Harrison fans unite in meditation

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Harrison fans unite in meditation

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/entertainment/music/newsid_169000

0/1690843.stm LINKS WITH PICTURE OF DEVOTEES

 

Fans took part in a candlelit vigil

 

Fans, friends and the family of George Harrison have taken part in a

minute's meditation in memory of the former Beatle.

His family requested that people gathered at 1330 Pacific Standard

Time (2130GMT) to observe the silence.

 

George Harrison, a true son of Liverpool, whose music reached out to

the whole world and shaped a generation

 

Liverpool's Lord Mayor Gerry Scott

It had been thought that Harrison's family intended to scatter his

ashes in the sacred River Ganges in India following a private

ceremony.

 

But it is unclear whether or not this has yet taken place.

 

Liverpool and London provided centres for fans in the UK to pay their

respects, with vigils held outside St George's Hall and outside Abbey

Road recording studios on Monday.

 

At Central Park's Strawberry Fields in New York, more than 200 people

gathered to take part in the meditation and afterwards sang songs.

 

One participant said: "The world is emptier without him. It is a big

loss."

 

Inspiration

 

Three hours earlier, fans in Liverpool had clapped along to

Harrison's hit My Sweet Lord after observing their own minute's

silence.

 

 

 

Hare Krishna devotees said a prayer of meditation

 

Liverpool Lord Mayor Gerry Scott told the crowd: "Tonight we are

gathered here in memory of George Harrison, a true son of Liverpool,

whose music reached out to the whole world and shaped a generation.

 

"George was a truly gifted musician. But he was much more than that.

 

"His ideals and his love of peace inspired countless thousands.

 

"His loss will be deeply felt but his vision will live on."

 

'Private ceremony'

 

Meanwhile it is uncertain what private ceremony may have taken place

following Harrison's cremation.

 

According to the tenets of Hare Krishna, the Hindu sect to which the

former Beatle adhered, the movement of the ashes in the river is

symbolic of the soul's journey towards eternal consciousness.

 

But a Hare Krishna official in India told Reuters news agency that

the ashes had not arrived by aircraft as expected.

 

Prasann Atmas Das, head of the Hare Krishna sect in Varanasi,

said: "We were waiting to perform the necessary rituals.

 

"But now nobody has come."

 

Harrison's widow, Olivia and son, Dhani, wished to make the visit to

India and the ceremony, at the holy city of Varanasi very private,

Mahamantra Das, New Delhi spokesman for the International Society of

Krishna Consciousnes had earlier said.

 

Hare Krishna members around the world had been praying for the

musician's soul, he said.

 

 

 

A minute's silence was observed in Liverpool

 

In a statement, family friend Gavin de Becker, said Olivia and Dhani

were "deeply touched by the outpouring of love and compassion from

people around the world".

 

"The profound beauty of the moment of George's passing - of his

awakening from this dream - was no surprise to those of us who knew

how he longed to be with God.

 

"In that pursuit, he was relentless.

 

Pupils from Harrison's old school have planted a tree in the city's

peace garden.

 

Children from Dovedale Junior School, along with Lord Mayor of

Liverpool Gerry Scott planted it behind St George's Hall.

 

A memorial in Liverpool is to be planned for a later date to be

agreed with the musician's family.