Subject: TM Dissenter's FAQ

Subject: TM Dissenter's FAQ Contents: --------- Part 1 - An Overview: The Transcendental Meditation Program Part 2 - The TM and TM-Sidhi programs, mantras and techniques Part 3 - Maharishi Ayur-Veda Part 4 - Other Research on the TM Program Part 5 - The Transcendental Meditation Ex-Members Support Group (TM-EX) Part 6 - Footnotes Maintained by Mike Doughney, mike@access.digex.net Last modified 8/31/94. This and other documents can be found in the TM Dissenter's Archive: ftp.digex.net:/pub/access/tm-dissent Submissions and comments may be mailed anonymously to wi.33@wizvax.com. WARNING: The following document contains mantras as taught in the TM and TM-Sidhi program (in parts 2 and 3). Meditators may wish to consider whether or not they care to see their mantra in print before proceeding to read.

Prevalence

Michael D. Langone, Ph.D.

In 1984 the Cult Awareness Network compiled a list of more than 2,000 groups about which they had received inquiries (Hulet, 1984). Currently ICSA has more than 4,000 groups listed in its electronic files, which are populated mainly as a result of inquiries or news reports. I would not hazard an estimate of what percentage of these groups would be at risk of harming members. The quality and quantity of data on individual groups is simply too low to justify generalizations.

Most cultic groups appear to be small, having no more than a few hundred members.  Some, however, have tens of thousands of members and formidable financial power.

Several surveys shed some light on the number of people who may have been involved in what they perceived to be cultic groups.

God Willing, a film about Jim Roberts Brotherhood

GOD WILLING is a powerful exploration of a 35-year-old American religious sect known as “The Church” or “The Brotherhood.” It also outlines the struggles of families whose children turn away from them to become “Brothers” and “Sisters” in the group, renouncing their past lives and the world – often, without ever turning back.
This documentary offers an inside look at the group, offering searing testimonials from both family members and former members of The Church.  The film details the appeal of Roberts’ message to the sincere spiritual needs of young people, and the struggle that some of them face with fellow members and themselves when they find little more comfort in the fold than they had in their previous lives.  It also grippingly presents the anguish of parents and other loved ones who grapple with the urge to pursue and rescue their children, and the psychological, emotional and tactical impediments that so often get in the way of reconciliation.  Extensive surveillance footage of Brothers and Sisters and rare, candid on-camera encounters further enhance this examination of families torn asunder, belief systems at war, and the perilous balance of futility and hope.

Founded in 1971 by shadowy messianic figure Jim Roberts, the group has survived for decades as a separatist society that preaches a strict path to salvation, proselytizes for new members, adheres to strict ascetic values, subsists on discarded food and refuse, and shuttles its members from town to town, often on the run from concerned parents and family members who try to see or communicate with their children.

Income-Tax Officer. Versus S. R. M. Foundation Of India

Income-Tax Officer. Versus S. R. M. Foundation Of India. – Income Tax – ITAT DELHI-A – Tri – Exemption, Income Of Educational Institution – 1987 (4) TMI 109 – ITAT DELHI-A – ITD 021, 598, TTJ 030, 283, – - – Dated:- 14-4-1987 – 

Member(s) : K. C. SRIVASTAVA., V. P. ELHENCE. ORDER Per Shri V. P. Elhence, Judicial Member-These eight appeals, filed by the department, arise out of the orders of the learned Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) IX, New Delhi for the A. Y. 1974-75 – 1976-77 and 1978-79 -1982-83. There is no appeal for the A. Y. 1977-78. 2. 

David Wants to Fly

View on LinkTV

To meet master film director David Lynch in person and talk to him about filmmaking! A dream come true for young David Sieveking, who first finds himself sitting face-to-face with his idol in spring 2006.

The meeting takes place on the periphery of a workshop in the USA where Lynch is giving a talk on the sources of creativity. Paramount among them is transcendental meditation (TM), a technique the cult filmmaker has reputedly practiced daily for over thirty years. But he had never before spoken about it in public. Could TM be the mystery behind Lynch's dark, inscrutable films?

Although the location of the workshop -- the Maharishi University of Enlightenment in Iowa -- does strike David, the young filmmaker from Berlin, as somewhat strange, it is also mysterious and fascinating. Maharishi? Wasn't that the legendary 1960s guru -- guiding light of the hippie movement, savior of the western world and personal spiritual tutor of the Beatles? An entirely new chapter in the life of David Sieveking has begun. Fairfield, Iowa is a new world where everything seems possible -- even flying, without the aid of any machinery!

