Relationship of Transcendental Meditation and Yoga: A 1965 Interview With Maharishi
Q: Maharishi, do your teachings or beliefs bear any relation at all to yoga?
Oh yes, of course. Essentially, it is yoga. It is the mind which is brought to the field of being, the union of the outer aspect of life with the inner aspect, which is bliss, consciousness. It is Yoga. But yoga has many, many aspects to it, and that is why I don’t name it as yoga, because yoga is very much misunderstood in the west. People think some exercises, some standing on the head. It is a very high, higher aspect of yoga which directly deals with the mind and its union with the inner divine nature.
Q: And yet you say that you can teach people your method of meditation in just a few moments, just a few minutes?
Right!…. It’s very easy, because the inner aspects of life are more charming bliss. Consciousness lies within and the mind is naturally directed to the field of greater happiness.
Q: How does this affect a person? Then mentally or physically?
It brings anchorage to his outer life of activity. The ship (is) always tossing on the surface of the water, and when it is anchored, it becomes stable. If the mind is not anchored to the inner state of being, then the life will always be under stress and strain.
Q: How does one practice this bliss consciousness?
We don’t think of bliss consciousness or anything we don’t think of anything. In this meditation, what I call Transcendental Meditation, the mind experiences the subtle state of the thought and arrives at the source of thought. This source of thought is the field of being… and experiencing this being the mind gets in tune with infinite source of energy and intelligence. Mind comes out much fresher, much more intelligent, much more dynamic.
In this meditation, we don’t pose any unnatural situation. The mind very calmly and quietly and very positively experiences the subtle state of the thought, arriving at the subtlest state of the thought, experiencing the source of thought, which is being.
Q: Now you’ve said (it) a couple of times; what exactly do you mean (by) the source of thought?
See, the thought rises as an air bubble rises from the bottom of the sea, and as it comes up, it becomes bigger and is appreciated on the surface as a bubble. Thought rises from the deepest level of the mind, and as the bubble of thought rises up, it becomes bigger and bigger and bigger and then coming up on the conscious thinking level, it is appreciated as a thought.
In this practice of Transcendental Meditation, the mind experiences the subtler state of the thought and arrives at the source of thought and as the surface activity of the conscious mind contacts the deeper levels of the mind, then the thought waves become much more powerful.
Q: And to what end, to what benefit?
Full capacity of the mind begins to be used for every thought. A wave on the surface is so deep it has that much strength. If it makes connection with the deeper level of water, every wave becomes strong. So the mind thinks whatever he thinks is the level of his conscious mind. But if the conscious mind contacts the deeper levels of the mind, then every thought wave will become very, very powerful, and this is directly to enable a man to use his full mental potential. You know, in psychology, people say these days that man uses only a small portion of his mind. Now, this Transcendental Meditation is a way to enable a man, in a very easy manner, to begin to use his full mental potential. The whole personality becomes powerful at the same time, more peaceful and happy.
Learn to transcend to the state of mind called Yoga. Contact a TM teacher.
About the Author
Janet Hoffman is the executive director of TM for Women Professionals, a division of TM for Women in the USA
