Harrison's Ashes Arrive For Immersion In The Ganga

July 6, 2003

by Vijay Dutt

George Harrison's widow Olivia and his 24-year-old son Dhani secretly flew to India to immerse the former Beatle's ashes in the Ganga at Dashaswamedh ghat of Varanasi. They flew from London in a private jet along with some devotees of the Hare Krishna sect. Sources told the Hindustan Times that his ashes were to be scattered at the sangam in Allahabad as well.

A former devotee of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and a Krishna-devotee till his death, Harrison had visited Varanasi for a dip in the Ganga three months ago when he realised that his end was not too far.

A report says, He decided to make a secret pilgrimage to his spiritual 'birth place' to prepare for death.

Pale, thin and losing his hair, Harrison returned to Benares, where he discovered eastern mysticism in the 1960s, to bathe in the sacred waters and pray in the temples. Harrison used a pseudonym and no one was aware of his visit till he left.

At the Bhaktivedanta Manor Krishna temple near Watford, an hour's drive from London, a sombre atmosphere prevailed.

It was Harrison who donated his manor on a multi-million pound complex to the Hare Krishna movement and kept close contact with ISCKON over the years. The temple will hold a special prayer service on December 5.

The Indian community here has been touched by the fact that two senior members from the Hare Krishna sect performed the former Beatle's last rites. The body, clothed in dhoti and kurta, was cremated amid Hare Krishna chants. He was more Hindu than many of us, said some students in Southall.

Fans lined up at shops to buy his records. The demand was so great that sales zoomed by 200 per cent, according to the manager of the biggest HMV shop in Oxford Street. Harrison's first solo album, All Things Must Pass, was in much demand.

Harrison had left behind a musical legacy in the shape of an album he worked on during the last months of his life. He planned to call the CD of 25 tracks, some old and some new songs, Portrait of a Leg End - a pun on his celebrity status and a reference to the squashing foot graphic in the Monty Python television series.