Why Have The Beatles Returned to Maharishi?
In accepting filmmaker David Lynch's invitation to play at a benefit concert in New York City's Radio City Music Hall to help fund the teaching of Transcendental Meditation (TM) to a million children, the two surviving mop-tops, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, reunited to reclaim their 1968 spiritual roots.
It was then that the most celebrated rock group in history traveled to India to meditate with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi at his Himalayan ashram in Rishikesh. "Say the word, and you'll be free," John, Paul, George, and Ringo had sung a few years earlier, and eventually the word became a mantra, a Vedic sound given to them by Maharishi and their fellow meditators by TM teachers like myself.
When I first learned to meditate, Maharishi predicted that those who practiced his technique just twice a day for twenty minutes would become enlightened. He approximated that it would take somewhere between five and eight years. I began TM on April 18, 1971, but I didn't start meditating regularly until January 1, 1972. After that, I almost never missed my twice-a-day meditation. And if I did, I usually managed to meditate at least once that day. I stopped using the technique sometime in 2000, nearly twenty years past the maximum eight-year prediction for enlightenment.
During one of his earliest public appearances, Maharishi described his view of enlightenment, which I came to share, and which millions of others who follow various spiritual teachers around the world still do. "Nothing from outside can stop a man from enjoying lasting peace and permanent joy in life," Maharishi said in 1955. When a meditator becomes enlightened, he explained, "all suffering will cease, all agony will go, and all peacelessness and misery of life will simply disappear."
Maharishi. who died last year at age 91, underestimated how long it would take, and what it would take, to bring people to enlightenment. This misjudgment might have partly been due to his utopian definition of an enlightenment that permanently frees us from all forms of suffering. But his teachings inspired me, his vision sustained me, his meditation expanded me, and I remain grateful. Maharishi wasn't infallible, just human.
As one noted expert on Jewish mysticism explains, even for an enlightened saint, a tzaddik, not every judgment is flawless. "Situations arise in which perfection is not possible, in which the very structure of reality and the relations between a person, the world and God are such that no perfect solution exists," Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz wrote. "In such a situation, even a tzaddik can reach an erroneous decision." This teaching is echoed in Ecclesiastes: "There is not one good man on earth who does what is best and doesn't err."
Instead of fixating on the attainment of an unattainable state of consciousness, where imagined gurus not only behave perfectly but see everything in the world as similarly perfect, spiritual realists experience both the serenity of impeccable inner silence alongside the emotional pain of this imperfect world.
"I do not trust the man who never weeps," said Swami Vivekananda, who in 1893 preceded Maharishi as one of the earliest Vedic masters to popularize Indian philosophy in the United States. This is a basic tenet of spiritual realism. Techniques like TM can take us to a place of inner spiritual peace, yet they will not stop us from crying over the suffering around us. Nor should they.
As Robert Kennedy reminded when quoting Aeschylus after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., "Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget, falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."
He who does not weep over this world does not know this world. Yet letting go of our obsession with perfect happiness can liberate us. It can free us from the distraction of a constant search for an enlightenment that knows no pain.
Spiritual realism shows us that although the dream of a future blissful perfection is charming, the reality of the silent stillness of this very moment offers us a more modest joy, here and now.
The enlightenment that Maharishi promised may never rid us of our sufferings over the cruelties of man and the brutalities of nature. Yet meditation can still awaken us to an inner spiritual calm that we can readily access as we make our way through the emotional upheavals in this imperfect world of Korean nukes, al-Qaeda terror, and A.I.G. meltdowns. As Paul McCartney recently said, "In moments of madness, it has helped me find moments of serenity." Four decades after their Himalayan sojourn, the surviving Beatles' public return to Maharishi was easy because his teachings had never left them.
Steve Posner is the author of "Israel Undercover: Secret Warfare and Hidden Diplomacy in the Middle East." His latest book is "Spiritual Delights and Delusions: How to Bridge the Gap between Spiritual Fulfillment and Emotional Realities." Visit his website at steveposner.com
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When I was 15, attending Taft High School, in LA,we had a very special guest speaker, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Unbelievable, I know, but one of the kids' parents were students of the Maharishi and they thought that perhaps TM might help us kids. I had followed the stories about The Beatles visit with the Maharishi and was anxious to hear what he had to say. The curtains opened to a pile of pillows on which sat a very small but smiling man, dressed in white, with flowing greying hair and beard. He spoke for nearly an hour about TM and it's positive powers.
I caught up with him as he walked to his car. I gave him my love beads. He took my face into his hands, and kissed my forehead. Taking my hands, he looked into my eyes and said " You are a very special person. You're life will not always be an easy one but you will experience wonderful things and all that you desire will come to pass in time. You must have patience. You are very blessed." He kissed my hand, got into his car and waved as it drove away, his words ringing in my ears. I can only say that those few moments I shared with this man made a lasting impression. His sparkling eyes, lilting voice and the overwhelmingly positive energy he radiated, a state of calm and peace I've never known in any other person I've ever met.
Hi Steve,
I know of you indirectly through friends of yours who still practice Maharishi's techniques and are either not in the TM organization or are devotee's of MMY but are not a part of the organization.
