray Invincibility? Yes but they ran out of marble and were forced to stop.

What is a kalash? Kalash is an Indian word meaning sacred pot. I have no idea why they added a gold colored sacred pot to the tower but that is what the paper said and so I ran with it.

Who would design such a thing? Obviously it would be Minister of Architecture of the Global Country of World Peace Dr. Eike Hartmann who had to have French doors installed on his office to fit hit title onto the frosted glass. Of course he designed a building where the "city could gather in sufficient number to practise (sic) Yogic flying" but because it is only big enough for maybe a dozen flying people, there must have been some disconnect.

I understand it is for flying people but why? To commemorate the Invincible America Assembly which feels that if they get sufficient people meditating for world peace that they could "create an influence of such intense coherence in the collective consciousness of the nation that the nation will rise immediately to invincibility."

What would this intense coherence in my collective consciousness feel like? "It will be just like when you are very thirsty, and someone gives you a glass of delicious water. When you drink it, you feel relief immediately." I'm guessing a severe ice cream headache is closer to the truth.

I still don't understand. Can you put it in easier terminology? "The youngsters will be serving as a powerful adjunct to the government by virtue of their deep experiences of the Unified Field during their daily routine in their high school, together lifting up, bubbling in bliss in Yogic Flying. Functioning from that level of the fundamental unifying force of creation, the gravitational force, they will stimulate the Unified Field and enrich the whole national consciousness to the point where it is impregnable, invincible, and impenetrable. In the Vedic Tradition, this is called Rashtriya kavach, a national armour of invincibility. This will created by the children of the nation in the Maharishi Tower of Invincibility."

Um…. okay. Now that this is built, what is going to happen? The Prime Minister of the Premier of this country, no idea who this is, will make his office at the top where they can work in an environment of intense coherence.

How many people are needed to create this environment of intense coherence for the Prime Minister of the Premier of the United States? Maharishi has said that to create a nation of invincibility, you need the square root of one per cent of the nation's population or in the case of the United States with 300 million people, only 1730.

How many people do they have already? The Maharishi have had well over 2000 practitioners here in town for the last forty years.

Why aren't we already invincible? Good question.

Maharishi Vedic City Blues

2007-08-06T07:04:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update on Maharishi Vedic City (a.k.a. Maharishiville) and their attempted use of eminent domain that I blogged about earlier HERE and HERE. The Jefferson County Board of Supervisors passed a bill stating they were against Maharishiville taking the Palm farm using eminent domain for the purpose of building a city park outside of town. The board later declined to issue another bill stating they were against the Palm's building a hog operation on the farm saying it set a bad precedent for what private citizens could do with their own land. The Maharishi still haven't given up and tried to get the Jefferson County School Board to rule and they rightfully declined to consider the matter since it has nothing to do with running schools other than to eliminate some money from their funds due to the tax exempt status of city parks.
In yesterday's paper, the Palms graciously submitted the legal document for public review that the Maharishi want him to sign basically stating that the Palms give up the right to practice agriculture on their 150 acres of agricultural land for the next 20 years. From the accompanying letter, I don't think they are going to sign it which means that the Maharishi are going to have to take this to court to use eminent domain.

But by far the most humorous thing to happen out of all this is that a song has been written about the whole situation and can be listened to via the Internet. The lyrics have been posted below for your enjoyment.

“The Maharishi Vedic City Blues”
By Tony Arnold @

Gray Mortuary Recordings

A hundred years before
The Maharishis came to town,
One family’s farm began to feed
Its neighbors from the ground.
They’re trying to run the family off—
“…and we’ll pay you for your pain,
but if you don’t sell, we’ll steal it.
It’s called eminent domain.”

The cult that came to Iowa
Bought a school, and then the town.
They tried to take a family’s farm
So they could tear it down.
But not a single one had worn
A pair of working shoes…
It’s food for thought, those
Maharishi Vedic City Blues.

There’s too much history, too much at stake:
The farmer needs a living, the farmer needs a break.
There’s no consideration, no common sense:
Just too much fiber, too much incense.

When they started talking Sanskrit
It was more scarier than funny;
Declared themselves all organic,
And even printed their own money.
It didn’t matter the town attorney
Was in bed with the little mayor:
They were all in league to screw the man
With the farm that was already there.

The nuts that came to Iowa
Preached “expansion” and “ideals,”
But all they really seem to do
Is meditate their shady deals.
But peace-nazis don’t ever want
To walk in another’s shoes…
It’s food for thought, these
Maharishi Vedic City Blues.

There’s too much history, too much at stake:
The farmer needs a living, the farmer needs a break.
There’s no consideration, no common sense:
Just too much fiber, too much incense

We Took the Farm Using Eminent Domain From the Indians First

2007-06-26T09:30:00.000-07:00

At the risk of boring people one more time, I thought I would provide an update on the Maharishi use of eminent domain on a local farm. A public "open mike" meeting was held in the center of Maharishiville and according to my inside sources, it was packed to the gills full of "townies" as they call us. The Maharishi board of supervisors opened up the mike and let the people speak their minds.

Evidently mostly townies spoke and most of their speeches were about rights, freedoms and emotions of taking someone's property. Even a few gurus stood up and said they were opposed to the idea of using eminent domain to take the Palm property. With the exception of the gurus against this, there was nothing out of what I would have expected until the last few speakers.

One speaker was a well-respected local politician and organic farmer that was booted from his position on the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission by incoming governor Culver for no real reason. He as a neighbor to Bob Palm said that Bob had indeed gone to the county board of supervisors to ask about building a hog confinement building not because he had any intention of doing so but because he wanted to stir the pot so to speak. As we all have seen, he succeeded well beyond probably his own dreams and may not be paying the price by having to defend himself against an improper use of eminent domain. So I will have to take back what I said about the local paper not fact checking themselves because there may be reason to believe that Mr. Palm has been speaking from both sides of his mouth.

Another speaker was a local Arabian horse raiser and said, and I paraphrase him here, "Now we all need to remember that before Vedic City uses eminent domain here to turn this farm into a city park that 'we' used eminent domain to take if from the Indians." After a few minutes of befuddled thinking by the crowd, he was booed from the stage.

An hour and a half later, the Maharishiville board of supervisors voted to table the topic for a week before voting because they obviously didn't want to vote in front of a largely hostile crowd and I can't say I blame them. Jefferson County Board of Supervisor Dick Reed stood up and said that they should table it for a longer time than that if they realistically want to study the issue as they claimed. The Maharishiville board of supervisors immediately changed the table motion to 30 days at which point again Reed stood up and said that thirty days wasn't anymore realistic than 7 days had been. The gurus decided to table the motion as long as informative discussion was still being held. The local rag reported that the Maharishiville board of supervisors tabled the motion for 30 days at the request of Reed so maybe my accusation that they don't check facts still stands after all.

