Saturday, May 21, 2005 High on the peace plane By TREVOR MAXWELL, Portland Press Herald Writer Imagine thousands of people in meditation, literally changing the world with the power of the mind. Roger and Katie Grose have seen this, and they want to bring it to Maine. The Biddeford residents attended a transcendental meditation gathering in Washington, D.C., in the summer of 1993. Crime rates, the Groses said, dropped nearly 25 percent during a single week when 4,000 participants joined the project. "The city changed, and people were talking about it," said Katie Grose. "That was really a dramatic occasion to see what the effects are." The couple has been involved with transcendental meditation, or TM, since the early 1970s. While it is not a religion, the practice has spread under the guidance of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, an Indian spiritual leader who came to San Francisco in 1959. Proponents of TM - which Roger Grose describes as a simple mental technique practiced for 20 minutes twice a day - say it has the power to improve health, increase productivity, intelligence and creativity. And when practiced on a large scale, believers say TM can help bring world peace. The Groses point to dozens of scientific studies that support the theories of the Maharishi. "Enlightenment is a real possibility," Katie Grose said. "It will allow (people) to have more success, a happier life and better health." The Groses moved to Maine in semi-retirement in 2001. Before that they were the directors of the Maharishi Ayurveda Medical Center in Lancaster, Mass. Now Katie Grose and her husband hope to open a new Maharishi Enlightenment Center in Maine. They are on the verge of signing a contract for rental space in South Portland, she said. It would include TM education, a health spa and retail space for organic health products. Roger and Katie are both certified TM instructors, overseen by the Maharishi Vedic Education Development Corp. They helped open a TM center on Forest Avenue in the mid-1990s, when they still worked in Massachusetts. The corporation decided to close the center and focus on new buildings at the time, Roger Grose said.A new center is just the beginning for the future of TM here, the Groses said. They are raising money for a so-called Peace Palace, to be built at a cost of up to $3 million, somewhere in greater Portland. Funds will also come from the Maharishi's diverse organizations. Roger Grose said he has been searching for appropriate land for the past year. The Maharishi intends to build 3,000 Peace Palaces around the world, promoting the TM programs and related enterprise. A handful have been built in the United States, including ones in Bethesda, Md.; Lexington, Ky.; and Houston. Oscar-nominated director David Lynch, along with some other Hollywood followers, have pledged to help raise millions for construction. "These are buildings that will offer the full range of programs for people to be able to develop their own potential," Roger Grose said. "Our programs facilitate enlightenment, which is everyone's birthright." The expansion of TM in the United States has not escaped scrutiny. Far from it; the Internet is rife with criticism against TM and the Maharishi himself, who is said to be 94 and living in the Netherlands at his organization's world headquarters. Critics say the Maharishi is a shrewd businessman who has recycled old Hindu traditions and packaged them neatly for eager Western consumers. Under his umbrella fall several nonprofit and for-profit enterprises, spanning the globe. His land and business holdings are wildly complex, and the U.K.'s Guardian Newspaper has reported his net worth at $3.6 billion.The cost to learn the TM technique is about $2,500 for the full course - roughly 20 hours of training - and a lifetime follow-up program where a person can check in with any certified TM teacher. There are also audio books, CDs, videos, hundreds of publications, toothpastes, oils and teas, even a coffee substitute called Raja's Cup. Roger Grose is aware of the criticism and stands ready to defend the TM technique and its potential for good in the world. Without the Maharishi and his enterprises, Grose said, all the benefits of TM would not be accessible to a large audience. "Everybody has the capacity for their full potential," he said. "It's just that very few use much of it."
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