Maharishi Effect
Decreased Deaths due to Violence
Weekly violence due to homicide, suicide, and motor vehicle accidents in the United States significantly decreased during periods when the numbers participating in the group practice of Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program at Maharishi International University in Iowa exceeded the square root of 1% of the U.S. population. When the group exceeded the square root of 1% of the U.S. and Canadian population, violent deaths in Canada also decreased.
References: Dillbeck, 1990; Assimakis & Dillbeck, 1990.
Population influenced: United States.
Coherence group: Permanent coherence-creating group of participants in the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program at Maharishi International University, Fairfield, Iowa, U.S.A.
Dependent variables: Violence index comprised of weekly fatalities due to motor vehicle accidents, suicides, and homicides, 1982–1985 and 1979–1985.
Experimental design: Box-Jenkins time series impact assessment analysis of the square root of 1% threshold (1982–1985), and transfer function analysis (1979–1985).
Results: Significant decrease in the violent death index was found when the size of the coherence-creating group at Maharishi International University was relatively larger (p's<.01), particularly when it exceeded the square root of 1% threshold for the U.S.
Conclusions: The Maharishi Effect results in a holistic influence of reduced turbulence and violence in national life.
Reference: 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, 399–418. (Summary printed in Scientific Research on Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Program: Collected Papers, Vol. 5, p. 3247.)
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