David Wants to Fly (DVD)

David Wants to Fly (DVD)
Review by By Askolnick

Eager to make dark films like director David Lynch, the wet-nosed German film maker David Sieveking wanted to "fly" in his idol's footsteps. This desire took him on an amazing trip down the rabbit hole of Transcendental Mediation, where the followers of their late-guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi are working -- and bouncing -- their butts off to build the Heaven on Earth promised them by the "giggling guru" of Beatles fame.

Like Alice's encounters with the ludicrous characters of Wonderland, who recite the ridiculous in ways that oddly seem to make sense, the young film director and star encounters a lot of characters who say and believe as many truly absurd things as they can possibly fit into a day.

It's hard not to laugh watching young, athletic students at Maharishi University of Management compete for awards for hopping the highest and or longest distance across foam mats -- believing that they're actually flying through the air, empowered by enlightenment gained through the practice of TM's more advanced meditation technique called TM-Sidhi (which costs another $5000 to learn above the $2500 for the basic technique that won't get you airborne). It's even funnier watching a TM apologist explain why the aged guru -- who has obtained the highest level of enlightenment needed to hover and fly like a bird -- won't publicly demonstrate "yogic flying." Maharishi is too humble a man to show off his powers, P.T. Barnum explains.

I'm just sorry Mr. Sieveking missed a golden opportunity for another enlightening laugh. Bevan Morris, a real heavy weight in the TM empire, is well, a real heavy weight. He appears many times in Mr. Sieveking's superb documentary. I would have loved to see Mr. Morris decline an invitation to demonstrate the TM-Sidhi meditation technique -- which he and other TM leaders claim is essential for bringing peace and prosperity to all nations. Alas, the only people who demonstrate yogic flying by bouncing on their backsides with legs crossed in a lotus position, are thin, athletic young men. It is doubtful that the bountiful Bevin Morris can even cross his legs in the lotus position, let alone "lift off the ground with effortless thought."

This film is equally a story about a young man's journey from a hero-worshiping follower to a talented and independent film maker, who was not only able to learn from his mistakes, but to grow as well, as he takes us along on an amazing journey. Mr. Sieveking could have easily skewered the mind-bogglingly silly people he interviewed, but he didn't. He treated them gently and let their silliness speak for itself. "David Wants to Fly" is blessed with a lot of self-deprecating humor and humanity and is deserving of all the kudos it is receiving. I just hope the TM movement's law suit threats won't keep this film out of the United States.

Yoga Group Accused Of Coercion, Sex Assault

WBZ 38

Beth Germano

Jun 11, 2009

BOSTON (WBZ) ?Dahn Yoga and its founder, Ilchi Lee, are named in a lawsuit.

Dahn Yoga claims it can give you physical and spiritual enlightenment. 

Across the United States it operates 130 healing centers, 600 globally boasting more than a million followers. 

But now a class action suit has been filed against the organization by 26 former members who claim they were subjected to "psychological manipulation." 

Theosophy and Culture: Nicholas Roerich

Anita Stasulane

Interreligious and Intercultural Investigations Series, Volume 8, 2005. Gregorian Research Centre on Cultures and Religions. (Editrice Pontificia Universita Gregoriana, Piazza della Pilotta, 35 – 00187, Roma, Italia. Email: editricepugpib-gi@biblico.it.) ISBN 88-7839-035-6 (trade paperback) $25.00. 336 pages.


Reviewed by Joseph P. Szimhart

If you look at an American one-dollar bill, you will find a pyramid with an “eye” on top. The Great Pyramid is often associated with Freemasonry, and many of the American founding fathers were Freemasons. The symbol comes from the Great Seal of the United States designed in 1782 by Charles Thompson. In 1934 the Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace convinced Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau to place it on the dollar. It appeared in 1935. Morgenthau did not know at the time that Wallace made the suggestion at the behest of his guru Nicholas Roerich. To Roerich, the eye represented the gaze of mahatmas, or super-evolved beings that guide the affairs and spiritual evolution of humanity. Roerich (d 1947) and his wife Helena (d 1955) followed the Theosophy teachings of the colorful 19th century occultist, Helena P. Blavatsky (1831–1891). By 1925, the Roerichs had established a new theosophical group called Agni Yoga in New York and London, and later in Latvia, Russia, and India. Like Blavatsky, the Roerichs believed that mahatmas had chosen them as messengers to an elite core of mankind.

Characteristics Associated with Cultic Groups

Janja Lalich, Ph.D.

