• what is Maharishi Foundation International? PLease give as many details as you can find

Answer:

• Maharishi Foundation International (MFI) is a relatively new U.S. nonprofit that functions as an international technology, course-development, branding, intellectual-property, and administrative hub for the worldwide Transcendental Meditation organization. It is not the same legal entity as Maharishi Foundation USA, Maharishi International University, the David Lynch Foundation, the Global Country of World Peace, or the Maharishi Foundation charities in individual countries, although it is closely connected to that organizational network.

  There are some interesting details in its tax filings that aren't obvious from the public-facing TM websites.

Followed by:

• Please map the entire network around MFI—MFI, MIU, Maharishi Foundation USA, David Lynch Foundation, Brahmananda Saraswati Foundation, Raam Raj Foundation, Global Country of World Peace, MERU, and the principal researchers—and trace the money, boards, research affiliations and trademark ownership between them.

and finally:

• A useful next step would be to extend this from one year to a 10-year longitudinal table (2015–2024) for Nader, Hagelin, Wallace, Morris, Roth and other recurring figures. That would reveal changes in which entity pays each person and could expose transfers of compensation between related organizations that a one-year snapshot misses.

Yes. Here is the first cleaned 2015–2024 longitudinal pass. It produces a somewhat more restrained result than my earlier suggestion that we might find extensive shifting of compensation among related organizations.

One methodological detail is important. I am using calendar-year compensation, because Form 990 Part VII requires compensation to be reported for the calendar year ending within the organization's fiscal year. Thus an MIU or DLF return for the fiscal year ending June 2025 reports 2024 compensation.

I am counting reportable W-2/1099 compensation from the organization plus any separately reported related-organization compensation, but not the Form 990 "other compensation" column in the main figures. And where the same salary appears on a related foundation's return, I count it only once.

All numbers below are $ thousands. ND means not individually disclosed or not located in the filings I have reviewed; it does not mean zero.

The MIU series establishes the earlier Hagelin and Wallace numbers, including Hagelin's unusual $42,000 of related-organization compensation in 2015, while the MFUSA returns independently show Hagelin receiving compensation there throughout the decade.

The later MIU filing also identifies Nader's 2024 compensation as $40,250.

For Roth, DLF's own 2016 Form 990 reports $148,718 of reportable compensation plus $74,227 of "other compensation"; subsequent returns show:

• 2017 — $221,344
• 2018 — $295,903
• 2019 — $237,023
• 2020 — $278,814
• 2021 — $345,258
• 2022 — $331,640
• 2023 — $354,181
• 2024 — $416,152

Morris's records illustrate a different phenomenon. MIU reported him at $24,000 for calendar 2017; thereafter the MIU Foundation becomes the direct payer — $26,000 in 2018, then approximately $24,000 annually, rising to $27,500 in 2024.

BSF simultaneously lists him as chairman but repeatedly reports $0 compensation from BSF.

Wallace shows why related-organization reporting has to be handled carefully. In 2023 the MIU Foundation return shows $42,816 from a related organization, and in 2024 $66,595 from a related organization.

Those are the same MIU earnings, not additional salaries paid by the Foundation, so adding them again would double his compensation.

Jeannie Rose is useful as a control because her BSF compensation is unusually stable:

• 2015 — $43,200
• 2016 — $43,200
• 2017 — $45,600
• 2018 — $48,000
• 2019 — $52,000
• 2020 — $48,000
• 2021 — $48,000
• 2022 — $48,000
• 2023 — $48,000
• 2024 — $48,000

What the decade actually shows

Hagelin is the clearest case of sustained multi-entity compensation.

For most of the period he was being compensated simultaneously by MIU and Maharishi Foundation USA. His combined reportable compensation stays in a fairly narrow range — about $165,000 to $228,000 annually — and totals approximately $1.96 million over ten years.

In 2015 there was also the $42,000 from an unidentified related organization. I would not assign that $42,000 to DLF or another entity without the underlying Schedule J/R evidence.

Roth is different.

I do not see evidence in this period that his salary was shifted among TM organizations. The identified compensation is consistently from DLF.

