During three separate experimental periods (January 1979, and August and December 1981) when the numbers collectively practicing Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program in Holland exceeded the square root of 1% of the population, the total national crime rate decreased significantly from the average change observed for the same month over a 10-year period.

Reference: Burgmans, Burgt, Langenkamp, & Verstegen, 1982.

Population influenced: The Netherlands.

Coherence group: Three World Peace Assemblies attended by more than 376 participants in the TM and TM-Sidhi program (square root of 1% of the Dutch population).

Dependent variables: Monthly crime rate and traffic accidents with injury, from the Central Bureau of Statistics.

Experimental design: Difference of observed and predicted rates of crime and traffic accidents during the three separate one-month experimental periods were contrasted with comparable values for the same months in the prior ten years.

Results: Significant decreases in crime rate during three intervention periods (all p's<.025). One period had a significant decrease in accidents (p<.002); the other two periods showed trends (p's<.10). Combined p-values for the three periods were significant both for crime rate (p=.004) and auto accidents (p=.001).

Conclusions: The Maharishi Effect creates an improvement in the national quality of life when more than the square root of 1% of the population practices the TM and TM-Sidhi program together in a group.

Reference: Burgmans, W.H.P.M., Burgt, A.T. van den, Langenkamp, F.P.Th., & Verstegen, J.H. (1983). Sociological effects of the group dynamics of consciousness: Decrease of crime and traffic accidents in Holland. In R.A. Chalmers, G. Clements, H. Schenkluhn, & M. Weinless (Eds.), Scientific Research on Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Program: Collected Papers (Vol. 4, pp. 2566-2582), in press. Vlodrop, The Netherlands: Maharishi Vedic University Press.