Similar Grounds.pdf

The David Lynch Foundation aims to introduce the Quiet Time program, which includes Transcendental Meditation (TM), to one million public school children despite two court rulings that the practice violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. In 1977, a US District Court ruled that teaching TM in public schools was unconstitutional due to its religious nature, specifically the Hindu ceremony known as the puja that precedes TM instruction. The foundation deliberately withholds information about TM's secretive practices, including the mantra and puja, from parents, teachers, and school officials to get the program into public schools. TM's founder, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, admitted that TM mantras invoke the influence of Hindu gods, and the puja is a Hindu religious ceremony that creates a mystical connection with these deities. Despite this, TM teachers, such as Bob Roth, downplay the religious aspects of the practice, describing the mantra as a meaningless sound and the puja as a "simple thank-you ceremony" that is not religious in nature.