Harrison Ashes May Be Spread in India
NEW DELHI, India (AP) - The ashes of George Harrison, long a devotee of Hinduism , will be sprinkled in the holy Ganges River, authorities of the Hare Krishna movement said Monday.
Harrison's widow, Olivia, and his 23-year-old son, Dhani, would be accompanied by two Hare Krishna devotees who performed Hindu rites on Harrison's ashes with the family in London, said Maha Mantra Das, New Delhi spokesman for the International Society of Krishna Consciousness.
The society said it was organizing the rites and that its representatives in London had been in contact with Harrison's family. The family would not discuss any details or confirm any aspect of the reports, spokesman Gavin de Becker said in Los Angeles.
Das said Harrison's widow and son were expected to arrive Monday or Tuesday to scatter some of his ashes in the Ganges in the northern city of Varanasi. He said ashes would also be sprinkled off Allahabad, where the Ganges and Yamuna converge - and according to Hindu tradition are joined by a third holy river, the mythical Saraswati.
Harrison, 58, died of cancer in Los Angeles on Thursday. Britain's Press Association news agency reported that he was cremated hours after his death, and that his widow and son left for India with his ashes.
Olivia Harrison has asked fans for a minute of meditation as a tribute to the musician. The Press Association reported his family was to scatter his ashes in India to coincide with that minute, which would take place 3 a.m. Tuesday in India. Das said that this was likely.
``Early morning is a very auspicious time for Hindus,'' he said.
Subigra Das, the head of the Baluaghat Krishna temple in Allahabad, told The Associated Press that Harrison's widow and son would first attend Hindu rituals in Varanasi at 3 a.m., then head to Allahabad.
``We will take out a procession and the rituals will be completed in Sangam,'' said Das. Sangam is the confluence of the rivers.
In a tradition dating more than 3,500 years, Hindus are cremated on riversides and their ashes scattered in holy waters. Hindus believe this ritual releases the soul from the body for its heavenward journey, and frees it from the cycle of reincarnation.
Harrison, known as the ``quiet Beatle,'' had a long, intensely intimate relationship with Indian mysticism and music.
His death ``is a great loss to us,'' said Vrijendra Nandan, an official at the New Delhi chapter of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness - the formal name for the Hare Krishna sect of Hinduism.
``When he was leaving his body, our devotees were chanting songs of Krishna by his bedside,'' he said. He credited Harrison with spreading the movement's beliefs in the West.
London-based Hare Krishna devotee Mukund Goswami introduced Harrison to the movement's founder, Srila Prabhupada. Harrison later donated one of his studios, spread over 14 acres in London, to the Hare Krishnas. In one of his most popular songs, ``My Sweet Lord,'' Harrison chants Hare Krishna.
Krishna is one of the most popular Hindu gods. Hindu mythology describes him as a mischievous character born into a cow herder's family. He was seen a shrewd manipulator who plotted plans to kill exploiting rulers and mobilized farmers to defend their rights.
In 1966, after the Beatles had stopped touring, Harrison came to India to study the sitar with Ravi Shankar. Shankar, whom Harrison helped make famous during the Beatles visits to India, was present during Harrison's final hours in California.
``We spent the day before with him, and even then he looked so peaceful, surrounded by love,'' Shankar said in a statement Friday.
In 1967, Harrison introduced the other Beatles to the teaching of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and all four took up transcendental meditation. Harrison and John Lennon traveled to Rishikesh, a holy city in northern India on the Ganges River, to study with the Maharishi. |
