Apostolic Faith Youth - The Study - World Religions: Transcendental Meditation

Christianity, Cults, & Religions
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Used by permission.

	Biblical Christianity	Transcendental Meditation (T.M. or World Plan Executive Council)
Key Person or Founder, Date, Location	Jesus Christ. Founded about A.D. 30-33, in the Judean Province of Palestine (Israel today), under the Roman Empire.	Maharishi Maahesh Yogi. Founded 1959 in California, based on Hinduism and yoga. Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Key Writings	The Bible, written originally in Hebrew and Aramaic (Old Testament), and Greek (New Testament)	Hindu scriptures, including the Bhagavad-Gita. Meditations of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Science of Being and the Art of Living, other writings by the founder.
Who is God?	The one God is Triune (one God in three Persons, not three gods): Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Often the title "God" designates the first Person, God the Father. He created the universe out of nothing. He is eternal, changeless, holy, loving, and perfect.	Each part of creation makes up "God" (Brahman). Supreme Being is not personal. All creation is divine; "all is one."
Who is Jesus?	Jesus is God, the second Person of the Trinity. As God the Son, He has always existed and was never created. He is fully God and fully man (the two natures joined, not mixed). As the second Person of the Trinity, He is coequal with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. In becoming man, He was begotten through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus is the only way to the Father, salvation, and eternal life. He died on a cross according to God's plan, as full sacrifice and payment for our sins. He rose from the dead on the third day, spiritually and physically immortal. For the next 40 days, He was seen by more than 500 eyewitnesses. His wounds were touched and He ate meals. He physically ascended to Heaven. Jesus will come again visibly and physically at the end of the world to establish God's kingdom and judge the world.	Jesus is not uniquely God. Like all persons, Jesus had a divine essence. unlike most, he discovered it. Christ didn't suffer and couldn't suffer for people's sins.
Who is the Holy Spirit?	The Holy Spirit is God, the third Person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is a person, not a force or energy field. He comforts, grieves, reproves, convicts, guides, teaches, and fills Christians. He is not the Father, not the Son, Jesus Christ.	The Holy Spirit is not part of this belief.
How to Be Saved	Salvation is by God's grace, not by an individual's good works. Salvation must be received by faith. People must believe in their heart that Jesus died for their sins and physically rose again, which is the assurance of forgiveness and resurrection of the body. This is God's loving plan to forgive sinful people.	Humans have forgotten their inner divinity. Salvation consists of doing good in excess of evil in order to evolve to the highest state (final union of the self with Brahman) through reincarnation.
What Happens After Death	Believers go to be with Jesus. After death, all people await the final judgment. Both saved and lost people will be resurrected. Those who are saved live with Jesus in Heaven. Those who are lost suffer the torment of eternal separation from God (Hell). Jesus' bodily resurrection guarantees believers that they, too, will be resurrected and receive new immortal bodies.	Reincarnation based on karma (reaping the consequences of one's actions) until loss of self into union with Brahman. No heaven or hell.
Other Beliefs or Practices	Group worship, usually in churches. No secret rites. Baptism and Lord's Supper (Communion). Active voluntary missionary efforts. Aid to those in need: the poor, widows, orphans, and downtrodden. Christians believe that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah promised to Israel in the Old Testament (Tanakh). Jesus said His followers would be known by their love for one another.	Mentally recite a mantra (word associated with a Hindu god). Meditate twice a day to relax and achieve union with Brahman. Maharishi University in Iowa offers advanced T.M. programs in "levitation" and invisibility." Practices include yoga, Hindu astrology, use of crystals, and idol worship (offerings of flowers, fruit, and cloth for Maharishi's dead teacher).