To all who are commenting here, I am not surprised to see that there are different levels in these comments. As for me, I am learning from a state of being that is not so concerned with criticism. Yet I understand the frustration of some of you with some of the teachings or claims of MMY or the policies of the TMO.
After meditating with governors in 84, I did feel that it was true this sort of power could eventually solve all life's problems. I think MMY was exaggerating sometimes, I am sure he was not perfect - nor is anyone living on this Earth. When I got to see more of the actual TMO in the West (then in my native country), I realized that there is some sort of fight within these ranks - not just the usual ego-stuff one finds with all seekers and disciples, but some sort of a spiritual war. Regarding that, here is a real eye-opener: http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/vida_alien/warinheaven/warheaven-III.htm a book published in 1988 by Kyle Griffith, now available online and for downloads. A brief summary is avaliable here: http://www.zeitlin.net/EndEnchantment/WarInHeaven.html This is close to my understanding of spiritual reality on Earth, and if anyone reads into it, they will see why I am seeking answers and help from Indian approaches. It does not explain my experiences with the Divine, or astrology, but I believe there is a grain of truth in it. In the language of that author, I perceived a Theocratic strain in the TMO fighting for control, and judging by my experiences with TM, the original source MMY mediated to the world did have the liberation of mankind by spiritual means. However, I just felt differently around some people - those who had been established in deep meditation. Some others sounded to me more like average Western middle class people chasing some sort of a guru rainbow. Forgive me to be blunt. After years of wanting to be a TM teacher myself - it was external karma that prevented me from doing that - I am not sold on the ideas of Rajas and I recognize some of the problems other people discussed on this forum as well as by ex-TM-ers. Neither do I think I was serving some weird alien deity when I did my meditations as fundamentalist converts would assert. Hinduism is close to me anyway - maybe by reincarnation or other means. For example, Ganesha is real, I have seen this power visually countless of times. This is true despite my knowledge of Buddhism - I even co-authored a paper on Buddhist epistemology. Everything is connected by sacred languages, they are almost like secret codes. Samskritam is one of the easiest in this period today. It is almost like our nervous systems have been composed of Samskritam syllables. For some reason, even Buddhists who certainly developed deep and even Tantrik techniques wrote in high Samskritam in times when it was no longer used, and they use Samskritam mantras even in Japan (mikkyo) and Tibet, albeit in slightly altered forms. The whole thing reminds me of jyotish. Jyotish preserved some uncanny techniques, yet - as MMY himself pointed out in his introductory video on jyotish - modern India used a type that was not as spiritual in focus as Western astrology. To me a lot of modern jyotish is about wordly success measured in strength of planets etc. (Of the modern Indian teachers, I think Sanjay Rath has knowledge that is difficult to surpass.) Yet, despite India's firm basis in reincarnation, very few modern practitioners realize that there is deep, meaningful and useful reincarnational information hidden in nakshatras and Vedic houses. In other words, tradition has to be rediscovered and reinterpreted - in jyotish as well as in mantras. And this is done all over the world in jyotish forums and workshops. Actualy, now with computers, it is easier to test jyotish techniques that used to take days to calculate, hence the universal popularity of Vimshottari for example. Mantras are probably similar. Naturally, the whole truth is not going to be revealed for a mere few thousands of dollars. Yet I have seen people realize extreme great states of enlightenment and things talked about in the most advanced mystical texts with MMY's techniques. I have seen some dogmatic people also - and I think any type of dogmatism hinders true spiritual progress. Perhaps there are further wonders on the road - and sometimes India is the keeper of such wisdom (being Makara/Karka axis). I am glad to see that many people here have compared their practice with traditional Indian approaches. I am also glad that documents behind the whole experience, such as Beacon Light of the Himalayas are available now. I do not know kriya yogis, but Yogananda struck a deep chord with me, as did Yukteshwar. Back to practice and solving my questions. Nowadays I have the luck of such quick feedback that if anything goes wrong I notice within a day. And TM came into my life just like jyotish did - as a revelation. It deserves to go to a higher level. If anything, I want to advance further and not just sit back and criticize the Maharishi or shed light on the obvious differences of inner teachings and external policies. Others have done that enough - and they are probably right in many ways. (I may sound like a simpleton here.)
