Transcendental Meditation is a technique of meditation that is part of the Vedic tradition. It was developed in 1958 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Indian spiritual master. He started from the observation that suffering was omnipresent in our society and that negative emotions such as stress and anxiety were on the increase. This observation led him to develop a meditation technique to fight against negative emotions: transcendental meditation.

Transcendental meditation is based on the idea that the mind would be naturally drawn to happiness, and that it could find it through the silence and rest of the mind allowed by the practice of transcendental meditation. The goal of transcendental meditation is therefore to achieve transcendence, which designates a state in which the mind comes to be in deep calm without effort. It is through the repetition of the mantra that each individual could achieve this state. Originally, a mantra is a kind of sacred incantation which would have a protective effect.

 Ultimately, transcendental meditation would allow any human being to access untapped resources related to intelligence, creativity, happiness and energy.

The technique of transcendental meditation is very simple: the individual has to sit down, close their eyes and repeat a mantra in their head. As the sessions progress, this happens almost automatically and involuntarily. Unlike other meditation techniques, transcendental meditation does not rely on concentration, visualization or contemplation. It does not require any effort or anticipation.

The mantras used are sounds, words or a phrase that have no meaning of their own. They are intended to prevent the occurrence of distractive thoughts since they occupy the entire attention of the individual. This allows the mind and body to be in a state of intense calm, conducive to the state of bliss and transcendence. It is generally practiced twice a day, each session lasting about 20 minutes.

In the 1980s, Transcendental Meditation began to worry some people and organizations because of its considered sectarian character and the hold Transcendental Meditation teachers have over their students. This meditation technique is at the origin of many drifts and eccentric ideas.

In 1992, it even gave birth to a political party called the “Natural Law Party” (PLN), which argued that the practice of “yogic flight” solved certain societal problems. Yogic flight is a meditation practice in which the individual is positioned in a lotus position and leaps forward. When practiced by groups, yogic flight would, according to them, have the ability to reestablish “consistency with the laws of nature” and “to make the collective consciousness work”, which would lead to a drop in unemployment and delinquency. .

A commission of inquiry on sects carried out by the National Assembly registered in 1995 designated transcendental meditation as an orientalist sect with the theme of “personal transformation”. Some teachers of transcendental meditation have offered to teach their students to fly or become invisible, for a certain amount of money. In addition, the training provided by the organization is funded by donations from followers and various national organizations.