Paul, Ringo & TM

This week we started another class in eastern religion, and it’s going to be a good one, I can tell. I will have occasion during the next few weeks to mention TM. Other than the fact that it is a contemporary form of Hinduism, there are two other reasons why Transcendental Meditation is a useful example for us to consider in a college course like this one.

First, as I usually mention on the first night of class, it illustrates the importance of the First Amendment with regard to the non-establishment clause. This was the basis for the court’s decision not to allow TM to be introduced into public schools, and I think it was a good call.

I want to stress that I don’t really have an axe to grind as an ex-TM practitioner, although it may seem that way. The non-establishment clause protects all of us, or at least it is supposed to. By way of example, it would be hypocritical of me to agree with the court decision in this case on the one hand, but then somehow insist that those same public schools observe sectarian prayers on the other hand. I’m aware that this is a controversial issue for some, but I hope you understand the point I’m trying to make. That’s why I don’t support much of what I have heard in favor of “school prayer.” The law of the land doesn’t make exceptions somehow when it’s the “good guys” who are on “our side.”

At the risk of beating a dead horse, the second point is that critical thinking is more important when it comes to the subject of religion, not less. For years now, I’ve heard the claims about TM and how if a high enough percentage of a given population meditates, crime rates go down. The studies are simply not true, and the fact that so many of the reports come from Maharishi University ought to be reason enough to raise eyebrows. Sometimes in class I mention best-selling author Deepak Chopra – he was one of the authors involved in promoting TM along these lines. You can read more of the story here (as long as the link is active):

http://www.aaskolnick.com/naswmav.htm

But again, I want to point out that fair is fair, and if I were to encounter incredible claims of “miraculous healings” from a church or ministry organization, then it would only make sense that I would apply those same principles of critical thinking in evaluating them. Skepticism is not a bad place to begin, even (maybe especially) when it comes to groups with whom you may tend to be sympathetic.

The following is a letter to the editor, sent in this week to the Idaho Statesman. Maybe they’ll publish it, maybe they won’t. What prompted me to write it was a picture I saw in the paper of a recent concert.

The picture in Monday’s Statesman of Paul and Ringo reuniting onstage only tells part of the real story – the rest of it has to do with the millions of dollars David Lynch is raising to promote Transcendental Meditation within public schools. The David Lynch Foundation website proudly displays a “Today Show” video clip about how hundreds of Detroit middle school kids have already been trained in TM. To claim that their goal is simply “teaching at-risk youth to meditate,” as Monday’s article implies, is disingenuous at best and downright deceptive at worst, especially since the New Jersey Supreme Court already declared in 1987 that TM was undeniably religious and therefore could not be taught in public schools.

The First Amendment guarantees our rights as Americans to follow our chosen religion (if any); it certainly does not allow for proselytizing in public schools with the Maharishi’s form of Hinduism, or my form of Christianity, or any other faith. In spite of Lynch’s claims to the contrary, TM is indeed a religion. I should know – I mindlessly made offerings of fruit and flowers to Guru Dev myself before receiving my mantra back in the seventies. You can find out more details at www.suggestibility.org.