The Ordinary Mystic

The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of the Transcendental Meditation technique, died on Tuesday, February 5, 2008. His teachings on meditation influenced the Beatles, Deepok Chopra, and millions of others. Universities have been established throughout the world, all built upon a foundation of TM teachings. What is the reason for how widely his teachings spread? Is it that transcendental meditation is truly a unique and effective method for pursuing personal development?

My Introduction to Transcendental Meditation

It was during my college years that I was introduced to TM, or transcendental meditation - a technique that promised to make me more rested and improve my concentration. They presented charts that graphed the positive effects of regularly practicing the TM technique - decreased crime rates, improved memory, and better health were among the documented benefits. How could I pass that up? And so I forked over $$ so that I, too, could learn this technique and reap the benefits.

Looking back on that, I now see that there was an incredibly effective marketing machine behind the TM movement. Hours were spent presenting the benefits, priming listeners to expect great things and to get anxious to begin. It was explained in as scientific a way as possible, which appeals greatly to the western mind - a scientific method for improving your brain functions and in the process improving your life. By calming your mind and practicing this technique, your brain would naturally reach a level of expanded awareness born out of the stillness in your mind. I envisioned this being like a feather slowly falling to the ground, representing the mind slowly falling into deeper levels of inactivity. And from that base level springs all possibilities.

And somehow, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi had “discovered” this technique. It was all very exciting.

Well, that was many, many years ago. And looking back I’ve gained a broader perspective on this teaching. This has come about from other experiences with meditation, after which I began to notice the commonalities.

TM Based on Hindu Yogic Philosophies

It is not uncommon in Hindu spiritual traditions for there to be a guru who provides spiritual direction for devotees. Oftentimes the guru has developed a meditation technique that they have found works well and which they teach their disciples. While there is some variation in the details, the meditation basically follows a standard formula of focusing on a single point - which can be a visual point, your breathing, or a specific sound or mantra - to the exclusion of everything else. Transcendental Meditation is no different. A guru, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, basically directs the teachings and meditation technique.

Another benefit of studying at the feet of a guru is that sometimes he or she will provide a mantra for you to use in your meditation or japa practice. Normally, it takes a high number of repetitions before you can build up a significant amount of spiritual energy in the mantra. But a mantra provided by a guru carries a high level of spiritual power to begin with, giving you a type of head start. In the Transcendental Meditation process, the student is given a mantra. I can’t remember if it was taught that the mantra carried the guru’s energy, but I do remember that it was supposed to be “in tune with” the student. It was the student’s own personal mantra that was not to be revealed to anyone else. In other guru-disciple arrangements, the mantra transmitted to the disciple is also to be kept private in order to show respect for the gift.

And speaking of gifts … as part of my initiation into the Kriya Yoga tradition, I participated in a ceremony involving the presenting of gifts in the form of flowers and fruit. Of course, it was clearly understood the nature and significance of the ceremony - the traditions upon which it was based, and the Hindu Vedic teachings which formed the foundation for the Paramahansa Yogananda ’s teachings.

This really wasn’t clear when it came to TM. On the day that I was to receive my mantra for use in practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique, I was to bring a flower, piece of fruit, and an unused cloth napkin. I was told that this was just part of the tradition and that I was not expected to “participate” in any rituals. So on the day I was to receive my mantra I arrived with the items. When I gave them to the teacher, he turned away from me to place them on an altar, and then proceeded to recite a prayer in sanskrit. When he was finished he turned around to face me and began to repeat a monosyllabic mantra, and nodded for me to repeat it myself. This was my mantra. I then repeated it silently as I began my first Transcendental Meditation session.

And right away I could feel the power of the meditation flowing through my body.

The Power of Mantra Meditation

Mantra repetition is an incredibly effective form of meditation. Even now, with other mantras, it has the same effect as that very first day that I began the TM practice. There is something about the internal focus that draws me into a deeper state of relaxation almost instantaneously. I was amazed when I first experienced that, and felt I had been opened up to something great.

Out of respect for the tradition, I won’t reveal any personal mantras, but I will share some common ones that many people use in japa or meditation:

• Om: The universal sound
• Om namah shivaya: Om to Shiva
• Om shri rama jaya rama jaya jaya rama: Om to Rama and Sita, victory to Rama
• Om mani padme om: The jewel of consciousness is in the heart’s lotus.

Any of these can be used in meditation with excellent results. It turns out that the TM mantras are what Eastern traditions refer to as “Bija”, or seed, mantras. These are monosyllabic sounds that don’t have a direct meaning but are believed to carry spiritual power within the vibration of the sound.

The internet does not lack for sources of meditation instructions and techniques, but here are some basics, which incidentally is consistent with the TM technique:

1. Sit in a comfortable position, with back straight.
2. Take a couple of deep breaths.
3. Close your eyes and begin repeating the mantra.
4. Always focus your attention on the mantra. If you notice that your mind has wandered, gently bring its attention back to the mantra. Continue doing this throughout the duration of the meditation.

I had always thought that the instruction to “close your eyes” wasn’t clear enough. Yes, it’s easy to close your eyes, but then I noticed that there is another action that goes along with that and the TM teachers never addressed that. What do you do in your mind while your eyes are closed? I noticed that I could focus my eyes on the darkness behind my eye lids. Or, I could not focus at all and just be in a state of mental darkness. Eventually I came across other traditions that teach that it’s beneficial to focus your eyes on a single point. Some say it should be a point on your forehead between and just above your eyes.

There are several schools of thought on how long you need to meditate to achieve results. I heard the Dalai Lama once say that five minutes is good, while other teachers say 30 minutes is a minimum. The more you repeat mantras, the greater the effect they have on your spiritual growth. Mantras should be repeated a minimum of 108 times - which is about 3 minutes - but most teachers recommend as many as 1000 repetitions. I’ve found that this corresponds to meditating for 20-30 minutes. Interestingly, the TM practice proscribes meditating for 20 minutes twice a day.

So, basically, everything that TM teaches in terms of the actual practice can be found in the meditation instructions of other groups and spiritual teachings.

So is there an advantage to TM?

Recognizing that TM is itself not a new technique or practice does not mean that the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has brought nothing to the table. I believe in the value of meditation, and the Maharishi has been one of the foremost people who has spread it to the West with extraordinary success. He explained it using scientific terms and avoided discussing its Hindu origins, thereby encouraging the western mind to embrace its practice.

There have been negative aspects to the movement, as there is with any movement where the followers place the leader and even the organization on a pedestal to the point of exhibiting cult-like behaviors. There is also the matter of how expensive the lessons are, and the educational offerings go on and on with their associated fees.

But the basic techniques offer the same benefits as other meditation practices - relaxation and increased awareness of consciousness.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 18th, 2008 at 10:45 pm and is filed under Meditation.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.