One Raam Mundra (Official Currency of Maharishiville)

2007-06-25T15:49:00.000-07:00

The Truth Will Always Come Out

2007-06-22T07:33:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it is because very few people write letters to the editor that they only need to publish them on Thursdays or because they just don't want to deal with an opinion page everyday. Whatever the reason, when the county "scandal sheet" as I refer to it was delivered, I anxiously flipped it open to the opinion page to see what people had to say about the condemnation of the Palms property that I wrote about yesterday.

There were three letters published and none of them were written by Bill Godfried who is a local character that gets one published almost every week and I have yet to understand what he is trying to say in any of them. The first letter was a person responding to a letter written by a lady last Thursday. The lady last week had been complaining that in the course of telling the story, it had grown too long and some of it had been continued onto another page. Her beef was that you didn't find out about the hog confinement building until you turned to the inside page. This weeks writer told her that she was write that not enough emphasis was placed on the article and in fact the words Maharishi Vedic City Seeks To Condemn Property should have been in bold and in huge capital letters.

The second letter was written by a guru since is added nothing to the facts or basis of the argument. That author merely stated that building a hog confinement wasn't very noble but building a park was very noble. If I could meet her, I would ask if forcing animals to stay outside under the heat, rain, cold, and wind while making them scrounge for food and live in mud were more noble than giving them a roof over their head, a clean controlled environment to live in and plenty of food? I'm guessing at that point she wouldn’t respond.

But the final letter took my breath away for Bob Palm, one of the owners of the property, wrote it. He stated that he didn't have nor never has had any plans to build a hog confinement building on the property. He went on to say that the Maharishi have been after him for well over a decade to sell his property which he adamantly refuses to do so they intentionally dropped the word hog confinement in as a reason and the rumor has taken off, even through our local press which apparently doesn't fact check their articles before publication.

I feel the wind going out of about 190 sails of the residents of Maharishiville.

Maharishiville Wants To Condemn Private Landowner's 100 Year Old Farm For a City Park... Outside of Town?

2007-06-21T09:30:00.000-07:00

Eminent domain is necessary for a strong country because not everyone can differentiate between what is good for the country and what is good for themselves. However our founding fathers realized that there was a lot of potential for abuse and were very specific on how the power of eminent domain could be used. That changed in 1954 due to the Supreme Court ruling in Berman v. Parker and was made even less specific more recently in 2005 in the ruling Kelo v. City of New London. Such an out cry arose over the loose interpretation that many states have now enacted tougher requirements to use eminent domain to prevent abuses by governments. Suddenly a government right next door is trying to abuse the use of eminent domain and I have a front row seat.

Maharishi Vedic City (a.k.a. Maharishiville), which is located just north of town, is trying to condemn private property and turn it into a city park. Here are the facts:

1. The property that Maharishiville is trying to condemn consists of 148.95 acres outside the current city limits. Over 1500 acres of undeveloped land that also could be used remain inside the city limits.
2. Maharishiville made a "fair" offer for the land at $2675 per acre. According to the Jefferson County Assessor's Office, the land is worth $5000 per acre according to a recent sale by the same landowner of adjacent lands.
3. Maharishiville has only been in existence for six years and was incorporated in 2001. The farm that they are trying to condemn has been owned by the same family for over 100 years and is listed as a Century Farm on the Historic Register of Iowa.

So why all of a sudden are the gurus wanting to use brute force to take over a historic farm to turn into a city park outside of city limits when 1500 acres within city limits exists and is unused? It is because the Maharishi disagree with how the owner of the land intends to use it.

The Palms have been farming for over a hundred years in a rural area and that means livestock. They want to improve their livestock capability by buildings some state of the art buildings with moderated climate and feeding systems. However, the gurus decided six years ago that they were going to build their utopia right in the middle of all this agricultural land and now are offended when someone wants to use it as such. Initially they lied and said that they had that land marked out as a park all along but when word got out, they now admit that they just don't want it next to where they chose to locate their city. The farm existed first by 94+ years and yet they think they have the right to take it.

Even by today's loose federal standards of the use of eminent domain, they haven't a prayer of winning the case. The government has allowed eminent domain cases to proceed based on the argument that the taxable value would increase. In the case of the Palms, it would decrease by turning it into a city park that is tax-free on county tax rolls. Even more fortunate, Iowa was one of the states that passed a stricter interpretation of eminent domain after the badly ruled Kilo v. City of New London ruling a couple years ago.

The gurus are on the losing end but that isn't stopping them. They voted to proceed and are going to have an open meeting before condemning the land. That will then force the Palms to hire a lawyer and defend their land in district court costing them time and money. The Palms have said they would and I pray that they do. When they win, I hope they turn around and sue the ass off of Maharishiville right before they build their hog buildings on the upwind side. I also hope that this will serve as a lesson that when you choose to build your utopia house or city out in the country, you have to take the good AND the bad along with it.

Get Your Butt Over Here Now!

2006-08-18T07:44:00.000-07:00

[Note: Sent to me by a friend.]

“All applicants come NOW.”

—Maharishi
August 18, 2006

Dear Invincible America Course Applicant,

Maharishi asked that I contact you. Last night, Maharishi called to express his profound satisfaction with the progress of the Invincible America Course thus far—saying again that a “bubble of stress” had burst in world consciousness. Maharishi explained that this release of global tensions—indicated by the upsurge of peace and good news in the US and world events—was also reflected in the more refined experiences by our Course participants.

But Maharishi’s voice grew somber. Unless we maintain—or still better, increase—the 1300–1400 Sidhas flying together in Washington and in Maharishi Vedic City, a new bubble of stress could easily develop—throwing the world back into the grip of fear and violence.

Yes, there are signs of peace in Lebanon. But the seeds of vengeance burn between the warring factions. We must strengthen our numbers, or the darkness will rush back in. Over time, Maharishi said, the desire for revenge—the seeds of conflict—will fade from memory.

Maharishi therefore emphasized: NOW is the time for everyone who applied for the course to come. You are needed!

You took the initiative and applied for the course. I urge you to take the next step. Arrange your affairs to come now. You will bathe in the experience of deep, rejuvenating bliss. You will enjoy the most profound experiences of any Course ever held in America. And, as a byproduct, you will save the world. (I know that stretches credibility, but it is true—scientifically proven. We can and will save the world.)

Whatever the obstacles to coming—whether you need a place to live, a place to work between program times, etc.—let me know, and I will help you work them out.