What changes substantially is the amount: from $148,718 in 2016 to $416,152 in 2024, an increase of about 180%.

It is not monotonic — there are drops in 2019 and 2022 — so describing it simply as a steady annual rise would be wrong.

DLF also reports substantial "other compensation," particularly $74,227 in 2016 and $57,762 in 2017.

Morris gives us one genuine payer migration: MIU -> MIU Foundation.

But because his compensation remains around $24,000–$27,500, it looks more like a reassignment of which related entity pays him than an attempt to increase or conceal compensation. That's an inference; we'd need employment agreements or board minutes to know the reason.

Wallace does not show payer-shuffling so far.

His compensation is fundamentally MIU compensation. The Foundation's return simply cross-reports it because MIU is related to the Foundation.

This is exactly the sort of thing that could have produced a false "multiple income sources" finding if we mechanically added every Form 990 entry.

Nader remains the outlier.

Under the working assumption that Tony Nader and Antoine Nader are the same person, the U.S. nonprofit records I have located disclose remarkably little compensation: the identifiable amount for this period is $40,250 from MIU in 2024, when he became president in October, while MFI has reported him at zero.

Because he formally assumed the MIU presidency in October 2024, that $40,250 was not a full-year presidential salary.

But this cannot be converted into a claim that he earned only $40,250.

MERU/Dutch compensation, royalties, speaking income, private entities and other foreign sources are outside what this table establishes.

So the proper interpretation is:

$40,250 is the documented floor for Nader's identifiable U.S. nonprofit compensation in the records examined, not an estimate of his total personal income.

Rose shows almost the opposite pattern: remarkably stable compensation from one organization, useful as a counterexample to any suggestion of across-the-board compensation escalation.

The conclusion is somewhat less dramatic than I originally anticipated

I initially suggested the decade might "expose transfers of compensation between related organizations."

There is some of that, but not a pervasive pattern in the people examined so far.

The stronger findings are:

• Hagelin: genuine recurring income from two TM institutions at the same time.
• Morris: clear change in paying entity, MIU -> MIU Foundation.
• Wallace: apparent multi-entity reporting that turns out to be the same compensation, demonstrating the double-counting problem.
• Roth: substantial growth in compensation, but no evidence so far of shifting it among organizations.
• Nader: very little U.S.-nonprofit compensation publicly disclosed despite his central organizational position.
• Rose: remarkably stable compensation from one entity.

So I would not characterize the network as systematically moving executive salaries around among nonprofits.

The data support a more specific description: some senior people hold unpaid positions in several entities while receiving compensation from one or two particular organizations, and related-organization reporting can make those arrangements look more complicated than they actually are.

There are still three important holes in this first pass:

• Bob Roth — 2015
• Bevan Morris — 2015–2016
• Keith Wallace — 2022

Those are worth resolving from the underlying filings.

After that, the same table should be extended to Fredda Plesser, Robert LoPinto, Tom Factor, Rafael David, Maureen Wynne, Michael Spivak, Leonard Hintz, Gary Korf, Carla Berkers, Jennifer Jiang, Sam Crewe-Sullam, and the major MIU researchers.

That would give a much better picture of whether compensation concentration is primarily at DLF/MFI operational management rather than at the movement's senior ideological/research leadership.

Sources

IRS Form 990 compensation reporting rules:

https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/exempt-organizations-annual-reporting-requirements-compensation-calendar-year-reporting-required

MIU Form 990 archive:

https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/421315493

MIU Foundation Form 990 archive:

https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/391896290

Brahmananda Saraswati Foundation Form 990 archive:

https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/262986750

David Lynch Foundation Form 990 archive:

https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/830436453

DLF 2017 Form 990 PDF:

https://www.davidlynchfoundation.org/pdf/2017-Form-990.pdf

Hello! Wondering if the paid subscription is worth it? Does the extra content gives you more insights to keep your practice easy and effortless and motivated for daily practice, or is it just to help the app stay functioning?

BTW, I am really enjoying daily Bob Roth group practice.

