I was browsing through a recent TM organization (TMO) email, and discovered that the TMO publishes an ezine called “Enlightenment.”
Is this an appropriate name for the magazine?
I have heard that when young Brahmachari Mahesh (later known as Maharishi Mahesh Yogi) first taught in India, he put up a poster that said, “Enlightenment in Seven Days.” But as I don’t remember the source, I’ll call this a rumor, unless someone can confirm this in the “comments” section.
I heard from elder TMers that in the U.S., Mahesh promised that doing TM twice a day for 15-20 minutes would lead to enlightenment in 3-5 years. Again, that was before my time, so can anyone confirm this?
But I can state from my personal experience that when I was instructed in TM in 1971, we were told that TM twice a day would lead to enlightenment in 5-8 years.
Anyone have confirmation of other promises Mahesh made?
I do remember that when Mahesh introduced the “Six-Month Courses” around 1975 (seeking confirmation on date), he said, “One Six-Month Course is enough to enlighten some people, two Six-Month Courses is enough to enlighten most people, and three Six-Month Courses is enough to enlighten a horse! Ha ha!” I assume he was joking about the horse, but not about the other things.
Does anyone remember any other promises about when enlightenment could be expected through TM? By the time I was at my Teacher Training Course (about 1973/4), Mahesh was no longer giving out predictions.
Mahesh pronounced one man (“Andy”) enlightened on my Teacher Training Course. What’s the latest about Andy? Mahesh did or did not pronounce Robin Carlsen enlightened — depending on your interpretation of his comment, “You are somewhere in the folds of Wholeness.” The last we heard from Robin (on TMFree), the “enlightenment” was a temporary state, and not in Robin’s best interest.
I understand that in Fairfield, there is a club for people who say they have reached “enlightenment.” What’s become of that club? All I know is the worst of the stories, of one young man in the club who has committed suicide.
Now it’s “do the TM-Sidhis, eat ayurvedic, get yagyas, listen to chanting, live in a TM house,” and some people have been doing all those things for decades. How’s it going? Is anyone enlightened?
Personally, I think “Enlightenment” is a deceptive name for the magazine, but that’s just my opinion.
SOURCE: tmfree.blogspot.com
“TM’s "Enlightenment" Magazine”
