James Randi on Paranormal Claims of Transcendental Meditation

[Music] [Music] so mr. Randy um what do you think about the supernatural claims of Maharishi I actually believe that he thought he could levitate but he just didn't do it because he didn't need to do it it's incredible that I would say something like that because I'm not naive in these respects but I am knowledgeable enough about these people to know that they can convince themselves of their own holiness their own divine sources and they begin to believe their own stories because you look around you and you say I've got this vast organization this huge amount of income from thousands and thousands of people all over the world in different cultures and different languages I guess I must be the real thing why are you battling this this need for magic that people apparently have well I get this question frequently they say why are you destroying people's illusions because the illusions are only illusions they don't work there is no real solution in these things they can coast on this a certain amount it will support them to a certain degree and then it collapses look look around us just here I mean we're just in a chosen spot here yes it's very nice beautiful trees it's a real world this is the real world here the real earth underneath me now there are bumps enter the old small imperfections in the road here this garden needs a little bit of attending too but we have to learn to get around these things you too you have to learn to get around these things you have to surmount the obstacles in your way and magic will not do it for example I could reach over here and produce a small blue napkin crunched up paper napkin and then place it away in my fist like that and then produce it from here again see not too difficult to do I have another one here it looks exactly the same now when I take a balled up paper napkin like this and place it in my fist I point to the fist as if it's there it's actually here you see but I point there as if it's there and then I move now I've got here but I simply move behind the arm here and apparently produce it from the elbow so it's just misdirection of the senses there is no real magic if you accept real magic then you accept that the laws of the universe are not what they are TM is dangerous in the same way that all these false beliefs these mythological beliefs can be it it gives you a false sense of values it doesn't relate you to the real world that you have to handle every day because of that it betrays you it will will work for a certain period of time it will always be refreshed in some way there's always a claim that somebody is finally mastered levitation and it's a trick it's a simple gymnastic trick but the TM people don't tell you that they say that it's perfected now it's always just been perfected but remember that my foundation offers a million-dollar prize to any of the TMS who say they can do it and we have never had one application from a TM er even though there are millions around the world so we're told why is not one of these people come forward to say I'll take the million dollars I think I know the reason

Channel: wocomoHUMANITY

Views: 53,285

Keywords: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, James Randi, Randi Educational Foundation, Transcendental Meditation, Yogic Flying, meditation, Levitation, trick, magic, illusion

Id: srQEu2O9KUY

Length: 3min 51sec (231 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 20 2019