10 Key Research Studies Confirming Reduced War, Violence, Crime, and Terrorism through the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Program Creating a Field Effect in Collective Consciousness – The Maharishi Effect
David W. Orme-Johnson, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Maharishi International University
What is Collective Consciousness?
Every individual in society is interconnected with everyone else through many levels of collective consciousness—family consciousness, community consciousness, city consciousness, state consciousness, national consciousness, and world consciousness. Research has shown that the practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program increases the brain coherence of the individual, which radiates an influence of coherence through all levels of collective consciousness. This reduces stress and fear and increases mutual respect and cooperation. In an atmosphere of coherence, people naturally work together to create peace, prosperity, and the joy of living in the full blossoming of the rich tapestry of the world’s cultures.
What is the Maharishi Effect?
The Unified Field
Modern physics has found that all forms and phenomena in the universe are constructed from the interactions between force and matter fields. Einstein foresawthat all fields are expressions of a single underlying unified field that interconnects everything and everybody.
Superstring Theory
John Hagelin and many other theoretical physicists are developing String Theory, which fills in the details of how all fields are connected to the unified field. Dr. Hagelin has explained that as a field of everything, the unified field is as much a field of subjective life as it is of objective existence.
Consciousness Is All There Is
is the title of the book by Tony Nader, MD, PhD, Harvard-and MIT trained neuroscientist and leader of the Maharishi Foundation. His book consolidates the knowledge of consciousness from philosophic traditions and modern science to answer existential questions with practical benefits for personal enlightenment, global prosperity, and world peace.
The Maharishi Effect
occurs when the unified field is enlivened on the transcendental level of awareness in 1% of a population practicing the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique or √1% practicing the TM-Sidhi program in a group. This radiates coherence throughout collective consciousness.
Does the Maharishi Effect Scale?
With the introduction of any new technology, the question arises, does it scale? This means, will the technology work at all levels of a system?
If TM functions from the level of the unified field, it should work at every level.
Over 650 studies indicate that TM scales from infants to the elderly, across the physiological, psychological, and sociological domains.
Scientific Research on the Transcendental Meditation Program: Collected Papers, Vols. 1 – 8
• Over 750 scientific papers
• Conducted at over 300+ universities and research
institutions in 30 countries
• Published in over 219 peer-reviewed journals and
books
https://researchtm.net/
Collective Level
The Maharishi Effect scales to all levels of human collective organization, from small towns to the whole world.
City Level: 18 studies showed improved quality of life in small towns to cities of 10 million.
State Level: 5 studies showed improved quality of life in Iowa, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Puerto Rico.
Country Level: 32 studies showed improved quality of life in the diverse geopolitical and ethnic groups of the United States, the Soviet Union, Cambodia, Israel, Lebanon, Canada, Holland, and the United Kingdom.
World Level: The five studies on the world level have found increased communication between countries, reduced conflict and increased educational and cultural exchanges worldwide and in trouble-spot countries, as well as softening of relations between the superpowers.
The Unified Field: The research on the Maharishi Effect provides the strongest experimental evidence in science for the existence of the unified field. Neither we nor reviewers or critics have been able to provide an alternative explanation for the results of this remarkable research.
Maharishi predicted the Maharishi Effect in the early 1960’s
Dr. Vernon Katz writes that when he first knew Maharishi in 1960, he was saying that great changes in society would take place if just a small percentage of the population began to meditate. On p. 60 of his book, Dr. Katz documents that “Maharishi is on record in an Innsbruck, Austria, newspaper,TirolerTageszeitung, 23 July 1962, as saying that ‘while ten percent would be ideal, even if only one percent of the world’s population meditated it would be sufficient to do away with the hatred that causes war’.”
Maharishi Working on His Translation and Commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita with Dr. Vernon Katz Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. (1969). On The Bhagavad-Gita A New Translation And Commentary: Chapters 1-6. Penguin Books Inc. Katz, V. (2011).Conversations with Maharishi: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Speaks about the Full Development of Human Consciousness(Vol. 1). Fairfield, Iowa, USA: Maharishi University of Management Press.
Maharishi’s Principles of Collective Consciousness
“Just as the consciousness of an individual determines the quality of his thought and behavior, so also there exists another type of consciousness for society as a whole: a collective consciousness for each family, city, state, or nation, having its own reality and the possibility of growth. The quality of the collective consciousness of a society is a direct and sensitive reflection of the level of consciousness of its individual members.”
