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ISKCON - BEATLE CONFUSION
George
Harrison, the ‘quiet Beatle’ and the
youngest of the lively Liverpool quartet (born February 25, 1943)
died from cancer on the 29th November 2001.
Harrison had been a very heavy smoker and his ‘Eastern
journey’ - first with the
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi of
Transcendental Meditation, and then with the
Hare
Krishna Movement - did
not help him overcome his smoking addiction. Medically his premature
death at 58 shows the deadly effects of a life of heavy smoking -
something most of the media reports fail to mention.
Harrison was
the lead guitarist for the ‘Fabulous Four’ - and also the quietist
of them all. His life revealed a search for God and spiritual
fulfilment. He believed
he had found it through his involvement with the Hare Krishnas (The International Society for
Krishna Consciousness - ISKCON).
His single, ‘My Sweet
Lord’, in honour of the Hindu god, Krishna, reached the top of
the charts in 1971.
A new re-release of the song has been mooted by EMI.
His death
caused confusion and uncertainty amongst his fans, and even amongst
the Hare Krishnas.
Early
reports, following his death,
claimed that Hare Krishna officials had been involved in last
rites, disbursement of
his ashes, and that ISKCON had received something like 700,000
British pounds to build a temple in the Indian city of Varanasi, in
India. A few days after
his death, media reports claimed that the family would arrive in
India in order to scatter Harrison’s ashes on the Ganges, one of
Hinduism’s most sacred rivers. Some Hindus believe that the ashes
must be placed on a sacred river within 13 days of death, but others
consider that a year is sufficient.
Fans and devotees flocked to India to be there for the
Harrison ashes send-off, but the vigil was in vain.
After the 13 day had passed
so did the waiting.
As one
report put it:
‘Olivia Harrison and son Dhani have managed to lay
low since the ex-Beatle’s death. They’ve also managed to keep the
site of Harrison’s ashes a secret—it was reported they would be
scattered on the Ganges River in India, but the family never
showed.’
Spokesman
for the ISKCON World Governing Body, Ramai Swami claimed:
‘I do not know of any of his estate being bequeathed
to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, nor did Hare
Krishna devotees perform the last rites for George, nor have Hare
Krishna devotees been involved in any distribution of ashes.’
What
happened to Harrison’s ashes? - Somebody knows, but they haven’t let
the general media know.
Whether the family went to India secretly and secretly emptied the
ashes on the Ganges, again is something they have not revealed to
the media, nor does it look as if they ever will.
While
Harrison’s death highlighted the Hare Krishnas for a short time, it
has not been of big promotional value to them. The question of any bequest
to them is probably another issue.
Harrison’s
death has caused other, ongoing controversy however.
It seems
that his death certificate was supposedly
‘peppered with
misinformation’ - at least the stated address of where Harrison
supposedly died is a non-existent address.
High profile
Los Angeles lawyer, Gloria Allred, challenged George Harrison’s
death certificate for listing a non-existent address as his place of
death. Allred claimed
in early December 2001, that she had lodged the complaint with Los
Angeles police because she was concerned that
the ‘integrity of public records is [was] at stake’. Adding that,
‘Celebrities and/or their supporters are not above
the law, even if they are acting with good intentions, for example,
to protect the privacy of loved ones.’ Further adding:
‘All things must pass, but not this’ [a play on words
referring to Harrison’s original three-LP album,
All Things Must Pass
- which has since been remastered onto a 2 CD set with some bonus
tracks]. |
