Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Article summary

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (born Mahesh Prasad Varma, 12 January 1911? – 5 February 2008) was the creator of Transcendental Meditation (TM) and leader of the worldwide organization that has been characterized in multiple ways, including as a new religious movement and as non-religious. He became known as Maharishi (meaning "great seer") and Yogi as an adult. After earning a degree in physics at Allahabad University in 1942, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi became an assistant and disciple of Swami Brahmananda Saraswati (also known as Guru Dev), the Shankaracharya (spiritual leader) of the Jyotir Math in the Indian Himalayas. The Maharishi credits Brahmananda Saraswati with inspiring his teachings. In 1955, the Maharishi began to introduce his Transcendental Deep Meditation (later renamed Transcendental Meditation) to India and the world. His first global tour began in 1958. His devotees referred to him as His Holiness, and because he laughed frequently in early TV interviews, he was sometimes referred to as the "giggling guru." The Maharishi trained more than 40,000 TM teachers, taught the Transcendental Meditation technique to "more than five million people" and founded thousands of teaching centres and hundreds of colleges, universities and schools, while TM websites report that tens of thousands have learned the TM-Sidhi programme.…

Key claims

1. date of birth: 1911-01-12 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. date of birth: 1917-01-12 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. date of death: 1953 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
4. date of death: 2008-02-05 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
5. date of death: 2008 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
6. date of foundation: 1992 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
7. date of foundation: 1982 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
8. date of foundation: 1992 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
9. date of foundation: 1973 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
10. date of foundation: 1995 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
11. date of foundation: 2007 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
12. publication date: 2014 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
13. publication date: 1976 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
14. publication date: 1955 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
15. students: 100,000 students — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of birth is "1911-01-12". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the date of birth is "1917-01-12". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the date of death is "1953". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. The record states that the date of death is "2008-02-05". What evidence would count against this claim?
6. The record states that the date of death is "2008". What evidence would count against this claim?
7. The record states that the date of foundation is "1992". What evidence would count against this claim?
8. The record states that the date of foundation is "1982". What evidence would count against this claim?
9. The record states that the date of foundation is "1992". What evidence would count against this claim?
10. The record states that the date of foundation is "1973". What evidence would count against this claim?
11. The record states that the date of foundation is "1995". What evidence would count against this claim?
12. The record states that the date of foundation is "2007". What evidence would count against this claim?
13. The record states that the publication date is "2014". What evidence would count against this claim?
14. The record states that the publication date is "1976". What evidence would count against this claim?
15. The record states that the publication date is "1955". What evidence would count against this claim?
16. The record states that the students is "100,000 students". What evidence would count against this claim?
17. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
18. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1372843625