Jump to content

The Beatles in India

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by JimmyBallgame (talk | contribs) at 09:54, 19 August 2010 (→‎Lennon and Harrison departure: just need the citation, not a sentence stating where the info came from). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

History of the Beatles
The Beatles logo

The Beatles were at Rishikesh, India, in 1968, to attend an advanced Transcendental Meditation (TM) training session at the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The trip came six months after The Beatles first met the Maharishi, in August, 1967. Their adoption of him as their guru attracted wide attention and is credited with changing attitudes in the West about Indian spirituality.

They arrived together at the ashram in February 1968, along with wives, girlfriends, and assistants Neil Aspinall and Mal Evans, and followed by reporters. Ringo Starr left after only a short stay, but Paul McCartney stayed for several weeks. John Lennon and George Harrison left abruptly in April, after rumours of inappropriate behaviour by the Maharishi. While there, the musicians wrote many songs which were later recorded on The Beatles (White Album), Abbey Road and Let It Be.

Background

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, in 1973

The Beatles were interested in Eastern influences for their music and had been using drugs in an effort to expand their consciousness.[1] At the suggestion of Pattie Harrison, George Harrison's wife, they attended a lecture at the London Hilton on Park Lane, presented by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, on 24 August 1967.[2][3] The Maharishi had announced his imminent retirement, so it was expected to be his last public lecture in the West.[4] The Beatles were given front row seats and were invited to meet the Maharishi afterwards.[4] During the ninety-minute meeting he invited them to be his guests at an upcoming training retreat.

The next day, the group went to the retreat at the campus of a teaching college in Bangor, Wales, along with Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithfull, Cilla Black and around 300 others,[5] where they learnt the basics of TM.[6] While there, they announced at a press conference that they were giving up drugs (apparently referring to psychedelics but not marijuana).[4][5][7] The Maharishi told them privately to avoid involvement with the "Ban the bomb" movement and to support the elected government.[8] Although meant to be a 10-day series of seminars, their stay was cut short by the death of their manager, Brian Epstein, on 27 August.[2][9] The Maharishi helped ease their shock by convincing them that Epstein was still with them and that their good thoughts would help his journey.[3][5] Their cheerful appearance was noted in the press.

Curious to learn more, the Beatles made plans to attend an initiator training programme at the Maharishi's new ashram in India in October.[8] However, the Beatles postponed the trip due to their commitment with the Magical Mystery Tour film and soundtrack.[2] In the meantime, they often visited with the Maharishi in London.[5] Now publicised as "the Beatles' Guru", the Maharishi went on his eighth world tour, giving lectures in Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, Italy, Canada, and California.[10] He spoke to 3,600 people at Madison Square Garden in New York City in January 1968, and the Beatles sent a large flower arrangement to his suite at the Plaza Hotel.[11] After thousands of would-be meditators thronged the lobby, the Maharishi was not allowed to stay there again.[12]

The Beatles discovered that the Maharishi was negotiating with ABC Television in the US to create a TV special featuring them without their permission. Two trips by business manager Peter Brown to the Maharishi, who was lecturing in Malmö, Sweden, including one with Harrison and McCartney, failed to get him to stop making promises that he could deliver the band for the show.[5] Before leaving for India the band recorded the instrumental tracks for "Across the Universe", whose refrain, "Jai Guru Dev", was a standard greeting within the Maharishi's Spiritual Regeneration Movement.[7] Also, each of the Beatles and many of their entourage gave one week's salary to the Maharishi, the customary fee for TM initiation at the time.[13]

Arrival

John Lennon, his wife Cynthia, George and Pattie Harrison, and Pattie's sister, Jenny Boyd,[3] arrived in Delhi on 16 February, then took a 150-mile taxi drive to Rishikesh. Paul McCartney, his girlfriend Jane Asher, Ringo Starr and his wife Maureen arrived four days later.[2] The group arrived three weeks after the session, due to end 25 April, had already begun.[14] They were accompanied by a small retinue of reporters and photographers who were mostly kept out of the fenced and gated compound.[15][16] Alexis "Magic Alex" Mardas, a friend of the Beatles, arrived four weeks later.[3] Road manager Mal Evans and business managers Peter Brown and Neil Aspinall were there for all or part of the time.[5][7] Also there at the same time were Mia Farrow (who had recently divorced Frank Sinatra), her sister Prudence and brother John, Donovan, Gyp "Gypsy Dave" Mills, Beach Boy Mike Love, jazz flutist Paul Horn, journalist Lewis H. Lapham, filmmaker Paul Saltzman, spiritual-seeker Nancy Cooke de Herrera, actor Jerry Stovin,[17] and dozens of other, all Europeans or Americans – about sixty people in all.[3][14] Despite speculation that she might attend, Shirley MacLaine did not appear.[10]

