Can the Maharishis really fly?

On Wednesday, April 23, I went to the Memorial Union to see a demonstration of alleged “yogic flying” by a group from the Maharishi University of Management. Materials Science and Engineering professor emeritus and well-known skeptic John W. Patterson was also in the audience, and as a result, an extended discussion developed between the Maharishi group and several of us in the audience. Patterson said that the claims for “yogic flying” rest only on the subjective evidence its advocates present. He wants to see independent researchers do controlled experiments to test for unusual physical effects that can be objectively measured.

If this so-called “Maharishi effect” were confirmed through controlled scientific tests, Patterson said, their claims would be considerably strengthened.

Some “yogic flyers” claim, for example, that they sense themselves becoming lighter as they meditate. They also claim that some who practice “flying” long enough should eventually be able to levitate. The Maharishi group even said that several advanced “yogic flyers” in India had actually achieved this “second stage” of floating in midair.

Patterson then proposed the following test: Place a large, stiff platform on a scale or a pair of scales, then have a “yogic flyer” sit on the platform and meditate. If he generates a force that helps him counteract gravity and rise upward, his weight should decrease. A refinement of this experiment would be to connect the scale to an automated datalogger that records the “flyer’s” weight about once per second. This would record any jiggling that would occur if the “flyer” subconsciously began taking tiny hops in an effort to rise off the platform.

If nothing unusual is happening, the brief drops in weight as he bounces up should balance out similar increases as he falls back onto the platform. On average, his weight should remain the same as his resting weight. But if he really is starting to rise, his average weight should drop slightly.

The Maharishi proponents could then claim that the alleged effect doesn’t really kick in until after the “flyer” is airborne.

This could be tested by videotaping a “flyer” as he hopped. The amount of time an upwardly propelled object stays airborne increases in known proportion to the height it reaches. Were something unusual happening, the “flyer” should stay up significantly longer than one would expect from his maximum height. His movements could be precisely measured by attaching a reflective or luminous patch to his back near his center of gravity as a reference point.

It also seemed to me that the “flyers” were getting help from something besides mental energy. At least two of the three were gaining considerable momentum from swinging their clasped hands and extended arms up and down in front of themselves as they hopped. Finally, I note here that one member of the Maharishi group agreed to perform Patterson’s test and send him a copy of the results. Patterson and I are awaiting their conclusions with considerable interest.

Royce J. Bitzer

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Department of Zoology and Genetics