If anyone wants to make a donation to the TMO they can, at any time.
I was instructed at Maharishi Ashram for free. I have since made many
donations to the movement.
As far as I can gather there is no truth to the oft-repeated claim
that it is traditional to charge for initiation into meditation,
quite the contrary. It was MMY who introduced the fee ('fixed
donation') almost as soon as he arrived in the States.
On this very issue, Shankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati, a direct
disciple of Gurudev was asked:-
Q: Brahmananda Saraswati did not charge any fees when he used to
initiate?
SwaroopanandJi: This is a principle. A quotation from Goswami
Tulsidas: "The guru who charges or takes money from his disciples in
return for initiation, steals disciples property and goes to damnable
hell."
For that reason Guru Deva used to give 'upadesha' (initiation)
without any fees. He used to say "If I accept any gift from the
disciple (or fees), then his sins are transmitted to me." In India,
dharma, yoga, knowledge, specialized knowledge can never be sold for
money. That is priceless. Anyone who puts a price on it insults it.
So, a mantra is also never given for money. Knowledge cannot be sold
for money. Therefore, the process that is being employed by Mahesh is
merely for the sake of making money, and this is entirely against the
canons of Indian culture and civilization.
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