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. (1977). Creating an Ideal Society. Maharishi European Research University Press. p. 91
Maharishi exchanging flowers with Sara Orme-Johnson, 1973
“What is necessary is just a small area in the whole room to become lighted and the whole room becomes lighted. What is a bulb? A very small filament. How much is that in relation to the whole volume of the room? A very insignificant area… that little orderliness increasing in the mind of an individual is good enough to radiate its influence. One small filament becoming lighted is enough to light the whole room. Like that, one person, one slightly-enlightened person is good enough for the whole society. It’s a blessing for the whole society.”
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. (1977). Creating an Ideal Society. Maharishi European Research University Press. p. 46
Maharishi giving the Inaugural Address at the Dawn of the Age of the Age of Enlightenment, Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, 1975
“All occurrences of violence, negativity, conflict, crises, or problems in any society are just the expression of growth of stress in collective consciousness. When the level of stress becomes sufficiently great, it bursts out into large-scale violence, war, and civil uprising necessitating military action.”
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. 1979. World Government News 11: p. 38. Rheinweiler, W. Germany: MERU Press
10 Research Papers on the Maharishi Effect
1) Three Studies Demonstrate Crime Reduction Using Causal-Analysis on More Than Half the Urban Population of the U.S. (1972-1979)
This paper analyzed three studies of the Maharishi Effect. The first two studies found a consistent pattern of causality over a 7-year period. Increased TM participation predicted decreased crime in subsequent years but changes in crime did not predict TM participation The studies controlled for 10 crime-related variables, including unemployment, population density, and police presence.
In the analysis shown here, TM participation in 1973 correlated -.257 with crime reduction in 1979 (p<.01), whereas the correlation of change in crime in 1973 with TM participation in 1979 was 7 times smaller and not significant. A similar magnitude of difference was consistent for each year, indicating a consistent pattern of causality.
The third study in this paper analyzed the effects of the group practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program on violent crime in Washington, D.C. in 1981 and 1982.
This study found that the Maharishi Effect group in D.C decreased violent crime there by 9% the first year and by 11.8% the second year, for 32 fewer violent crimes per week.
Conclusion. The three studies analyzed in this paper present compelling evidence that the Maharishi Effect causes urban crime to decrease, providing an evidence-based solution to solve this problem.
References: Dillbeck, M.C., Bandy, C., Polanzi, C., Landrith, G.S. (1988). Test of a Field Model of Consciousness: The TM & TM-Sidhi Program and Decreased Urban Crime. The Journal of Mind and Behavior, 9, 457-486. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43853459
2) Five Studies Demonstrate Improvement in Crime and Quality of Life
Delhi, India, 1980: Decreased crime total by 11% . Time series analysis, a rigorous mathematical methodology for assessing how social indicators change over time, found the results could not be accounted for by trends or cyclical variation in crime, p<.0001. Nor could they be explained by changes in police activity.
Puerto Rico, 1981-1982: Decreased violent crime, which could not be accounted for by cyclical variations or trends in the data or by police activities, p<.025.
Manila, Philippines: 1984-1985: Decreased crime totals by 12.1%, which could not be accounted for by cyclical variation in crime, legal events, or changes in police activities, p<.005.
Manila, Philippines, 1979: Global improvements due to the Maharishi Effect on an index of several measures of reduced social disorder and improved quality of life, p<.025.
Rhode Island, U.S.A., 1987: Global improvements due to the Maharishi Effect on an index of several measures of reduced social disorder and improved quality of life, p<.025.
References: Dillbeck, M. C., Cavanaugh, K. L., Glenn, T., Orme-Johnson, D. W., Mittlefehldt, V. (1987). Consciousness as a field: The Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program and changes in social indicators. The Journal of Mind and Behavior 8(1), 67–104. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43853335
3) Reduced Violent Death in the U.S. (1979-1985)
This study analyzed periods when the TM and TM-Sidhigroup at Maharishi International University was sufficiently large to have a measurable influence on the U.S. according to the √1% formula.
The study looked at a violence index consisting of weekly mortality totals due to the three major causes of violent death in the U.S.: motor vehicle fatalities, suicide, and homicide.
Results.The study found that violent deaths were gradually reduced due to the TM and TM-Sidhi group at MIU. Time series analysis indicated thiseffect could not be explained by trends, seasonal variations, or random influences. The study rigorously and conservatively estimated a reduction of 31 fewer fatalities per week, totaling fewer 3989 fatalities in the U.S. during the 128 weeks when the size of the Maharishi Effect group was equal to or greater than √1% of the U.S. population.
