Comments (14)

I am a Hindu, a devout Hindu but I have proved to my self that one does not need to chant Hindu mantras to be a successful meditator.

One can chant " one, two", "one, two" ,keeping the outbreath slightly longer than the inhalation with "one."

I use the mantra because it is congruent with my upbringing, but one could just as easily use a Christian or Jewish mantra. Example: " Jesus" (inhale), " my Lord" (exhale).

Key points:

1) Be consistent and regular.

2) Start with a minute and build up to 30 minutes.

3) Eschew alcohol, coffee and animal products including dairy products. these clog up your arteries and impair the function of the brain and thereby retard the calming of the mind. I also believe that when the animal is about to be killed a fear or defense mechanism produces a chemical which then enter the human body when the meat or poultry or fish is consumed and harms the brain.

You will know you are succeeding when your blood pressure and heat rate start going down. My normal pulse rate is now 60 to 63 without any medication. BP is 110/70

I am a Hindu, a devout Hindu but I have proved to my self that one does not need to chant Hindu mantras to be a successful meditator.

One can chant " one, two", "one, two" ,keeping the outbreath slightly longer than the inhalation with "one."

I use the mantra because it is congruent with my upbringing, but one could just as easily use a Christian or Jewish mantra. Example: " Jesus" (inhale), " my Lord" (exhale).

Key points:

1) Be consistent and regular.

2) Start with a minute and build up to 30 minutes.

3) Eschew alcohol, coffee and animal products including dairy products. these clog up your arteries and impair the function of the brain and thereby retard the calming of the mind. I also believe that when the animal is about to be killed a fear or defense mechanism produces a chemical which then enter the human body when the meat or poultry or fish is consumed and harms the brain.

You will know you are succeeding when your blood pressure and heat rate start going down. My normal pulse rate is now 60 to 63 without any medication. BP is 110/70

Interesting post Claire. I enjoyed your work at the LA Times magazine and look forward to checking this in the future. good luck
Greg Critser

I have been practicing TM for quite awhile. I first was with Maharishi for a month in Amherst, Massachusetts, along with a thousand others, in the Summer of 1971. I was 23. Most were around the same age or not much older. Maharishi was then around my father's age. Then six months later my newly wedded (and still with me) wife and I spent 5 months on a TM teacher training course that started in Majorca, Spain and ended in Fiuggi, Italy.

Maharishi was a wonderful teacher. Mostly he would answer questions, and often a question would inspire him to give a longer talk. During the teacher training courses we would meditate for hours in the morning and hours more in the afternoon, with gatherings with Maharishi in the evenings and sometimes also in the afternoons. My questions would all get answered, without asking them myself. He never invited or approved of people worshipping him. That and the general way that he taught – giving people knowledge and a trust in themselves and in their own experience – made it clear to me that Maharishi had real wisdom. He always gave the credit to his 'Guru Dev', Swami Bramhananda Saraswati, who had been the Shankaracharya of the North, at Jyotir Math in the Himalayas. (The Shankaracharya tradition, with 4 "seats" in the North, South, East, and West of India, was begun by Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th Century CE.)

In the beginning, Maharishi, who received a BA in Physics before becoming a bramhacharya, focused a lot on scientific research and he always had good scientists and scholars around him. Forming a university (Maharishi University) was a natural extension of this tendency.

Maharishi was a Hindu monk, but what he taught was much more universal and as a result most people who practice TM and who didn't grow up as Hindus have not become Hindu and follow many other religious or spiritual practices.

Our teachers are very important to us. To many, Maharishi was more than a teacher, he was a reviver and illuminator of knowledge, and he has created several enduring organizations devoted to bringing enlightenment, creativity, and peace.

Many disagreed with his teachings and approach to promoting peace in the world.

The same is true of course for most others who try to promote something as a cure to most if not all of our ills, but I think he authentically tried to harness the power of meditation for the betterment of the individual and mankind.

I wish him well where ever he now may be.

for those interested, links to internal documents about Maharishi's passing, and other information TM-related can be found at :

tmfree.blogspot.com

What ever the religious claims of the Mahahrishi, meditation works. I am living proof of a clear thinker because of meditation.

Hi, Please take out my commends and and leave just the best one.
Thanks

I am an Iranian Muslim, and I respect all other religions and faiths. I have practiced transcendental meditation since 22 years ago. I just can say one must do meditation to understand what the world is all about. Meditation is the best and the only answer to the human's curiosity about the world, life and after life. And, off course, meditation has great effects on mental and physical health status and on individuals'attitudes and behaviors. It is absolutely unique and interesting to know that one can practice meditation, while keeping her/his own religion.

I am an Iranian Muslim, and I respect all other religions and faiths. I have practiced transcendental meditation since 22 years ago. I just can say one must do meditation to understand what the world is all about, if you have any question. Meditation is the best and the only answer to the human's curiosity about the world, life and after life. And, of course meditation has great effects on mental and physical health status and on individuals'attitudes and behaviors. It is absolutely unique and interesting to know that one can practice meditation, while keeping her/his own religion.

I am an Iranian Muslim, and I respect all other religions and faiths. I have practiced transcendental meditation since 22 years ago. I just can say one must do meditation to understand what the world is all about, if you any question. Meditation is the best and the only answer to the humans curiosity about the world, life and after life. And, of course meditation has great effects on mental and physical health status and on attitude and behavior. It is absolutely unique and interesting to know that one can practice meditation, while keeping her/his own religion.

"Two world church leaders died this week -- President Gordon B. Hinckley of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Archbishop Christodoulos of the Greek Orthodox Church."

WOW!! DEATH COMES IN THREES..

The world has lost another shining light when it needs it most. We will pray for the peace of the world and the soul of the Maharishi, I, as a Catholic know that the value of each individual, can and must be acknowledged. The Maharishi showed that all are equal and can achieve transcendence through meditation and prayer. To All the Maharishi's followers, I, bid you condolences and love, shared through the eternal and transcendent being of light that was the teacher. May G-d bless you all.

dont care.