We need you now.

Thank you for coming.

Jai Guru Dev

John HagelinHagelin@...

You Too Can Walk Through Walls, Become Invisible and Fly Through the Air All For the Low Price of...

2006-06-27T08:17:00.000-07:00

This is the first time that I have actually seen this claim in writing but I have heard about this in various forms through my Maharishi sources. Yogi teases his cult with things like invisibility and flying once they have reached "true enlightenment" which nobody ever seems to reach. This shows another example of his many pyramid scams that involves lots of money. Notice the $700 fee to "learn" the technique followed by a $95/month fee for herbs to help you attain your goals. If all 2500 Maharishi in Fairfield were to subscribe to this, he would raise $1.75 million overnight and have a monthly income of $237,500.00 minus expenses of the herbs, which can't be much. And this is just Fairfield and doesn't include his multitude of followers worldwide! Another classic example of why this is a huge pyramid scam. Read on:

AUTHOR(s):Skolnick, Andrew A.
TITLE(s):Maharishi Ayur-Veda: guru's marketing scheme promises the world eternal 'perfect health' (Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's pseudo-scientific stunts to promote his health program & products)
DESCRIPTORS:Mahesh, Maharishi YogiMarketing Chopra, Deepak Moral and ethical aspects Sharma, Hari M.Moral and ethical aspects Triguna, Brihaskpati Dev Moral and ethical aspects Maharishi Ayur-Veda Products International Inc. Marketing American Association of Ayurvedic Medicine Management JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association (Periodical) Publishing Medicine, Ayurvedic Marketing JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association 0098-7484Oct 2 1991, v266, n13, p1741(6)
COPYRIGHT American Medical Association 1991

IF THE CLAIMS of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi prove true, those who follow him soon will be blessed with eternal youth, "perfect health," and the "strength of an elephant." They will be able to "walk through walls," make themselves "invisible," and "fly through the air" without the benefit of machines.

In addition, there will be no more war or crime. Automobile accidents will be a thing of the past, and even the weather will have to obey their collective consciousness.

Such are the widely promoted claims of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) movement and Maharishi Ayur-Veda, some of which were presented by authors Deepak Chopra, MD, Hari M. Sharma, MD, FRCPC, and Brihaspati Dev Triguna, in their "Letter From New Delhi" ("Maharishi Ayur-Veda: Modern Insights Into Ancient Medicine," JAMA.1991;265:2633-2637).

According to a number of experts on religious cults, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the Hindu swami from India, began his rise to fame and great fortune in the 1960s when the Beatles rock group briefly joined his following of worshipers. Today, he leads many thousands of devoted followers who are dedicated to bringing about his widely publicized "Master Plan to Create Heaven on Earth. "Many of these disciples are prominent in science, medicine, education, sports, entertainment, and the news media. According to Indian newspaper reports, his master plan has created an empire for the guru conservatively estimated to be worth more than $2 billion. But according to representatives of the TM movement, the Maharishi's plan to turn earth into heaven is not just wishful thinking; they say they have more than 500 scientific studies to prove they can do it.

Among them now is the "Letter >From New Delhi," which is being pointed to throughout the TM movement as a sign that the Maharishi's plan is gaining scientific respectability. However, among many authorities on quackery and long-time watchers of this movement, the article in JAMA has brought anger and dismay. (Please see Letters, pages 1769 through 1774.) They say that Maharishi Ayur-Veda is not traditional Indian medicine, but the latest of the Maharishi's schemes to boost the declining numbers of people taking TM courses, through which the movement recruits new members. This June, members of the TM community in Fairfield, Iowa, were called to a special assembly at one of the Maharishi International University's "Golden Domes of Pure Knowledge" to celebrate the news of JAMA's publication of "Letter From New Delhi." The same month, The Fairfield (Iowa) Source, a monthly newspaper that is run by members of the movement, reported that the "Letter From New Delhi" was "the lead article in JAMA."(The newspaper has since published a correction identifying it as the first article in the issue rather than the lead scientific article--a subtle but important difference.)

Failure to Disclose Connections
What the newspaper didn't report was what editors of THE JOURNAL learned shortly after the article was published: The authors are involved in organizations that promote and sell the products and services about which they wrote. Despite this, they submitted a signed financial disclosure form with their manuscript indicating that they had no such affiliations. The statement, which all authors of articles accepted by JAMA must sign before publication, says: "I certify that any affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with a direct financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript (eg, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, expert testimony) are listed below. Otherwise, my signature indicates that I have no such financial interest. "The authors of the "Letter from New Delhi" listed no involvements or affiliations. Upon learning otherwise, THE JOURNAL immediately requested a full accounting from the authors, which was published as a financial disclosure correction (JAMA.1991;266:798). Although the confusing list apparently holds the record in terms of length for corrections published in THE JOURNAL, it still is incomplete. In addition to being the medical director of TM's premiere health facility, the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Center for Stress Management and Behavioral Medicine, in Lancaster, Mass, and a former consultant and board member for Maharishi Ayur-Veda Products International (MAPI) Inc, also in Lancaster (the sole distributor of Maharishi Ayur-Veda TM products, an extensive line of herbs, teas, oils, food supplements, incense, and devices said to prevent or treat disease and reverse aging), Chopra performs many of the unproven and expensive Maharishi Ayur-Veda services throughout the country. Indeed, he claims to have treated more than 10 000 patients with these remedies between 1985 and 1990 (Perfect Health: The Complete Mind/Body Guide.New York, NY: Harmony Books; 1990:6).

Ran Marketing Company
Chopra has yet to inform JAMA that he was the president, treasurer, and clerk of MAPI until sometimes in 1988. Nor did he tell THE JOURNAL that he had been the sole stockholder of the marketing company until May 1987, when he transferred the stock to a trust he set up, called the Maharishi Ayurveda Foundation. Until sometime in 1988, he served as chairman of the foundation's board of directors (the two other board members were Parkash Shrivastava, of New Delhi, India, a nephew of the Maharishi, and Neil Paterson, TM's Governor General of the Age of Enlightenment for North America).

When the authors submitted their article, Chopra and Sharma were both consultants to MAPI. During a taped telephone interview on June 17, Chopra acknowledged being a consultant to MAPI; however, in a letter faxed on June 20, he claimed he no longer had any connection to MAPI or other organizations related to the marketing company.

