Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, (b. Mahesh Prasad Verma, 1911) - Transcendental Meditation is a religious method developed by this Hindu instructor (TM).
The Maharishi ("Great Sage") was educated as an
engineer, but after meeting one of the Shankaracharyas, the most significant
modern Hindu religious leaders, he abandoned the world.
For the following twelve years, he resided with
Shankaracharya in search of spiritual understanding.
He founded an ashram in Rishikesh, but he was little
recognized until he met the Beatles, a British musical group that journeyed to
India on pilgrimage with him.
TM teachers toured American college campuses in the early
1970s, preaching the physiological and spiritual advantages of meditation and
offering them (for a charge) a mantra or holy sound that would provide them
with these benefits.
Meditation, according to TM proponents, has a calming
influence on the broader environment, resulting in lower crime, stress, and
hostility.
During this time, Maharishi International University was
founded as a teaching center for TM at the old Parsons College in Fairfield,
Iowa.
Maharishi University established a curriculum in the late
1970s to teach individuals how to gain the six traditional superhuman abilities
(siddhis).
Several disgruntled consumers have filed lawsuits against
the group since then.
You may also want to read more about Hinduism here.
Be sure to check out my writings on religion here.