Concerted efforts at influence and control lie at the core of cultic groups, programs, and relationships. Many members, former members, and supporters of cults are not fully aware of the extent to which members may have been manipulated, exploited, even abused. The following list of social-structural, social-psychological, and interpersonal behavioral patterns commonly found in cultic environments may be helpful in assessing a particular group or relationship.

Compare these patterns to the situation you were in (or in which you, a family member, or friend is currently involved). This list may help you determine if there is cause for concern. Bear in mind that this list is not meant to be a “cult scale” or a definitive checklist to determine if a specific group is a cult. This is not so much a diagnostic instrument as it is an analytical tool.

Large Group Awareness Training

From Cult Observer, Volume 15, No. 1, 1998

In the 1960s the encounter group movement was born.  Advocating enhanced communication and intensified experience, this movement evolved into something that was part psychotherapy, part spirituality, and part business.  In some scholarly articles, these groups were referred to as "large group awareness trainings" or LGATs.  Erhard Seminars Training (est) was the most successful of these groups, and it has been widely imitated.  Even though it no longer officially exists, in the minds of many est is identified with the entire LGAT movement.  It is in a sense the progenitor of a myriad of programs that have been marketed to the public and the business community.  Lifespring is, perhaps, the next best known program after est.  

It is probably not an exaggeration to estimate that there are hundreds of training programs in the genre that est made famous.  However, because most of these programs are businesses, they will usually emphasize that which they want potential consumers to think distinguishes them from their competition.  "Exciting" words and phrases, such as "breakthrough," "unique," "your full potential," "must be experienced," and "changed my life" are used again and again with training after training.

Sifting the Wheat from the Tares: 20 Signs of Trouble in a New Religious Group

Peter J. Vere, J.C.L., M.C.L.


Abstract

The author describes a presentation at a Canon Law convention by Fr. Francis Morrisey and discusses reasons for the proliferation of new groups and warning signs indicating that new groups may be violating Church standards.

Since the closing of the Second Vatican Council, a number of new groups have arisen within the Church. Whereas many new groups start off on the right foot and maintain solid footing, others fall by the wayside. This may be due to poor doctrine or questionable practices.

Undue Influence in Contract and Probate Law

Abraham Nievod, Ph.D., J.D.

San Francisco, California

Abstract

This article outlines the history of undue influence and the law, the definitions of undue influence, judicial considerations in deciding undue influence cases, and the types of cases in which document examiners may be called upon to testify. Undue influence cases most commonly appear in contract or probate law. Undue influence cases may occur in relationships based upon trust and confidence, family members or friends, or within the context of totalistic groups.

Leo J. Ryan "Distinguished Service Award" (1999)

February 13, 1999 

Leo J. Ryan National Conference, Stamford, CT

To Patrick Ryan "For his dedication and hard work toward the creation on the AFF Website."

Leo J. Ryan Award, named in honor of Congressman Leo J. Ryan, who was assassinated November 18, 1978, in Guyana by members of the People's Temple cult led by Jim Jones.

Anti-Cult Group Dismembered As Former Foes Buy Its Assets Network Forced Into Bankruptcy After Legal Battle

By Laurie Goodstein

Wash Post staff writer
December 1, 1996

BARRINGTON, Ill.--For 20 years, the Cult Awareness Network ran the nation's best- known hot line for parents who grew distraught when an unconventional religious group they neither trusted nor understood suddenly won the allegiance of their children. From its offices here in a Chicago suburb, the network (known as CAN) answered more than 350 telephone inquiries a week, counseled relatives at conferences attended by thousands, and gave news interviews to everyone from small- town daily newspapers to "Nightline." As CAN's influence rose, so did the ire of its foes, who were furious at being depicted as dangerous cults. 

In particular, Church of Scientology members fought CAN with a barrage of lawsuits. One high-stakes suit, handled by a lawyer who has frequently represented the church, succeeded, and a jury ordered CAN to pay as much as $1.8 million. The group filed for bankruptcy. 

TM-EX NEWSLETTER, Volume V, No. 1, Winter 1993

TM-EX NEWSLETTER
TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION EX-MEMBERS SUPPORT GROUP
Volume V, No. 1, Winter 1993
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
MARYLAND

Maharishi Inc.

The bearded populizer of transcendental meditation has earthly holdings
that will blow your mind. His corporate empire includes land holdings,
hotels, publishing houses and plans for spiritual theme parks.

Here's the deal:

Some 2,400 masters of transcendental meditation fly into Baltimore,
check into a hotel at the harbor and start to meditate, each morning
and evening.