Yet, MAPI has the same telephone number and address as the Maharishi Ayurveda Foundation and the American Association of Ayurvedic Medicine (AAAM), of which Chopra is president. MAPI and AAAM letterheads have identical logos--a vessel of Maharishi Amrit Kalash, the herbs touted by the authors in their JAMA article. Chopra was president of another entity that uses the same telephone number and address, the Maharishi Ayur-Veda sometimes Ayurveda Association of American (MAAA). Dean Draznin, director of public relations for the Ayur-Veda News Service, would not say whether Chopra is still president of MAAA, nor would he explain the difference between AAAM and MAAA.

Despite claims to the contrary, Chopra is still connected to MAPI and the Maharishi Ayurveda Foundation. Chopra lectures widely and teaches the Maharishi's techniques for the foundation, which owns the marketing company.

The fee to attend one of Chopra's 1-day seminars on "Quantum Healing" is usually $100.Attendees usually are instructed to make checks payable to the Maharishi Ayurveda Foundation. Chopra recently boasted in an interview in The Fairfield Source: "It's mind-boggling. In San Francisco, I did a seminar that 3000 people attended. I had to get one of the civic centers. The average audience now is anywhere from 500 to 1000.... I'm booked right through 1992 for lectures."

Chopra also gives instructions in two special "health" techniques, which patients must pay $700 apiece to learn. In the Maharishi Ayur-Veda Psychophysiological Technique, Chopra instructs patients to concentrate on the heart while meditating. For the Maharishi Ayur-Veda Primordial Sound Technique, he provides patients with a health mantra to repeat during meditation. For each technique, he provides patients with a private consultation of less than 20 minutes following a general lecture. At one TM gathering in Washington, DC, in June 1989, Chopra raised more than $25,000 just teaching the Primordial Sound Technique.

In an undated letter sent to "Friends of Maharishi Ayurveda," Chopra, who identified himself as president of the marketing company, called the concoction of more than 20 herbs, which costs about $95 for a 1-month supply, "pure knowledge pressed into material form. "He wrote, "Maharishi Amrit Kalash forges the link between mind and body at the critical junction points everywhere in the physiology. "While admitting that research on its health benefits is just beginning, Chopra emphasized the need for everyone to take the cure-all/prevent-all. "It should be placed in every home as quickly as possible," he urged.

Chopra explains that he did not think he needed to inform JAMA of his connections to the marketing organizations or of the hundreds of thousands of dollars he raises through these activities because he doesn't keep any of it; the funds go to help promote Maharishi Ayur-Veda, he says. But Chopra's dedication to the Maharishi's world plan has not gone unrewarded. In 1989, the guru invested Chopra with the title "Dhanvantari Lord of Immortality of Heaven on Earth."

Selling Herbs and Pulse Readings
In addition to being a consultant to Maharishi Ayur-Veda in Prathisthan, India, coauthor Triguna was and/or is director of the World Center for Maharishi AyurVeda in Maharishi Nagar, India, and vice chancellor of Maharishi Vedic University in Vlodrop, The Netherlands -- all of which are involved in the promotion of the Maharishi's "master plan" for the world. Triguna has appeared at TM gatherings here and abroad, where he performed thousands of "pulse diagnoses." Patients in the United States are usually charged $200 for the approximately 3-minute health consultation, which requires translation since he speaks very little English.

The authors claimed in their JAMA article that this procedure (which critics such as William Jarvis, PhD, president of the National Council Against Health Fraud, Loma Linda, Calif, describe as a variation of palm reading) can diagnose diseases not limited to the cardiovascular system, including asthma, cancer, and diabetes. (When asked if he would agree to a test of these claims made in JAMA using a blinded protocol, Chopra declined on the grounds that a blinded experiment would "eliminate the most crucial component of the experiment, which is consciousness.") Many of these "diagnoses" are followed by a prescription for herbal remedies available through Triguna's pharmacy in India.

Triguna is described in Maharishi Ayur-Veda promotional materials as a "doctor." However, when asked whether Triguna has any medical or graduate degree from an accredited institution, Chopra said that the question represents "ethnocentrism, prejudice, bigotry, and racism carried to the extreme. "He suggested that "the degree you put after his name is 'Ayur-Veda Martand,' the Indian acknowledgment of illustrious fame and achievement in his profession. "MAPI has honored Triguna by placing the likeness of his head, surrounded by a glowing halo or aura, on the label of Maharishi Amrit Kalash.

In the financial disclosure to many Sharma reports his connections to many of the Maharishi's promotional organizations, including two of the Maharishi's many "universities" that are not accredited by any recognized authorities. (Only the Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa, is so accredited.)

The disclosure lists the Lancaster Foundation Inc (in North Bethesda, Md, not Washington, DC, as Sharma stated) and the Abramson Family Foundation, North Bethesda, among the sources of Sharma's research funding. However, it does not make clear that the Lancaster Foundation is run by members of the TM community and that the foundation supports and promotes research only on Maharishi Ayur-Veda products and services. The Abramson Family Foundation has the same address and telephone number as the Lancaster Foundation.

Serious About Financial Disclosure
The authors misrepresented Maharishi Ayur-Veda to JAMA as Ayurvedic medicine, the ancient, traditional health care system of India, rather than a trademark for a brand of products and services marketed since 1985 by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's complex network of research, educational, and commercial organizations.

JAMA is serious about its policy regarding authors' disclosures of potential conflicts of interest, says George D. Lundberg, MD, editor of THE JOURNAL, who adds: "Even if the financial association between the author and organizations that may profit by his or her article is remote, we need to know about it. The associations between Chopra, Sharma, and Triguna and the promoters of the products and services they wrote about may well have affected our decision to publish their article had we known about them. At the very least, the reader should have been informed of the author's involvement with those who profit from Maharishi Ayur-Veda."

Lundberg says that "JAMA has long had an interest in publishing responsible articles on traditional health care practices from other parts of the world. We published 'Letter From New Delhi' in THE JOURNAL's international health theme issue believing that the authors were acting in good faith and that they were disinterested scientists who had expertise in the long-practiced system of folk remedies of India known as Ayurvedic medicine. At that time, we did not know that 'Maharishi AyurVeda,' 'Transcendental Meditation,' and the 'TM-Sidhi' programs promoted in the article are brands of health care products and services being marketed by the TM movement."

Pattern of Deception
An investigation of the movement's marketing practices reveals what appears to be a widespread pattern of misinformation, deception, and manipulation of lay and scientific news media. This campaign appears to be aimed at earning at least the look of scientific respectability for the TM movement, as well as at making profits from sales of the many products and services that carry the Maharishi's name.

The TM movement frequently boasts of the "sophistication and effectiveness" of its publicity programs in helping to bring about the Maharishi's "Master Plan to Create Heaven on Earth." Recently, it has had good reasons to brag.

