DISC-0018 / ITEM-0009

Initiation puja and personal mantra

Transcendental Meditation · India / worldwide

Disclosure date: 1977
Date precision: Year
Disclosure method: Court record
Extent: Partial
Record review: Unreviewed

View in explorer ↗This record as JSON

Restricted material and access

A Sanskrit ceremony performed at instruction and a mantra given privately to each student.

Material type: Transmitted technique
Restricted to: Individual students
Restriction mechanism: fee, oral_only
Stated reason: Effectiveness depends on correct personal instruction
Tradition origins: 1955

Recorded practice status

Practiced

Provisional: no dated status evidence is linked.

Status as of: Not recorded
Status claims: Not recorded

Disclosure dates, source publication dates, tradition origins and dates of practice are separate.

What this disclosure covers

The puja ceremony; not the individual mantras.

The source

Malnak v. Yogi (440 F. Supp. 1284 / 592 F.2d 197) ↗ (SRC-0015; authenticity: Unassessed)

Author: US District Court D.N.J. / US Court of Appeals 3rd Cir.
Original publication: 1977–1979
Linked edition: Not recorded
Format: Court record
Provenance: court_filing
Rights of source work: Court record
Identifiers: courtlistener:1817490
Source content hash: Not recorded

Court examined the puja chant and ruled the TM course religious in nature. Linked opinion is the district court ruling (440 F. Supp. 1284).

Claims about this item

These claims may cite other sources for the same restricted item. Supporting and contradicting evidence remain separate.

CLM-0004 · Content

Instruction begins with a puja chanted in Sanskrit by the teacher, at which the student makes offerings.

Claim support: Single source
Record review: Unreviewed
Period: 1970s
Locators: Not recorded
Sources counted as independent: Not recorded

Supporting sources

Malnak v. Yogi (440 F. Supp. 1284 / 592 F.2d 197) ↗ (SRC-0015; authenticity: Unassessed)

Contradicting sources: none recorded.

Based on the court's findings in Malnak v. Yogi.

SRC-0015: Source authenticity is unassessed; this is separate from the truth of its assertions.
SRC-0015: No source-level content_hash is recorded; linked artifact hashes may identify excerpts, derivatives or metadata instead.
CLM-0004: Record review status is unreviewed; review is not proof of truth.
CLM-0004: No page, section, exhibit or timestamp is recorded.
ITEM-0009: The recorded practice status is provisional: no dated status claims are linked.

CLM-0014 · Content

Each student received a mantra individually at a puja held in a closed room with only the teacher present, having brought a white handkerchief, flowers and fruit, before a table holding a picture of Guru Dev; a week or two earlier the student signed a promise never to reveal the mantra.

Claim support: Single source
Record review: Reviewed
Period: 1970s
Locators: 440 F. Supp. at 1305
Sources counted as independent: Not recorded

Supporting sources

Malnak v. Yogi (440 F. Supp. 1284 / 592 F.2d 197) ↗ (SRC-0015; authenticity: Unassessed)

Contradicting sources: none recorded.

Checked against the opinion text on CourtListener on 2026-11-04. These are the court's findings of undisputed fact.

SRC-0015: Source authenticity is unassessed; this is separate from the truth of its assertions.
SRC-0015: No source-level content_hash is recorded; linked artifact hashes may identify excerpts, derivatives or metadata instead.
ITEM-0009: The recorded practice status is provisional: no dated status claims are linked.

CLM-0015 · Content

In the English translation of the puja chant supplied by the defendants, the teacher offers a series of items (a seat, ablution, cloth, sandalpaste, rice, a flower, incense, light, water, fruit, a betel leaf, a coconut and camphor light) to the lotus feet of Shri Guru Dev, bowing down after each.

Claim support: Single source
Record review: Reviewed
Period: 1970s
Locators: 440 F. Supp. at 1306–1307
Sources counted as independent: Not recorded

Supporting sources

Malnak v. Yogi (440 F. Supp. 1284 / 592 F.2d 197) ↗ (SRC-0015; authenticity: Unassessed)

Contradicting sources: none recorded.

Checked against the opinion text on CourtListener on 2026-11-04. Complements CLM-0004.

SRC-0015: Source authenticity is unassessed; this is separate from the truth of its assertions.
SRC-0015: No source-level content_hash is recorded; linked artifact hashes may identify excerpts, derivatives or metadata instead.
ITEM-0009: The recorded practice status is provisional: no dated status claims are linked.

Evidence qualifications

SRC-0015 · source_authenticity_unassessed: Source authenticity is unassessed; this is separate from the truth of its assertions.
SRC-0015 · source_without_content_hash: No source-level content_hash is recorded; linked artifact hashes may identify excerpts, derivatives or metadata instead.
DISC-0018 · record_unreviewed: Record review status is unreviewed; review is not proof of truth.
ITEM-0009 · status_without_dated_evidence: The recorded practice status is provisional: no dated status claims are linked.

Reviewed means checked against a source. It does not establish source authenticity, independent corroboration or present-day practice.