Malnak v. Yogi, 592 F. 2d 197 - Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit 1979

The course under examination here was offered as an elective at five high schools during the 1975-76 academic year and was taught four or five days a week by teachers specially trained by the World Plan Executive Council — United States, an organization whose objective is to disseminate the teachings of SCI/TM throughout the United States. The textbook used was developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of the Science of Creative Intelligence. It teaches that "pure creative intelligence" is the basis of life, and that through the process of Transcendental Meditation students can perceive the full potential of their lives.

[1] Essential to the practice of Transcendental Meditation is the "mantra"; a mantra is the sound aid used while meditating. Each meditator has his own personal mantra which is never to be revealed to any other person. It is by concentrating on the mantra that one receives the beneficial effects said to result from Transcendental Meditation.

592 F.2d 197 (1979)

EX PARTE SARASWATI, Tex: Court of Appeals, 3rd Dist. 2009

EX PARTE PRAKASHANDAND SARASWATI

Nos. 03-08-00767-CR, 03-08-00768-CR

Court of Appeals of Texas, Third District, Austin.

Filed: June 24, 2009. DO NOT PUBLISH.

Before Chief Justice JONES, Justices PURYEAR and HENSON. MEMORANDUM OPINION

J. WOODFIN JONES, Chief Justice.

Appellant Prakashandand Saraswati is awaiting trial on two indictments, each accusing him of ten counts of indecency with a child by contact.

Only 5% pandits missing: Maharishi vedic university

January 28, 2014
Times of India

WASHINGTON: The Iowa-based institutions of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi have said about only five per cent of the 2,600 vedic pandits, who were brought to the US from north Indian villages, have gone missing in recent years.

"Each of these cases the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been informed about vedic pandits leaving their United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and State Department approved programme at its Iowa campus," said William Goldstein, Dean of Global Development and General Counsel to the Maharishi University of Management.

Philadelphia: Mental Health Issues in Cult-Related Interventions - A Report Mental-Health Issues in Cult-Related Interventions

Sunday, October 13, 2013, Sheraton Philadelphia University City Hotel, PA

Report by John Paul Lennon

In this special event, cult-intervention specialists and mental-health professionals discussed their roles in helping families and former members—in particular, how those roles work together and how they differ. The event was intended to be useful to former members of high-control groups or relationships, families concerned about an affected loved one, and helping professionals whose assistance families and former members sometimes seek. Among the questions examined were the following: What assessment criteria should professionals consider to determine the appropriateness and feasibility of cult-related interventions? What criteria should professionals consider to determine the appropriateness of mental-health consultation and/or treatment? Speakers included some of the leading exit counselors and mental-health professionals in this field: David Clark Steve K. D. Eichel, PhD, ABPP Lorna Goldberg, MSW, LCSW, PsyA William Goldberg, MSW, LCSW, PsyA Steven Hassan, MEd, LMHC, NCC Joseph Kelly Arnold Markowitz, LCSW Patrick Ryan Daniel Shaw, LCSW Joseph Szimhart Information about these speakers is available on the ICSA website, www.icsahome.com As ICSA President Steve Eichel noted in his closing remarks, this was a landmark occasion: the first time that exit counselors and mental-health professionals had sat down together and discussed their different approaches to helping cultic group members, former members, and families. The meeting room was filled with about forty participants when the program opened just after 10:00 AM. A panel of intervention specialists—David Clark, Steven Hassan, Joseph Kelly, Patrick Ryan, and Joseph Szimhart—briefly presented its distinctive approaches. Several times panelists reiterated their shared belief that, rather than generalizing, it most important for professionals to be oriented to the particular individuals involved. There was agreement that the term "exit counseling" is hardly accurate because the field has moved away from intrusive actions—e.g., deprogramming, to what is now called thought-reform consultation. Some light bantering occurred as participants sought a more apt term, but without a consensus decision. What was agreed is that any intervention requires much background study by the professional, who also must prep the family in detail. To gather information on the cult-involved individual’s previous experiences and dynamics, most professionals have the family fill out detailed questionnaires. The moderator, Lorna Goldberg, followed the interventionists’ presentations, gently and firmly leading them in dialog and later opening up the floor to the audience, whose members were eagerly waiting to contribute. The exchanges were lively and varied as participants sought answers to their pressing needs (they were loath to see lunchtime cut the discussion short). After lunch, Steve Eichel, William Goldberg, Steven Hassan, Arnold Markowitz, and Daniel Shaw presented their mental-health perspectives. Of interest was the consensus among the various mental-health professionals regarding certain basic therapeutic goals: to open up and maintain communication between family members and the cult-involved person to strengthen those relationships; to be aware that cult involvement may exacerbate preexisting family tensions; that exited members should be assessed for personal safety and for postcult trauma, which requires specific therapeutic strategies. The third part of the program was even more fascinating, as both sets of professionals formed a roundtable, and a general discussion ensued that revealed and fleshed out the complementarity between interventionists and therapists. The goal of professionals is no longer to get the member out of the cult, but rather to facilitate communication between the family and the cult-involved person. Interventionists agreed that exiting members generally need psychotherapy to help them process their leaving experience, continue healing, and consolidate their progress. Psychotherapists, for their part, acknowledged their limits regarding helping persons exit controversial groups. Moreover, they did not want to perform cult-exiting interventions of any kind, so as to protect their therapeutic relationship with the exiting or exited cult member. The fourth stage of the program offered the audience an array of experts who were available to answer questions. Final remarks summarized the historic nature of this meeting and the satisfaction both sets of professionals felt with it. As the program drew to a close, members of the audience sought out experts for one-on-one help or more specific information. All seemed to benefit from the networking that such gatherings provide. ICSA Today plans to publish presentations from this conference in a future issue. John Paul Lennon, STL, MA, LPC, Board member, Regain Network (Religious Groups Awareness International Network). Mr. Lennon was a Legionary of Christ brother from 1961 to 1969 and an LC priest from 1969 to 1984. He served as a Diocesan priest from 1985 to 1989 and received an MA in Counseling from the Catholic University of America in 1989. For the past 10 years he has worked as a Child and Family Therapist in Arlington, Virginia. In 2008 he published a memoir, Our Father who art in bed, A Naive and Sentimental Dubliner in the Legion of Christ.

