Meditation and Religion in Middle America

What is it about?

Tiny Fairfield, Iowa, became the unlikely American home of Transcendental Meditation (TM) in the 1970s, when followers bought a bankrupt Presbyterian college and turned it into the Maharishi University of Management. Today, two thousand or so devotees in town continue to adhere, in varying degrees, to the teachings of the tm movement’s guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who died in 2008. But long gone are the days when college-age baby boomers flocked to TM by the tens of thousands—even as meditation of all sorts surges in popularity across the United States. The movement has been in decline. Part of the reason for the movement’s decline is an unsettled argument over whether TM constitutes a religion, particularly one that competes with Western faiths. Can adherents practice Judeo Christian religions while hewing to the late Hindu master’s teachings? Or must one choose? One way to explore the issue is to look at how TM and various religions interact in Fairfield, as well as how the movement has fared in other places. The town offers a case study in the limits of tolerance in the Midwest.

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Why is it important?

Meditation is exploding in popularity in the U.S. and the field owes a lot to the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a man who influenced the diverse likes of the Beatles and rock-jock Howard Stern. Understanding his legacy by looking closely at the movement's practices offers insights into the practice and its history.

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