In June, the movement not only saw THE JOURNAL publish an article in which the Maharishi's remedies were described as if they were scientifically-acceptable, it also held a "Medical Conference on Maharishi Ayur-Veda: Non-Pharmacological Approaches to Prevention and Treatment of Chronic Diseases," in San Diego, Calif, that was approved by the American College of Preventive Medicine for 13 hours of the American Medical Association's Physician's Recognition Award category I Continuing Medical Education (CME) credit.

The course description gives the impression that Maharishi Ayur-Veda is thousands of years old, rather than a trademark name for a line of products and services introduced in 1985. Nothing in the course description indicates that the majority of conference speakers are affiliated with organizations that promote these products and services.

According to Hazel Keimowitz, MA, executive director of the American College of Preventive Medicine, the college was not aware of connections between the conference organizers and efforts to market TM products and services.

This was the second time the American College of Preventive Medicine accredited a Maharishi Ayur-Veda conference for CME credit. Shortly after the first time in December 1989, Chopra announced that the AMA had accredited Maharishi Ayur-Veda courses for CME credit.

Speaking during the global satellite broadcast of a gathering in India to celebrate the Maharishi's birthday on January 12, 1990, Chopra said, "This is the beginning of a great alliance that Maharishi Ayur-Veda Association is going to form with the established associations, such as the American Medical Association and all the associations of medicine throughout the world."

Expressing joy over Chopra's "beautiful news," the Maharishi said, "I hold the Medical Association of America to be the custodians of perfect health for all mankind . . . from today I'll cease to think that the American Medical Association has been, and is continuing to be, a puppet of the multinational [pharmaceutical companies.]"

According to Dennis Wentz, MD, director of the AMA's Division of Continuing Medical Education, that news was untrue; the AMA has not accredited any of the Maharishi's programs for CME credit.

The Wrong Stationery?
In March, the American Association of Ayurvedic Medicine (AAAM) sent two letters to the American College of Preventive Medicine in application for accreditation. The letters were printed on AAAM letterhead, which lists among its research council members Tony Nader, MD, PhD, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, and Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), both in Boston.

According to spokespersons for these institutions, Nader was a graduate student at MIT and a research fellow at MGH and Harvard until he earned his PhD degree in neuroscience 2 years ago. His former advisers say they haven't seen him since he graduated.

The use of "old stationery" was an innocent mistake, says David Orme Johnson, PhD, chair of the Psychology Department at the Maharishi International University, and a spokesperson for the TM movement. "We are very careful not to do anything like that -- not to misrepresent things," he says. "I can't tell you how much time I spend checking facts so that such things don't happen. I assure you that this is not intended fraud on our part."

However, earlier letters from AAAM list Nader as having only an MD degree. Presumably after his graduation from MIT in September 1989, the association reprinted its stationery identifying Nader as having an MD and a PhD degree and as being at MIT, Harvard, and MGH, even though he no longer was affiliated with these institutions. What's more, the TM movement continued to make these claims elsewhere.

Nader is one of the researchers most cited by the movement as an authority on Maharishi herbs. In June 1986, after discovering a Los Angeles Times report about Nader's herbal research, his advisers warned him in writing not to embarrass them any further by claiming to be doing MIT- and Harvard-sanctioned research on Maharishi's herbs. Despite their warning, the claims continued.

In a TM news release announcing a June 18, 1991, press conference in London, England, Nader is identified as a "professor" and "eminent researcher and medical doctor who will present the findings of his recent research at Harvard and MIT and discuss the scientific basis through which Maharishi's Technology of Consciousness can bring about world health and world peace."

According to the release, Nader also would "discuss how the new brain imaging techniques can be used to assess the orderliness of brain functioning in students, corporate executives, politicians, and other leaders, and thereby 'ensure that only the best brains are running society."

Also, on the back cover of the 1991 paperback edition of Chopra's Creating Health: How to Wake Up the Body's Intelligence (Boston, Mass: Houghton Mifflin Co), an endorsement by Nader identifies him as "neuroscientist, Harvard Medical School and MIT."

A newsletter published in 1988 by the Maharishi Ayurveda Association of America appears even more fallacious. The headline and lead paragraph state that Nader was honored by Harvard with "the Whitaker Health Sciences and Technology Award" for his "landmark studies" carried out over 2 years on the effects of Maharishi's herbal remedies on immune functioning and aging.

It also claimed that Nader, who was identified as a clinical researcher and not a graduate student, was also conducting "several more ambitious and complex project at major research centers" including "overseeing studies at Harvard's Dana Farber Cancer Institute, the Departments of Immunology at Harvard Medical School and the University of Massachusetts -- all testing the effects of Maharishi Amrit Kalash on the immune system." Orme-Johnson says these errors were the fault of the reporter who wrote the article.

'Prejudice and Bigotry'
Nader's MIT thesis adviser, Richard J. Wurtman, MD, professor and director of the Clinical Research Center, and Nader's former Harvard/MGH adviser, John H. Growdon, MD, professor of neurology, say they know of no such research at their institutions.

However, according to Chopra, Nader's "superiors were threatened by his paying more attention to Ayur-Veda research than to projects that they were interested in Dr Nader was censured and asked to discontinue his Ayur-Veda work This in no way reflects on the quality of the research. If anything, it reflects the prejudice and bigotry of so-called objective scientists, even in prestigious institutions."

In a recent statement, MIT Provost Mark S. Wrighton, PhD, said that Nader ended his connection with MIT upon graduating. "During his time as a student, from October 1985 until Sept 20, 1989, he held a visiting physician appointment at MIT's Clinical Research Center. He was not authorized to undertake any research on his own," says Wrighton. "MIT has called to the attention of its law firm recent comments and documents which indicate an effort to suggest a continuing research relationship between Dr Nader and MIT."

However, Chopra protests that Nader did conduct research at MIT with Paul M. Newberne, DVM, PhD (who is now professor of pathology at Boston University School of Medicine). The Lancaster Foundation also cites Nader's research with Newberne and says that it was presented at the Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology (FASEB), Washington, DC (abstract in Fed Proc. 1987;46:959).

According to Newberne, in 1985 he had allowed himself to "be charmed" into providing Nader support for a short-term study that the student wanted to do but couldn't get anyone to help. He said that Nader "was like a shadow. He moved in, used my facilities and resources, and was gone. I never wanted anything about this work to be published because there was nothing to warrant publication. His data were few and equivocal."

Newberne says this is the first he has heard of the research being published. He says that while the signature on the application to FASEB appears to be his, he has no recollection of signing it. He says there is no way he would have knowingly submitted such a "pseudoscientific" paper for publication. "The abstract describes tests on a mixture of unidentified herbs and minerals. This isn't science. I never would knowingly put my name on such a study," he adds.

