Transcendental Meditation

Transcendental Meditation, service mark for a religious movement based on Vedanta philosophy, founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Stressing natural meditation and the liberating pleasures such practices could invoke, the movement's meditation method is believed to help individuals achieve a higher level of consciousness. Brought by Maharishi from India to the West in 1959, Transcendental Meditation was a distinct subculture within the 1960s youth movement, attracting actress Mia Farrow, cultural philosopher Marshall McLuhan, and the Beatles, who eventually rejected the Yogi's teachings. See also meditation.

Bibliography

See A. Campbell, Seven States of Consciousness (1973); R. Roth, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Transcendental Mediation (1987); D. Chopra, Return of the Rishi (1991).

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Transcendental Meditation (TM)

Spiritual development technique developed and promoted by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a former Hindu ascetic. A movement that became popular in the West in the 1960s, it is based on specific meditation techniques and is not strictly connected with any religious tradition, though the perspective behind it has roots in Vedanta. Practice entails the mental repetition of a mantra in order to still the activity of thought and experience a deeper level of consciousness. Through this process, the practitioner finds deep relaxation, which can lead to inner joy, vitality, and creativity.