Patrik Lindenfors, 2014
This October a very odd dissertation took place at Malm├ University in Sweden. The doctoral thesis, titled Unity Pervades All Activity as Water Every Wave, spoke to the teachings and philosophy of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. You may recognize his name as the guru who became famous the 1960s. He toured in a Rolls Royce, claimed he could teach followers to levitate, and entranced the Beatles and other celebrities.
Research into the allure of New Age philosophies is legitimate and important. The strange feature of the dissertation was the panel chosen to review it. Every doctoral thesis must be presented to knowledgeable academics, who guide the research, serve as the audience for the final presentation when it is completed. If they accept the thesis, the student graduates. If they reject it, the student is sentenced to another year or two of labor, and they sometimes quit instead of facing it. In this case, the facultyÔÇÖs chosen opponent was Sue Brown, Associate Professor of Maharishi Vedic Science at the Maharishi University of Management (MUM), based in Iowa.
Teaching Students to Levitate Since 1973
Sorry, but assistant professor of what from where?
The MUM ÔÇ£UniversityÔÇØ has been the subject of continual criticism for fraudulent research, claims to teach New Age powers, and deifying its founder, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
This is the university from which, according to her biography, Dr. Brown earned a MasterÔÇÖs in Higher Education Administration, and then a PhD with the delightful title, “Unity and Diversity in Maharishi Vedic Science, Higher States of Consciousness, and an Evaluative Study of Undergraduate Student Development”. (Sadly, this thesis is not available on the Internet.)
Thus it seems that instead of inviting a nonpartisan expert to the final seat in the panel, the facultyÔÇÖs chose one of the MaharishiÔÇÖs devoted adherents. Asking Sue Brown to scientifically evaluate research on her Guru is the antithesis of how a thesis should be judged. When charlatans try to associate themselves with science, it is maddening , but at least it proves the strong foothold that science has gained in the world. Unfortunately, by offering this panel position to a New Age advocate, Malm├ University undercut science.
Is Sue Brown even a scientist? Her area of specialty, Maharishi Vedic Science, is not a scientific subject. It claims that “modern physics has concluded that underlying the diversity of matter is a non-material field whose self-interactions generate time, space and observable forces and particles. Both approaches identify a non-material field that underlies observable change.” With such poetic language, those who donÔÇÖt understand the complexities of physics (and who does?) can be massaged into the false belief that there is proof and wide scientific support for a spirit world.
Educational Progress: To Sit in Class, You Must be Conscious
According to the MUM website, their education is ÔÇ£Consciousness-BasedÔÇØ. Though this sounds superficially reassuring ÔÇô itÔÇÖs hard to envision unconscious education ÔÇô itÔÇÖs not quite what it sounds like. Here are some quotes from the description:
The advanced TM-Sidhi® program, including Yogic Flying®, accelerates the benefits of the Transcendental Meditation technique, especially when practiced in groups, as we do here.
Faculty at MUM use special techniques that reflect fundamental laws of learning.
These include Unified field charts These wall charts map the entire discipline and all its branches, showing the relationships among all of them. They show how the discipline youre studying emerges from the underlying field of pure consciousness, pure intelligence. And they show how you experience this underlying field directly, deep within yourself, through your Transcendental Meditation practice.
Yogic Flying®? Here is the description, again from the web-page:
Yogic Flying┬«ÔǪ leads to the body lifting in short hops from the ground. Students describe the experience of this technique as one of happiness, energy, bliss, and inner freedom, with these qualities carrying over into their daily life.
Below you can view a National Geographic special on Yogic Flying, where a “professor of physics” at MUM explains how NewtonÔÇÖs law of gravity is several hundred years ÔÇ£out of dateÔÇØ. He also explains “The Maharishi Effect”, saying “The real purpose of flying, especially in groups, is to create world peace. To put an end to this tragic legacy of violence and crime and terrorism and war.”
Levitating, Crime Fighting: ItÔÇÖs a Guru Thing
Abusing the word ÔÇ£scienceÔÇØ to further their claims ÔÇô not to mention tuition fees ÔÇô MUM has been remarkable brash. On their website, they further boast that the Maharishi-effect is real and scientifically measurable:
Scientists estimated that… a group with size equal to the square root of 1% of a population would have a measurable influence on the quality of life of that population. For example, a group of 200 practicing the TM-Sidhi program together in a city of four million (100 x 200 x 200) would be sufficient to produce a measurable influence on the whole cityÔǪ
The first statistical analysis of the effects was published in 1987. These showed a decrease of about 11% in violent crimes in Washington, D.C., in total crimes in Metro Manila, and in total crimes in the Union Territory of Delhi This was put to the test under the careful scrutiny of a distinguished review board in 1993 in Washington, D.C. The maximum decrease in violent crimes was 23.3%. The statistical probability that this result could reflect chance variation in crime levels was less than 2 in 1 billion (p < .000000002).
In other words, ÔÇÿCrime rates dropped ÔÇô therefore we did itÔÇÖ. It must be nice to live with that kind of logic. The possibilities are endless to claim credit for so many things. ItÔÇÖs a shame that in doing so, they worsen the lives (and pocketbooks) of the gullible, and crowd out problem solving methods that actually work.
So what happened to the PhD student with the levitation believer on his panel? The dissertation went ahead, his thesis passed, and he graduated. The story has, however, been covered in national media and caused enough embarrassment for Malm├ University, a respected institution, that they are now investigating exactly how assistant professor Brown came to be appointed faculty opponent. Universities live or die based on their academic reputations. LetÔÇÖs hope that this mistake wonÔÇÖt be repeated.