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StJ’s Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements
WORLD PLAN EXECUTIVE COUNCIL 1 J. Gordon Melton
The World Plan Executive Council is the major organization behind the spread of the practice of Transcendental Meditation (TM) around the world from its point of origin in India. The practice of TM is generally ascribed to Guru Dev, the teacher of Maharishi Mehesh Yogi, who in turn emerged in 1958 with the mission of telling the world about the benefits of engaging in meditation. Maharishi had spent thirteen years with his teacher prior to his public career. In 1959, Maharishi made his first world tour during which he introduced TM to the West. He had spectacular success, in part due to the endorsement by several celebrities, most notably the Beatles. In 1972, he announced the World Plan, the overall strategy for spreading TM, and its theoretical base, the Science of Creative Intelligence. Maharishi argues that TM is not a religious practice and that the Science of Creative Intelligence is secular science, not a religious philosophy. Based upon that understanding, the practice of TM has been introduced into many countries with the backing and assistance of secular governments from Zimbabwe to Romania. However, in other places, most notably the United States, it has been seen as a religious activity and government support denied. TM is a form of japa yoga, a meditation technique used in both the Hindu and Sikh/Sat Mat traditions. Mediation is accompanied with the repetition of a sound constantly repeated silently to oneself. The sound, called a mantra, is given to the person at the time of initiation into the practice. The particular sound is determined by the gender and age of the initiate. According to the Science of Creative Intelligence, the universe is underlain by an absolute field of pure being—unmanifested and transcendental. Science teaches how to contact this underlying reality, pure being, via meditation. The ultimate goal is God-realization. This Science of Creative Intelligence is seen as the summation of the wisdom of India. A
1 Originally published in J. Gordon Melton and Martin Baumann, Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices. 4 vols. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio, 2002. Used with permission.
World Plan Executive Council
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significant amount of research now supports the value of meditation and its healthful effects on the body. The World Executive Council is structured in a number of divisions. The International Meditation Society introduces the general public to meditation. The Student International Meditation Society focuses on young adults, while the Spiritual Regeneration Movement focuses on older adults. The Foundation for Creative Intelligence works with the business community. Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa, offers a four-year college curriculum with instruction integrated with the practice of TM. The Natural Law Party functions as a new political party that runs candidates for office in those countries where it is allowed to operate. The Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health has introduced a version of the Indian ayurvedic system of medical treatment to the west. The Global Country of World Peace, a nation without borders, approaches the concerns of world peace by focusing upon the divisive influence of nationalism and national borders on human society. As the new century begins, it is claimed that more than five million people practice TM and many more have been initiated. There are more than forty thousand teachers of TM. TM is now taught in centers throughout the world. The World Executive Council has continually developed new programs to facilitate the permeation of all realms of society with the practice of TM and has developed an extensive Internet presence. The most controversial practices espoused by the council is the TM-Sidhi Program, which claims to teach people to levitate, a practice called yogic flying. The skepticism of such claims, including the accusations of people who took the program and refuted its effectiveness, have undermined the council’s credibility in many quarters. Address: World Plan Executive Council Administrative Center Seelisburg, Switzerland http://www.tm.org http://www.alltm.org/