--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "sparaig" <sparaig@> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "hgiammarco" <HEYPHILA@> wrote: > > > > > > Why does T/M cost so much to join? A little help? > > > > MMY decided to target the elite since they are the most > > influential members of society and most likely to be able > > to donate large sums of money if they are so inclined. > > And as a result of this focus, the number of people > learning TM has plunged to near-zero worldwide, > indicating that what Maharishi seems to be most > interested in is money, and *not* in helping people > by teaching them a valuable technique of meditation. > > An interesting "test case" seems to be about to take > place in the Florida courts, in which the organization > that claims it wants to spread TM to as many people as > possible is suing a TM teacher who is teaching TM for > the price he's always taught it. > > He has not only refused to raise his prices because the > TM organization demands that he do so, he has refused > to pay that organization several thousand dollars to > be "recertified" at teaching something he was fully > certified to teach years ago. It should be interesting > to see how the TM organization defends its position in > court. > > The fascinating exchange in that case, in my opinion, is > going to be when the fellow's lawyer asks the "official, > recertified" teachers, under oath, how many people have > been instructed in TM *in the entire world* in the last > year at the "official" price, and that number turns out > to be less than the number of people that the teacher > they are suing has taught in one small town in Florida > during the same period. > > The bottom line is that "TM" is just a brand name for a > made-up technique of meditation that is (in my opinion > as a former TM teacher) no better than any other tech- > nique of meditation, less effective than many, and more > likely to produce negative side effects than most. Shop > around...you'll find that there are people out there who > still care more about helping people by teaching them a > useful technique of meditation for free or at a reason- > able price than they care about making money. But you > won't find them in the TM movement. >
Although I disagree with you on virtually everything you say in the last paragraph, I do agree with you that the "bottom line" as far as the court case goes is the issue of "brand name". An organisation -- for-profit or not for-profit -- must be secure in knowing that their product or service -- no matter how bad that product or service is or has become or how cheap or expensive it is or has become -- can be distinguished by consumers in the marketplace from other products or service offered. That's what the case is all about; nothing more, nothing less. What I will find of interest in the case is to what DEGREE the defendent will be allowed to use "TM", "Transcendental Meditation", "Maharishi Mahesh Yogi", "as taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi" in his advertising and literature. If I were one of those independent teachers, I would formulate my advertising as follows: WHAT'S BETTER: TM OR TM-INDEPENDENT? TM: $2,500 TM-INDEPENDENT: $300 ...and then, at the bottom of the ad, put in MMY's own words: "Maharishi: What I have taught, because it has it's eternal authenticity in the vedic literature and you should know that, how many? 30 - 40 thousand teachers of TM I have trained and many of them have gone on their own and they may not call it Maharishi's TM but they are teaching it in some different name here and there. So there's a lot of these, artificial things are going on, doesn't matter, as long as the man is getting something useful to make his life better, we are satisfied." ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Join modern day disciples reach the disfigured and poor with hope and healing http://us.click.yahoo.com/lMct6A/Vp3LAA/i1hLAA/UlWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
