Why the Beatles Quit the Ashram

February 15, 2006 at 9:05 AM | by johnrambow | Comments (0)

The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi introduced Transcendental Meditation to the west 50 years ago. Now about 89, he's never talked directly about what caused the rift between him and the Beatles. It was their touting of him and his northern India ashram that helped make him into an international celebrity. By 1968, though, all the Beatles but George Harrison had rejected him and his teachings. The usual reasons given for this are that the Beatles found out that he was much more concerned with money and making passes at their female friends than with spiritual matters.

But according to new claims by Deepak Chopra, it was the Maharishi that did the rejecting, and he did it because the Beatles and their friends were taking drugs. Shocking, we know. The full quote, from today's Times of India, after the jump.

The Beatles -- along with their entourage, which included Mia Farrow -- were doing drugs, taking LSD, at Maharishi's ashram, and he lost his temper with them. He asked them to leave, and they did in a huff. But when they went to the US, John Lennon gave an interview on the Johnny Carson show, accusing Maharishi of being a dirty old man. Later, Lennon also wrote a satirical song about Maharishi, which went: Sexy Sadie, what have you done/you made a fool of everyone.

It'll be interesting to see what Paul, Ringo, and possibly Mia have to say about all this . . . . As for Rishikesh, it remains the world capital of yoga, but the Maharishi left it for the Netherlands long ago.

Related Stories:
·   When Maharishi threw Beatles out [Times of India]
·   'Beatles are angels on earth, said Maharishi' [Times of India]
·   All you need is love ... and cash [CNN]
·   Beatles in India

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