The Meditation Trust who I trained with like to use the term an “accredited” teacher. The Maharishi Foundation like to use the term “certified.”

In those terms I am therefore an “accredited” teacher of TM or transcendental meditation; although I would be happy with either term.

I have trained very thoroughly over two years 2015-17 ending in a 3 month training camp in the South of France. I am very dedicated – as all of my colleagues are – to teaching precisely in accordance with the structures that Maharishi Mahesh Yogi laid out.

It is very important to me that I am the best teacher I can possibly be. In order to be respectful to and of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and his tradition – without in any way, shape or form being “worshipful” (whatever that may mean). 

These touching memories of childhood around Maharishi Mahesh Yogi by a woman called Mallika Chopra (who father Deepak Chopra was Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s physician and  a leader within his organisation for many years) illustrate why it is very important for us as teachers of TM to be respectful to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

“I learned transcendental meditation when I was 9. I think I met Maharishi Mahesh Yogi for the first time when I was 13, and for the next decade he was a major influence in my life. I remember sitting for endless hours with Maharishi – sometimes crowds of thousands of people, others times just with my parents and brother. Because of my father’s (Deepak Chopra) relationship with him, Maharishi was someone we knew, rather than someone we idolized.
When you were with Maharishi, it truly was like time did not exist. There was a sense of connection to something deeper. Maharishi was a visionary…

Maharishi would talk with his sweet voice and then giggle – a giggle that then erupted into a wave of laughter that tickled those in his presence at their very souls. I will always remember the laughter around Maharishi. Around him, I felt happy and free and timeless. Even though I was shy, I could laugh with abandon – a laughter that was so uplifting.”

This is the point – Maharishi Mahesh Yogi liked laughter. For me respect is the correct state of consciousness; being “worshipful” completely missing the point of his teaching. That he has a practical tool TM to lift us – humanity – as individuals and a collective into a higher space. It was never about him – it was about us and our capacity to find a fuller potential within ourselves.

I have a full, current DBS certificate which is automatically renewed and begun in February 2017. This is to indicate that I am serious about teaching Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s meditation technique but at the same time conforming to recognised norms of British society of which I am a member.