- Chapter 1 Part 4/5 -
Sunday dance at the Hasenburg castle
But then I could not even understand all these things in their scope, nor put into words, it was this feeling, this uplifting feeling, what struck us in the heart. The music seemed like a sweet Magical Mystery Tour to hover around our whole young life. Baby you're a rich man, baby you're a rich man, baby you're a rich man too ...... That was the song >from Magical Mystery Tour, where we all thought, why are we rich, what do they mean to say to us, the Fab Four. Only much later I realized what that song should mean. Of course, we were rich and blessed, for we had found access to the most beautiful pop music of the world, the only thing we needed was love, and our lives would be successful. All you need is love, those were the words of the Fab Four, and this could always be trusted. They were all short and catchy messages, viewed from today's perspective, but at that time the pieces seemed endless, often I thought, I remember exactly, it would certainly be trouble with parents because of the volume. Because they were not enthusiastic about our long-haired heroes, and their taste in music also didn't met ours in any way.
This summer, autumn and winter 1967, with three new releases, probably had been the most creative year of the Beatles, if you take a closer look at their complete works today. And Master Harrison was still one better with Wonderwall, this year, I fear, this will go down in history. Sgt. Pepper in June, Magical Mystery Tour in autum, and Yellow Submarine in winter, were their three masterpieces. Where two records came out as a film, too. And Wonderwall also was a film score, as we learned only long after its release.
In general, I realize that I was an ardent fan then, but my English not nearly wasn't good enough to understand just about everything. Many texts I only understood years later. But the magical vibrations which this music gave me, met me right in the heart. We were like bees behind the Maya bee, this cheeky little bee Maya should still sweeten our lives. I clearly remember that my friend Ron always used to pick me up Sunday afternoon, it was a ritual at that time. Every afternoon we went in the old Hasenburg that was our old weekend disco, located near Bockelberg, well situated for us to reach at the edge of the forest, next to the Hasenburg lake where we used to skate in winter, if the swans of Apollo permitted us, you have to add. In fact, these swans were often not in a good mood when we only entered the pond, they could shake their wings, so that we had the uncomfortable feeling someone senses us as a nuisance or even threat, well, with 15 one just does not like to provoke large adult Hyperboreas swans. There I also learned about the sanctuary, where old horses were tended, and that caught my attention.
The Medicine of the Gods
Three incidents thus necessarily always led me agin to the Hasenburg, this temple of the early disco music, where we called upon the girls, still with a pounding heart, to dance with us, where a boy even got a beer, but had to watch out at the crowded bar not to offend the older craft guys, which then got sick on it. How often have I fallen in love like crazy for a weekend, just to be confronted with entirely new realities on next weekend. Either the bee Maya of our dreams had found another, usually older friend, or they did not come at all, and I was pleased myself with new dance partners or desktop counterparts. My youthful feelings in the frenzy of love, always looking for the new fresh nectar of the first innocent moment. This might can describe my emotions during the time 1967/68 quite well, it seemed so endless, and today this is telling me, to have fallen in love is like the medicine of the gods, nectar of immortality.
In those days I floated on cloud nine, I think, and the Beatles played their music in the background. With my friend Ron, I do connect many good childhood memories, because we experienced many adventures altogether, two Beatles fans on their way to their own Magical Mystery Tour of life. We two shared a certain destiny with our parents, not always painless, but nevertheless making us stronger and united, so in youth we enjoyed the same student jobs. His Daddy the old Zacharias, always called me little Felix, and from then on I got on my nickname, with what I was taunted and teased by the others. I liked Felix, which was something mischievous and comic-like. That Felix actually means happy go lucky, I only found out some 20 years later. Ron and I could hide in our afternoons to listen to our music, or we just met with the other guys out there at the Cross Church in order to hang around behind the church in the city forest, where we spent many happy hours to celebrate first smoking adventure's or to celebrate marzipan orgies, dammed creeks, and climbed trees. We were an original team, just out of the leather pants, now the jeans have been the measure of all things, and yet we were just innocent guys who always were in the mood for good pranks. One of us always had to wear leather pants, wearing knickers, and also had to wear weather boots if wet, Frank always wore these things, finally he did stop caring. His old man was a policeman and somehow a real tough cookie. But in my mind I still see him running the way down to the woods in his big rubber boots, with us, while we had to laugh and at the same time had to secure us from something.
(Beatles 1966 Munich in Color) /YouTube)
Somehow it reminds me of Asterix and Obelix, because our franky boy already was very high at 16, still in huge rubber boots and the good old obligatory leather knickers, which looked even damned sharp, but we were above something like that and really had other problems, Frank was pitied a bit by us because he had no jeans, but otherwise we were good friends..
