The transcendental meditation centre in Washington has become a hideaway for stressed out professionals looking for relief from urban living…

The Place: Rockville Pike, just across the White Flint Mall, Washington

The Day: Saturday. Outside, there is this huge rush of weekend revellers and shoppers. White Flint Mall is virtually crawling with frenzied human bodies looking for bargains.

But just a few metres away from all this chaos is the Rockville Pike building. On its third floor is located a meditation centre, an oasis of calm and peace in midst of all that noise and hubbub outside.

Two dozen men sit on the padded floor, eyes closed, forehead furrowed in deep concentration, in their own search for inner peace and happiness. There is certain energy in the air.

This is an informal transcendental meditation centre, set up by some of America’s transcendental medicine freaks. Among them is Kris Kenver, a dentist who says that transcendental meditation "lightens his load." "At the end of the day," he adds, "it's like your body is shedding its extra weight and floating in the air."

Like him, several other residents of Washington - among them doctors, architects, chartered accountants, artists, dancers - gather at the centre set up by the Maharishi VVedic Trust to meditate, and get in touch with their souls. Of trying to deal with stress rising from work, traffic, crime and fighting a battle to find a parking space.

This gleaming USD 1.8 million building in North Bethesda opened last October and already has research facilities on Vedic medicine and meditation techniques.

The building on Edson Lane is built on the principles of Vedic architecture - principles derived from the Vedas, ancient texts of Hinduism, to promote tranquillity. It faces east toward the rising sun,, even though the street is on its north side.

Along with the group meditation rooms, in which men and women meditate separately, there are smaller, more intimate rooms with easy chairs for consultations for those just learning TM.

There is also a meeting room, clinic and day spa.

From the cream-coloured walls to the soft lighting to the hushed tones in people's voices, everything is muted. David Lonsdorf, a marketing executive for the centre, said that the building was designed with "a silent, inner spiritual core," a squared-off open space that runs from the ground floor to the roof in the middle of the building through which no electrical, plumbing or other conduits pass. "Because of its design, the entire building has a very peaceful quality," he adds.

More than 30 years after flower children were inspired by the Beatles' flirtation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India and his method of self-relaxation, transcendental meditation is being pitched at professionals looking for relief from the nerve-racking stresses of modern life.

The centre is particularly popular among the baby boomers, a generation of people who produced and brought up loads of children, a natural fall out for the number of people who died during World War II.

"I think the older the baby boomers get, the more they're looking for something that's going to help their health without prescription drugs," says Mary Roberts, a guide at the centre.

People like Shelly Johnson, a woman with five kids who has worked for 30 years for the federal government and is now a wedding organiser. Johnson feels that the mediation puts you in a "state of pure euphoria. It's like a huge turnaround for me."

Not just professionals, even young inexperienced mothers are using TM, the slang for transcendental meditation, to keep away the baby blues. "My kid virtually drives me down the bend with his high energy levels. I need some sort of meditation to calm me down."

Most converts say that it’s not just small transformations that TM achieves. It’s even big things that it can achieve from lowering the crime rate to putting an end to war.

Dr Natasha Gordon, a local psychiatrist says that TM is just one among a variety of relaxation therapies that have been shown to reduce stress.

"We find that different kinds of relaxation techniques are good for different people."

Where: 8000-square-foot Maharishi Vedic Medical Center, Rockville Pike.

Cost: USD 1,000 one-time cost of learning TM USD 150 for each session

Postal Address:
Transcendetal Meditation Centre
Rockville Pike Bldg,
Off White Flint Mall,
Bethesda,
MD 20892-2182

Or

Maharishi Vedic Center
Bethesda, Maryland,
Near White Flint Mall and the White Flint Metro
5504 Edson Lane,
North Bethesda 20852
USA
Tel: (301) 770 5690,
Fax: (301) 770-5694
E-mail: info@mvc-bethesda.org