Facility

Located in the holy "Valley of the Saints", the "International Academy of Meditation" was a 14-acre compound across from Rishikesh, the "yoga capital of the world" and home to many ashrams, in the foothills of the Himalayas, 150 feet above the River Ganges and surrounded by jungle.[18][19][20] While ashrams are traditionally spartan or primitive, the Maharishi's was designed to suit Western habits and described as "luxurious" but also as "seedy".[13][21] It had been built in 1963 with a $100,000 gift from American heiress Doris Duke.[19] While the Beatles were there the Maharishi was negotiating with the Indian government to use some nearby park land for an airstrip for a jet plane which he had been given,[13] a deal which was protested by several thousand landless peasants who had been denied the use of the land for farming.[22] The stone bungalows were equipped with electric heaters, running water, toilets, and English-style furniture.[5] The ashram was surrounded by barbed wire and the gates were kept locked and guarded.[14]

Experience

John Lennon, in 1969

The routine at the ashram was relaxed. Meals were eaten in an open dining area, where the vegetarian meals, prepared by an English cook, were unwillingly shared with aggressive monkeys. The days were devoted to meditating and attending lectures by the Maharishi, who spoke from a flower-bedecked platform.[3] The Maharishi also gave private lessons to the Beatles, nominally due to their late arrival. The tranquil environment provided by the Maharishi – complete with meditation and relaxation, and away from the media throng – helped the band. While he kept the media away from his students, the Maharishi gave them frequent interviews.[14]

Though access to the Beatles was limited, the Maharishi did have all of his students line up for a class portrait. Nancy Cooke de Herrera, a longtime follower, says that she complained to the Maharishi for giving his celebrity students unusual attention, including placing them at the center of the portrait.[19] One of the photographers who took a picture of the assembled group was Paul Saltzman, a Canadian filmmaker who visited the ashram after completing film work elsewhere in India. While there he took some snapshots which he later assembled into a book, The Beatles in India.[23] In its various incarnations, the image has been called "one of the most iconic photographs in the history of rock 'n' roll".[24]

The Maharishi doted on his celebrity students.[19] McCartney had been uncomfortable with the Maharishi's flattery, including calling the band "the blessed leaders of the world's youth".[7] Harrison's 25th birthday was celebrated with cake and a display of fireworks.[5] On another occasion, Kershi Cambata, a patron of the Maharishis who owned an aviation company, flew two helicopters to Rishikesh to take the Maharishi and his guests for rides and for the publicity value.[19] One night, when the moon was full, the Maharishi arranged for everyone to cruise on the Ganges in two barges. The evening started with the chanting of Vedas by two pandits, but soon the musicians brought out their guitars. The Beatles sang Donovan's songs, Mike Love and Donovan sang Beatles' songs, and Paul Horn "really wailed".[19][25]

After dinner the musicians played their guitars and sitars.[19] Donovan taught Lennon a guitar finger-picking technique that Lennon passed on to Harrison.[3] The technique was subsequently implemented on "Dear Prudence" and "Julia".[2] The stay at the ashram turned out to be one of the group's most creative periods. Lennon later said of the experience, "I was going humity-humity in my head and the songs were coming out. For creating it was great. It was just pouring out!"[4] Both Lennon and McCartney spent time composing rather than meditating.[26] In addition to the many songs composed by the Beatles, Donovan composed "Jennifer Juniper" for his new girlfriend, Jenny Boyd.[5]

Like other students at the ashram, the Beatles adopted native dress, though they made it their own. The ashram had a tailor on the premises to make clothes for the students. The group started wearing loose Indian clothes. They shopped in Rishikesh and bought saris to be made into shirts and jackets in the loudest colours, which went on to affect Western fashions when they wore them back home.[19]

Starr

Ringo Starr compared the ashram to a Butlins Holiday Camp.[4] He and his wife, Maureen Starkey, had not been expected to come, but managed a ten-day or two-week visit, leaving about 1 March. Their departure was per schedule by one account,[19] but premature by others. They missed their six-month old son. Starr had brought a suitcase full of tinned beans due to his delicate digestion, but they ran out quickly. Starkey had an aversion to flying insects, and the ashram had plenty. According to a friend of hers, Maureen complained to the Maharishi about them in a private session. He told her not to be concerned, climbed on the table, and swatted them with the fringe of his dhoti.