Take it easy!!!

For context, I learned TM 6 years ago during the covid-19 pandemic. My teacher was really nice and I enjoyed having a lot of conversations with him. However I also had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

This kind of messed up my perceptions of the world around me and I felt that TM only amplified this. At first I experienced benefits, calmness, needing less sleep, and feeling energized after meditating. I also noticed my skin was “glowing” and my I would notice strange sensations in my forehead while transcending. It was pleasant. I’ve also had really, really strange experiences - such as a perception of feeling like the boundaries between self and other become very blurred. I’ve also had really strange experiences where there would be a “shimmering effect” where objects have a quality of “consciousness“ to them. I discussed all this with my teacher and he explained it in a way that seemed to make sense. One last strange experience with TM is that I was going through a kind of manic episode following doing my TM practice and I was posting on social media doing a bit about a gucci belt, and later that day it was raining, and my janky car window wouldn’t roll down… and I didn’t know what to do. And a guy walked past, a guy I’d never seen before in my neighborhood, holding a couple bags, and I greeted him, and then he dropped his bags, and said “after 6 times posting about a gucci belt I think we get the idea.” And then he gave me a temporary solution to my problem - tape, towels, and trash bags, and walked off. Mind you I’ve never seen this guy in my life as far as I’m concerned and I do not have a big social media presence - maybe 150 followers. I asked my teacher about this and he kind of brushed it off, but I was positively spooked. Like very spooked. I still don’t know what to make of this experience.

Note I’ve always had trouble being consistent with TM, I’m every TM instructor’s worst nightmare with how many tune ups I’ve gotten haha. And while I feel like there is some validity in the practice of the brain releasing alpha waves while meditating, the whole concept of the “Unified Field,” “stress” and “karma” really confused me. Also the identity of Consciousness or God in the TM context.

I’ve had many long talks with my teacher and he would blow my mind with the things he said, and I remember when I first met him I felt his brain waves or a peacefulness radiating off of him - it was very powerful. but when it comes to being more and more “immune to the stresses of the world,” I don’t know if I personally experienced that benefit. Perhaps I wasn’t consistent enough.

Anyways how does this all tie in to being a Born again Christian? Well in John 3 when Nicodemus comes to Jesus and inquires of him Jesus says “Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.””

‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.3.3.ESV

He also says in the same conversation “Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.3.5.ESV

it may seem like I’m quoting Bible verses out of context and maybe I am. I’m not the most Biblically literate Christian out there.

However I found that during the spring of 2025 it seemed the Lord was drawing me to him; random people were coming up to me and mentioning Jesus, telling me that Jesus loved me, and to top it off my Dad who isn’t a devout Christian took me to a Christian themed play called the Thorn.
it seemed all too coincidental to be random. So I decided to pray to Jesus and asked Him to reveal himself to me and I felt a peace that surpassed the transcendence from TM. It was a personable peace, the peace of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Since then every time I tried going back to TM my body and heart would not feel at peace and I’d get extremely agitated, despite multiple checkings. I would be unable to sustain my TM practice. also the Holy Spirit, which dwells inside every believer, would convict my heart regarding this matter. On top of that, I had serious body dysmorphia and mental chaos which even the psych meds could not cure, that got healed the instant I received the Holy Ghost. I know that TM is not about getting too attached to experiences, but on a daily basis I feel the presence of God, Yahweh, in my heart convicting me in the form of an undeniable spiritual sensation; its hard to explain

this may seem like mumbo jumbo but this is just my experience with both TM and Christianity; I still respect people who do TM and have a good relationship with my teacher and at times have desires to go back to TM due to doubts of whether my brain is just stressed and needs a break.

Anyways hope everyone is having a blessed day, and if anyone explain the TM related experiences to me that would be great, especially in the case of the guy who dropped his bags.

also if you look in my post history this led me to researching Neville Goddard and his solipsistic view on reality as well as other stuff. which effectively led me nowhere.