Maharishi schools group Chief granted bail in rape charges

January 31, 2014
Indore News

Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh High Court has granted bail to Girish Chandra Varma, chairman of Maharishi Vidya Mandir schools group on personal surety of Rs 50000.

He was arrested on December 29 following charges that he sexually exploited and threatened a school teacher.

According to his counsel Manish Datt, police arrested and put Verma behind the bars based on complaint which was not substantiated with evidence and hence, urged the court to grant him bail.

He also said the allegation well over a decade and the action of the police also amounted to violation of Verma’s fundamental right.

The bench of Justice N K Gupta accepted the submissions and ordered Verma to be released.

The complainant has alleged that she was repeatedly molested by Varma for the past several years. She alleged that the accused used to insist her husband to take her along on tours to other cities and countries. Each time, adjoining rooms would be booked in a five star hotel.

Varma would then send her husband away on the pretext of some errands and rape her. She said that she did not protest earlier fearing social ostracism, but when it became too much for her to take; she shared her ordeal with her husband and decided to file a complaint.

Acid attack on woman who accused Maharishi Girish Verma of rape

Mamta Mishra
February 8, 2014
In Indore News

Bhopal: Two motorcycle-borne youths threw acid at the woman who had lodged rape case against Girish Varma, chancellor Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Vedic Vishwavidyalaya. The woman escaped unhurt with just minor burns as the bottle grazed past her, with a few drops falling on her feet.

The incident occurred at the woman’s house near Barkatullah University on Friday. The youths came to the house and asked the woman if it was Nikhil Homes. When the woman replied in affirmative, one of them hurled the bottle containing acid. Luckily, the acid didn’t fall on her.

“The bottle hit the kitchen wall and there was a big sound. The acid sprinkled on her hands and feet. It was too concenrated and kept boiling on the floor for sometime and even utensils got blackened later,” said her husband. “We informed the police and a case was registered against the youths,” he said.

The youths had escaped soon after the attack. The police officials reached the spot. Also, the forensic experts went to the house and collected samples from the spot. “The incident had occurred after my wife received a threatening call on Thursday night,” he further added. “I shudder to think what would have happened had the bottle hit her directly.”

“The caller told her to withdraw her charges and stop pursuing the case against Girish Varma. He said that if the case is not withdrawn, there will be serious consequences,” he said.

http://indorecity.co/acid-attack-on-woman-who-accused-maharishi-girish-verma-of-rape/

Land grab complaint against Girish Varma

Jan 22, 2014
Times of India

BHOPAL: A complaint of land grab has been filed against chairman of Maharishi Vidya Mandir schools group, Girish Chandra Varma, who is facing rape charges and is behind bars since December 29.

