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In 1957, at the end of a big "festival of spiritual luminaries" in remembrance of the previous Shankaracharya of the North, Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, his disciple Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (now usually called Maharishi) inaugurated a "Movement to spiritually regenerate the world". That was the formal beginning of TM spreading all over the world.
In the movement's initial stages, Maharishi emphasised the religious aspects of TM and operated under the auspices of an organisation named the 'Spiritual Regeneration Movement'. However, the requirements of the West made him adopt a more secular approach in the 1970s. He focussed on western science both to show theoretical parallels with his thinking and practical verification of the results of TM. The main emphasis was on relaxation, relief from stress, and improved personal effectiveness.
In the early 1970s, Maharishi launched "The World Plan" to have a TM teaching centre for each million of the world's population, which at that time would have meant 3,600 TM centres. Many such centres were established for a time, but not all are operational now. Today, there are TM-centers and facilities all around the world, and over five million people have learned the technique. Since 1990, Maharishi co-ordinates his global activities from the town of Vlodrop in the municipality of Roerdalen in Holland.
TM is to be practised fifteen to twenty minutes twice daily while sitting comfortably in a chair. In essence, the TM technique comprises the silent mental repetition of a simple sound known as a mantra, allowing the repetition to 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). Together with the mind, the body has come to rest too, and starts to clear out "stress". This means bodily activity, and therefore also mental activity in the form of thoughts: the outward stroke of meditation. After the purification has finished, the inward stroke starts again, etc.
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.)
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 enlightenmentFor the period in European history, The Age of Enlightenment For the corresponding movement in the European Jewish community, see Haskalah''. For the Hindu religious concept of enlightenment, see moksha For the Buddhist religious concept, see enlightenmen. (Compare Maslow's self-actualization.)
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 HinduThis article is about the Hindu religion; for other meanings of the word, see Hindu (disambiguation). Aum, the most sacred syllable and quintessential symbol of Hinduism, represents the first manifestation of the unmanifest Brahman. Hinduism Santana Dharm gods. (It is also possible that the Hindu deities are named after mantras.) This may concern anyone who already committedly practises another religionReligion sometimes used interchangeably with faith, is commonly defined as belief concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the practices and institutions associated with such belief. Borobudur, a Buddhist stupa built between 750 and 850 Adriaen. However, the TM organization maintains that TM does not constitute a religionReligion sometimes used interchangeably with faith, is commonly defined as belief concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the practices and institutions associated with such belief. Borobudur, a Buddhist stupa built between 750 and 850 Adriaen and that its practice remains compatible with all faiths.
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 initiationComing from the Latin, initiation implies a beginning. The related term, initiate means to begin or start a particular action, event, circumstance, or happening. But it is also an ending as existence on one level drops away in an ascension to the next.. 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.