The effect of Transcendental Meditation,
on society, the environment and the world

Improving well-being and quality of life not only for the individual, but for the whole world

The benefits of Transcendental Meditation have been widely researched. Studies indicate that it helps reduce stress and anxiety, improve well-being and happiness, reduce high blood pressure, improve focus and creativity, reduce addiction, and lead to more positive health habits.

However, the benefits extend to the wider environment and society as a whole. On this page we explain how this happens, and how you can contribute to this process yourself.

The individual and the environment

As human beings we influence the environment through everything we do and say, and even through what we think. Research shows that a person's thinking naturally becomes more balanced as a result of Transcendental Meditation. . We start to see life from a broader, less selfish perspective, and this naturally leads to taking greater responsibility for our actions and the way they affect the planet and our fellow man.

Individual consciousness is inseparably linked to collective consciousness. This influence works in both directions: we affect our environment, and in turn are affected by it. As collective consciousness rises as a result of more and more people practising Transcendental Meditation, everyone in society feels the benefit whether they meditate or not.

This effect of TM on society is measurable once the number of TM meditators reaches a certain threshold, typically one per cent of the population. Much of the scientific research has been conducted on crime rates, because the statistics for this are readily available even on a daily basis. However, this effect on society has implications for the solution of many other social and environmental problems that we all face: climate change, inappropriate health habits, and the effect of human beings' exploitation of their environment and of their fellow human beings. All problems in society and the environment are problems created by human stress and narrowness of vision; to correct these imbalances, it is necessary to align our thoughts, speech and action with the intelligence of nature. Practising Transcendental Meditation allows for a more effective interaction with the environment – an urgent necessity that we face across the globe in relation to our environment and the impending issue of climate change.

Evidence to support the effect of Transcendental Meditation on society

In 1974 scientists reported that crime trends had, exceptionally, gone down in 12 cities in the USA where 1% of the population had learned Transcendental Meditation. Since then, over 20 published peer-reviewed studies have verified this sociological effect and, indeed, widened its scope to include reductions in other social indicators such as accidents, hospital admissions, war fatalities, and health statistics such as infection rates. Research has also indicated enhanced positive trends such as improvements in economy, social harmony and international relations. These effects were also observed with group practice of the advanced TM-Sidhi programme, in which case similar reductions in crime rate were found when even the square root of 1% of the population were involved. View a comprehensive summary of the scientific research.

Many people would consider this an unattainable goal, whereas in fact it is fully within our reach when you consider that the square root of 1% of the population is just over 800. Any large corporation could potentially have a section of the workforce trained in the TM-Sidhi programme. This will not only provide an improved quality of life and health for the participants and increased efficiency for the organisation as a whole, through the many well-researched benefits of Transcendental Meditation. It will also produce a beneficial effect on the quality of life of the whole nation, through the coherence-creating influence of a large group of TM meditators.

The spreading of orderliness and coherence through society has been named the Maharishi Effect, in honour of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of Transcendental Meditation, who had predicted this effect as early as the 1960s.

A new book, An Antidote to Violence: evaluating the evidence, was published in June 2020. Written with the layman in mind, this well-researched and highly readable book makes a convincing case for the Maharishi Effect.

An Antidote to Violence: evaluating the evidence
by Barry Spivack & Patricia Saunders

President Chissano

How you can support global coherence and well-being

You can contribute to this effect of coherence yourself, by synchronising your daily meditation with the online group meditations organised for TM meditators, at 8am and 6pm each day. Upon learning TM you will be invited to join these daily meditations. Those practising forms of meditation other than TM are also encouraged to to contribute to the overall effect by doing their meditation at these times. For those who cannot synchronise with the above times, alternative starting times are 7:15am and 7pm.

How can we explain such a remarkable influence of Transcendental Meditation on society at large?

Theoretical explanations include a ‘field model of consciousness', in which consciousness, in essence, is a field that underlies and connects individuals throughout society. Such a theory is consistent with the latest theories in physics, in which the principle of superradiance states that coherence spreads throughout a system when just the square root of the elements in the system becomes perfectly coherent. This suggests that trebling the size of a group of TM-Sidhi programme practitioners could amplify its effect ninefold.

Phuysics Consciousness

Modern physics has located more unified levels of nature's functioning at smaller time and distance scales and ultimately the unified field (superstring field) at the foundation of the everything in the universe. Transcendental Meditation provides access to quieter, deeper levels of consciousness, culminating in the experience of the unified field at the basis of mind and also matter. Group practice of the more advanced TM-Sidhi programme powerfully stimulates this universal, unified field of collective consciousness, creating a demonstrable influence of coherence throughout society, as evidenced by 20 studies published in peer-reviewed journals.

Take the first step

Public introductory talks are either online or in-person.
These are advertised under each location. If your local Centre is not advertising a webinar, please call them direct. Otherwise ...

...register for an info session

The first step is to attend a free introductory talk or "Info Session".
This will be presented by a certified teacher of Transcendental Meditation and generally takes about 1 hour. You will find out:

  • Why TM is so effective for stress and anxiety
  • Why anyone can practise TM
  • What benefits you can realistically expect
  • How it works – the process of transcending
  • How TM differs from other meditations
  • What happens during TM

Following the talk there will be an opportunity to meet privately with the Teacher to discuss personal considerations.

The talk is a prerequisite to joining a course of instruction in TM, but there is no commitment to learn. It is open to everyone even if you only have a mild curiosity! Feel free to bring a friend.