The Beatles and the mystic East…
The Beatles and the Mystic East – The Beatles were initially impressed by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi but it all ended in tears when he was accused of taking advantage of some of the female members of his retreat. The incident inspired John to write the song Sexy Sadie.
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…..The Beatles and the mystic East
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The Beatles and the mystic East
On 24 August 1967, John, Paul and George, along with Cynthia Lennon, Jane Asher and Patti Boyd, attended a lecture by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi at the London Hilton, Park Lane.
This was the first they met him. At a private meeting afterwards, they arranged to go to his seminar in Bangor, North Wales the following weekend.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi developed the concept of Transcendental Meditation.
The Beatles manager Brian Epstein died from an accidental overdose on 27 August 1967.
The Beatles were in Bangor, North Wales when they heard the news of Brian’s death. They were attending transcendental meditation training with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. After hearing the sad news of Brian’s death they travelled back to London.
All four Beatles, with their wives and girlfriends, travelled to India to study meditation with Maharishi at his Academy in Rishikesh. George and Patti with John and Cynthia arrived in Delhi, India on the 16 Feb 1968. Paul and Jane Asher, and Ringo an Maureen arrived a few days later.
Their stays with the Maharishi varied substantially. Ringo and Maureen returned to England after a staying just a couple of weeks. Paul, Jane and Neil Aspinall stayed until the end of March. Whereas, John, Cynthia, George, Patti and “Magic” Alex left the retreat in mid-April.
The origins of Sexy Sadie
Their stay was marred by the allegations that the Maharishi was using his position to gain sexual favours from some of the female meditators there. The Maharishi not given the chance to confirm or deny the accusations. According to John, they confronted him, told him they were leaving but didn’t actually say why. When asked by the Maharishi why they were leaving, John reportedly said, “Well, if you’re so cosmic, you’ll know why”.
This experience inspired John to write the song Sexy Sadie at Delhi Airport. At the time he called it Maharishi It was released on their White Album.
Shortly afterwards the Beatles publicly distanced themselves from the Maharishi.
Hear the segment again
Elvis Presley Unravelled #73
The Beatles and the mystic East
Mop Tops and The King radio show
Twice a month, Derek Shelmerdine contributes the Elvis Presley Unravelled and The Beatles Unravelled segments for Steve Chelmsford’s Mop Tops and The King radio show. The show is dedicated to the lives and times of The Beatles and Elvis Presley.
See the complete list of Derek’s Beatles and Elvis Unravelled segments.
Rock’n’Roll Unravelled – the book
Derek Shelmerdine also wrote Rock’n’Roll Unravelled, the story of rock’n’roll from its roots to late 1970s punk. Not just the story of the music but also the external factors influencing it, such as the Vietnam War and Civil Rights struggle.