I observed a lot of meditators either teachers of TM or just meditators or Sidhas who continually had internal conflicts with Maharishi's teaching and their religious beliefs. In the long run some stopped meditating or resolved the conflict and just learned to Be and not intellectually try to make our relative existence subtantiate the existence of Purusha in their lives or how the movement made them miserable.
As you are aware MMY said that TM is not a religion but a technique that develops the full potential of the individual. This was documented by the written Vedas and experienced at the source of the Vedas and commented on by many profound and great phlilosophers in India like Shankara. You know the story.
Those individuals only gave a clarity to the growth of consciousness by the value of personal experience. They did not prescribe a dogma or religion.
MMY is in our hearts and not an organization in Holland.
Dylan said..."
There are no Truth's outside the gates of Eden"
What do I know?
I'm going with the flow.
Watch the rive flow.
LOL
.
Here are VERY INFORMATIVE websites
from TM investigators & ex-TM members
who provide insider info. of the facts (behind the facade)
including: deliberate deception,
fascist organizational framework,
pay-to-play crowned Rajas,
duped & fleeced (advanced TM)
'Sidhi - flyers',
sexual discrimination as to women's roles, violations of the
U.S. Constitution (as per U.S. District Court & U.S. Appeals Court rulings), & the organization's penchant for censorship, etc. --
minet.org
tmfree.blogspot.com/2009/04/my-open-letter-to-mr-goldstein.html
suggestibility.org
* Also, this Rick Ross Institute webpage
has a compendium of news articles from various sources about T.M. organization, history & issues --
rickross.com/groups/tm.html
All that stuff about the Beatles having problems in India years ago was just rumors and media hype. It was all clarified publicy by Paul and George on various occasions. Paul even when to Holland to personally apologize to Maharishi for the rumors. Deepak Chopra was present and confirmed this. For more details see http://www.BeatlesinIndia.com
It's strange that Paul and Ringo have decided to participate in Lynch's project.
They spent the least time in Rishikesh. (Ringo only stayed for eleven days.)
John's comments about T.M. were the most scathing. "Coloured Water" was one printable remark. George simply went on and found something he felt was more meaningful.
I'm in no way slating Transcendental Meditation. It's a very helpful tool.
Just curious about Paul and Ringo. Why them? Why now?
Maharishi was fond of quoting Pantanjali's sutra, that says: Through daily practice over a long time, one gains moksha (liberation). As the same time, Maharishi did not teach of some "future blissful perfection." His TM technique was for experiencing the full glory of every moment in the present, while growing more present and aware everyday. The only lasting silent stillness is the stillness of pure consciousness (which is what TM is all about). Any other kind of attempt to gain stillness is mere mood making on the surface of the mind. But when one is established in the silence of the unbounded Self, one is truly free from suffering. If the author of the article above wants to sell himself short and deny this as a possibility for human experience, then that's his choice. But know that such a belief stands against the timeless texts of spiritual development from the great traditions of Enlightenment, such as the Upanishads, Yoga Sutras and the Gita, which all state that Enlightenment is within reach of everyone, and that it's truly a state of liberation and fulfillment, a state of "infinite bliss consciousness." That happens to be the reality of life, and in my experience, that's what unfolds (to itself, within itself) through TM.
This gossip about Maharishi promising or predicting "Enlightenment" in five years is a myth. That was a rumor going around the TM Movement in the 70s, but Maharishi never actually stated as a general formula that everyone (or anyone) was to expect enlightenment in any particular time frame. Maharishi was not that simplistic. Nor did he promise that people would be able to fly. Posner grossly misunderstands Maharishi's explanation of Enlightenment. Many people, however, have verified Maharishi's theory that twice daily transcending (i.e., experiencing the silent field of pure awareness at the source of thought) will lead to the full awakening of human consciousness, the state of Enlightenment. This state is experienced as a state free from suffering, living in the world but not being overshadowed by the transitory boundaries of day to day existence. This is also how Buddha defined enlightenment (freedom from suffering). Anyone following through on Maharishi's program long-term and transcending twice daily will know what I'm talking about. Unbounded awareness. You can't know it by reading books or thinking about it. Only by experiencing it.
"Sexy Sadie
What have you done?
You've made a fool of everyone!
Sexy Sadie
You'll get yours yet!
However big you think you are!"
Looks like John was the smart Beatle! Watered down Vedanta wasn't the answer in the 60's and it won't solve anything now. Teach the kids enlightened self interest and the importance of participation in the political process and leave the Indians to finally do something about the caste system and the overwhelming poverty they accept as "just karma in action ".
a Vedic sound given to them by Maharishi and their fellow meditators by TM teachers like MYSELF. Come on Mr. Posner like myself??????????????? How about like ME, ME, ME, ME
No matter how "enlightened" you get, you've still got to make a living.
Enlightenment is the holy grail of spiritual achievement. It's hailed as the panacea for all of our ills and ailments but what exactly is it and more importantly how will we know when we have achieved it? Enlightenment is not somewhere to get to, to work towards, it's the emerging of a state of consciousness. A state of consciousness which is free from identity and ego. The state can emerge quickly or slowly.
