Save the Perishing Blog

On March 28, 2011 Jay Leno had guest star Russell Brand, the actor from the new Arthur movie.  What caught my attention was Russell’s comments on a meditation technique he uses called “Transcendental Meditation” or TM for short.

Jay Leno: “Now I want to ask you about something I heard.  I found this fascinating.  I heard that you meditate.  Now you seem like someone who is constantly on the go knees bobbing up and down, can’t sit still.  How do you meditate?”

Russell Brand: “Well easy, you sit still and you are given a mantra by someone who teaches you.  I do Transcendental  Meditation.  They give you a mantra and you repeat it in your mind.  First of all you are trying to meditate and keep thinking things like… a… it was strange as a little boy I wonder if I should put a hat on the cat?  (laughter) But then…you shouldn’t.  But then eventually your mind relents and a kind of peace comes over you and you recognize that we are all one and its very beautiful.

Jay Leno: “Now how long does it take you to reach this state?”

Russell Brand: “I do this 20 minutes twice a day.”

Jay Leno: “Do you get ideas or is your mind empty?  I mean, do you think of things?”

Russell Brand: “Mostly your mind is empty and you feel this tremendous sense of unity.  And you think wow I exist without desire, I exist without fear, and without my ideas of myself.   That’s a very beautiful realization.  Also sometimes really good ideas come to you.  I once thought of a movie idea and it was a GOOD idea and I sold it.”

Jay Leno: “You sold it based on this 20 minute…”

Russell Brand: “Yeah, an idea came into my mind and I thought that is a good idea.  I borrowed it from the universe but the universe don’t have a bank account.”

Jay Leno: “See I find that fascinating do you really think I should try it?  Can you give me a mantra during the break?”

Russell Brand: “I can’t give you a mantra and I can’t tell you mine, its private, like your pin code for the ATM.  It really bugs you because you want to tell people but you can’t.”

Jay Leno: “If I knew your mantra could I get into your head and steal that idea?”

Russell Brand: (pointing to his head) “You won’t like it in there Jay.”

What they tell you TM can do

A man named Mararishi Mahesh Yogi brought TM to the West in the 1960s.  At first TM was promoted as a religious practice and because of that westerners were turned off by the concept.  Mararishi noticed this so he rebranded TM as a “scientific practice” instead of a Hindu religious practice.   This made it more accepting to Americans.

TM claims to use one hundred percent of our mental potential, provide excellent physical health, naturally correct social behavior and if everyone in the world practiced it, there would be no more wars and we would experience world peace for the first time!  People who practice TM do report some physical benefits such as a relaxed attitude, an increase in energy levels during the day, and it promised the highest possible attainment of human development without effort.

A book written by R.D, Scott entitled “Transcendental Misconceptions” discusses the side of TM the practitioners do not want you to know.  The author is a former TM teacher who studied and trained under Mararishi.

What is the Mantra?

Russell Brand says the mantra he was given is special only to him and its private.  However R.D. Scott, who was a TM teacher, discovered that its not private, its given to others, and the process for deriving the name is simply a formula based on their age, not esoteric teachings from 5,000 years ago.  The mantra is also the code-word of a hindu deity and repeating it is a way for you to open your mind to possession by that deity!

What they don’t tell you

“Meditators have been lied to on many occasions throughout their contact with the TM movement, and the deception about mantras is one of the more insidious lies.”

When people are introduced to the practice of TM they are taught:

1)      The TM technique is not religious.

2)      A meaningless sound is the basis of the technique.

3)      A secular ceremony of gratitude is performed during the instruction.

4)      The student is not required to participate in the ceremony.

However behind the scenes R.D. Scott found out the opposite is true:

1)      The puja ceremony is clearly religious.

2)      The mantras are also religious.

3)      The mantras are not meaningless.  They are the code-names of Hindu deities and provide the means for worshipping those deities.

4)      The puja ceremony is clearly identified as an invocation of “the Holy Tradition,” so it is not merely a secular expression of gratitude.

5)      The student is definitely a participate in the ceremony.  He provides the fruit, flowers and handkerchief used in the ceremony, and must take part in both word and deed if he wishes to be initiated.

6)      Maharishi has admitted that the mantras are representative of the same gods worshipped and invoked during the puja.

7)      The gods will in turn supply the worshipper with numerous material benefits and rewards in return for the devotional act of bowing down and giving worship to them in both the puja and the meditation itself.

8)      The mantras will not work without the puja being performed before they are imparted. “
Transcendental Misconceptions
page 98-99

Material Benefits in Exchange for Worship?

I will now steer your attention to item 7 in the above list.  It indicates the gods, who are being worshipped in meditation, will supply material benefits and rewards.  As I have said previously Russell Brand is an actor in Hollywood.  What would be a nice reward for an actor in Hollywood?  Why a script for a new movie would be nice!  And thats exactly what they gave Russell Brand.

Sounds like Russell is being manipulated by keeping him interested in TM so he can do MORE meditation.  The gift is an incentive to keep him on the wrong path?

Demonic Possession?

The human brain, in its normal state of awareness, has a natural resistance to being possessed or taken over by a spirit. TM loosens the connection between your physical brain and spirit, which will allow other intelligent beings to enter in.  Reports of meditators seeing demonic creatures are more common than readily admitted publicly.  These experiences are usually brushed aside with various explanations and because the students have complete trust in their TM teachers, no questions are asked and no further investigations are done to determine what exactly is going on.

