(The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour album cover, 1967)
I remember one of the first times I heard the phrase "Hare Krishna." I had just purchased Magical Mystery Tour by the Beatles. The lyrics to each song were printed on the inside sleeve of the L.P. The following sentence appeared in the song, "I Am The Walrus," written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon/McCartney:
"Elementary penguin singing Hare Krishna. Man, you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allan Poe."
I distinctly remember ruminating on the words "Hare Krishna" in my backyard that day. Although the term should have been unfamiliar to me since its origin was Indian and not English, it somehow appeared recognizable in a vague sort of way. In fact, I wrote the word "Krishna" on a piece of paper and stared at it continuously as a new form of meditation. I had already been meditating regularly on a candle flame and this seemed like a step further towards authentic yogic contemplation. At the time all things Indian intrigued me and so this was yet another attraction to the East with all its exotic and mysterious allurements. And after all, if the Beatles were into it then there had to be something to it, even if it was referred to offhandedly or facetiously as John Lennon later explained in an interview.
Thinking back on it now, what strikes me most is how fast "Hare Krishna" spread around the world after Srila Prabhupada left India in 1965 to preach on behalf of his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. In just two short years the holy name of Krishna appeared on the Beatles' record album reaching millions of people around the world.
In the book, Chant and Be Happy, George Harrison describes how he and John Lennon had first heard the chanting of Hare Krishna from Srila Prabhupada's recording (The Happening Album):
"Before meeting Prabhupada and all of you, I had bought that album Prabhupada did in New York, and John and I listened to it. I remember we sang it for days, John and I, with ukulele banjos, sailing through the Greek Islands chanting Hare Krishna. Like six hours we sang, because we couldn't stop once we got going. As soon as we stopped, it was like the lights went out. It went on to the point where our jaws were aching, singing the mantra over and over and over and over and over. We felt exalted; it was a very happy time for us."
To think that I, like so many others at the time, had heard the chanting of the holy names of Krishna through the Beatles—who themselves had heard it directly from the pure devotee, Srila Prabhupada—is a most humbling and inspiring thought even to this day. Such is the potency of Krishna's beloved pure devotee.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Pd
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