Yogis and yagyas

To the outside world, transcendental meditation is the technique popularised by a small Indian man clad in a robe, practised by the Beatles and Deepak Chopra, among others. Yes, the people who bounce up and down cross legged on foam mats and call it flying. Transcendental meditation is a non-religious technique of meditation that includes internally repeating a mantra, which leads to relaxation and a clearing of the mind. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi brought the technique to the West. Many meditators go on to learn advanced techniques, including flying and other aspects of vedic culture that the movement promotes. These may include jyotish, a means of astrology, and maharishi ayurveda, a healthcare system based on traditional Indian medicine. Some meditators, including my parents, choose to live in communities of meditators, and for their children to be educated at a Maharishi school, with other children from the same community.