Maharishi and the Beatles: What really happened?

The Beatles discovered Maharishi in 1968 and spent a few weeks studying meditation with him in Rishikesh. Much has been made in the news media and blogosphere of the Beatle's association with Maharishi and the rise of popularity that followed for Maharishi and his form of meditation. Yet many people believe that Maharishi had a greater effect on the Beatles than they had on him and his worldwide Transcendental Meditation Movement.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi died on February 5, 2008, almost 40 years after the Beatles left Rishikesh. John Lennon would never again see Maharishi in person, but would phone him years later to apologize for his youthful mishap of publicly accusing Maharishi of improprieties—accusations that had nothing to do with Maharishi, but, seemingly, everything to do with John’s personal temperament (it was "an error in judgment," Lennon later commented). George Harrison would continue to have contact with Maharishi through the worldwide TM Movement, and Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr would maintain their connection with meditation and eventually re-establish association Maharishi’s organization.

On Maharishi’s passing, the New York Times published a “reassessment” of the Beatles interaction with Maharishi. It’s good to see, after all these years, the press beginning to get it right.

The “India experience”—the Beatles' time with Maharishi and their practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique—opened a floodgate of creativity for the band—“and got them out of what threatened to be a creative rut,” said the Times article.

Describing their time with Maharishi as the most productive period in the Beatles’ lives, the article says:

"That may seem an odd assertion, given that the group had only recently released 'Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.' But part of the point of that album was to overcome the inertia imposed by the stress of being the Beatles by posing as someone else: the Sgt. Pepper band. And although it includes some of the Beatles’ most extraordinary music ('A Day in the Life,' for starters), it had been a struggle to fill it. Lennon, after all, had based one song on the text of a circus poster ('Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite') and another on a Corn Flakes commercial ('Good Morning, Good Morning'), simply, he later said, as a way of fulfilling his quota. After Rishikesh the group found itself with more new songs than it knew what to do with."

Beatles connoisseurs, audiophiles and music writers typically hold the White Album as the Beatles' masterpiece, but not that many fans have made the connection with the Beatles' India experience and the influence that "turning within" had on renewing their creative and lyrical power.

The process of meditation, as taught by Maharishi, is an effortless way of accessing "the infinite field of energy, creativity and intelligence that resides within everyone," as Maharishi has explained. Now, 40 years after the Beatles demonstrated the rejuvenating, creativity-enlivening effect of 'transcending,' hundreds of scientific research studies have further verified the many ways in which the practice can stimulate creativity and intelligence and benefit all aspects of life.

But most media attention concerning the Beatles experience in India has dwelt on the sensational episode surrounding John Lennon's abrupt departure from Maharishi's ashram. What really happened?

Most press accounts claimed that the Beatles left because they were disappointed with Maharishi. The Beatles themselves each told varying stories about why they left. A recent Times of India article quotes George Harrison as saying that Maharishi asked the Beatles to leave because of their drug use at his Transcendental Meditation Academy. But Maharishi refrained from ever publicly shaming the Beatles.

There's no question that John's experience turned sour. Lennon wrote—in the original lyrics of the White Album song "Sexy Sadie"—“Maharishi, what have you done? You made a fool of everyone.” But the claims of Maharishi's misbehavior, however overblown in the press, turned out to be baseless.

In the years since Lennon’s death in 1980, Harrison and McCartney publicly commented on the accusations against Maharishi. McCartney has noted that the rumors of impropriety were raised by Alexis Mardas, who, says to The Times, was "a supposed inventor and charlatan who had become a Beatles insider." “Magic Alex,” as he was known, apparently had agendas of his own (which included wanting to be known as "the Beatles' guru"), and according to many sources Mardas flat out fabricated the story. During the 1990s both Harrison and McCartney, convinced of Maharishi’s innocence, reconciled with their meditation teacher and offered apologies. Cynthia Lennon believed that Mardas invented the story to undermine Maharishi's influence on the Beatles. Harrison, years later, commented, "Now, historically, there's the story that something went on that shouldn't have—but nothing did... There were some flaky people around back then and we were four of them."