The Magical Mystery Tour goes to India 1968
The Fab Four had also made good over winter, had digested the year 1967 well, and in February 1968 they visited the Maharishi in India down in his yoga ashram in the Himalayas. Also a few Beach Boys were drawn to there, Donovan and girlfriend Gypsy, Mia Farrow and sister Prudence, and the eccentric Magic Alex Mardas, as well as other illustrious guests of the guru, who all wanted to participate in a yoga recreation seminar. In August last year in Bangor, Wales, England, the Maharishi had already given the Beatles their secret mantra, and now wanted to explain his philosophy of Vedanta to his guests, as well as it could be understood, two worlds were colliding anyway, and many things needed a good explanation.
In the silence of solitude, the Fab Four were meditating for hours under the old trees in front of their small bungalows, to then take to a vegetarian dinner with the others and talk about what has been achieved. It was necessary to find a way out of all the stress, and here the path of yoga and meditation offered good points to lead a stress-free life. Also and especially because of all the hustle and bustle of modern life in London, or anywhere else in the wide world of those days. The Beatles learned to focus themselves and to find inner peace in meditation on the mantra.
This mantra meditation can be very helpful to control and to tame the mind, it is also said in the ancient wisdom writings of the Indians, that an untamed mind is like an untamed horse, and to really find inner peace, is it just vital to curb this. A mantra is given since thousands of years by the masters of yoga schools to the students to help them to be with their meditation. The mantra mostly consists of ancient Sanskrit syllables, which are among the oldest writings of wisdom, and all have their roots in Vedic knowledge. This knowledge is the oldest cultural treasure known to man.
(Beatles in India with Maharishi, You Tube)
In the Vedas, all fields of knowledge of Indian antiquity are summarized.
The mantra so often is a sacred, God-related line from a ritual sacrifice, which are described and explained in the Vedas. Also a mantra often consists of the name of God or of his many qualities, the aspirant should accept and realize them, should meditate upon and or, self-forgotten, even find this inner peace.
Basing on various rumors, probably there also were difficulties in yoga ashrama, but set into the world single-handedly by the Beatles' friend Magic Alex, despite all, the time for the Fab Four went very quiet, and well rested they returned to London in the spring of 1968, where they processed their impressions from India in many ways.
Paul McCartney, while in meditation in Rishikesh ashram, was enlightened with the great idea of establishing a company that should govern all the interests of the Fab Four. This was the birth of the company "Apple" - the pirate ship of the Beatles' Pirate Band. John Lennon, among other things, wrote the song "Dear Prudence," about his friendly experience with Prudence, the little sister of Mia Farrow, in the ashrama of the Maharishi, for the White album. Famous for this time is the White Album - Unplugged, acousticall recorded first in June 1968 in Kinfauns, the brightly painted, very fancy home of Master Harrison, giving and a whole new impression of the work of the Beatles after their intense time of meditation in India.
This is where the Harrison pieces "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "Piggies," "Savoy Truffle" and the very India-heading song "Long, Long, Long
(The Beatles -India ( super rare John Lennon's demo) at YouTube)
Later in summer, the Beatles came together in order to complete the White Album in the studio entirely, which leaves the listener surprised again and again by much wit and charm and many new songs and styles, and with the next piece lets the Beatles be at their best again. This very Harrison's song "Long, Long, Long" should go down in history as one of the most beautiful jewels of the White album, although it was easily overlooked in a crowd of many songs.
As we all know sufficiently enough, very much of Master Harrison's music was inspired by deep faith in God, he let the world know where it went with him. In year two of the turning to ancient Hinduism, to yoga and transcendental Krishna meditation, we have were inaugurated into the secrets of reincarnation and the love of God by the music of Master Harrison.
(George Harrison - "Dehra Dun" at YouTube)
Chant the Holy Name of the Lord
The West Coast guru Deepak Chopra, who in America is certainly not unknown, even claimed that it is one and only due to George Harrison, that the U.S. and the entire Western world got an idea got from the grandeur of Indian philosophy, its religion and manifold ways of yoga. George Harrison was the most spiritual of the Beatles. He was the master of a magical, mystical journey into new worlds of consciousness that seemed otherworldly to us young fans, and truly attracted us magically.
Master Harrison led the Beatles into a new spiritual consciousness, it was also him who persuaded the Beatles to meditate and go to India, and, as we know, who introduced the sitar in the modern pop music. However, I should not forget to mention that this adovcating of one of the Beatles for a religion, for India and especially for Krishna Vaishnava philosophy and its culture not only generated friends and encouragement for him, but in return produced much harm and slating for him in his solo career. This commitment to his faith, the music industry, the established music critics and the media landscape felt as a kind of presumption, and made fun of texts like this, which appeared years later on the album "Living In The Material World", stating: "... The Lord's love the one, who love's the Lord ...".