Conclusion. The evidence supports Maharishi’s hypothesis of a “field effect” of coherence and reduced stress in collective consciousness that decreases the propensity for violent acts of crime or reckless behaviors.
References: Dillbeck, M. C. (1990). Test of a field theory of consciousness and social change: Time series analysis of participation in the TM-Sidhi program and reduction of violent death in the U.S. Social Indicators Research 22(4), 399–418. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00303834
4) Decreased War in Lebanon and Improved Quality of Life in Israel (1983 to 1985)
The study looked at the daily size of a TM and TM-Sidhigroup in Jerusalem fluctuating around the √1% of the populations of Israel and Lebanon.
Researchers then looked at daily data from governmental sources on the quality of life in Jerusalem and Israel plus war deaths and intensity in Lebanon
Results. Time series analyses found that the group had a statistically significant effect, improving the quality of life and reducing war deaths and intensity. The effects of holidays, temperature, weekends, and other forms of seasonality were explicitly controlled and could not account for these results. Statistical analysis indicated that the group had a leading relationship to change in the quality-of-life indicators, supporting a causal interpretation.
Conclusion.These data support the interpretation of an underlying unifying influence being produced on many diverse systems simultaneously.
References: Orme-Johnson, D. W., Alexander, C. N., Davies, J. L., Chandler, H. M., Larimore, W. E. (1988). International peace project in the Middle East: The effect of the Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field. Journal of Conflict Resolution 32(4), 776–812. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022002788032004009
5) Seven Replications Demonstrate Decreased War and Increased Peace in Lebanon (1983-1985)
Seven assemblies of TM and TM-Sidhi participants in different locations had a predicted effect by the √1% formula to reducethe conflict in Lebanon.
The study looked at daily event data from nine international and regional news sources. Levels of conflict, cooperation and casualties were scored by an experienced Lebanese coder blind to the hypotheses and techniques employed.
Results. Each of the seven assemblies had a highly significant impact in the predicted direction on all event data: a 66% increase in cooperation and reductions of 48% in conflict, 71% in war fatalities, and 68% in war injuries (p < .00001 for each variable). These results could not be accounted for by changes in temperature, holidays, weekends, or other trends.
Conclusion. Creating TM and TM-Sidhi groups anywhere in the world, if large enough, produce an atmosphere of harmony that enables diverse communities, cultures, and institutions within the larger society to function in a more integrated and mutually beneficial manner.
References: Davies, J. L., Alexander, C. N. (2005). Alleviating political violence through reducing collective tension: Impact assessment analysis of the Lebanon war. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 17(1), 285–338. https://www.gusp.org/pdf/JSBP-davies-alex-2005.pdf
Collective Consciousness in Action: Participants in the National Demonstration Project in Front of the White House, June-July 1993
6) National Demonstration Finds Reduced Crime in Washington D.C. (June 7-July 30, 1993)
A group of up to 4,000 participants in the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhiprograms assembled in Washington, D.C.
The study tracked violent crime in Washington, D.C. provided by the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department. The study was monitored by a 27-member Project Review Board comprised of independent scientists and leading citizens.
Results. Statistical analysis, controlling for temperature and police staffing, found that violent crimes dropped significantly, corresponding with increases in the size of the group; the maximum decrease was 23.3% (p <2 x10−9).
Conclusion.Calculation of predicted changes was that a permanent group of 4,000 in the D.C. would have a long-term effect of reducing homicide, rape, and violent assault by 48%.
Reference: Hagelin, J. S., Rainforth, M.V., Orme-Johnson, D. W., Cavanaugh, K. L., Alexander, C. N., Shatkin, S. F., … Ross, E. (1999). Effects of group practice of the Transcendental Meditation program on preventing violent crime in Washington, D.C.: Results of the National Demonstration Project, June–July 1993. Social Indicators Research, 47(2), 153–201. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006978911496
7) Reduction of International Conflicts and Terrorism (1983-1985)
For 3 periods during 1983-1985, from 8 to 11 days, thenumber of individuals practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program togetherin a group reached the √1% of the world population (approximately 8,000).
The study tracked worldwide numbers of casualtiesand fatalities due to terrorism obtained from the Rand Corporation. Data on international conflict generated from ratings of news events in the New York Times and London Times.
