Ageing ex-Beatle chants Krishna once more

Harrison is arguably the most spiritual and Indian of the remaining Beatles and still travels to India, mostly incognito, to retrace and revive his mystical side. In an interview with a Reuters reporter earlier this week, Harrison spoke despairingly about the planet, saying it was doomed and joking that he was thinking of calling his next album “Your Planet is Doomed, Volume One.”

“The whole world is just going mental as far as I’m concerned,” Harrison, 57, was quoted as saying. “It’s speeding up with the whole technology and everything that’s happening.”

The ex-Beatle, who recently survived an attempt by an armed intruder to kill him, said he liked the idea and opportunity to freshen up My Sweet Lord to remind himself that there is more to life than the material world. “Basically, I think the planet is doomed. And it’s my attempt to put a bit of spin on the spiritual side, a reminder for myself and for anybody who’s interested,” he said.

Judging by the undiluted passion for Beatles some three decades after they faded from the scene, plenty of people will be interested. The latest Beatles release 1 (One), a collection of their 23 Number One songs, straightway topped the charts last month, beating all contemporary artistes.

At the time it was released, My Sweet Lord became the Number One song both in the UK and US even as the Beatles drifted apart. Later, Harrison was accused of plagiarising the song and dragged to a court, which ruled that it did sound a lot like the Chiffons’ He’s So Fine, but the ex-Beatle may not have intended to copy it.

The lilting melody is extremely simple, with a refrain that goes: My sweet Lord, Mmm, my Lord, Mmm, my Lord / I really want to see you/ Really want to be with you/ Really want to see you, Lord/ But it takes so long, my Lord. It ends with the prayer “Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Gurur Brahma, Gurur Vishnu, Gurur Devo Maheshwara, Gurur Sakshat Parabrahman, Tasmai Shri, Gurave Namah, Hare Rama, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare”.

Harrison’s son, Dhani, a 22-year old university student, is said to have played acoustic guitar on the updated version.

Ironically, Harrison’s reprise to Lord Krishna comes at a time when the International Society for Krishna Consciousness is in deep disgrace following a slew of scandals involving child abuse, homosexuality and other deviant behaviour. The Beatles path to Indian spiritualism though began after their association with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, with whom too they had a falling out.

Harrison himself learnt to play the sitar under Ravi Shankar, with whom he recently produced a best-selling album of sacred Indian chants. Later, his first wife, Patti Harrison, learnt to play dilruba under Pandit Shiv Dayal Batish.