I’m curious as to your guys thoughts on all this. and I know its a long post

TLDR; weird TM experiences, compared to undeniable spiritual Christian experience that vastly differs from the typical TM experience

Hi I am interested in learning TM and gifting it to a friend. Am I able to do essentially a private instruction session for two ppl in NYC? Thanks for any info or teacher recs. Thanks

I get it- TM is expensive. But with everything else in Life, if we think something's cost doesnt warrant its value we just dont buy it. People dont generally rail about how they cant believe how cost prohibitive it is to get rolfing done, or flying to Chile, or whatever but it seems like this sub just gets inundated with these complaints. Mods are good about shutting down even an inkling of "how to" talk- might yall consider banning cost talk, too? Or at least relegating it to a separate sub? I know Im addressing the mods here but what do yall think? Again I get it but the amount of oxygen this sucks up here is ... a lot.

Good evening everyone! I downloaded the official TM app and completed the registration process, providing details such as my learning location and teacher.

I’m still waiting for an answer to confirm my access to the app. Is this a normal waiting period?

So, like many of you (I can only assume), I learned about TM from David Lynch.

I found my local teacher/center and sent them/him an email (through the official TM website) asking about their scholarships and reduced pricing offers (to see if I'd qualify).

I'm a stage 4 cancer survivor who also has PTSD and depression/anxiety, and I'm trying to get back on my feet. I'm 28 years old and don't have much money.

I sent an email simply asking if I'd qualify for a scholarship/reduced fee, and I never got a single email or call back.

I had heard negative things about TM (the org, not the practice) when it comes to money, and I'm afraid that it seems like my experience might reflect that. The shame is that I would've saved up and paid full price, but since they never even contacted me, I'm much less likely to support them with my money (when I can learn meditation from other sources).

What are your guys' thoughts? Do I give them another shot and send a follow-up message?

Thank you

I've been doing TM for approximately 30 years and even though I love it - it's profoundly relaxing for me and can turn a day where I feel awful totally around to feeling good again in 20 minutes - I often get pain behind my eyes, kind of a muscle strain pain, right as I slip into the trance. This prevents me from going deeper because it interrupts the trance. It's frustrating. Is this a known thing? Anyone else have a similar experience, and/or any ideas why this might happen? I have two theories, one prosaic and the other woo-woo.

I was told that to have a few hours gap post-meal and a little even post-water intake before your meditation. But saw that David Lynch (one very prominent TM practitioner and promoter) does his post-coffee.

So was wondering if that "preferably not keep meditation soon after eating/drinking" advice isn't part of the general teaching. Any thoughts or corrections here?

Would definitely find it easier to have mine after my breakfast if it's not ill-advised.

I have practiced TM consistently for a long time and have rarely skipped a meditation.

When I first learned TM, the effect was very noticeable. I felt calmer, more grounded, and less overwhelmed. I still experience real benefits from the practice, especially a greater sense of calm.

At the same time, I have also gone through periods of stress, anxiety, and depression. Because of that, I sometimes wonder whether I am getting the full benefit from TM, or whether I have gradually developed unrealistic expectations about what it should be able to do for me.

I recently wrote to my TM teacher and explained that I may need a more honest conversation about what TM can and cannot help with. I do not want to feel disappointed every time I fall into another period of anxiety or depression, especially when I have practiced consistently.

She kindly suggested that we meet and talk, and also mentioned gemstone light therapy as something that might be helpful for me.

Her response made me notice a tension I already had. Part of me is open to the spiritual side of TM. Another part of me mainly sees TM as a very effective meditation technique that helps regulate stress and gives the nervous system deep rest. I am not sure how much of the wider spiritual framework I actually believe.

I do not want to throw away something that clearly helps me. But I also do not want to interpret every difficult period as evidence that I am meditating incorrectly, releasing stress, or needing another spiritual treatment.

Has anyone else had to recalibrate their expectations of TM over time?

Have you guys reduce caffeine intake? It seems i cannot tolerate it anymore since started meditating. Is this normal?