Results. The study found a 72% drop in terrorism (p <.025) and an average drop of 32% in international conflicts during the assemblies (p values ranged from <.005 to < .025). Time series analysis, a rigorous mathematical methodology for assessing how social indicators change over time, found that this reduction of war and terrorism were something new and different that could not be explained by pre-existing trends, cycles, or seasonal variations in the data or by other events going on at that time.
Conclusion. The results indicate that long-term Maharishi Effect groups could have a major impact on reducing terrorism and international conflict worldwide.In Dec. 2023-Jan 2024, an assembly of 10,000 is being held in Hyderabad India with the hope of creating a permanent group for world peace.
Reference: Orme-Johnson, D. W., Dillbeck, M. C., & Alexander, C. N. (2003). Preventing terrorism and international conflict: Effects of large assemblies of participants in the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 36, 283-302. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J076v36n01_13
8) 17-year Study of field effects of Consciousness Reducing National Stress Indicators(2000-2016)
This study looked at the number people practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program together at Maharishi InternationalUniversity, Fairfield, Iowa. (Blue line)
The 8 colored lines indicate stress indicators. The red line is the mean, the U.S. Stress Index.
Results. When the size of the MIU group rose to √1% of the U.S. population (1725 participants), all U.S. stress indicators simultaneously decreased. When the group size decreased, all stress indicators increased again (p<.0001). Potential alternative explanations in terms of changes in economic conditions, political leadership, demographics, trends and cycles in the data could not explain the results.
Conclusion. The simultaneous decrease and then increase in stress indicators coincident with changes in the size of the MIU group indicates that the effect is functioning from the level of the unified field, affecting everything at once.
References: Orme-Johnson, D. W., Cavanaugh, K. L., Dillbeck, M. C., & Goodman, R. S. (2022). field effects of consciousness: A seventeen-year study of the effects of group practice of Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs on reducing national stress in the United States. World Journal of Social Science, 9(2), 1–38. https://doi.org/10.5430/wjss.v9n2p1
9) Group practice of Transcendental Meditation and homicide trends (2002-2016)
The study looked at the monthly mean number of individuals practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program at MaharishiInternational University in Fairfield, Iowa. (top graph)
The study then tracked the U.S. homicide rate per 100 million people (mean daily rate per month), seasonally adjusted. (bottom graph)
Results. Based on previously published theoretical principles and empirical research, press releases and other publicity predicted that rates of homicide and violent crime would significantly decrease when the size of the group reached approximately the √1% of U.S. population. Statistical analysis found that, when the size of the MIU group reached or exceeded the √1% threshold (1725 participants), homicide trends decreased, p<.0001. When the size of the MIU group decreased, homicides trended upward again, p<.001.
Conclusion. These results along with 26 other studies in scholarly journals indicate that the Maharishi Effect causes positive change in society.
References: Cavanaugh, K. L., Dillbeck, M. C., & Orme-Johnson, D. W. (2022). Evaluating a field theory of consciousness and social change: Group practice of Transcendental Meditation and homicide trends. Studies in Asian Social Science, 8(1), 1–32. https://doi.org/10.5430/sass.v8n1p1
10) Group practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program reducing drug-related mortality (2002-2016) 
This study also looked at the monthly mean number of individuals practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs at Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa. (top graph)
The study then tracked drug-related fatalities (mean daily rate per month) (bottom graph)
Results. Based on previously published theoretical principles and empirical research, press releases and other publicity predicted that rates of homicide and violent crime would significantly decrease when the size of the group reached approximately the √1% of the U.S. population. Statistical analysis found that when the size of the MIU group reached or exceeded the √1% of the U.S. population (1725 participants), drug-related fatalities decreased, p<.0001. When the size of the MIU group decreased, drug-related fatalities trended upward again, p<.001.
Conclusions. Existing evidence warrants implementation and further evaluation of this approach in U.S. public health initiatives.
References: Dillbeck, M. C., & Cavanaugh, K. L. (2023). Empirical evaluation of the possible contribution of group practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program to reduction in drug-related mortality. Medicina, 59, 1–32. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina59020195
From 29 December to 13 January 2023-2024 – more than 10,000 meditators and Yogic Flyers are assembling here near Hyderabad, India to create the most powerful influence of Peace and Harmony in the world. The intention is to inspire a permanent group of 10,000 as the real foundation for perpetual World Peace.
