Students at the Maharishi School of Management are protesting the prospect of military action in Iraq not with rallies or slogans but with meditation.
“(Transcendental meditation) is a simple, effortless technique that allows the mind to settle down and transcend the thinking process,” said Jamie Grant, co-dean of school’s College of Arts and Sciences. “It promotes higher levels of well-being.”
The tiny college located in Fairfield, Iowa, was founded in 1971 by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who started a worldwide spiritual regeneration movement in the mid-1950s. The school’s mission is to provide “success without stress” in programs for undergraduate and graduate degrees — and to teach transcendental meditation.
The approach of meditation is based on appealing to a human unity or oneness, and one who experiences the unity by meditating radiates a positive influence into the environment, Grant said.
A large enough group can generate a “field of harmony” and can supposedly reduce violence and crime.
At a time when the United States is talking about going to war, meditation can serve a calming role, Grant said.
According to Maharishi’s Web site, The Journal of Social Behavior and Personality will soon report how this approach reduced international terrorism by 72 percent in the 1980s.
Despite the statistics, a member of Northwestern’s anti-war movement said she is skeptical that meditation could lead to worldwide peace.
“I think meditation just allows you to focus just on your personal life,” said Sara Kaufman, a Communication freshman and member of Northwestern Opposing War and Racism. “I guess (meditating for peace) is possible, but I believe in sort of the quiet ‘Quaker’ meeting where people can stand up and say what they want as the best way of reaching peace and consensus.”
Transcendental meditation started to gain a following in the United States in the 1960s. It spread to many institutions of higher learning, and courses focused on its theory are taught at Harvard and Yale.
Grant said most academic learning depends on the alertness, stimulation and engagement of the student, and transcendental meditation is a rational way to foster this awareness.
At Maharishi, students take a block schedule of one course at a time for four weeks. Each of the 734 students also is required to attend a morning and afternoon session of transcendental meditation each day.
Grant said students appreciate a school where meditation is a prominent part of the curriculum.
Medill lecturer Michele Weldon said the meditation practices at Maharishi can do more than guard against war. She thinks the calming presence of meditation might help NU students in dealing with everyday stresses.
“Students just freak out about grades,” Weldon said. “Just to know how to stop and breathe and focus would ease the panic.”
Some NU students, aware of the constant focus on “making the grade,” said they would welcome some of Maharishi’s ideas.
“Meditation might be helpful to students when managing stress,” said Patti NՀ