“Eric, who attended a course with me, had the experience of literally being thrown across the room and onto the floor from his quiet meditative pose on his bed…A young girl reported seeing a large pair of green eyes floating around her room, staring at her.  She ran out of the room, terrified of the experience.  Maharishi assued her it wasnothing to worry about.  ‘Just some unstressing’ he would say. “
Transcendental Misconceptions
page 38

Another young female initiator had an encounter with an entity. “The girl claimed that during meditation a demonic creature jumped down her throat, temporarily possessing her.  She was terrified and refused to meditate again.”
Transcendental Misconceptions
page 118

“In January, 1973, five months after my wife began to practice TM, she had an unsettling experience.  She was driving to work, traveling at moderate speed, perhaps forty miles per hour, when she felt the car swerve uncontrollably back and forth and then the car was bounced up and down.  The road was smooth and the shock absorbers were in good condition, so she didn’t understand the reason for the movements.  Then on the right front fender of the car she saw a short, squat, ghoulish creature with a high strained forehead and bulging, blaring eyes.  It was looking through the windshield directly at her!  She was absolutely terrified and looked away.  When she looked again, it was gone…I was not shocked with my wife’s sighting of a demonic creature.  During my years of association with the TM movement I had heard many stories of similar unusual sightings.  Stuart, a very close friend and initiator, saw a procession of spirits above the puja table every time he performed the ceremony.  He described some of these creatures as being orbs of light, occasionally calling them angels.

My wife also began to see the creatures of light floating above the puja table and on other occasions floating through walls, doors, and rooms.  Some may dismiss this as mere suggestibility, but on occasion I have witnessed Stuart and my wife both seeing the same procession of spirit creatures simultaneously and without any advance warning or notice being given by one to the other.”
Transcendental Misconceptions
page 119

“There was a widespread belief among many initiators after the course that each of us had picked up at least one and perhaps two or three ‘guardian angels’ upon becoming initiators.  Driving back across the country to Connecticut after the Estes Park course ended, one of my traveling companions commented that he felt such a presence with us.  And if, as Maharishi says, they want to be able to experience the same unification of the relative physical plane along with the ‘absolute spiritual plane,’ what better way than to use the passive meditators as mediums and take possession of them and experience that ‘harmony’ through them?”
Transcendental Misconceptions
page 121

The author asks the question “Is TM a road leading to demonic possession?  Maharishi’s explanation of the TM experience in terms of progressive refinement of the nervous system through stress release does not adequently explain the existence of the deceitful practices, lack of human concern, negative social behavior, spiritual greed, spiritual pride, dishonesty and other negative traits found among long-time TM practitioners who should be displaying quite the opposite qualities if they are indeed growing in true spirituality.

My reason and experience have led me to conclude that TM stems from the teachings of the angel of light (satan) and is therefore part of a vast plan for demonic deception leading to demonic possession.  I feel  that this explanation of the TM experience provides a more solid rationale for the lack of positive qualities in the long-time meditators and for the deceitful and dishonest practices of the TM movement than does Maharishi’s pseudoscientific explanation, and I offer it for your consideration.”
Transcendental Misconceptions
page 129

Dave the bible friend

One day a mutual friend Dave, who is a Christian, had a discussion with the R.D. Scott while he was still practicing TM.  Dave told him TM is opposed to the bible and he should read it.  “During that discussion I tried to explain to Dave that learning about the Bible wouldn’t make any significant impact on living unless the state of cosmic consciousness was achieved first.  I emphasized the importance of the level of consciousness with relation to gaining enlightenment and gaining God’s favor.  The usual  reaction of people upon hearing  the TM level-of-consciousness-is-most-important pitch is either to be in awe, to be confused, or to respond with some equally quasi-philosophical retort in agreement with the TM view.  Dave’s reply left me with no comeback.  He said that he couldn’t care less about cosmic consciousness, that it didn’t impress him, that as far as he could see Jesus never seemed one bit concerned about what level of consciousness his followers were in, and that what seemed important to him was honesty, truth and whether or not there was a real concern to follow God’s rules as taught in the Bible.”
Transcendental Misconceptions
page 139-140

Conclusion

“During the next few weeks my mind played through the previous years of association with TM, and I began to see only too clearly that the rule seemed to be the deception of the public, the dishonest, the arrogance, the spiritual greed and the spiritual pride of the movement leaders and initiators. “
Transcendental Misconceptions
page 139-140

I would urge anyone who is involved in meditative practices to read the book “Transcendental Misconceptions” by R.D. Scott and study the topic more thoroughly.  Practicing TM is opening your mind to the influence of demonic spirits who want to destroy you.

Instead believe in the true God who created you, and loved you enough to die on a cross for you, taking the punishment you deserve for worshipping the false gods of TM.  Trust in Him and Him alone and God will make you enlightened, He will save you from judgement and you will spend eternity with Him in heaven when you die.  The true God is not trying to trick or deceive you.  He loves you and wants you to turn from your sins and worship Him in Spirit and in truth.

Please do not be deceived by spirits who hate you and want your destruction.  Spirits who want to control your mind in order to fulfill their own agendas.  I hope and pray Russell Brand does the same.

While it is true TM provides temporary benefits here on earth what does that matter when eternity awaits you?

Mark 8:36
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?

Please consult this resource for further information on TM and the New Age.