phenomena could not be achieved. He won a
judgment of $138,000.
T.M. was largely introduced to the West
through two organizations, the Spiritual Regen-
eration Movement and the Student International
Meditation Society. In 1971, Maharishi purchased
the defunct Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa, and
turned it into Maharishi International University,
which in 1974 was renamed the Maharishi Univer-
sity of Management [of the Universe]). The school
awards bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in
consciousness-based education. Currently, almost
800 students are enrolled in programs structured
one course at a time in small classes over a period
of four weeks. Degrees are granted in science, the
humanities, and Vedic science.
In 1972, Maharishi revealed a World Plan
to guide the nations of the world in using the
insights derived from the practice of T.M. and the
Science of Creative Intelligence. The World Plan
includes a wide spectrum of activities for cultural
renewal, health, freedom from war, and personal
development. Over the last generation, a number
of different organizations have been formed to
implement the plan’s ambitious goals.
According to the World Plan Council, T.M.
is not a new religious group, but some observ-
ers disagree. In the United States controversy
arose as T.M. teachers were receiving government
funds to teach T.M. in places such as the public
schools and the armed forces. In 1978, a federal
district court in Newark, New Jersey, ruled that
T.M. was indeed a religious practice and could
not receive public funds; nor could government
agencies promote its teachings and practice. After
this ruling, the sharp upward trajectory of growth
for the movement fell sharply, though it remains a
substantial movement worldwide.
The New Jersey ruling pointed to the use of
MANTRAS as a form of japa yoga; to T.M. initiations,
which include traditional religious acts (most of
which were never explained to Westerners); and
to the acceptance of the movement in India as a
form of SHAIVITE Hinduism.
Millions of people have taken T.M. courses.
There are currently more than 7,000 authorized
teachers working at 400 teaching centers. As the
movement has grown, it has become to a large
extent decentralized. In the United States, a Vedic
City is being planned on land adjacent to the
Maharishi University of Management. The many
T.M.-related bodies are described in Web sites
sponsored by the global movement.
During the 1980s the council introduced a
line of AYURVEDIC medical products and opened a
center adjacent to the university to promote them.
The writer and physician Deepak Chopra emerged
as a leading exponent of Maharishi’s Ayurvedic
(see AYURVEDA) program but has in recent years
distanced himself from the organization.Further reading: William Sims Bainbridge and Donald
H. Jackson, “The Rise and Decline of Transcendental
Meditation,” in Rodney Stark and William Sims Bain-
bridge, eds., The Future of Religion (Berkeley: Univer-
sity of California Press, 1985); Harold H. Bloomfield,
Michael Peter Cain, and Dennis Jafee, T.M.: Discover-
ing Inner Energy and Overcoming Stress (New York:
Delacorte Press, 1975); Martin Ebon, Maharishi: The
Guru (The Story of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi) (Bombay:
Pearl, 1968); Jack Forem, Transcendental Meditation
(New York: Dutton, 1974); Maharishi Mahesh Yogi,
Life Supported by Natural Law (Washington, D.C.: Age
of Enlightenment Press, 1986); ———, Transcendental
Meditation (New York: Signet, 1968); Paul Mason, The
Maharishi: The Biography of the Man Who Gave Tran-
scendental Meditation to the West (Shaftesbury, England:
Element, 1994).transmigration See REINCARNATION.
Treta Yuga
All of the Yugas, or Ages in the Indian tradition,
refer to throws in an ancient dice game. Treta
Yuga is named after the 3, the second best throw.
It always follows the KRITA, or SAT YA, YUGA (theK 452 transmigration