McCartney

McCartney and Asher departed in mid-March.[9] He needed to get back to London to supervise Apple Corps and she had a theatrical commitment.[19] As he left he told another student, "I'm a new man".[19]

Harrison

The visit was an especially reflective opportunity, as Harrison shared with Canadian visitor, Paul Saltzman. "Like, we're the Beatles after all, aren't we?" said Harrison, "We have all the money you could ever dream of. We have all the fame you could ever wish for. But, it isn't love. It isn't health. It isn't peace inside, is it?"[27]

Lennon

John Lennon and his wife Cynthia loved the experience. "John, always passionate about a new cause, was evangelical in his enthusiasm for the Maharishi, talking about spreading the message to the world," Cynthia told The Times. "I was a little more sceptical, but I enjoyed the meditation so I was happy to go to India. I hoped, too, that time out of the spotlight would be good for John and me."[16] They initially shared a four-poster bed, but after a week John requested separate quarters and began to ignore Cynthia. He received daily letters from Yoko Ono.[3] One of her notes said "Look up at the sky and when you see a cloud think of me."[5]

Others

Aspinall, head of Apple Corps, was kept busy negotiating an agreement for a movie to include the Beatles in a movie about the Maharishi. Aspinall was surprised to find that the holy man had an accountant and was a sophisticated negotiator.[5] Another conflict concerned the Maharishi's wish that the Beatles pay him 10 to 25 percent of their income.[5] However he did not charge them for staying at the ashram (other students were charged $400 for the full three-month session),[13][14] or for many expenses they incurred.[19]

Some of the negotiations concerned a movie that was to be about either the Maharishi or his own guru. Paul Horn put the deal together with Four Star Films.[25] John Farrow was to direct. They were planning to film at the ashram, and at Kashmir, where the Maharishi planned to go when Rishikesh got too hot in the summer.

Lennon and Harrison departure

Lennon and Harrison left abruptly in April, a few weeks after McCartney.[9] The cause for their sudden departure has various explanations. The immediate statements by the Beatles said that they were disillusioned by the Maharishi's desire for financial gain.[28]

Several writers have said that Lennon became convinced that the Maharishi, who said he was celibate,[7] had made a pass at Mia Farrow or was having relations with other young female students. Lennon later called the Maharishi a "lecherous womaniser".[29][30] Peter Brown writes that the Maharishi had smuggled chicken into the vegetarian ashram for a young blond nurse from California, and that he later began to have sex with her.[5] A few writers have blamed Beatles' friend, Alex Mardas (known as Magic Alex), for telling false rumours to Lennon, which he has denied,[31] although Mardas was jealous about the control the Maharishi had over Lennon, and during one of their frequent walks through the woods he asked Lennon why the Maharishi always had an accountant by his side.[32] Lennon replied that The Beatles (or Lennon and Harrison) were considering donating a large part of their income to the Maharishi's bank accounts in Switzerland.[33] When Mardas questioned the Maharishi about this, he offered money to Mardas to build a high-powered radio station, so he could broadcast his teachings to the whole of India.[34]

One of Mia Farrow's childhood friends, Ned Wynn, writes in his 1990 memoir that she had told him a few years later that the Maharishi had definitely made sexual passes at her.[35] In her 1993 autobiography, Nancy Cooke de Herrera says that Farrow had confided to her, long before the arrival of the Beatles, that the Maharishi had made a pass during a private puja[disambiguation needed] ceremony. De Herrera gives her opinion that Farrow was probably mistaken about the encounter, and also that Mardas was to blame for the trouble with Lennon.[19] Farrow's own memoirs, published in 1997, are ambiguous, simply reporting that her sister, Prudence, says she was confused about the matter.[36] Deepak Chopra, who was not present but who later became a disciple of the Maharishi and a friend of George Harrison, says that the Maharishi was upset that the Beatles were using drugs at the ashram.[37][38][39]

Lennon, Harrison, and Mardas sat up all night discussing the matter and decided to leave the next morning. They packed hurriedly. When the Maharishi asked why they were leaving, Lennon replied "You're the cosmic one, you should know."[5] The group had trouble arranging taxis, reportedly because the Maharishi had told villagers not to help their departure. The group had to leave all of their souvenirs behind, and when the cars they finally obtained kept breaking down, they wondered if the Maharishi had cursed them.[5] The Harrisons were not ready to go back to England, and stayed in Delhi for a while.[5] The Lennons caught the first flight back, during which John recounted to his crying wife a drunken litany of his numerous infidelities.[5] (Their marriage ended soon after.)

