Revolutionary Millennial

[Doug Hamilton]

/publication
Using Foster's Critique of revolutionary movements to consider
Transcendental Meditation (TM) in the 20th Century.

Responding to “When do Millennial Religious Movements Become
Politically Revolutionary?...”
by Doug Hamilton

Lawrence Foster's form of critique looking at revolutionary millennial-
ism provides a good framework of criticism toward seeing what we have
with things TM. World Plans, Heavens on Earth, Global Governance,
currency, education, architecture, healthcare, ethics. Using Foster's
overview it seems that the history of Transcendental Meditation in the
West is a history of a rather complete millennial revolution that had
and still has its eyes set on effecting the outside world around
it.

Excerpting from Lawrence Foster's paper published in the Communal
Societies Journal of the Communal Studies Association v-31-1, 2011:

“Dedicated millenarians -inspired by their intense emotional
commitment to goals they view as cosmically important and by their
“true believer” millenarian rhetoric- often seek to assist the divine
process of transformation in which they believe they are participating
by taking matters into their own hands rather than passively waiting
for God to inaugurate His kingdom on earth. Initially, such movements
may engage in relatively quiet and largely non-confrontational efforts
to withdraw from what they view as the wicked world around them, in
order to try to create purer, more communally cohesive groups in
preparation for the anticipated millennial kingdom.”

“Describing millennial movements in this way implies that they must be
inherently “revolutionary”...
...This article will argue, instead, that the complex trajectories of
millennial movements may lead them to two quite different directions -
either toward increasing accommodation with the larger society, on the
one hand, or toward escalating conflict and confrontation that
typically results in the group's dispersal or violent suppression by
political power holders, on the other.”
Lawrence Foster , Communal Societies Journal of the Communal Studies
Association v31-1, 2011

Continuing,

“Similarly, the potentially disruptive activities of millennial
religious or communal movements (which in Hagopian's framework are
classed as “revolts”) also may develop in “revolutionary” or “non-
revolutionary” directions, depending upon their goals and on the
context within which their protest develops.”

Now, that said, then consider a Revolutionary Maharishi Transcendental
Meditation.

Choose your own millenarian movement end-of-days and descent of Heaven
on Earth; however, surveying the 60 years of Maharishi and TM in the
West or even just the 4 decades of TM in Iowa the TM movement as a
millenarian movement by Foster's critique has tried everything
millennial and has both confronted and accommodated the larger culture
and even has been suppressed and dispersed by it. And, it has changed
the larger culture some too.

In definition it seems that Maharishi was one of the revolutionaries
of the late 20th Century and of the early 21st Century. Certainly not
the only one, but one of them.

Foster's critique continues,

“Before considering these important questions, a working definition of
“political revolution” first is necessary. The definition of
political revolution used in this article is drawn primarily from
Crane Brinton's classic comparative study, Anatomy of Revolutions...

Brinton argues that for such an overthrow or attempted overthrow to be
considered “revolutionary” the leaders of the movement must also seek
to initiate major changes in the structure of government (as opposed
to simply who is running it), as well as in economic life, social
relationships, and ideological or religious beliefs.”

Maharishi during his time and right up to his end was all of this, a
revolutionary effecting change. I particularly like this following
quote from Foster's critique using Noyes by comparison:

“...Noyes evidently ably utilized the wide range of social and
financial connections at his disposal to create a millennial group
that skillfully pursued its objectives with in American society for
more than three decades.” ... “Although Oneida's religious rhetoric,
ideology , and social arrangements might appear as extreme at first
sight, the group is actually a remarkable example of how a millennial
group can successfully develop its own distinctive identity, while
avoiding destructive confrontation with larger society.”

Looking back on Maharishi and his Transcendental Meditation movement,
they they are of that statement too. It is possibly too close to see
now but in time I suspect that Maharishi Mahesh Yogi will be found as
both radical and revolutionary in his time for what he was.

Was Maharishi a millenarian and revolutionary?

Here is a short interview clip using the rhetoric of a millenarian.
That Maharishi was comprehensive by Foster's critique, Maharishi was
certainly revolutionary.

“Heaven on Earth is Possible says Maharishi”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dQPgSyQ2M8


Or language from a timeline recounting:
"1984 (continued)
Maharishi formulated his Unified Field Based Integrated Systems of
Education ,
Health, Government, Economics, Defense, Rehabilitation, and
Agriculture, which
will perpetuate the forthcoming Unified Field Based Ideal
Civilization,
generation after generation."
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/message/304524

It looks and sounds rather revolutionary and millennial.

With Best Regards,
-Doug Hamilton
Fairfield, Ia.

[Doug Hamilton]

Millenarianism (also millenarism) is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming major transformation of society, after which all things will be changed. Millennialism is a specific form of millenarianism based on a one-thousand-year cycle, which many sects of different religions believe.

-A Chaney, Princeton.edu

http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Millenarianism.html

Revolutionary as an adjective,  the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. - Dictionary.com