Transcendental meditation

The Transcendental Meditation technique, or TM, is a form of meditation. Proponents have claimed it to be a simple, natural, easy-to-learn mental technique whose regular practice leads to significant, cumulative benefits on all levels of life, including mind, body, behavior and environment.

Technique and procedures

TM is practiced for fifteen to twenty minutes twice daily while sitting comfortably with the eyes closed. In essence, the TM technique comprises the silent mental repetition of a simple sound known as a mantra, allowing the repetition to spontaneously become quieter and quieter, until it disappears and one is left conscious, but without thoughts. This is the goal of the inward stroke of meditation and is called pure consciousness (in Sanskrit: turiya or samadhi; with Abraham Maslow: peak experience). Alongside the settling down of mental activity, the body also settles to a state of deep rest, and this allows for the release of deep-seated stresses from the system. The release of stress is bodily activity, and this increase in bodily activity results in corresponding activity on the level of the mind, i.e., thoughts return to the mind. This is the outward stroke of meditation. After the purification has finished, the inward stroke starts again. This whole cycle is repeated many, many times during each sitting of meditation.

Related Topics:
Mental - Mantra - Samadhi - Abraham Maslow

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The way of learning TM is a prescribed procedure in itself, with several lectures and checking sessions. Before the core instruction, the teacher performs a ceremony of thanksgiving to the "holy tradition" that has passed on the knowledge about TM.

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Stress

In Hans Selye's definition, stress is a neutral concept, simply meaning "load". He distinguishes eustress and distress, roughly meaning "challenge" and "overload". According to Selye, the physical changes during TM are the opposite of the body's reaction to stress. (In common usage, the word stress has taken on a meaning close to Selye's distress.)

Related Topics:
Hans Selye - Stress

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In TM-lingo, stress is defined as "structural or material impurities resulting from overload on the physiology", which includes both body and mind. The assumption is that it is possible to purify the physiology completely, and that that is the goal of human life, equal to gaining enlightenment. (Compare Maslow's self-actualization.)

Related Topics:
Enlightenment - Self-actualization

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The mantra

According to the TM organisation the mantras comprise meaningless sounds specifically chosen to have a soothing effect upon the individual's nervous system. Examining the full list of mantras issued by sources disassociated from the TM movement over the years shows that each mantra names one of the Hindu gods. (It is also possible that the Hindu deities are named after mantras.) This may concern anyone who already committedly practises another religion. However, the TM organization maintains that TM does not constitute a religion and that its practice remains compatible with all faiths.

Related Topics:
Hindu - Religion

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There is some controversy as to whether or not TM actually is a religion. The primary argument for TM being a religion is that it involves spirituality, and the primary argument for TM not being a religion is that it does not involve faith or worship.

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The TM organisation encourages practitioners to keep their mantra private and never to repeat it aloud, since it allegedly has the purpose of moving inwards into the 'refined' levels of the mind. The organisation has attempted to keep the precise method for choosing a mantra a secret, but ex-TM teachers have stated that mantra choice simply depends on the age of person at the time of initiation. They assert that if a student repeats the initiation at a later age at a different TM centre without mentioning the former initiation, the student will receive a different mantra.

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