However, says Ayur-Veda public affairs director Draznin, it's got his (Newberne's) signature on it and that should speak for itself. Newberne says that if necessary, he will seek legal counsel to prevent this use of his name.

Nader could not be reached for comment.

'Dog and Pony Show'?
In its listing of "recent research on Maharishi Ayur-Veda," the Lancaster Foundation cites research by Nader, Orme-Johnson, and others that was presented at the 28th Annual Meeting of the Society for Economic Botany, held at the University of Illinois at Chicago, in June 1987.

However, according to Norman R. Farnsworth, PhD, research professor of pharmacognosy at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy, and director of the World Health Organization's Collaborating Centre for Traditional Medicine, what was presented could hardly be called scientific papers.

According to Farnsworth, the Maharishi's people showed up with a television news crew from the local CBS station in Chicago and put on a "dog and pony show. "He says: "They had no interest in the conference other than to grab a scientific forum--they showed up just before their time slot and split as soon as the publicity stunt was over."

What they presented hardly resembled the two abstracts they submitted, he says. Instead, they gave a marketing presentation extolling the Maharishi's meditation and herbal products.

Charlotte Gyllenhaal, PhD, a research associate at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy, who served as cochair of the botany meeting's organizing committee, agrees that the behavior of the Maharishi's representatives was "entirely inappropriate." She says, "While the submitted abstracts seemed reasonable, what they presented had little to do with their abstracts. In one presentation, they couldn't even provide the scientific names of the medicinal plants they claimed to have tested. The other presentation was a pitch for the Maharishi's meditation techniques--hardly appropriate for a botany meeting. It was a bait and switch ploy and a publicity stunt."

Gyllenhaal says there is "so much potential for finding useful drugs from the thousands of years of interesting observations made by India's traditional healers. It's really a shame that this group's deceptive activities may become associated with all of ayurveda."

Publications Misled
Submission of the "Letter From New Delhi" was not the first time JAMA was uninformed about an author's connection to the Maharishi's organizations. THE JOURNAL had previously published a letter praising the beneficial effects of TM (JAMA. 1989;262:2681-2682) written by Brian M. Rees, MD, MPH, who gave the Rees Family Medical Clinic, Pacific Palisades, Calif, as his affiliation. Rees turns out to be the medical director of the Maharishi Ayur-Veda Medical Center in Pacific Palisades. However, in correspondence with THE JOURNAL, he used "Rees Family Medical Clinic" stationery, which lists an address and telephone number that are identical to those used by the Maharishi Ayur-Veda Medical Center located within the TM center complex.

JAMA is not the only prestigious journal to have published an article highly favorable to Maharishi AyurVeda without its editors or readers knowing of the author's involvement with the TM movement. Prominent on the back cover of Chopra's book Quantum Healing (New Yok, NY: Bantum Books Inc; 1990) is an endorsement attributed to the New England Journal of Medicine. This was not the view of the journal, but the opinion of John W. Zamarra, MD, Brea, Calif, in an unsolicited book review (N Engl J Med. 1989; 321: 1688). According to a New England of Journal of Medicine editor, Zamarra signed a conflict-of-interest disclaimer as the journal routinely requires. Despite its policy that requires the disclosure of all connections between reviewers and the authors of the books they review, the journal was not informed of Zamarra's long-time connection with the TM movement. Indeed, he is an author of a 1975 study on TM, which is cited in movement literature. Recently, a receptionist at the Maharishi Ayur-Veda Medical Center in Pacific Palisades identified Zamarra as being on the center's staff. However, Zamarra claims he is associated with the center only as a patient, although he says that he has treated patients there on a voluntary basis after his book review appeared.

Harvard Magazine's readers may have been similarly disserved when the magazine published in its 1989 September/October issue a cover story on Chopra, which gave a glowing account of Maharishi Ayur-Veda. According to associate managing editor Jean Martin, the TM movement ordered a large number of reprints for promotional distribution. The magazine's readers were not informed that the author, associate editor Craig A. Lambert, PhD, practices TM-Sidhi or "yogic flying," the Maharishi's technique to develop levitation and other supernatural powers.

Highly Exaggerated Claims
According to an interview with Chopra in the June issue of The Fairfield Source, Chopra is president and chair of the board of trustees of the new Maharishi Vedic University in Cambridge, Mass. Chopra is quoted as saying that the university will soon offer three degree programs, including a "Master's in Maharishi Ayur-Veda," which will "be very popular because anyone with a bachelor's degree can enroll, and when they graduate they will be able to hang out their shingle and become practitioners of Maharishi's Ayur-Veda. They can prescribe, they can treat, they can do anything they want, just like any other health profession. This is a major breakthrough. . . .We've been talking to the State of Massachusetts Board of Education and they have given us more or less complete assurance that that accreditation of the Maharishi Vedic University's graduate degree programs will happen. . . .In fact, they seem even more keen on it than we are."

Not so, says Tossie Taylor, PhD, associate vice chancellor for independent institutions at the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education. "We have accepted some paperwork from them, but we haven't conducted a review nor have we done all the things we generally do in the process of granting accreditation. We have given them no such assurance," Taylor says.

Breaking Into Prisons
Such premature--and often wrong--public announcements appear to be a promotional tactic used by the TM movement. On January 29, a press conference was held in Tucson, Ariz, to announce that TM representatives were about to meet with the director of Arizona's Department of Corrections to discuss setting up a program to teach prisoners TM. The next day, The Arizona Republic, the Phoenix daily newspaper, reported this claim and quoted Charles H. Alexander, PhD, a psychologist at Maharishi International University, as saying that "right now, TM is the only effective way of rehabilitating prisoners."

The media event angered corrections department officials. According to John R. Thompson, administrator of pastoral activities, the press conference took place "before any conversations with representatives of the department were held. . . .It seems to have been a strategy to put pressure on the department to respond to TM's proposal."

Thompson says that they investigated other prison systems in which TM had been used and received negative and uncomplimentary reports. At the meeting with TM representatives, "it was made clear that the Arizona Department of Corrections was not interested in their proposal," says Thompson."If and when funds become available for rehabilitation programs, TM will not be considered for such purposes."

Maharishi Ayur-Veda at the NIH
An introductory free seminar on Maharishi Ayur-Veda is being offered every month at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Md, says a recorded telephone announcement from the Ayurvedic Health Education Services in Bethesda. This claim appears to be true if somewhat misleading.

According to public information specialist Donald Ralbovsky, an NIH staff member has obtained permission to use a conference room after hours for the seminars. The NIH has no policy restricting use of space on its campus, even for groups that want to use it to promote unproven health products, Ralbovsky says.

