The Beatles in India
In late August 1967, the Beatles attended a Transcendental Meditation seminar in Bangor, Wales. Their stay ended abruptly on the 27th of August after they learned their manager Brian Epstein had died in his London home. George Harrison and John Lennon remained convinced of the meditation's value despite the tragedy. They appeared twice on David Frost's television program that autumn to promote the Spiritual Regeneration Movement. The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi gained international prominence as the band's guru during this period. The group planned to travel to India in late October but postponed until the new year. Paul McCartney urged them to focus on their career first since Epstein was gone. He wanted them to work on the Magical Mystery Tour film project before leaving for Rishikesh.
Lennon and Harrison arrived in Delhi on the 15th of February 1968 with their wives Cynthia and Pattie Boyd. Mal Evans met them and arranged a six-hour taxi drive to Rishikesh. The party walked across the Lakshman Jhula footbridge over the River Ganges to reach the ashram. McCartney and Starr landed later on the 19th of February and stayed overnight in Delhi due to health concerns. They joined the retreat early on the 20th of February. The facility sat in the Valley of the Saints within the Himalayan foothills. It was a compound surrounded by jungle set above the river. The Beatles' bungalows included electric heaters, running water, toilets, and English-style furniture. Cynthia Lennon described her bedroom as containing a four-poster bed and an electric heater. The ashram had barbed wire fences and locked gates guarded by staff. Around forty workers including cooks and cleaners maintained the grounds.
Donovan taught John Lennon a guitar finger-picking technique that Paul McCartney also mastered. Lennon used this method on songs like Julia and Dear Prudence. He composed Dear Prudence specifically to lure Prudence Farrow out of her intense meditation sessions. The stay became the group's most productive period for songwriting according to Lennon. Ringo Starr completed his first solo composition Don't Pass Me By during the retreat. Donovan recalls playing tabla hand drums while the other three played acoustic guitars. Harrison demonstrated sitar knowledge gained from teacher Ravi Shankar. Many new songs reflected nature and simplicity contrasting with their previous psychedelic work. Mother Nature's Son and Child of Nature were inspired by Maharishi lectures. Sour Milk Sea exhorted listeners to embrace meditation and illumination. The band wrote approximately thirty new songs between them in just weeks.
Ringo Starr left India on the 1st of March after ten days due to food allergies and insect concerns. His wife Maureen was trapped in their room by flies over the door. Paul McCartney departed mid-March to supervise Apple Corps operations in London. Mia Farrow left earlier on the 8th of March to begin filming in London. Alexis Mardas arrived four weeks later and criticized the facility's luxury and business practices. He questioned why the Maharishi always had an accountant present. Mardas also derided non-celebrity meditators and the class photo arrangement. Cynthia Lennon blamed him for turning John against the teacher. Barry Miles suggested Mardas feared losing status as Lennon's personal guru. The Beatles faced financial disputes involving a proposed twenty-five percent tithe into a Swiss bank account. Lennon refused stating it would happen over his dead body. Business disagreements and suspicions about the teacher's motives created deep divisions within the group.
Mia Farrow told students that the Maharishi made a pass at her during private sessions. Her sister Prudence assured her such touching was an honor and tradition for holy men. Pattie Boyd recalled allegations caused life at the retreat to go horribly wrong. Mardas insisted Lennon believe the Maharishi had sexual encounters with young female students. A feisty schoolteacher named Rosalyn Bonas allegedly engaged in an affair with Mardas. On their final night, Mardas arranged to spy on the teacher and the woman together. He reported seeing them in compromising positions despite no evidence. Many including Harrison and Horn did not believe the accusations gathered momentum without justification. Cynthia Lennon wrote that speculation stirred up a situation Lennon exploited. The band left hurriedly after arguing late on the 11th of April. Harrison later stated he was furious at Mardas actions and believed nothing of the claims.
Lennon appeared on The Tonight Show in New York on the 14th of May to denounce the Maharishi publicly. He told host Joe Garagiola they made a mistake trusting him as human like everyone else. McCartney said they were just not going out with him anymore. Harrison felt he and Lennon were wrong in how they treated the teacher by June. Lennon described the exchange in a December 1970 Rolling Stone interview as highly emotional. He recalled the Maharishi giving him a murderous look when asked why they were leaving. While waiting for taxis, Lennon wrote the song Sexy Sadie about the incident. Taxis broke down repeatedly leading the Beatles to wonder if a curse had been placed upon them. The car carrying the Lennons suffered a flat tire and driver disappeared for hours. They hitched rides back to Delhi before flying to London. Harrison stayed behind longer to see Ravi Shankar in Madras where he contracted dysentery.
Harrison gave a benefit concert for the Natural Law Party in 1992 apologizing for past treatment. He stated in The Beatles Anthology that allegations against the teacher were total bullshit. McCartney took his daughter Stella to visit the Maharishi in the Netherlands in 2007 renewing their friendship. Starr expressed feeling blessed to have met the teacher who gave him an untakeable mantra. Yoko Ono represented her late husband acknowledging what the Maharishi did for the world. More than five million people learned Transcendental Meditation by the time of the teacher's death in 2008. The ashram site opened to the public in 2015 as the Beatles Ashram. A two-year exhibition titled The Beatles in India ran at Liverpool's museum starting February 2018. Paul Saltzman's photographs from the retreat now hang above retail units at Liverpool John Lennon Airport. The group generated wider interest in Eastern spirituality despite rejecting the teacher personally.
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Common questions
When did the Beatles arrive in India for their 1968 retreat?
John Lennon and George Harrison arrived in Delhi on the 15th of February 1968. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr landed later on the 19th of February and joined the retreat early on the 20th of February.
Where was the ashram located during the Beatles stay in Rishikesh?
The facility sat in the Valley of the Saints within the Himalayan foothills above the River Ganges. The compound was surrounded by jungle and accessible via the Lakshman Jhula footbridge.
Why did John Lennon leave the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in April 1968?
Lennon left after allegations surfaced that the teacher made a pass at Mia Farrow during private sessions. Alexis Mardas convinced Lennon to believe these claims despite no evidence, leading to a heated argument on the final night of the month.
How many songs did the Beatles write while staying in Rishikesh?
The band wrote approximately thirty new songs between them in just weeks. This period became the group's most productive time for songwriting according to John Lennon.
When did the ashram site officially open to the public as the Beatles Ashram?
The ashram site opened to the public in 2015 as the Beatles Ashram. A two-year exhibition titled The Beatles in India ran at Liverpool's museum starting February 2018.