I haven't done TM meditation but I studied and practiced Mahayana Buddhism for 9 years. Following an experience on a meditation retreat in Southern England in 1999 where I felt to be lifted up with energy I have been getting insights into what Enlightenment is and how it works. There are people who think that when he/she becomes Enlightened that it is the end of all their worries. To live from an Enlightened state of consciousness which is what for me Enlightenment is, events of life both pleasant and unpleasant don't suddenly cease. If that happened the person would be dead. What shifts when the energy of Enlightenment rises from the depths of the body is that those events no longer influence a state of happiness or unhappines.
Enlightenment is nothing more than the freeing of consciousness from the ego identity. Any method that facilitates that process whether that is TM or some other form of spiritual practice is so necessary as the consciousness is shifting an a massive scale from things outer to things inner.
I started doing TM after I saw the photo on the cover of LIFE of the Beatles in India with Maharishi.
I went to New York and tried to find out how to do TM but it hadn't arrived there yet. A few months later they opened the first TM center in a beautiful brownstone on the upper east side. It was quickly filled with rock musicians and hippies, incense, flowers and fruit. It was glorious! In those days you could be initiated for about $35 and i quickly joined up.
In a few years Maharishi changed his target group, not wanting people to think that he was just an idol of hippies. He ordered his teachers to dress up in business clothes and try to appeal to the middle class. The whole colorful scene quickly grew dreary. Then the prices of initiation grew dramatically. Last I heard, and this was about 10 years ago, it cost $3,000 to become initated..
I've had many friends who became disenchanted with the movement. One couple who taught and worked at MIU, had to leave because they were paid so little that they could barely survive. I've known many folks whom I think would benefit from TM but they are not about to pay the huge fee. The whole movement has gone bust because of Maharishi's greed.
If Ringo and Paul can bring TM to a lot of people now, then I wish them well.,
.
While I don't subscibe to Tm I don't really see any harm in it. To each his own I guess. I would point out the John Lennon thought it was nothing more than a giant load of ******.
As I recall one of the reasons John and Paul left the Maharishi's retreat in India in the 60s was because they found out that he had made a pass at Mia Farrow's sister Prudence.
Actually, John phoned Maharishi years later to apologize for that song.
In the Beatles Anthology, Chronicle Books, 2000, pp. 285-86, George said, " Now, historically, there's the story that something went on that shouldn't have-but nothing did... There were some flaky people around back then and we were four of them."
Paul said in his biography "Many Years from Now" p. 429: "It was Magic Alex who made the original accusation and I think it was completely untrue."
Here are more details: http://www.upublish.info/Article/Maharishi-and-the-Beatles--What-Really-Happened-/197614
As I posted on the other column, I read in Mia's autobiography that it was Mia, not Prudence whom Maharishi groped in the dark with big, hairy arms! When she told the others in the group, they all left. Prudence stayed in the TM movement, though.
I can only speak from my own experience: Transcendental Meditation works for me and my family. No fear-based, untrue claims can take that knowledge away. My children have been practicing it for several years now, and they have grown into mentally clear, emotionally grounded, and just overall happy people. Both of them tend to make good decisions, especially as they are moving through the teenage years. Transcendental Meditation is one of the best investments my husband and I could have made in our children’s future.
Kudos to Mr. Lynch for organizing this great concert with Paul McCartney to raise funds so that our youth can have access to Transcendental Meditation. I have seen first hand the wonderful effect Transcendental Meditation has on students and young people. They become calmer, more focused, and their grades improve too! Also their thinking and decisions are more balanced which ain’t bad either, just ask their parents! I think it’s an all around win for our children; the future leaders of our world. For more info check this out: http://www.davidlynchfoundation.org
I learned to do Transcendental Meditation 35 years ago in my small town when a teacher offered a class at our local junior college. Since then I've never had any connection with any TM organization, but I've continued to meditate, and in my life the beneficial results are obvious. Don't knock TM if you haven't practiced it.
Just for the record -- since I've posted a couple of critical comments on here -- I have been a TM practitioner. It wasn't for me in the end, though I have nothing against it and I know close friends and relatives who have obviously benefitted from it. It's definitely a good practice.
It's the surrounding nonsense that I can't stand, the empty promises (enlightment in five years? flying? an end to war and poverty?) and the obvious materialism that lay behind his movement. As a young man, I paid a week's salary to learn TM, and the group that "initiated" me kept wanting to milk more and more money out of me after that. The following is from the Maharishi's obituary in the London 'Independent' newspaper:
"By the 1980s he had set up schools across the world, founded the Natural Law Party and built a multimillion-pound business empire including a property dealership and a company selling Ayurvedic medicine and cosmetics. Most were financed by donations and a $2,500 fee to learn TM.
The Maharishi was widely ridiculed in 2002 when he announced that he could combat terrorism and war if he could raise $1 billion to train 40,000 expert meditators. Sceptics also scoffed at his plan to raise $10 trillion to end poverty by sponsoring organic farming in the poorest countries."
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