The NIH had been a target of TM exploitation before. The World Medical Association for Perfect Health, Washington, DC (not to be confused with the World Medical Association, based on Ferney-Voltaire, France), one of TM's many front groups, issued a news release dated October 15, 1985, that claimed that Thomas E. Malone, MD, then deputy director of the NIH, had chaired an NIH conference on MaharishiAyur-Veda.

According to Malone, who is now vice president for biomedical research at the Association of American Medical Colleges, Washington, DC, he had been approached by TM representatives and asked to set up a meeting with Triguna and anyone at the NIH who might be interested in hearing what they had to say. Malone says he never chaired a conference on Maharishi Ayur-Veda.

Nevertheless, the July 25, 1985, issue of The Uptown Citizen (Washington, DC) quotes Malone as saying: "I am convinced that the meditation being practiced here and the utilization of natural law can prevent disease . . .As I sat listening to the various speakers I could but wonder what will happen in the future when we see this movement spreading out to all the centers of the earth and what a great impact it will make for man's happiness."

"They twisted my words and made up those quotes," Malone says. "It appears that's how they do things. "He is "dismayed," he says, that the promoters of TM would exploit scientists who are willing to listen to their claims.

Expensive Flights of Fancy
The TM movement similarly exploits other scientific institutions and universities that lend or rent their facilities for TM events. Their names are prominently displayed in advertisements, giving the impression that the events are sponsored by the institutions.

One extremely profitable example, reported in The Skeptical Inquirer (1980; 4:7-8), involved the rental of a gymnasium at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst during the summer of 1979 for TM's yogic flying courses. Three thousand students enrolled, one third of whom paid $3000 each to learn the Maharishi's TM-Sidhi program. According to promotional materials, the TM-Sidhi program allows one to master the forces of nature to become invisible, walk through walls, fly through the air, and have "the strength of an elephant." The Skeptical Inquirer article says that the other students learned more down-to-earth TM skills for $800-$1000 tuition and that the TM movement reaped between $ 3 million and $ 5 million, before expenses, from the courses at the University of Massachusetts.

How Cost Effective?
Whether Maharishi Ayur-Veda products do any good or not, they are hardly as cost effective as their promoters claim. While Chopra claims that their treatments cost "a lot less than a single day in the hospital or a hotel, even," the cost of just one of the products he recommends, Maharishi Amrit Kalash, is approximately $1000 for a 1-year personal supply. By comparison, according to federal sources, the total cost for health care in the United States in 1989 was $2500 per person.

A few of the other products and services recommended just to maintain health include TM and TM-Sidhi instruction, which costs $3400, the Maharishi Psychophysiological and Primordial Sound Techniques for $1400, and 7 days of panchakarma (cleansing programs that use oil massages and enemas to rid the body of its "ama"--the "foul-smelling, sticky, noxious residue" that otherwise accumulates, according to Chopra) repeated three times a year for $2700 to $6600 or more.

However, the costs of Maharishi Ayur-Veda can rise steeply in case of actual illness. Patients with serious illnesses often pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars for gemstones prescribed by Jyotish consultants (Hindu astrologers) at Chopra's Maharishi Ayur-Veda Health Center in Lancaster. According to former movement members, they also may be asked to pay thousands of dollars for a "yagya," which is a religious ceremony performed to solicit the aid of one or more Hindu deities. Patients who pay for these ceremonies do not take part in them or even get to see them performed, say the ex-members.

During an interview in June, Chopra denied that yagyas are part of the Maharishi Ayur-Veda program. Nevertheless, there are many references in Maharishi Ayur-Veda literature that describe yagyas as one of "the 20 different treatment approaches" available to patients. In a US Internal Revenue Service document (form 1023) dated September 10, 1987, and signed by Chopra as a trustee, yagyas are identified as one of 20 research activities of the Maharishi Ayurveda Foundation.

In a written reply to questions about their recommending yagyas, Chopra said that while their literature may describe yagyas as one of their 20 different treatment approaches, they don't prescribe them to patients. However, according to the July/August 1991 National Council Against Health Fraud newsletter, and the fall 1990 newsletter of TM-Ex, a support organization for former movement members in Arlington, Va, "a yagya prescribed for endometriosis was priced at $11500" for one patient, although a "less than recommended' yagya was also available for $8500, as was a $3300 yagya that would suffice." JAMA has obtained a copy of one Marharishi Jyotish Gem/Yagya Analysis for a patient. According to the analysis, the patient's Jyotish horoscope indicated that she needed two kinds of yagyas for her health, one to be performed then and another "every birthday " It also recommended that she purchase gems that cost between $2000 and $3000. The recommendations appear on a Maharishi Ayurveda Association of America form. The address and telephone number on the form is the same as Chopra's at the American Association for Ayurvedic Medicine. Asked to explain this document, Maharishi Ayur-Veda director of public relations Draznin says that because the operations and staff of these organizations are modest, they have to share the same office and telephone number, so the document doesn't prove anything.

Maharishi Physicians Face Charges
Two physicians who are the chief promoters of Maharishi Ayur-Veda in Great Britain have been charged with "serious professional misconduct" by the Professional Conduct Committee of the General Medical Council in London.

According to British newspaper accounts, evidence was presented at the hearing that allegedly shows the physicians promoted and sold "worthless" herbal remedies as an effective treatment for the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Laboratory analyses presented by Timothy Langdale, counsel for the General Medical Council, showed some of the herbal preparations were composed of plant material, fungus, feces, and bacteria, which may have caused the gastrointestinal problems reported by the patient (now deceased) with AIDS, on whose behalf the charges were brought.

According to the newspaper accounts, persons with AIDS were charged $500 a month for the herbal remedies. In addition, they were persuaded to spend hundreds of dollars more to learn TM. Some also were encouraged to discontinue taking the AIDS drug zidovudine.

The physicians charged with these actions are Leslie Davis, MA, MB, BCh, FRCS, who said he is dean of physiology at the Marishi University of Natural Law, Bedfordshire, and Roger A. Chalmers, MA, MB, BCh, MRCP, who advertised himself as the dean of medicine at the new Maharishi Ayur-Veda College of Natural Medicine and president of the World Association for Perfect Health in Bedfordshire. The schools are not recognized by the General Medical Council or other accrediting agency.

Davis has been charged with seven counts and Chalmers with six. Among other charges, they are accused of giving dietary advice that could endanger the health of patients with AIDS and of distributing promotional literature that boasted of a weight gain of 6 kg and other improvements in the health of a patient who was already dead.

