Why is transcendental meditation so expensive?

Eh, because they’re trying to rip you off?!

I’m sure there’s plenty you could read up on about meditation on the web, without needing too much guidance.

TM is a reverse ATM: it takes money in instead of giving it out. Keep your cash.

I gather you’re specifically looking for meditation that doesn’t have any religious associations?

Everything is expensive if you have an experienced teacher. They have to pay for the building, lights etc. to hold their classes and of course they have to eat and send their kids to college just like us. If you cant afford this type of instruction. You may want to look into purchasing a few videos that will probably run you about $29.95 each. I have found that when I sit in a quiet place for 20 min.each day. I experience the same type of things the meditation people say that they experience (but maybe not on the same level as them).

Confucius said “Silence is the true friend that never betrays”.

http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_silence.html

You could try reading The Relaxation Response, on Amazon it will set you back about fifteen bucks with shipping. It is a great book that will teach you the art of meditation. Nam-yoho-renge-kyo to you!

Transcendental meditation is free.

Lessons in it are expensive, because all sorts of spiritual exercises tend to be trendy among those with lots of money.

@cwilbur: Thanks for the lesson in semantics.

It’s fairly obvious from my description what I meant. Next time I’ll make sure to make the question is totally complete along with dictionary definitions of each word contained within so no one gets confused.

Britannica, in it’s article on Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of TM, hints at one reason for the price tag:
“His organization, which includes real estate holdings, schools, and clinics, was worth more than $3 billion in the late 1990s.”

Maybe because there are a LOT of people in this country with more money than brains.

I might be a little too pragmatic but the high cost might be a way to help steer a potential customer’s expectations and firm commitment.

It’s a common business principle that in some situations people will pay and appreciate a product/service more than if it was lower priced – i.e. if something’s expensive you expect it will be worth more. You never see someone asking for the cheapest surgeon or interior decorator. The high price legitimises the service, which is understandable given that it’s difficult to find a ‘legitimate’ meditation guru.

The other thing is that if I was the teacher on a course such as this, I’d expect that this process takes time and requires patience and commitment. A high course fee mandates a higher level of commitment and faith from the participants, which makes for a more conducive ‘class’ atmosphere to teach in.

These are lessons I’ve learned from consulting (selling services) – it’s very business-sy but all endaveors need to be self-sustaining at the least to be successful.

Go down to a sketchy corner of town, and I guarantee you can buy some transcendence for much less money than that.

That’s a total rip off! Just buy a book about it and learn it yourself.

You can’t actually learn it yourself from books. The books say, “here’s a little information but you need to take the course.”

i think you can probably find some cheaper options. i’m going to a 5 day meditation retreat at spirit rock, i got a scholarship but the regular fee is around $500. i’ve done a 10 day vipassana retreat too, and that was free. keep looking, there are lots of teachers.