The departure and split with the Maharishi was well-publicised. Lennon announced to the press, "We made a mistake. What could be more simple?"[4] It was the last time the Beatles travelled together outside of England as a group.[7]

Mia Farrow also left the ashram and drifted around India for a time. Prudence stayed with the three-month programme and became an initiator, along with 40 other students.[40] Mike Love finished the programme and travelled with the Maharishi to Kashmir later in the year. The Beach Boys toured with the Maharishi in the U.S. soon after. Harrison, McCartney and Starr later made their peace with the Maharishi and praised him publicly.

Legacy

Meditation caves at the abandoned Academy of Meditation in Rishikesh, 2006

Saltzman photographed the Beatles at the ashram, and his photos have subsequently been displayed in galleries worldwide and been published in two books.[41] In 2003, former model Jerry Hall produced a series for the BBC titled "Gurus", which included interviews with her ex-boyfriend and TM initiate Mick Jagger and Nancy Cooke de Herrera, and a visit to the ashram in Rishikesh.[42] Film director Mira Nair began work on a documentary film about the Beatles visit to India;[43] however, no date for the film release has been announced.

Due to tax issues, the Maharishi left India in the 1970s.[20] The ashram, built on land belonging to the Rajaji National Park, was reclaimed by the government in the mid-1990s or 2001 and has fallen into disrepair.[20] In 2007, an American actress announced plans to renovate and convert the property into a home for street children from New Delhi.[44]

In 2009, McCartney, Starr, Donovan and Horn reunited at a concert held at New York's Radio City Music Hall to benefit the David Lynch Foundation, which funds the teaching of Transcendental Meditation in schools.[45]

Songs

The Beatles wrote many songs during their visit to Rishikesh: 30 by one count;[4] and "48 songs in seven weeks" by others.[46][47] Some of the songs became part of the album The Beatles (aka the White Album), while other songs appeared on the albums Abbey Road and Let It Be. Several of the songs contained Eastern musical influences.[48]

The songs known to be composed – either partially or completely – by the Beatles in India are:

