Student Mind Clearing

Now Religion in the News, a report and comment on religious trends and events being covered by the media.This week’s item is from GlobalGoodNews.Com, May 5, 2007, with a headline:Clear your mind with TM, the following are excerpts:On May 5, 2006, any aid today reported the David Lynch Foundation has donated $150,000 to introduce a scientifically validated program to improve U. S. education.The May issue of The National Education Association’s magazine reported that 6 public schools will receive $25,000 each so that they can offer the Transcendental Meditation technique to their students.It is a joy for Global Good News Service to feature this news which indicates the success of the life supporting programs Maharishi has designed to bring fulfillment to the field of education.Students and teachers at the schools will practice the TM technique for about 10 minutes each day.The article reports that the Transcendental Meditation technique improves both well being and academic performance of students.NEA Today cited two recent studies; one found that 6^th graders had higher self esteem and more control over emotions aftermeditating.The other found lower blood pressure in high school students who practiced the Transcendental Meditation technique.The first study was conducted by researchers in Michigan, the second by a researcher from the Medical College of Georgia.

Tom:

Dave, this article is from the magazine of TM, Global Good News.Okay, it’s not good news, it’s really bad news!But it’s interesting what they do is they look around the world, survey things going on in the world, and then they try and take credit for it.Because it has really happened because of all the meditaters that are working day and night to solve the world’s problems.You know, I have a thought about this.You know, when we had problems, and certainly our airlines, United, Delta and so on, they have gone through all kinds of problems related to the terrorism, but it’smade it difficult to fly places.Now, doesn’t TM, doesn’t the Maharishi offer a program in levitating?Why don’t we hear reports from the Global Good News about how successful the levitation program is going and we could avoid having to take flights here and there, I mean, just levitate to different places.

Dave:

Yeah Tom, on the one hand it’s absurd, on the other hand it’s tragic, because people get into this.

Tom:

Then they get people to spend thousands of dollars to go to—not just take TM, but to develop these techniques, which are bogus.

Dave:

Right, and I haven’t seen Maharishi levitate.The Master, you would think that he could really zoom around the world; he travels in helicopters and airplanes.Hinduism says—well, yoga is an escape from time in the elements, this is the goal, self realization.You think that he would have realized that by now, but he still has to use an umbrella to keep the rain off, he still has to eat, and so forth, take care of his bodily functions the same as anyone else.I haven’t seen any evidence that he is any more advanced than anyone else.So, why do people believe this?

Tom:

Well, more importantly, why does the National Education Association put up this grant?

Dave:

Because, as you said earlier, Tom, he changed from Spiritual Regeneration Movement to the science of Transcendental Meditation.So now, look, if they are into science, it’s a religion, but Christianity is thrown out from the public schools.

Tom:

And whose paying for this, Dave?We are, anybody who supports public education.I would think that funds go to the NEA, or maybe through the teacher’s salaries, through union dues, and so on.I mean, I’m not sure, but nevertheless, monies, this figure of $150,000—well, here we have the David Lynch Foundation.

Dave:

They donated it.

Tom:

They donated that but I would think other money has come into it through the NEA.

Dave:

Well, but the NEA has its membership costs, and so forth.I can’t say that this is directly, that any tax money has gone into this particular program, but the tax money has gone into our public schools, into the teacher’s salaries so they can supposedly be teaching the children what we used to call Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, the three R’s.Instead,they’re spending their time on this sort of thing, and, well okay, so there’s a donation from this foundation to pay for this.I don’t know what it pays for, probably for TM instructors, and so forth, but it’s not paying for the time, and they are taking time out of public education to teach Hinduism, what it really is.It’s a religion, it violates the separation of church and state, it violates fairness.Well, if you can’t have Christianity, why should we have Hinduism?

Tom:

Well Dave, we have a meditation technique here that’s being taught, couldn’t our teacher just say, Listen, we’re going to open our Bibles to the Psalms, and we’re going to meditate to calm ourselves down.What’s wrong with that?

Dave:

Well, because that’s religion, that’s Christianity.Tom, let’s a word about meditation because Transcendental Meditation, this is Eastern meditation, and the West contemplation.You just quoted from Psalm 1, “In His law doth He meditate day and night.”In the East it’s the opposite, you tune it out, and you get your mind into a relaxed, blank state and that’s when the Hindu demons can come in and take over.So Tom, the delusion, the deception is just horrific!

Tom:

Well, Dave, we just hope that people would be alerted to these things.They can check it out, they can go to Iowa where the TM has their own university, the Maharishihas his own university, and so on.Check it out on line, this is religion, this is Hinduism, and this is antithetical to biblical Christianity.

Dave:

A little common sense and a little Bible reading will clarify it very well.