from Gurus In America (S U N Y Series in Hindu Studies), ch. 3 "Maharishi Mahesh Yogi: Beyond the TM Technique by Cynthia Humes (© 2005 State University of New York)
Swami Brahmananda's prophecy? (…) M A H E S H B E C O M E S A M A H A R I S H I (…) While many of Mahesh’s followers claim he was a member of the kshatriya or ruling warrior caste, and many books written about TM and Maharishi reiterate this, Mahesh has made no such claim. Rather, Maharishi’s name—Varma—and most Indian sources identify him as a member of the kayasth or educated clerical caste prior to becoming a monk. This caste factor is significant. The kayasths are a learned caste with a long and fascinating history of attempts at self-definition. The kayasths are famous for having served as the clerical arm of the Muslims who came to rule North India prior to the British occupation of North India. A sector sought in the nineteenth century to identify themselves as descendents of the Emperor Chandragupta, thus giving rise to some people’s claim of their kshatriyahood. Especially during the 1920s and 1930s, kayasth leaders sought to “sanskritize” caste rituals, that is, emulate higher caste religious behavior, as well as twice- born culture, specifically, abstaining from alcohol. Their high level of education but ambivalent caste status lead to the kind of scoffing evidenced by this remark, attributed to Brahmananda Saraswati, “Nowadays, kayasths, vaishyas, oil sellers, and even liquor merchants put on the different colored garb of a holy man (sadhu) and are eager to make many disciples of their own. In this way both the guru and disciple will have their downfall. What I am saying is in accord with the sacred codes (shastras), I am not telling you my own mental construction.”13 (…) This issue over Maharishi’s monopoly of spiritual services mirrors a commercial tradition most Americans would recognize: supposed “quality control issues” in a franchiser/franchisee relationship. McDonald’s, for example, requires its franchises to order food products and paper goods solely through their parent company. Maharishi also requires his franchisees—teachers, medi- tators, and governors, and so on—to use his products, and his alone. Indeed, he even requires his teachers to sign statements of loyalty—a contract—to him. He has gone to court to protect his trademarked wares and monopoly rights, which extend to the mantras used in TM—all of which can be found in a standard mantrakosha, or “treasury of mantras.”
