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Pearson echoes the 1989 announcement by the TM World Plan Executive Council that the "scientific technique" nourishes all religions. "What Maharishi is propagating is the essence of Christianity," the council stated. "By teaching TM, Maharishi is creating heaven on earth and fulfilling the will of Christ."

Many Christians disagree. As Fairfield First Baptist Church pastor Jim Wotherspoon, 49, says, "What it boils down to is either Jesus Christ is Lord or Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is Lord."

For five years, Robert Relly lived in the Catskill Mountains of New York with an elite group that meditated, read Vedic scripture, and studied Sanskrit and Hindu astrology nine hours a day. He moved to Fairfield in 1993. "I thought I was on the path to God," says Relly, 35. "I was going to save the world." A 1996 invitation to Jubilee Christian Center, now Fairfield's fastest-growing church, changed his life. "I saw that TM is incompatible with Christianity," he says. "It's Hinduism. Jesus said no one comes to him except by the Father. You're either for Jesus or against him."

For many, nearly everything about TM seems religious—especially devotees' gathering daily in a sacred place before a portrait of a leader addressed as "his holiness." In some areas, courts seem to agree. In a case involving use of TM in New Jersey public schools in 1977, U.S. District Judge H. Curtis Meanor ruled that TM teachings "are religious in nature" under the First Amendment's establishment clause. At about the same time, several evangelical denominations published position papers or passed resolutions declaring TM to be incompatible with Christianity.

Fearful reactions
While Maharishi's early devotees were rich and famous, his current following is much broader. There are 20,000 TM instructors in the United States, each of whom has undergone at least six months of training. The standard course fee is $1,200, for 11 hours of instruction over five days.

"When people, regardless of their background, learn this practice, their intelligence begins increasing again regardless of their age," Pearson says. "Creativity increases, health improves, moral maturity improves." He claims that when enough TMers gather in a certain locale, crime, sickness, and accidents all decrease and the economy improves in the area.

The commitment of even the average meditator is impressive, even to many Christians. The standard practitioner meditates for 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the evening. Those who want to develop their "total brain physiology potential" and to contribute significantly to world peace learn the advanced TM Sidhi program, which requires up to two hours twice a day. Around 1,500 who trek to Fairfield's golden domes (one for men, one for women) follow this regimen.

The goal of Maharishi, now at least 82, is to establish several permanent groups of 7,000 advanced TMers around the planet, which he believes would create heaven on Earth. The World Center of Vedic Learning is being constructed in India to house up to 100,000 "custodians of the ancient Vedic tradition." When finished, the center may be the tallest building in the world.

Back in Fairfield, mum admissions representative Steve Yellin, 47, provides a tour of the men's dome. Dome visitors must remove their shoes before entering the vast meditation hall, and no photographs are allowed.

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January 8 2001, Vol. 45, No. 1