"Is Transcendental Meditation a Religion or a form of Hypnosis?" Merv Griffin asks Maharishi in 1975

"I can't believe all the misinformation there is about Transcendental Meditation http://www.tm.org, first of all is it a religion," asks Merv Griffin to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on his show in 1975. Maharishi: It (Transcendental Meditation) is not a religion, it has nothing to do with religion. Only, it enriches life - it makes life better. Whether he is a physicist, or a chemist, or an astrologist or a religious man - in every phase of life when the stresses are released a man becomes better. A religious man becomes a better religious man - he finds meaning in his religion, in his own denomination such as christianity. Religious people of all denominations are practicing Transcendental Meditation and there is no complaint from any section of religion. Merv: People are confused and think that Transcendental Meditation is some kind of hypnosis? Maharishi: It is not hypnosis - it's a very real transformation of the mind with the body. Hundreds of experiments have been performed to show that the nervous system begins to function in a more coherent manner... Maharishi Mahesh Yogi began teaching Transcendental Meditation to the world in 1957 and first appeared on the Merv Griffin Show in 1975.