From: avi@seal.imagen.com
Newsgroups: alt.meditation.transcendental
Subject: Re: List/Review of Books about TM and Ayurveda
Date: 24 Jul 92 00:15:59 GMT
Reply-To: avi@seal.imagen.com (avi zelmanov)
Organization: imagen

>Mike Doughney writes:
>From "The Science of Being and Art of Living"....
>THE PERSONAL ASPECT OF GOD
>
>God in personal form is the supreme Being of almighty nature.  It is
>not 'It' but can only be 'He' or 'She'.  'He' or 'She' has a specific
>form, a specific nature, certain attributes and certain qualities.
>..........
>The mechanical path to God-realization as found in transcendental
>meditation is so simple and comprehensive in its results that it
>attracts all lovers of God and seekers after truth proceeding on any of
>the paths to God-realization
>.........
>I have read the book; sure as hell looks like a religious text to me,

Your quotes SUPPORT my point exactly, that TM is    N O T   a religion.
Let me explain why.

When somebody talks about God it doesn't make him religious. Many if not most
Western Philosophers throught time (all the way back to Greek philosophy, 
possibly even earlier) talked about God, discussing the possibilty or 
impossibility of His/Hers existence, and possible attributes if He/She exists.

This does NOT make any of them to be religious, nor does it make their 
books a religious text.

As a matter of fact, many philosophers are notoriously known to be NOT just
NON-religious but very often Anti-religious as they oppose any dogmatic thinking
even if they agree on the existence of God.

The difference between Philosophy and Religion when they deal with God has to
do with Religion claiming to be a representative of God and its teachings - 
and very often the ONLY representative, and will prescribe moral codes i.e.
a list of DO's and DONT's. 

Western Philosophy will try to understand God and certain aspects of Him/Her. 
Eastern Philosophy does the same although their realization of God is NOT 
encouraged to be done on the Thinking Level, but rather on the 
Experiencial level. 

As an example, a Japanese Zen philosopher (Can't remember his name, maybe
Dr. Suzuki but I might be wrong) once said that a Western Philosopher will
pick a flower in the field, analyze its colors, texture, smell, weight,
etc. while an Eastern Philosopher may not pick up the flower (i.e. not
tear it and observe it objectively) but will try to be one with it, 
to feel like a flower, to see like a flower, etc.

In a similar fashion, Maharishi, here as an Eastern/Vedic philosopher
observes God or the reality of the impersonal aspect of God from the
Experiencial level, of blending in it and becoming one with it 
(i.e. God Realization) while in talking about the personal aspect of God,
Maharishi chooses the western approach, of objective analysis.

In NEITHER case it is a religious teaching but a philosophical one ! 

Nowhere does maharishi tell you of "commandments" of "thou shall" or 
"thou shall not". No moral codes, no right or wrong, no religious dogma.

Neither does Maharishi claim to be a sole representative of God such
as Moses, Jesus or Mohammed. 

Further, there is no worship/prayer in TM (other than symbolically being 
grateful for the wisdom of the teachers, which in itself is not religious 
and is not required from the meditator). 

As a matter of fact, Maharishi encourages (but does not require)
each TM-er to stick with his or her own religion and traditions,
no matter what it is. (Sorry I can't give you the page # of that
quote but its in the same book you quoted: "The Science of Being and 
Art of Living" and is probably under the chapter dealing with religion)
Additionaly, some TM-ers are NON-religious or even atheistic.

The beauty of TM is that its a technique, and thus does not require faith
of any kind. It will work whether you believe in it or not. It just takes
practice and time. Being a technique, as opposed to faith, also means
that its compatible (and non-contradictory) to ANY faith, just like a 
technique to transplant liver or to design software is compatible and
non-contradictory with any faith.

I personally know of 2 men, one's a Catholic priest the other's a Jewish 
teacher in a rabbinical school (Yeshiva) who are TM meditators, 
the first one being even a Siddha.