The problems of typology of Transcendental Meditation movement (TM)
Victoria Tikhonova
Вестник Православного Свято-Тихоновского гуманитарного университета: Серия I. Богословие, философия May 11, 2018 DOI: 10.15382/sturi201875.111-127 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Трансцендентальная медитация Движение тм Махариши махеш йоги Классификация нрд Неоиндуизм Неоориентализм |
| Key points | Proposes two variants of a stratified typology for classifying the Transcendental Meditation movement within new religious movements. |
Abstract
One of the most important tasks of present-day religious studies is developing a united and detailed systematisation of new religious movements. With the aim of fi nding out what place the Transcendental Meditation movement could occupy in it, this article considers various characteristics of the theory, practice and social peculiarities of this movement, off ered by researchers of new religious movements and representatives of the organisation itself. This paper also reveals problems of typology, the main of which is that diff erent opinions about the relationship of ideas of Hinduism with the elements of modern science in the teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi are designated in scientifi c and educational literature by diff erent terms, which, moreover, are ambiguous. In the conclusion of the article, variants of the stratifi ed typology are off ered, revealing a complete picture of the origin and transformation of the theories and practices of the Transcendental Meditation movement. The fi rst variant is aimed at inclusion in the unifi ed classifi cation of religions, which is supposed to be extended according to the principle applied by other scientifi c systems that take into account several levels of generalisation. The second variant can be employed in cataloguing new religious movements.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |