George Harrison once revealed the only aspirations one needs in life
The ‘quiet Beatle’ George Harrison helped to widen the popularity of Hindu spirituality in Britain and show the Western populace the wonders of Indian culture. Harrison once appeared on a radio show in 1988 and offered listeners his advice on aspiration, as informed by his own spirituality.
One gentleman called in and asked, “You completely achieved most people’s dream of fame and wealth, but are there any dreams or aspirations that you still want to see come true?” Harrison then asked whether the caller meant for himself or for the world, to which the caller said that he primarily meant Harrison himself, but also perhaps for the world too.
Harrison then went on to explain that achieving fame only takes you so far. He said, “Well, the fame and the wealth are good to get out of the way at an early age because there’s no fun waiting around for buses or taxis, and you can’t afford a car, and you don’t know where your next meal is coming from.”
“But once you’ve got all that bit, you suddenly find out that that isn’t it anyway,” Harrison added. “You still want to know, ‘What am I doing here? Who am I? Where am I going?’ Basically, that is what it’s all about.”
Harrison then made reference to a lesser-known poem by Bob Dylan written in commemoration of Woodie Guthrie. He said, “For me, that helped me get to that point, when you’ve finally reached the top, you find out ‘you’ve hit the bottom’. Then you have to look somewhere else, and where do you look for this ‘lamp that’s a-flashing, and the oil well that’s a-gushing’, and all that stuff?”
He continued, “Where do you look? It’s inside; you look in your heart because that’s the only place you’re going to get anything of any value in this life. Inside yourself, in your heart. And when you get it, you’ve just got to hang on to it, get more of it, and give it to everybody else.” Harrison then made another tongue-in-cheek reference to Dylan, signing off his answer, “They’ll give it back to you, and eventually, we’ll all get out of here, said the Joker to the Thief.”
It’s unsurprising, given what we know of Harrison’s nature, for him to make these comments. Of all of the Beatles’ members, Harrison always seemed the one most aligned with inner spirituality, and here, he gives us a good pointer on how to live a happier life.
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