In 1987, Robert Kropinski successfully sued the Maharishi's TM set up, the basis of the claim was that practising TM had contributed to Kropenski's mental ill health; Kropinski was awarded, $137,890 to pay for his psychiatric treatment. Testimony included that of Leon Otis, of the Stanford Research Institute, who after surveying hundreds of meditators concluded that "TM may be hazardous to the mental health of a sizeable proportion of the people who take up TM." .

The Kropinski case should have been the catalyst for a wide ranging public re-examination of all meditation practices but probably because it was seen as a 'minority' problem the downside of meditation has remained a concern for a few specialist academics and medics, and cult critics.

Cults which promote meditational practices have no doubt been faced with numerous claims for damages since 1987 - and in the light of the Kropinski judgement have probably been settled out of court with gag orders made conditional on the litigants acceptance of payment.

Where does this leave Rawat and EV ? The Keys Terms and Conditions specifically deny access to anyone who could be considered to be suffering from any form of clinically identifiable psychological distress. Typical of the Rawat cult, the wording places the inadequacy on the individual who may be in distress - and not upon any deficiency in Rawat's teaching or the meditation. In fact the wording suggests that anyone who has any kind of mental health problem is incapable of making any kind of rational decision.

The Keys ToS certainly protects Rawat and EV from some potential Kropinski style litigation however it also exposes Rawat's claim the Knowledge is for everyone to be a lie. Knowledge it appears is for everyone except those who are psychologically deficient. While this doctrine of successful aspirants as a class of psychologically approved 'ubermeschen' is legally expedient it inevitably presents a major problem for any existing premie who develops some form of clinical psychological distress, or who is close to someone who develops psychological ill health.

The cult's underlying attitude to 'mental' dysfunction is clearly demonstrated in the EV FAQ pages where 'prominent' critics are attacked on the basis of having clinical conditions. EV is equating illness with deceit, ineptitude and malevolence - again where on earth does that leave a premie who suffers depression following the death of a loved one, or who develops Post Traumatic Stress following an accident or whose child or spouse become psychotic ?

If someone who is in psychological distress is unfit to seek Rawat's Knowledge, does that mean that someone who already has Knowledge should stop meditating if they develop psychological distress ? And if a premie has been encouraging a family member or a friend to get Knowledge, if that family member of friend develops psychological distress, does the premie then back pedal and start discouraging the person from finding 'inner happiness' ?

Meditation is not magic, it is not problem free. Maybe practising meditation is only a serious danger to a few individuals who have a particular predisposition - yet there are no studies to say what that predisposition may be, nor whether such a predisposition could even be identified prior to onset of any illness. And to have a form of meditation that is claimed to provide a source of enduring inner happiness and contentment - but which can only be enjoyed by those who are 'mentally well' seems not only perverse but to encompass something fundamentally cruel and sociopathic.

Nik

Kropinski - scroll down at:

http://www.behind-the-tm-facade.org/transcendental_meditation-harmful-abstracts.htm

Negative Effects of Meditation:

 http://www.prem-rawat-maharaji.info/index.php?id=31

Article: Meditation May be Hazardous (lookout for the ironical paid link !)

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/html/638-_Warning__Meditating_may_be_hazardous_to_your_health.html

The Keys ToS:

 http://prem-rawat-critique.org/agreements_demands_conditions.htm