Six lesser-known spiritual songs of George Harrison, the Hindu Beatle

Hare KrishnaBy Nate Rabe

George Harrison embraced Hinduism in 1969 after a meeting with Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the international Hare Krishna movement. He recalled that the impact of the meeting was similar to a door opening in his sub-conscious. Once he stepped through, everything changed. Referring to himself thereafter as "Closet Krishna", Harrison continued to visit India regularly throughout his life and never lost faith in the simple message of love of Lord Krishna. After his spiritual awakening, Harrison’s music took on a strong spiritual aspect. Often combining elements of American religious music, such as gospel choirs, with Sanskrit lyrics and Indian instruments, the songs he wrote in the 1970s are among the more beautiful and melodic expressions of spiritual longing in all of popular music. While his first solo album,1970’s All Things Must Pass, is perhaps the most "spiritual" of his many records, yielding classic cuts such as What is Life and My Sweet Lord, Harrison’s India/Hindu oeuvre is far richer than that one album. This week we take a look at several other lesser-known compositions that every Harrison fan should be familiar with.

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