Notes

  1. ^ Kozinn, Allan (7 February 2008). "Meditation on the man who saved the Beatles". The New York Times.
  2. ^ a b c d e Joe (2010). "The Beatles and India". The Beatles Bible. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Boyd, Pattie (2007). Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me. Harmony Books.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Goldman, Albert (1988). The Lives of John Lennon. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 1556523998.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Brown, Peter; Gaines, Steven (1983). The Love You Make. McGraw-Hill.
  6. ^ "Maharishi Mahesh Yogi". The Times. London. 7 February 2008. {{cite news}}: More than one of |work= and |newspaper= specified (help)
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Gould, Jonathan (2007). Can't Buy Me Love. New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 9780307353375.
  8. ^ a b FELTON, DAVE (20 September 1967). "Beatles' Yogi Allows Shoes at Conference". Los Angeles Times. p. A3.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s MacDonald, Ian (2007). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (3rd revised ed.). Chicago Review Press. ISBN 1-8441-3828-3.
  10. ^ a b Lefferts, Barney (17 December 1967). "Chief Guru of the World". The New York Times.
  11. ^ Hofman, Paul (22 January 1968). "3,600 Hear Guru Urge Meditation". New York Times.
  12. ^ Haber, Joyce (7 May 1968). "Meditating on a Tight Schedule". Los Angeles Times. p. D19.
  13. ^ a b c d NOSSITER, BERNARD (18 February 1968). "IN YOGI LAND". Los Angeles Times. p. 2.
  14. ^ a b c d e Lelyveld, Joseph (23 February 1968). "Beatles' Guru is Turning Them Into Gurus With Cram Course". The New York Times.
  15. ^ Leigh, Spencer (7 February 2008). "Maharishi Mahesh Yogi: Spiritual leader who introduced millions, including the Beatles, to transcendental meditation". The Independent. Retrieved 15 March 2010.
  16. ^ a b Lennon, Cynthia (10 February 2008). "The Beatles, the Maharishi and me". The Sunday Times. London. {{cite news}}: More than one of |work= and |newspaper= specified (help)
  17. ^ Chaput, John (2 November 2005). "JERRY STOVIN, ACTOR: 1922-2005". The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ont. p. S.9.
  18. ^ 30°06′35″N 78°18′46″E / 30.109745°N 78.312774°E / 30.109745; 78.312774
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m de Herrera, Nancy Cooke (1993). Beyond Gurus: A Woman of Many Worlds. Blue Dolphin Publishing. ISBN 093189249. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: length (help)
  20. ^ a b c d TURNER, STEVE (11 March 2007). "The Fab Tour". Mail on Sunday. London (UK). p. 91.
  21. ^ "Preacher of Peace". The New York Times. 22 January 1968.
  22. ^ "Yogi Undisturbed by Resistance to Airfield". Los Angeles Times. 1 April 1968. p. 29. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Unknown parameter |lasat= ignored (help)
  23. ^ Saltzman, Paul (23 October 2000). Beatles in Rishikesh. Studio. ISBN 0670892610.
  24. ^ Gautam, Savitha (2 January 2009). "From Rishikesh to Abbey Road". The Hindu. Chennai.
  25. ^ a b FEATHER, LEONARD (22 April 1968). "A Report From Meditation Land". Los Angeles Times. p. C27.
  26. ^ Shore, Randy (13 December 2008). "The sound of the Beatles breaking up; The band's white album turns 40 this year. Randy Shore takes us back". The Vancouver Sun. p. F.1.
  27. ^ Kilachand, Tara (17 May 2008). "'Their humour was one way they kept their feet on the ground'". Mint. livemint.com. Retrieved 15 March 2010.
  28. ^ WARGA, WAYNE (17 May 1968). "Maharishi Yogi Turns Other Cheek to the Beatles' Slur". Los Angeles Times. p. D14.
  29. ^ Rabey, Steve (17 September 1994). "TM disciples remain loyal despite controversies". Colorado Springs Gazette - Telegraph. p. E.2.
  30. ^ "TIME 100:The Most Influential Asians of the Century: Gurus and Godmen". Vol. 154, no. 7/8. 23 August 1999.
  31. ^ "Corrections". New York Times. 4 March 2010. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  32. ^ "Maharishi Mahesh Yogi: Spiritual leader who introduced millions, including the Beatles, to transcendental meditation". The Independent. 7 February 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2008.
  33. ^ Spitz (2005) pp. 755–756
  34. ^ Brown, Peter and Gaines, Steven S. (1983) p261
  35. ^ Wynn, Ned (1990). We Will Always Live in Beverly Hills. William Morrow and Company. p. 259.
  36. ^ Farrow, Mia (1997). What Falls Away. New York: Doubleday.
  37. ^ Rooney, Ben (6 February 2008). "Maharish Mahesh Yogi, guru to Beatles, dies". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 15 March 2010. {{cite news}}: More than one of |work= and |newspaper= specified (help)
  38. ^ [1] Beatles Meditation Guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Dies, AP, 6 Feb 2005
  39. ^ Toronto Star, Beatles Guru Lived Life in Bliss, Mike Corder, 6 Feb 2008 [2]
  40. ^ "Beatles Fail Bid for Yoga Discipleship". Los Angeles Times. 16 April 1968. p. C8.
  41. ^ "The Beatles in India". TheBealtesInIndia.com.
  42. ^ "Jerry Hall's Gurus" (PDF) (Press release). BBC. 8 August 2003. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  43. ^ Walters, Ben (27 March 2007). "Mira Nair Q&A". Time Out London. Time Out. Retrieved 15 March 2010.
  44. ^ "Beatles' ashram in Indian decaying". azcentral.com. 19 December 2007. Retrieved 15 March 2010.
  45. ^ Pareles, Jon (6 April 2009). "Just Say 'Om': The Fab Two Give a Little Help to a Cause". New York Times. p. C.7.
  46. ^ [3] DNA the world, Choudray, Martin Scocesse Films Harrison's Tryst with Indian Spirituality, 17 May 2010
  47. ^ 50 Years of the Beatles, When the Beatles turned to India, Bikas Bhagat, Aug 9 2010 [4]
  48. ^ a b c d e f g Miles, Barry (1997). Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now. Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 0805052496. Cite error: The named reference "Miles" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  49. ^ Harry, Bill (2000). The Beatles Encyclopedia. pp. 705–706. ISBN 978-0-7535-0481-9.
  50. ^ Miles (1997), pp. 423, 490.
  51. ^ Sheff (2000), p. 200.
  52. ^ KOZINN, ALLAN (20 March 1988). "MUSIC; A NEW LENNON MYSTERY TOUR". New York Times. p. A.25.
  53. ^ Honigsbaum, Mark (15 August 2005). "All you need is love and peace – but not in destructive Britain, so maharishi pulls out". The Guardian. London. {{cite news}}: More than one of |work= and |newspaper= specified (help)


References

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Beatles_in_India&oldid=379750907"