The fresh complaint was made at Mahila Thana on Tuesday. The complainant Rajesh Sharma stated that Varma grabbed the land of around 54 people in Vidisha district to make a university there around ten years back but did not make any university.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi University: Woman lecturer alleges acid attack

Unidentified persons on Friday tried to throw acid on a lady teacher of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi University in Bhopal, police said.

According to her complaint with the Mahila Thana, the miscreants came to her house and tried to throw acid on her. She suffered no injuries, police added. The victim had earlier accused the varsity's Chancellor Girish Verma of sexual harassment. He was arrested last month and later got bail.

Maharishi boss Varma out on bail

TNN | Feb 1, 2014,

BHOPAL: After spending almost a month in Bhopal Central Jail on charges of rape, chairman of Maharishi Vidya Mandir schools group, Girish Chandra Varma was released on bail on Friday afternoon.

Varma was arrested on December 29 for allegedly raping a former school teacher of Maharishi Vidya Mandir School for around 15 years and was sent to jail on judicial remand on December 1.

Varma spent most of this time in jail's hospital. For close to 10 days, he was kept in a barrack with 29 other under-trials, but was later shifted to hospital after her complained of blood pressure and increased sugar level.

A team of senior lawyers was trying for Varma's release since his arrest. But his bail application was cancelled twice in district and high court before it was finally granted on January 30.

Varma was greeted with handful of supporters outside the jail. After he came out the jail, he preferred not to interact with the media.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Vedic University chancellor Girish Chandra Varma's judicial remand extended

Jan 16, 2014

BHOPAL: Court extended judicial remand of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Vedic University chancellor Girish Chandra Varma on Wednesday till January 29.

Court of additional chief judicial magistrate Varsha Sharma extended the judicial remand.

Counsel for Varma, Vijay Choudhary, said, "Judicial remand extended for January 29."

Varma was arrested on December 29 on rape charge and was initially sent in police custody till January 1, thereafter he was sent to judicial custody till January 15.

He was arrested by Mahila Thana police from his sprawling 10-acre ashram on Bhojpur Road in Bhopal following a complaint filed by the victim about 9 months ago.

Girish Chandra Varma shifted to hospital

Jan 9, 2014

BHOPAL: Girish Chandra Varma, chairman of Maharishi Vidya Mandir, has been shifted to jail hospital on Tuesday. Varma, who was accused of raping a former school teacher of Maharishi Vidya Mandir School, was arrested on December 29. He was sent to a judicial remand on December 1. The jail officials said he is diabetic and has a high blood pressure. He was kept under doctors' supervision, and was shifted in jail hospital to avoid his health from deteriorating further, officials added.

Meanwhile, the Audi car that was seized from his sprawling ashram in Bhojpur road after the arrest was sent to central forensic science laboratory, Bhopal on Wednesday. The woman had alleged that he raped her in the car once around a year back. Police said initially the samples collected from car were sent for forensic experts but they directed to send the car for its detailed examination.

Girl Forced Into Blood Transfusion Can't Sue

Court House News
Jeff D. Gorman

July 12, 2013

(CN) - It is too late for a 15-year-old Jehovah's Witness to fight the appointment of a guardian who forced her to undergo a life-saving blood transfusion, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled.

Sheila W., as she is named in the decision, was 15 when she was diagnosed in early 2012 with aplastic anemia, an illness in which the patient's immune system attacks the bone marrow.

She declined to undergo life-saving blood transfusions, and her parents supported her decision. They are Jehovah's Witnesses and believe that God does not allow blood transfusions.

Citing the biblical passage Acts 15: 28-29, Sheila told a Dane County judge that a transfusion would be equivalent to "rape."

Rein In the Saudi Religious Police

MANAL AL-SHARIFF

A version of this op-ed appears in print on February 11, 2014, in The International New York Times.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — In an incident that has reverberated throughout Saudi Arabia, two brothers, Saud and Nasser al-Qaws, aged 22 and 24, died last fall after their car was forced off a Riyadh bridge by members of Saudi Arabia’s religious police. The officers, members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, allegedly objected to the patriotic songs the brothers were playing on the car stereo. They pursued the men at high speed, ramming their car three times before finally pushing it off the bridge. One of the young men was killed immediately; his brother died shortly thereafter.

Cellphone footage of the incident in September, captured by a passerby and posted online, caused a public outcry. Attempting to mitigate the fallout, Sheikh Abdul Latif bin Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, head of the religious police, went on a public relations offensive. “The truth is that the pursuit took place,” he told Al Arabiya TV. He condemned the incident and said an investigation was underway.

