All it took for the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to rocket to fame was a visit or two from the Beatles. But his influence was more durable than the musical group.
Centers for transcendental meditation and other teachings sprang up all over the world, even in Iowa. That's where Claire Hoffman grew up, a story she tells in the book Greetings from Utopia Park: Surviving a Transcendent Childhood.
Was it a cult? She says not, but it was an interesting childhood. She tells the story in this interview from 2016.