McCartney, in his biography, says that he did not believe the allegations and likewise attributes them to Mardas. In a statement released on Maharishi's passing, McCartney said: "I was asked for my thoughts on the passing of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and I can only say that whilst I am deeply saddened by his passing, my memories of him will only be joyful ones. He was a great man who worked tirelessly for the people of the world and the cause of unity. I will never forget the dedication that he wrote inside a book he once gave me, which read ’radiate bliss consciousness,’ and that to me says it all. I will miss him but will always think of him with a smile."

Ringo, who was said to be the Beatle least "into" meditation, commented favorably on his experience with Maharishi in his book "Postcards from the Boys," stating that he still meditates with the mantra Maharishi gave him and that his time in Rishikesh was one of the best experiences of his life. In February 2008, Ringo said of Maharishi, "One of the wisest men I met in my life was the Maharishi. I always was impressed by his joy and I truly believe he knows where he is going."

Were the Beatles responsible for Maharishi's great fame and success as a meditation teacher, or were Maharishi's achievements the results of his own abilities as a teacher—and due to the positive effects of TM practice in people's lives? After 50 years of the Transcendental Meditation program being taught to millions of people around the world, with more than 600 scientific studies verifying its benefits—studies conducted at Harvard Medical School, UCLA, Stanford, Yale and over 230 other institutions—it is unlikely that the success of the Transcendental Meditation program has been due merely to a rock band. The National Institutes of Health has funded over $24 million for scientists to further research the effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique on brain function and cardiovascular health, and this research funding has nothing to do with rock and roll. Or does it?

It's certainly true that the Beatles involvement brought much attention to Maharishi and to meditation in general. Although meditation has been around for thousands of years, and is still rising in recognition as a means to reduce stress, improve health and promote self-development, many people did learn the Transcendental Meditation technique when they first heard about the practice through publicity surrounding the Beatles. But one problem with claiming that "Beatles publicity" led to Maharishi's success, as some people have claimed, is that this publicity was mostly negative—having more to do with Lennon's short-lived criticism of Maharishi than with the benefits of meditation.

It is obvious after all these years that Maharishi and his Transcendental Meditation practice were not "made" by the Beatles. But the Beatles are still bringing people to meditation: Paul and RIngo are playing a benefit concert to promote the Transcendental Meditation program in schools—at Radio City Music Hall, April 4, 2009—along with their meditating friends Sheryl Crow, Donovan, Ben Harper, Moby, Jim James, Paul Horn, Mike Love of the Beach Boys, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam and others.

If Maharishi Mahesh Yogi can be said to have made a fool of everyone, as the ill-conceived song goes, it could only be because, compared to his immense, practical wisdom of higher stages of human development, the rest of us human beings can indeed look like a bunch of fools. Paul, George and Ringo—with their varying degrees of appreciation for Maharishi—insisted that John change the chorus and title of the song. George suggested "Sexy Sadie." Perhaps in his heart John knew the truth and that's why he acquiesced. Of course there were many other, more positive Beatle songs inspired by Maharishi—such as "Across the Universe," which John considered the best lyrics of his career.

Maharishi himself never harboured any ill will towards the Beatles. The Times of India article about Harrison's trip to visit Maharishi in the Netherlands in 1991 added another facet to the story. Maharishi had known that part of "the Beatles lore" was that when they made their first appearance on American TV, on the Ed Sullivan show, there was said to have been no crime in the US for that one hour. "When I heard this," Maharishi said to Harrison during this visit, "I knew the Beatles were angels on earth. It doesn't matter what John said or did, I could never be upset with angels." On hearing that, says the article, George broke down and wept.

Maharishi expounded for over 50 years on the nature of life from the perspective of a great Vedic sage. Often referred to as “the Einstein of consciousness,” he established the life-transforming benefits of meditation on the empirical grounds of science and opened the doors of higher states of consciousness to the scientific age.

And he opened the Beatles' minds and heart to a much greater reality than Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Their lives were changed forever.