It sounds like you really got suckered into this enlightenment thing. TM, if anything is a path for those seeking something.
You see a teacher, who has something that sounds interesting. You listen to what he, or she says, and decide if you want to take the next step. There is a goal discussed, not only by the teacher, but in different texts, and described in similar fashion by other teachers. I don't think anyone, perhaps other than Barry, took this 5-7 years as some hard and fast promise. If the teacher exaggerated in this regard, then you can hold it against him, and leave. And then from that point on, call anyone else who remains, a True Believer, a cult apologist, a sycophant. Or you take a more mature view, and realize, that you are on the path, and that is pretty cool, and you notice a deepening of your experience over time, along the lines of what the teacher said were milestones along this path. It's not complicated. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <anartaxius@...> wrote : CORRECTION: Enlightenment Discussed By Maharishi http://www.tm.org/enlightenment http://www.tm.org/enlightenment Enlightenment Discussed By Maharishi http://www.tm.org/enlightenment Maharishi on Enlightenment (excerpts from an interview) What is the goal of Transcendental Meditation? Maharishi: “The goal of the Transcendental View on www.tm.org http://www.tm.org/enlightenment Preview by Yahoo ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <mjackson74@...> wrote : Its the whole ball of wax. TM just doesn't measure up to the hype they make for it. It is a moderately effective meditation that many teachers say has a dropout rate of up to 90% in the first few months. **It doesn't produce enlightened people, which is one of the reasons the Movement no longer advertises that it will lead to enlightenment.** The practice often leads to mental/emotional problems, which is one of the downsides I think Rick is ignoring when he says the Movement is doing good in the world. I agree that some seem to benefit from it, but to see the entire effect, one has to look at the whole picture and to ignore those who have mental and emotional problems that even lead to suicide is to ignore the whole effect of TM on the population of the world. I don't know of other meditations that can lead to the unstressing you have with TM. In addition the absurd mental states the Movement actively encourages that Sal has commented on leads a lot of people to having major life problems with health, relationships and money. When you encourage people to believe whatever the Movement tells you, when they claim a man has a cigarette addiction because he's a siddha and is self referral and expect you to believe it they are engaging in mind manipulation and really encouraging people to be psychotic or to put it more nicely teaching them to be mind numbed sheep holding their wallets out to the Movement. This is not doing good in the world. They love to sell TM by implying that if you do TM, you will be as successful as the celebrities they love to parade before the cameras on David Lynch fund raisers. They ignore the rough edges of some of them like Lynch, Brand and Stern. They absolutely ignore and hide from the enormities of people like Robin Carlsen, Andy Rhymer, Stephen Collins, Bloomfield, Wallace's ex-wife who shot a woman during program in Los Angeles, Shuvender Shem who murdered Levi Butler right in Annapurna dining hall at MUM. Let's look at the whole picture. I appreciate much Rick has done on many levels but I think he is still wearing blinders about Marshy and about the Movement. Let's look at the whole picture. Look at all the people who say TM is an asset, look at those who think it is a fine thing and then look with the same objective view at those who say it ruined their lives, that it screwed them up in many ways. Both camps are telling the truth. One is not right and the other wrong. Both things are true. Look objectively at both sides, both camps and you have a picture of a meditation technique that taken in moderation and not expecting too much from it will yield positive results for some. When it is taught in the WAY MARSHY himself taught it and the way the Movement continues to teach it it is definitely doing damage to the world. Take out the lies, the bullshit and the Hindu superstitions and practices and its ok, otherwise not so ok.