Long considered one of the country’s taboo subjects (along with any criticism of King Abdullah), the commission, also known as the mutaween, is now one of Saudi Arabia’s most controversial issues. Tapped to lead the force in 2012, Mr. Sheikh today finds himself facing both scathing public attacks and worsening internal conflict.

The government, for its part, is wary of clamping down on the mutaween for fear of inciting a conservative backlash and is walking a fine line between the religious police and an increasingly angry populace. While dismantling of the force is unrealistic, this delicate moment opens a window of opportunity for Saudis. By continuing to voice anger and disapproval, the public may provide Riyadh with the leverage it needs to demand police adherence to regulations already in place, and slowly weaken the commission’s influence.

The commission was formed in 1940 to enforce the implementation of Shariah, or Islamic law. It began its rise to prominence in 1979, after religious fanatics seized the Grand Mosque in Mecca, denounced the royal family and called for new leadership. In the aftermath of the bloody two-week siege, Saudi clerics were given plenty of funding and a free hand to regulate morality.

Today some 4,000 members of the mutaween patrol the streets, enforcing dress codes, the strict separation of men and women, the observance of daily prayers and other behavior that it considers to fall under the purview of Islam. Women, for example, are forbidden to drive.

Although the force was initially embraced by Saudis, who are still predominantly religious and conservative, a series of incidents has increasingly soured public attitudes toward it. In 2002 in Mecca, 15 girls died in a school fire, prevented from fleeing by mutaween who claimed the students were inappropriately covered. In 2007, a dozen mutaween entered a Riyadh family’s home and fatally beat a 28-year-old man whom they suspected of illegally possessing alcohol. The man’s death outraged Saudis, and a lawsuit was brought, one of the first instances of legal action against the force. The charges were subsequently dropped, but the suit helped open the door to criticism, including by the press.

Today, Saudi opinion of the commission is at an all-time low. Resentment grew last year when King Abdullah increased the force’s budget to $390 million. The spread of smartphones has made it easier to disseminate evidence of police overreach, and it is now more difficult for the force to sweep accusations under the carpet. Despite this, the fact that most cases brought against the commission still end in acquittals or dropped charges has done little to endear the religious police to Saudis.

Now, internal fault lines seem to be widening as well. Mr. Sheikh is increasingly coming under attack by the force’s more conservative members for being too liberal and too Westernized.

Shortly after taking over in 2012, Mr. Sheikh spearheaded a series of reforms aimed at bringing the mutaween in line. Volunteers were no longer allowed to join mutaween patrols; the confiscation of phones and other personal belongings was forbidden; workshops were introduced to teach mutaween how to deal with the public; the police could no longer receive funds from private businesses. Chief among Mr. Sheikh’s reforms was a ban on car chases — but the incident last September made it painfully clear that his orders were being ignored.

In a controversial October interview with Rotana, a Saudi TV channel, Mr. Sheikh admitted that one of his most trusted confidants had recorded their conversations for use against him. The interview appeared soon after reports surfaced in the press of an attempt to murder Mr. Sheikh in a hit-and-run, allegedly ordered by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Mr. Sheikh may not be able to rein in the mutaween, but there are signs that social media may be helping to counter the commission’s repressive regime. Saudis have thwarted several attempts to restrict phone and Internet use over the years, including a 2004 ban on camera phones (still forbidden in areas reserved for women only). The country’s current smartphone use is the third highest in the world. Despite strict regulations on Internet activity, Saudis are among the largest adopters of Twitter in the Arab world; 4.9 million Saudis were on Facebook as of early 2012.

Last October, a woman in Qassim, considered Saudi Arabia’s most conservative region, lashed out at a member of the religious police who demanded that she cover her entire face (she was wearing a veil that left her eyes exposed). “Don’t provoke me!” the woman retorted. “Do you think we don’t know our own religion? We know our religion, and covered up before you even existed. The full facial cover is not forced upon a woman!” A 42-second video of her response blew up on Saudi social media. Using the hashtag #Don’tProvoke, people tweeted messages of support, criticizing the officer for berating a modestly dressed woman, and for doing so in front of her children. The public outpouring was a rarity in a country where, when it comes to confrontations between men and women, it is generally accepted that women are to blame.

Her response highlighted the perception that the commission is an intrusive body that seeks to impose a narrow vision of religion on Saudi women. Equally noteworthy was her rejection of the officer’s definition of appropriate veiling practice. After years of relying on the teachings of a single religious authority, the websites and social networks the mutaween have fought so hard to repress have facilitated the spread of alternative views.