The hearing, which began in July, has been postponed until October 21. Chalmers would not comment about the proceedings or charges against him. Le Brasseurs, the London solicitors firm that represents the Medical Protection Society, of which Chalmers is a member, wrote to JAMA that the above account "does not in any way present a fair reflection of the evidence in toto. We cannot comment further while the case is still pending." According to Chopra, "the testimony on fecal contamination was totally refuted to the satisfaction of all experts." He would not say how it was refuted nor who these experts were. Sources close to the hearing in England say they have no idea what Chopra is referring to.

While the promoters of Maharishi Ayur-Veda in the United States do not openly claim to be able to cure AIDS, they do claim that their system offers "unprecedented advances in its management" and that scientific evidence suggests their herbal product Maharishi Amrit Kalash can alleviate many AIDS-related symptoms and protect against opportunistic infections.

After receiving the newspaper reports of fecal and bacterial contamination of the Maharishi Ayur-Veda remedies in Great Britain, the US Food and Drug Administration has decided to investigate the Marishi herbal products sold here, says press officer Brad Stone.

Physics and Mystical Medicine
Some of those have been favorably impressed by books and presentations on Marishi Ayur-Veda say they are intrigued by the apparent connection between the discoveries of quantum physics and the mysticism behind the healing system. In his 1990 book Perfect Health: The Complete Mind/Body Guide, Chopra claims that the practices of TM and Maharishi Ayur-Veda are supported by quantum physics, and refers readers who want "more insights into these ideas" to The Cosmic Code: Quantum Physics as the Language of Nature (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Inc; 1982) by the eminent physicist Heinz R. Pagels, PhD.

In that book, however, the physicist denounced as "nonsense" attempts to tie quantum physics to Eastern mysticism. He wrote, "Individuals who make such claims have substituted a wishfulfilling fantasy for understanding."

In his capacity as executive director of the New York Academy of Science in 1986, Pagels submitted an affidavit on behalf of a former TM member who was suing the movement for fraud. "There is no known connection between meditation states and states of matter in physics," Pagels wrote. "No qualified physicist that I know would claim to find such a connection without knowingly committing fraud. . . .The presentation of the ideas of modern physics side by side, and apparently supportive of, the ideas of the Maharishi about pure consciousness was only be intended to deceive those who might not know any better. . . . To see the beautiful and profound ideas of modern physics, the labor of generations of scientists, so willfully perverted provokes a feeling of compassion for those who might be taken in by these distortions."

Mastering the 'SIMS Shuffle'
In his book Return of the Rishi (Boston, Mass: Houghton Mifflin Co; 1988:139), Chopra repeats an old Indian saying, "Four things in life you must cherish: first the guru, then your parents, next your wife and children, and finally your nation. "Former members of the TM movement say their belief in the Maharishi was so great that they would have done anything the guru asked.

Ex-members say that the movement widely practices a style of deception some call the "SIMS shuffle. "Curtis Mailloux, a former member who lives in Fairfax, Va, says the name is derived from the Student International Meditation Society, one of the Maharishi's front groups, where many members develop this skill. Mailloux says he "left the cult" in 1989 after 15 years. As a former TM teacher and chair of the TM center in Washington, DC, the largest in the United States, he is one of the highest ranking members to defect.

"I was taught to lie and to get around the pretty rules of the 'unenlightened' in order to get favorable reports into the media," says Mailloux. "We were taught how to exploit the reporters' gullibility and fascination with the exotic, especially what comes from the East. We thought we weren't doing anything wrong, because we were told it was often necessary to deceive the unenlightened to advance our guru's plan to save the world."-- by Andrew A. Skolnick

The "Maharishi Effect" Just Doesn't Add Up

2006-05-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

With the recent interest in my now resurrected blog Maharishiville, due in part to Smith Center, Kansas where the Maharishi's have purchased land to build their new Peace Center Capital of the World, I would like to comment on the Maharishi Effect.

The Maharishi Effect is defined as, "one percent of the population practicing the Transcendental Meditation Program in any city reduces the crime rate, accident rate, and sickness rate" and "establishes a new formula for the creation of an ideal society, free from crime and problems, and with this, Maharishi envisions the dawn of a new age for mankind -- the Age of Enlightenment." Several years later, they expanded their original theory and went on to say, "Discovery of the Extended Maharishi Effect: the square root of one percent of the population practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Program together in one place produces coherence in collective consciousness, promoting positive and progressive trends in society."

One note here. It costs $2500 to become a Sidhi which is why I believe this whole thing classifies as a pyramid scam.

The Maharishi even published research into this matter "verifying" their theory and use this research when questioned. In the case of Smith Center, Kansas, they are setting up 12 to 15 buildings for meditators to send out waves of peace from the geographic center of the United States lower 48. But as most rational people would expect, it doesn't hold up much water and let us use two of the most heavily Maharishi populated areas in the United States today. My hometown of Fairfield and more broadly, Iowa.

In July of 2004, Fairfield had a population of 9459 people, over 2000 of which are estimated to be meditators. According to the Maharishi Effect, we need only 95 meditators (9459 x .01 = 95) chanting their Hindu God mantras twice a day to achieve peace. We have 2000 or 21% of the population meditating and have seen no decrease in crime. In fact, one of their own meditators was charged with murdering another meditator only last year though he was later found innocent by reason of insanity. According to published results from the state, between 1990 and 1998, crime in Jefferson County where Fairfield is located actually increased.

But let us consider Iowa as a whole instead of just one town. We would need (2,926,324 x .01 = 29,263 x square root = 171) only 171 meditators to achieve peace. The Maharishi have quit touting how many Sidhi's they produce a year but in 1979, they had 164 in Fairfield alone. Judging by how much their community has grown since then, I would say that number is well beyond 1000. In the 60's, Iowa reported 31,000 crimes happening annually and that figure increased to around 80,000 annually by the time the Maharishi moved to Fairfield, Iowa. Over the next 30 years that the Maharishi have been here, Iowa has reported in excess of 100,000 crimes a year, with a peak of almost 140,000 crimes in all but two years and those two years had 92,000 to 94,000 crimes committed. Again, state of Iowa published results show crime increasing especially between the years of 1990 and 1998. In all that 30 years of time, Iowa has only grown by 5%.

Where is the peace that they have promised? A quick search of the internet will produce lots of slick graphs and charts proving their theory correct but never do they actually show you the numbers. It is simple to look up population and crime rates on the internet and they certainly don't jive with their theory. Oh yeah, they rarely talk about the crime rate here, only in countries like Denmark or the Philippines. But I'm willing to bet if you could pull those numbers, the Maharishi Effect wouldn't add up there either.