Question
dear david,
after quite a long gap, i again started practising TM.
during this long gap, i studied and went through numerous other meditation methods, traditions and practises.each of them claim the results of practising their prescribed techniques to be the highest.
i just fail to understand how a simple method of 20 minutes can be more efficient than meditating on chakras, pranayamas, yoga techniques, vipassana etc etc...i just fail to understand howit can be so easy and so simple?
if you can, please explain the concepts of maharishi about all these these things.
and how important is TM Siddhi?
is it one step ahead for those who have been practising TM?
is it enough just to learn and practise TM alone or is it also important to learn TM Siddhi in the future?
is the course expensive?
do we have to qualify for this course?
thank you
Answer
siddartha, Thank you for your questions.
Please understand that AllExperts is a public forum. Therefore, I can only give general answers here. Personal or private questions may be directed to me at www.nsrusa.org/contact.php .
"after quite a long gap, i again started practising TM."
Congratulations on returning. As you know, TM has a free lifetime follow up program. If you have not already contacted your local center or teacher, you should do so and have your meditation checked. This will give you the best restart.
"during this long gap, i studied and went through numerous other meditation methods, traditions and practises."
It is natural to seek more in life. If we have not gone for checking regularly, there is always a possibility that we have forgotten some aspect or changed something about how we practice Transcendental Meditation. In such cases, naturally we will be dissatisfied and look elsewhere. Incorrect meditation will not be satisfying because it will no longer provide the physiological experience of transcending. Transcending is enjoyable and results in positive transformation in our daily life.
"each of them claim the results of practising their prescribed techniques to be the highest."
If the only technique you know about to improve life is sleeping at night, then you may claim that sleeping is the highest and best technique. A better criterion for comparing techniques is scientific research. Over a hundred peer-reviewed studies and meta studies have repeatedly confirmed Transcendental Meditation effective in normalizing the body and mind, bringing natural deep rest that dissolves even deep-rooted stress stored in the nervous system.
"i just fail to understand how a simple method of 20 minutes can be more efficient than meditating on chakras, pranayamas, yoga techniques, vipassana etc etc...i just fail to understand howit can be so easy and so simple?"
Simplicity is the hallmark of all that is natural and good. Fortunately, your failure to understand does not prevent TM from working. Transcending is a natural mental and physiological function of the nervous system, as natural as waking, dreaming, or deep sleep. It gradually eliminates stress, bringing us directly to the experience of unbounded bliss consciousness, which is the goal of all of those other techniques and systems.
"if you can, please explain the concepts of maharishi about all these these things."
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi taught that at the source of all the hundreds or thousands of thoughts we have every day is an unbounded field of creative intelligence. As a gardener waters the root in order to make the whole plant strong, so we practice transcending for a few minutes twice a day to bring refreshment to the root of our life, which is pure consciousness. Of course, he said a great deal more, but everything else is just further explanation of this basic principle.
"and how important is TM Siddhi? is it one step ahead for those who have been practising TM?"
The TM-Sidhi Program is useful for those who have been transcending for awhile and are familiar with the inner silence from which all thoughts flow. In the TM-Sidhi Program we start with that silence and make it lively. This inner liveliness brings about certain outer changes, as predicted by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras, written thousands of years ago and surviving because of its repeated verification in the lives of countless practitioners of Yoga. While TM dissolves stress, the TM-Sidhi Program positively crushes it, giving us waves of bliss during the practice, and much faster positive changes in our daily lives.
"is it enough just to learn and practise TM alone or is it also important to learn TM Siddhi in the future?"
Both. It is enough to practice a transcending technique, because transcending is sufficient to dissolve any stress we have. It is also valuable to learn the TM-Sidhi Program because it is so much more efficient and enjoyable.
"is the course expensive?"
Yes. Since the course takes much more time to learn, including several weeks in residence, it costs several thousand dollars (U.S.). Although varying degrees of knowledge of the Yoga Sutras is fairly common in spiritual communities, the quality of teaching in the TM-Sidhi Course is not; there is as yet no effective substitute. Part of the hidden expense of the course may be considered to be the longer amount of time needed to practice it: 2-3 hours a day instead of 40 minutes a day. Remarkably, practitioners find that the additional time is well worth spending.
"do we have to qualify for this course?"
Most definitely. If you were to learn the core technique before you are ready, nothing will happen. You must be able to hold a thought in the gap between silence (pure awareness) and activity (the faintest impulse of individual activity). This ability comes naturally with a few months or years of regular practice of transcending. Without that ability, nothing will happen. Most of us simply have too much stress stored in our nervous system for us to maintain clear thought along with unbounded, pure, silent awareness.
"thank you"
You are quite welcome. I wish you luck in your journey.
Please feel free to submit follow up questions, if needed.
David Spector
President,
NSR Meditation/USA
References:
Further information about TM: www.tm.org
Further information about the TM-Sidhi Program: www.tm.org/sidhi
Further information about NSR Meditation: www.nsrusa.org
