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| Photo: Hutton Archive, (c) Getty Images |
On February 15th, 1968, the Beatles arrived in Rishikesh, India to study meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The entourage included the George Harrison, Pattie Boyd, John Lennon and his wife, Cynthia. Later they would be joined by Paul McCartney, Donavan, Mia Farrow and others.
"We'd been into drugs. The next step is you've got to try and find a meaning then," said Paul McCartney in the Anthology documentary.
It was George Harrison, already a casual student of Eastern ways, who got the ball rolling. He, McCartney and John Lennon went to see a lecture given by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in London in the summer of 1967. "That's where I really went for the meditation," said Harrison in Anthology. "There's this thing called a mantra. Through the mantra you can follow a technique that helps you to transcend, that is, to go beyond the waking-sleeping-dreaming state."
Following the lecture, the three met Maharishi. "I said to him, 'got any mantras?" said George. The band were enamored with the mystic one, and the feeling appeared to be mutual. "They are the ideal of energy and intelligence in the younger generation," the Maharishi told a reporter after the lecture.
After a stay of several weeks, the Beatles became less enamored of the Maharishi,and even suspected him of sexual misconduct with a young woman while they were there. Led by John and George they all left the scene and returned to England.
Sources:
50 Years Ago: The Beatles Meet the Maharishi, by Dave Swanson. Ultimate Classic Rock.
The Beatles in India, Wikipedia.
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