The Transcendental Meditation Movement

The Transcendental Meditation (TM) Movement and its offshoots are examined, including its history, appeal for the youth culture of the 1960s, marketing as a scientifically endorsed practice, and dramatic turn inward in the 1980s. It discusses the movement's waning popular appeal in the new millennium and how it distilled into an obscure form of Neo-Hinduism.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 75 pages
Publication date: 09 February 2023
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

The Transcendental Meditation (TM) Movement and its offshoots have been the subject of extensive analysis and discussion. While some early assessments may be brief and somewhat dated, they provide valuable insights into the movement's origins and development. This Element examines the TM movement's history, beginning in India in 1955 and ending with an analysis of the splinter groups that have emerged in the past twenty-five years.

Close attention is given to the movement's appeal to the youth culture of the 1960s, which contributed to its initial success. The Element also explores the marketing of the meditation technique as a scientifically endorsed practice in the 1970s and the movement's dramatic turn inward during the 1980s.

The Element concludes by discussing the waning of the TM movement's popular appeal in the new millennium. It describes the social and cultural forces that shaped the TM movement's trajectory over the decades leading to the present and demonstrates how the most popular meditation movement in America distilled into an obscure form of Neo-Hinduism.

The TM movement has had a significant impact on society and culture, and its history is a fascinating study of human behavior and spirituality. By examining the movement's origins, development, and evolution, we can gain a deeper understanding of the forces that shape our world and the ways in which individuals can find meaning and purpose in their lives.

ISBN-13: 9781009365499