A nearly 75-year-old police force can’t be disempowered overnight, and those like Mr. Sheikh who attempt to liberalize it risk fomenting a dangerous backlash. But, aided by social media, the doctrinal foundations of the religious establishment are finally beginning to crack. A broad-based, grass-roots show of anger against the mutaween may be the push the government needs to finally weaken and perhaps eventually dismantle the religious police.

Manal al-Sharif, a women’s rights advocate from Saudi Arabia, began a campaign in 2011 to let Saudi women drive.

Search of the Intelligent Designer

by Michael Shermer

“Man has been here 32,000 years. That it took a hundred million years to prepare the world for him is proof that that is what it was done for. I suppose it is. I dunno. If the Eiffel tower were now representing the world’s age, the skin of paint on the pinnacle-knob at its summit would represent man’s share of that age; and anybody would perceive that that skin was what the tower was built for. I reckon they would, I dunno.”

—Mark Twain, “Was the World Made for Man?” 1903

In a study conducted by Frank J. Sulloway and me on why people believe in God (discussed in detail in another chapter in this book), the most common reason people give is the good design of the world. So when Intelligent Design creationists make the argument from design for the existence of a designer, they are tapping into an intuitive sense most people have about the world. But there is a deep-seated flaw in this argument that undermines the entire endeavor.

Meditation transforms roughest San Francisco schools

David L. Kirp
January 12, 2014
The Chronicle

At first glance, Quiet Time - a stress reduction strategy used in several San Francisco middle and high schools, as well as in scattered schools around the Bay Area - looks like something out of the om-chanting 1960s. Twice daily, a gong sounds in the classroom and rowdy adolescents, who normally can't sit still for 10 seconds, shut their eyes and try to clear their minds. I've spent lots of time in urban schools and have never seen anything like it.

This practice - meditation rebranded - deserves serious attention from parents and policymakers. An impressive array of studies shows that integrating meditation into a school's daily routine can markedly improve the lives of students. If San Francisco schools Superintendent Richard Carranza has his way, Quiet Time could well spread citywide.

What's happening at Visitacion Valley Middle School, which in 2007 became the first public school nationwide to adopt the program, shows why the superintendent is so enthusiastic. In this neighborhood, gunfire is as common as birdsong - nine shootings have been recorded in the past month - and most students know someone who's been shot or did the shooting. Murders are so frequent that the school employs a full-time grief counselor.

In years past, these students were largely out of control, frequently fighting in the corridors, scrawling graffiti on the walls and cursing their teachers. Absenteeism rates were among the city's highest and so were suspensions. Worn-down teachers routinely called in sick.

Unsurprisingly, academics suffered. The school tried everything, from counseling and peer support to after-school tutoring and sports, but to disappointingly little effect.

Now these students are doing light-years better. In the first year of Quiet Time, the number of suspensions fell by 45 percent. Within four years, the suspension rate was among the lowest in the city. Daily attendance rates climbed to 98 percent, well above the citywide average. Grade point averages improved markedly. About 20 percent of graduates are admitted to Lowell High School - before Quiet Time, getting any students into this elite high school was a rarity. Remarkably, in the annual California Healthy Kids Survey, these middle school youngsters recorded the highest happiness levels in San Francisco.

Reports are similarly positive in the three other schools that have adopted Quiet Time. At Burton High School, for instance, students in the program report significantly less stress and depression, and greater self-esteem, than nonparticipants. With stress levels down, achievement has markedly improved, particularly among students who have been doing worst academically. Grades rose dramatically, compared with those who weren't in the program.

On the California Achievement Test, twice as many students in Quiet Time schools have become proficient in English, compared with students in similar schools where the program doesn't exist, and the gap is even bigger in math. Teachers report they're less emotionally exhausted and more resilient.

"The research is showing big effects on students' performance," says Superintendent Carranza. "Our new accountability standards, which we're developing in tandem with the other big California districts, emphasize the importance of social-emotional factors in improving kids' lives, not just academics. That's where Quiet Time can have a major impact, and I'd like to see it expand well beyond a handful of schools."

While Quiet Time is no panacea, it's a game-changer for many students who otherwise might have become dropouts. That's reason enough to make meditation a school staple, and not just in San Francisco.

David L. Kirp, a professor of public policy at UC Berkeley, is the author of "Improbable Scholars: The Rebirth of a Great American School District and a Strategy for America's Schools."