The Maharishi lecture that inspired two songs by The Beatles
At the risk of offending The Beatles purists, the influence of Indian music and spirituality inspired the best things the band ever did. To go from the vapid pop stylings of ‘Love Me Do’ to the mind-bending psychedelia of ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ is a testament both to the songwriting talent of John Lennon and Paul McCartney and their ability to incorporate various influences into their sound. The heavy Indian psyche stylings of albums like Revolver cemented the band’s move from teeny-bopper pop stars to mature and prolific artists.
Of course, it was George Harrison who really took to these newfound influences and cemented his place as the leading Eastern music specialist in the Liverpudlians. The guitarist’s solo career was awash with South-Asian influences, owing largely to his fascination with Hinduism and the Hare Krishna movement. However, the South-Asian country’s music and culture permeated throughout all Fab Four members. Indeed, their 1968 visit to Rishikesh to study Transcendental Meditation is often hailed as their most productive period as a band.
Their excursion to northern India resulted in the writing of over 30 songs, including ‘Julia’ and ‘Dear Prudence’, among many others. It is clear, then, that Liverpool’s finest took to Hindu spirituality like ducks to water. In fact, one specific lecture delivered by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi during their trip to Rishikesh inspired both Lennon and McCartney to write their own individual songs.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is a vital figure in Hinduism and spirituality. As the progenitor of Transcendental Meditation, he had a colossal influence on The Beatles, even becoming their own personal “spiritual advisor” during the late 1960s. Upon their 1968 trip to India, the band attended a lecture given by the Maharishi, concerned with the importance of nature and humanity’s role in preserving the Earth.
Two tracks resulted from this lecture. This first was ‘Mother Nature’s Son’, which ended up being featured on the White Album. Although the song is credited to Lennon-McCartney, Macca wrote and performed the song entirely independently, while the other three worked on other tracks for the seminal double album.
Lennon had his own Maharishi-inspired track in the often-forgotten ‘I’m Just A Child of Nature’. Excluded from the final release of the White Album, it was widely bootlegged before being included on the 50th-anniversary box set of the album.
The track also went on to provide the tune for Lennon’s solo track, ‘Jealous Guy’. As he explained, “[‘Mother Nature’s Son’] was from a lecture of Maharishi where he was talking about nature, and I had a piece called ‘I’m Just A Child Of Nature’, which turned into ‘Jealous Guy’ years later. Both inspired from the same lecture of Maharishi.”
While these two tracks are far from being the Beatles’ finest work or even the best songs to come out of the White Album sessions, they remain interesting accounts of a pivotal point in the band’s history. That 1968 trip to India indefinitely changed the course of the group and its individual members. It gave them a plethora of new pop songs, but most importantly, it changed their conceptual make-up. ‘Mother Nature’s Son’ is an early indication of that change.