The media was united in nothing more than in contempt of all that what the Beatles were. The music, of course, but also the phenomenal success of the Fab Four, only was that very for the yellow press, a phenomenon. A soap bubble, whose bursting had to be expected rather sooner than later, for the media, always waiting for the Beatles to blunder once.
"Long Long Long" was by far the most spiritual and feinsinnigste song which deals with eternal bliss: God into our lives and its very own determination to recognize, and happy to act in rights and to live brotherly love to love..
("Long Long Long" at YouTube)
"Long Long Long" is of Master Harrison's best songs in my opinion, just because it expresses so much love and trust, a kind of oasis of peace and faith. It should also be mentioned here that Master Harrison remained true to his faith to the end of his days. All through his incarnation since the days of Norwegian Wood, he had dealt extensively with the literature and philosophy of bhakti yoga. Even on his deathbed, he spoke about the holy name of Krishna, sang and meditated, discussed about the liberating nature of reincarnation with Deepak Shoprah, Syamasundara Prabhu and Mukunda Prabhu, and with his old friend and teacher Ravi Shankar, and has died in deep belief in God.
Here a wording of the Yoga Mimamsa is matching, which states that:
"He who lives must die, thus, after a worthy life, die as a hero and not as a defeated slave. So let me die on the battlefield of life, after all my enemies are defeated, the passions are to be overcome, if hatred has turned into understanding, and arrogance has turned into dignified self-confidence!"
So much for the uniqueness of the quiet Beatle, the real spiritual Beatle of the People, and, as far as I'm concerned, he is the real unrecognized Christ in Hinduism, a reincarnated great personality, a true son of Lord Hari, who indeed appears whenever the world is in turmoil. What would Jesus should have been for the Jews, namely, their Messiah, Sir George should be for the people and postwar generation youth seeking for peace and wisdom, an enlightened Messiah. Someone with a message adressed to all these enlightened souls. May appearances be deceptive, under the blanket of appearance and outwardness, it is said, there always is a deep unfulfilled longing in the soul, for savagery and urge for exploration, for freedom of standards, or even, as one might say, the pictures of this long-forgotten time are showing us from where we began to find out what we are made of and what wanted to be put into practice on our journey into self.
The Fabulous Timebandits
In spite of all the beautiful thoughts about the songs on the White Album of the Beatles, it should not be forgotten that the Beatles ,ade the Summer of Love possible at all. One as ET, as a being watching us >from outside, could have said easily: Look here, you Aliennators, down there, among the human people, the love of nature breaks out, the golden age breaks out to do something good for people. This time change was made possible because descended tried to spread positive vibrations. With Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band 1967, military marches of the new time sounded into our ears, and thousands felt transformed and happy, were unanimous in their opinion to hold something precious in their hands, and saw in these new worlds of sound a call addressed to them personally, to start something new and creative in themselves, or to find themselves in themselves and or their loved neighbours. It was this spirit of optimism, without quite knowing where their journey would go to. Yet a deep faith in God was inside people worldwide, so that one would be reminded of religious feelings. All this only pushed just by four Time Bandits, to awaken the people and to enlighten them for the new time.
And yet in secret, but later with even more weight, Master Harrison stepped out of the shadows of the alpha leaders, to preach the philosophy of the new age. He rang in a new era of grandiose deep love, and with the song "All You Need Is Love" the "world anthem" of the Beatniks and of a whole generation of Beatles fans was found and sung. Moreover, by the focus on Eastern wisdom and religion, the target for the truly magnificent Magical Mystery Tour had become irreversible.
So much for the good influence of ET's. About four sent Yedi masters who turned our world inside out, who even taught us that love never dies, as long as our heart is in the right place, and to never let us be deluded by the powers of darkness, to things that are not compatible with the law of charity and literally are in opposition to love of people, to love of animals and to love of God.
Therefore also the song "Within You Without You" by Master Harrison proclaims about this new path in most wonderful ecstasy and musical excitement, where they wanted to go musically, praise of the musical art and worship of God should merge in this new time of opening of hearts, for a peaceful coexistence of all races of all living beings, as children of God - Harijan, Devotee and Yedis as devotees of the dear Lord of thousand names ..., Om... my sweet Lord.