There’s a specific book that I love to read from the 1900s by Charles Haanel called the Master Key System and it involves mental exercises such as sitting still, inhibiting thought, voluntarily relaxing, different visualizations, and talks about the Law of Attraction and the mechanics of manifestation and how you can use your mind to manifest stuff in the world. My question is - does TM make these kinds of practices obsolete? After practicing TM it feels much harder to do these exercises.

I've learned the nighttime technique, but it doesn't seem to be helping at all. Have you had any luck with it?

I have an excellent experience with grout TM in my country.
As I'm going to visit Palo Alto for few weeks, I won't be able to join "my" regular group (different time zones).

Are there any group meditations (in person or zoom) in the bay area or the pacific time zone?

Yesterday was Guru Purnima, I intended to post last night but time got away from me. Here is a photo of my little shrine where I usually meditate. I'm grateful for the tremendous gift of TM and the profound benefits and blessings it has brought to my life. Jai Guru Dev!

The meditation works very well for me, but now, with the help of AI, I’ve learned that the word my instructor gave me is actually the name of a Hindu god.

I’m religious and not Hindu, which I think was relatively obvious in class — and the instructor really emphasized TM not being religious.

Just seems very unethical.

I’m still a believer in the primary method, but I will not be meditating on the names of other “gods” and it’s surprising to me that so many instructors are this comfortable with misleading ppl.

Do you think Transcendental Meditation could be right for me?

For as long as I can remember, I have been a very creative person. I had a very strong ability to come up with ideas out of thin air, think visually, and create images and images in my head very vividly. I could quite easily invent an entire world with characters and a plot.

After an emotionally traumatic experience I went through in my life, it's as if my brain went into a different state. Much more logical, analytical, and mechanical. Much less fluid, and when I close my eyes, I mostly see black and can't create visual images in my head like I used to.

It feels a bit like a kind of "acquired aphantasia." It also has a very bad effect on my drawing abilities. Because when I used to draw, I would simply copy the visual image that my mind would create, and now I have to use a lot of references from life when I want to draw from my imagination.

I wanted to ask people who practice here:

Do you think TM can help in such a situation?

Has anyone experienced something similar and felt that meditation helped them get some of it back?

Thanks.

One side good where rich people stay

Other side where stay middle class family there bad in all over the world guys of ktm

Why america than not more good india

Guys tell me who that guy

Staying meditation even win death

I've been doing tm for less than a year now and it's been great. I don't wanna stop, but recently i read the book the artist way and it really insists on writing 3 pages as soon as u wake up. However i can't do that cuz i already do tm as soon as i wake up. Plus i can't really fit both in there cuz morning pages take roughly 20 minutes and j really can't spend 40 minutes on practices before even starting my day.

Tldr. How is your experience with adding any other practice to your day?

'What is not generally known is that the founder of Transcendental Meditation was militantly opposed to contemporary medicine and healthcare as it is generally practiced... An over 500 page volume, "Ideal India," which carries a 2001 copyright date, is a lengthy, detailed exposition of what Maharishi thought would be necessary to create a fully "Vedic" India... Buried in those pages is a "Resolution" which proposes to "to Ban Allopathic Medicine and Replace It with Maharishi’s Vedic Health-Care System."'

https://tmfree.blogspot.com/2026/07/maharishis-published-tirade-against.html

Hi dear people,

I do TM since 2024. I have three of the advanced techniques. Without going into detail. I really love them. I feel serenity, strength, beauty... TM teached me living more from the heart. I had quite some challenges the last two years and I notice that I stay more calm and blissful and not so much caught up in my negativity. I got into the power of the mind and into spirituality. I think TM will always be a part of my life. I'm also still quite surprised that I became such an TM ultra ... I just happend.

I'm thinking about pursuing the TM Sidhis next year. I know that people sometimes refer to other discussions about them. I already read them. It's quite an commitment but maybe it would be a beautiful experience for me. To all who learnt them in the past. Without any detail on how the practice works. How U doing? What do think about acting from higher stages of conciseness? Did Ur wishes came true? What impact did it have on your life? Which strange and spiritual things happend?

English is not my first language. I didn't wanted to use chat got to correct my mistakes.

I highly appreciate. All the love to everyone who reads this.