The celebrity yogi of the late 1960s and early 1970s was Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. He taught a style of meditation called transcendental meditation. The Beatles, the Beach Boys, Clint Eastwood, Andy Kaufman, and other famous folks all turned to meditation upon meeting the Yogi. Mike Love of the Beach Boys even became a teacher of the transcendental meditation.

The Beatles made trips to Rishikesh India to meet with the Yogi and become trained in his methods. However, they had a falling out with Maharishi because they felt that unlike what he had previously told them, he was not celibate and he was definitely into money.

I believe Maharishi called his meditation transcendental because you were transcending the ordinary world and experiencing something extraordinary. Often miss-spelled as transendental, transindental, or trancedental, transcendental meditation has a lot of controversy behind it. Where Osho was controversial but has hundred of public meditation techniques that work and are yours to learn about for free, transcendental meditation has some staunch opponents that it is a cult.

Another odd fact is that Maharishi sold a chicago hotel on Michigan Ave for $24 million. It seems odd that a yogi that does not care about money would be buying and selling hotels on Michigan Ave. With the entire scope of transcendental meditation costing upwards of $2,500, perhaps he is diversifying his portfolio?

In the defense of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, there have been a lot of valid medical studies of transcendental meditation. The studies show that transcendental meditation is very effective for a wide range of mental and physical health benefits. Whatever path gets you to commit to meditation, the advantages you will receive will last your lifetime.

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