George Harrison of The Beatles devotee of Lord Krishna

George Harrison

George Harrison was an English musicians, guitarist, song writer, singer, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Harrison became over time admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to other Beatles, as well as their western audience.

During The Beatles American tour in August 1965, Harrison's friend David Crosby of the Byrds introduced him to Indian Classical music and the work of sitar player Ravi Shankar. Harrison became fascinated with the instrument, immersed himself in Indian music and played a pivotal role in expanding the emerging interest in the sitar in particular and Indian music in general in the west.

Buying his own first sitar from a London shop called India Craft later that year, he played one on the Rubber Soul track "Norwegian Wood by( This Bird has flown)", which was influential in the decision to have Ravi Shankar included on the bill at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967. After a few initial lessons with Pandit Ravi Shankar, Harrison was placed under the tutelage of Shambhu Das.

George Harrison and Pandit Ravi Shankar

During the filming of the movie Help! on location in the Bahamas, the Beatles met Swami Vishnu-devananda founder of Sivananda Yoga, who gave each member of the band signed copy of his book The Complete illustrated Book of Yoga. During a pilgrimage to Bombay with his wife, Harrison studied sitar, met several gurus and visited various holy places, filling the months between the end of the final Beatles tour in 1966 and hte commencement of the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club band recording sessions. In 1968, Harrison travelled to Rishikesh in northern India with the other Beatles to study meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

In the summer of 1969, he produced the single most "Hare Krishna Mantra", performed by the devotees of the London Radha Krishna Temple. That same year, he and fellow Beatle John Lennon met A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Soon after, Harrison embraced the Hare Krishna Traditional (particularly japa-yoga) chanting with beads, become a lifelong devotee, being associated with it until his death.

George Harrison, Shyamasundara Dasa and Mukunda Goswami in front of Jiva Goswami Samādhi in Vrindavan, India, 1996.

Harrison was a vegetarian from 1968 until his death. While during his lifetime, Harrison bequeathed to ISKON his Letchmore Heath mansion in (renamed Bhaktivedanta Manor)  north of London, he did leave a sum of 20 million pounds.

Harrison was cremated at Hollywood Forever Cemetery and his ashes were scattered in the Ganges River, India by his close family in private ceremony according to Hindu Tradition.