("Within You Without You" at YouTube)
Yoga of Love and Devotion...
a Do-It-Yourself Guide
Arosen from this commitment, our love seemed to flow into a new freedom which moments we understood as love drug, and which led us into a magical world of devotion, pointing the path to a new image of life which consisted of lyrical Beatles music, so to say as soundtrack of our youth, and of work in the good, though pervaded and mindful in love of neighbour. Those who love, also must be the awareness. Just as a treasure requires attention, awareness in matters of love and trust is needed, especially in dealing with the neighbour, whoever is closest to us! Becausel, isn't this treasure of love between soulmates not many times more valuable than any treasure, expressed in figures and evaluated? For that very reason, one should not go blue-eyed through life, but one should prevail common sense even in the things of love. It is the most precious little treasure of life, whose wealth can strenghen us for a lifetime and can let us be self-aware. If this elixir of life can not be enjoyed in youth, then the living being stays almost his entire life on this same track, from which it heard that it was so wonderful, a beverage of the gods, the elixir of life for melancholics, a luxury-class soul accelerator. That is why it is so important to give to the children in their youth, these very simple and so wonderful medicine of love as much as possible, no day without love, no day without reflection about it, that is yoga. But it is also true that we only can give what we received. Nevertheless, by the knowledge of relationship, everyone has every facility to find improvement and to put it into practice with their own descendants, their environment and life plan. So everyone understanding the words is encouraged to look for need of the drug of love. For this shall be our supreme law, first of all to be good to the neighbour, because that brings us the necessary blessing and the necessary wisdom to do the right thing. This statement is found in all the wisdom literature of the people again and again, and we are confident that the ancient sages, brahmins and druids knew what they said! Everything has its price, and I learned only much later about the relentlessness of fate and the coincidences that can reverberate for a lifetime, generally called karma, accompanying us in our dreams and beyond, further conditioning us, life after life.
Deus non Fortuna
"God not wealth" is the motto of this idea, this also was the motto of the family crest of family Harrison, and this theme also became livelihood of Master George Harrison, Jayaraj hari putra. Here we find the approach to a better understanding of this profundity of the mission of the Fab Four, there is no accident and no arbitrariness in the game, but from it we realize the eternal transcendental pastimes of the dear Lord, which playfully became known as My Sweet Lord worldwide by the Beatle of the People, to the delight of beings that are recovering by it in a impressive mystical way. It's just not about getting rich, but to find the love of God, to acquire it, is the great goal towards which all sages are longing for, since the dawn of days. Deus non Fortuna, puts it in a brief and accurate statement, hosting the sweet fruit of the holy houses of knowledge in its complex content.
On this subject, once Hermann Hesse said in "Simple Pleasures / Butterflies":
"The intuition of a hidden, sacred unity behind the great diversity, like a first mother behind the many births, like a creator behind all the creatures, this wonderful basic instinct of man back to the dawn of the world and back to the mystery of the beginnings, has been the root of all art, and today it is as ever."
We already see here, the wise words are reminding us that it is about recollection of the living being, not about being entangled in power and wealth to get a foodhold on this world, but to recognize one's very own position as eternal spiritual soul looking for her destination, looking for her eternal transcendent home in God.
The sages of all days come to no other conclusion, then as now it was clear, the small individual living being, separated from God, all on his own, at the end of all pleasures of the great material world he finds to the door of cheerful resignation, which opens sweetest rapture to him, leaving him completely satisfied in the self-chosen yoga yoke, natural and free from all the wishes that can't have to do with God, with his incarnations and children, or are in complete contrast to all pure and religious arya principles.
The world we know can only be good and pure, if our life is good and pure. So be pure and a little relaxed, because the irritated soul can not reflect the self.
Prepared and purified in this way, God alone can come true inside a man plainly and very close. He can manifest himself in good and pure actions, being idea generator for spiritual training, and providing deeper understanding of himself by his surrendered devotees. He is the one with whom we perform mental dialogues inside the innermost self, when we are alone in the unity of our personality. Self-realization, this alone is the true reincarnation of the soul. To realize this self, thus to recognize oneself as a soul and to live accordingly, means, secured in that self-knowledge, to live carefree and protected in this world and in the hereafter, because God promises, that if we surrender to him and act in faith to him, in pure good consciousness, he will protect us and also free us from the concerns and hardships of material existence.
Thus, man often searches almost blind at first, not even knowing that he seeks the divine Self, because he starts from the dark of material nature, and even if he begins to see he is still dazzled long by the growing light in his own. On searching and groping of the soul, God likes to answer cloaked, as we now know. He seeks and enjoys blindness of man, as the small hands of a child feel for the mother. This is the eternal rasa of the whole and its parts.
And if there be should exist none of all this, which pretty much is the most improbable thing I can think of, no this world and no hereafter, then still it is better to choose the good, fair and peaceful life and the charity, and in turn to stay true to the motto, which says:
Better built on God, than looked at false happiness, Deus non Fortuna!
