Talk:The Beatles in India

Suggested changes

I'd like to rework part of this article's Background section. I appreciate that the article's had a lot of work put into it over the years, but right now it misrepresents the situation somewhat regarding how the Beatles came to meditation. Part of the problem, I think, is that the first sentence is attempting to convey the situation for the band collectively: "In the mid-1960s, the Beatles became interested in Indian culture,[3] after using drugs in an effort to expand their consciousness[4] and in 1966 Harrison visited India for six weeks and took sitar lessons from Ravi Shankar." In fact, George Harrison was the best part of a year ahead of the others in his search, certainly compared to Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. For instance, while LSD opened the door for all of them, Harrison and John Lennon first took the drug in March or April 1965, followed by Starr in August, yet McCartney didn't touch it until November 1966 at the earliest. By that time, Harrison and Pattie Boyd had already visited India (including Vrindavan), and Harrison was already fascinated with Hindu religious texts, chanting and meditation.

Along with his introduction of Indian music to the group and, via their unprecedented popularity, to the cultural mainstream, this is part of Harrison's legacy as a member of the Beatles, surely: he introduced Eastern spirituality to both the band and their vast audience. Some writers actually say Harrison "led" the Beatles to Rishikesh. Here are some relevant quotes (I've got plenty more):

• From an April 2001 Record Collector feature on Harrison's solo career on Apple Records, by Peter Doggett (the magazine's managing editor): "By the end of 1967, Harrison's deep immersion in Eastern culture had become the most important spiritual and artistic influence over the Beatles."
• Chris Ingham in The Rough Guide to the Beatles: "George's death prompted a media outpouring and a reassessment of the contributions of The Quiet Beatle, often focusing on his introduction of spirituality to the rock agenda …"
• Harrison obituary by Will Hermes in Spin magazine (Feb 2002, p. 22): "He promoted Eastern religions decades before the Beastles discovered Buddhism, turning his fellow Beatles on to the Hindu philosophy of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi."
• Bio at rollingstone.com (1st paragraph): "Harrison was also a gifted, fluid guitarist and hugely influential in introducing the Beatles – and, by extension, the entire Sixties generation – to Eastern religion and musical influences."
• Religion News Service reporter Steve Rabey, in a 2011 article for Huffington Post: "his greatest legacy may be the way his decades-long spiritual quest shaped the ways the West looks at God, gurus and life … In 1968, Harrison led the Beatles and their celebrity friends on a pilgrimage to Rishikesh, India …"
• Paul Du Noyer's Harrison obituary, in Blender: "The day that he picked up a sitar for The Beatles' 1965 track 'Norwegian Wood', he set Western musicians on another new trail, echoing his own exploration of Eastern religion. Whenever The Beatles yearned for weird, or new or strange, it was George who led the way."
• Mikal Gilmore, writing for Rolling Stone in December 2001: "Harrison's experience with LSD would dovetail influentially with two other quests he had undertaken and would help transform the Beatles' meaning and history. The first was musical [and the other was spiritual] … In the hotbed of late 1960s hippie culture, Harrison's spiritual interest spread like wildfire – to other musicians and groups (including the Beach Boys, Mick Jagger and Donovan) and to much of American and British youth, as well."
• Peter Doggett, writing in Mojo magazine's The Beatles' Final Years Special Edition (2003): "Once Harrison emerged as the champion of all things Indian, however, his power within the group increased. Gradually, his cultural and spiritual agenda began to shape everything from the sound of their records – encroaching sitars and tablas – to their infatuation with transcendental meditation."
• Harrison and Lennon biographer Gary Tillery, writing in his book Working Class Mystic: "Not to minimize the contribution of Vivekananada, Yogananda, the Maharishi, Prabhupada, and others like them, but let's be honest – would their success have been as far-reaching without the tremendous boost given their efforts through the influence of the Beatles? … And of the four, Harrison led the way spiritually. He was the first Beatle to embrace chanting and meditation … the first intrigued by the Maharishi, and the one who first committed to join the guru in Rishikesh – inspiring John and then the others."

I think this point needs to be covered not only under Background, but also under Legacy, with wording in the Lead paragraphs changed to reflect Harrison's role. There are some other things missing in the article – for instance, Nicholas Schaffner writes of the profound changes after the Beatles' combined LSD/meditation experience, such that Lennon, McCartney and Harrison "emerged … [as] three very different personalities who seldom saw eye-to-eye any more"; also, this was the last time the Beatles undertook a group activity outside of their (increasingly fraught) professional commitments. Right now, though, I believe the issue of Harrison's influence is the most important thing. JG66 (talk) 18:00, 11 February 2015 (UTC)

Mantras/cards

According to Paul either in the Beatles Anthology book or Many Years From Now, each Beatle was granted a lone audience at Bangor with the Maharishi where he received a card telling him what his personal mission in life was, and Paul's read something like, "Make people happy" or "Make people smile". I think Paul also mentions what John and George's cards read, I think George's was something like, "Reach spiritual profundity". No idea whether this was the same as their personal mantras, but if someone can identify the source out of those two I've listed, it'd certainly make a relevant addition to the article. --79.242.222.168 (talk) 08:35, 4 September 2016 (UTC)