Maharishi claims that through TM these states of consciousness can be reached within a few years as opposed to many years or a lifetime of practice in yoga or Zen. Other differences between TM and traditional Eastern meditative teachings are that there is no renunciation of the ordinary world in order to achieve these enlightened states. Maharishi recognizes the importance of well being and living in the world, but not being attached to it. It is estimated that in the mid-970s TM had about a million practitioners. He founded the International Meditation Society and the Maharishi International University based in Iowa and Switzerland.
Most practitioners reside in the United States, Canada and West Germany.