Transcendental Meditation in Zambia - Mike Garde

In October 1991 Zambia had an election which brought to an end the 27 year rule of the Christian leader Kenneth Kaunda. He was replaced by a “born again” Christian named Frederick Chiluba of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD).

Kenneth Kaunda endorsed a Transcendental Meditation project named Maharishi Heaven On Earth Development to try to put life back into his campaign for reelection. The project has presented itself in ads (i.e. in Times of Zambia, 30th Oct 91) as “a technique to develop higher states of consciousness, enriching all levels of life.” The ad claims the technique has been “documented” by the Universities of Sussex, Stockholm, and Harvard Medical School. The aim of Heaven on Earth Development project is “to gain the support of nature for the whole country.”

Home Affairs Minister Kingsley Chinkuli agreed to give the Heaven On Earth Corporation full control over 2.2 million hectares of land including “the right to select those Zambian families which will live on the land.” Which meant that the Corporation would have the right to replace whatever families it chose from the region.

Stan Kristafor, a white member of the opposition (MMD), made a very strong attack on this link up. “The people were not consulted about this project,” he said, “and the people do not approve of it at all.” He warned that this type of false prophets introduce demonic activities, and that they only succeed in summoning deceptive, evil spirits.

Kenneth Kaunda who is very ecumenically oriented was most probably influenced by people like Adrian Smith, a former missionary priest in Zambia, who in his book God and the Aquarian Age - the New Era of the Kingdom advocates Trancendental Meditation as a means of Christian spirituality.

Even if there was a financial incentive, all these TM plans came to nothing when Kaunda was rejected by the voters. (M. Garde, Ireland)