The Beatles in Bangor
The visit attracted international publicity for Transcendental Meditation and presented the 1960s youth movement with an alternative to psychedelic drugs as a means to attaining higher consciousness.
The Beatles' endorsement of the technique followed the band's incorporation of Indian musical and philosophical influences in their work, and was initiated by George Harrison's disillusionment with his visit to San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district in early August.
The British press gave the nickname "the Mystical Special" to the train that transported the Beatles from London to Bangor, and some reacted with suspicion to the band's sudden devotion to the Maharishi.
In the mid-1960s, the Beatles became interested in Indian culture,[1] after the band members, particularly John Lennon and George Harrison, began using the psychedelic drug lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in an effort to expand their consciousness.
[2][3] In September and October 1966, Harrison visited India,[4] where, in addition to furthering his sitar studies under Indian classical musician Ravi Shankar, he developed a fascination for Vedic philosophy.
[7][8] According to Boyd, in February 1967, she began attending meetings in London held by the Spiritual Regeneration Movement, an organisation that espoused the Transcendental Meditation technique devised by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and she soon shared her discoveries with Harrison.
[30] The Beatles arrived at London's Euston Station late in the afternoon and were caught up in a large crowd, made worse by the fact that it was the Friday before the August Bank Holiday weekend.
[56] Lennon later described the retreat as "incredible" and recalled that Jagger immediately telephoned his Rolling Stones bandmate Keith Richards, telling him to come to Bangor with the other members of the band.
[44][nb 5] The Beatles planned to attend the entire ten-day seminar, but their stay was cut short by the death of their manager Brian Epstein in London on 27 August.
[63][nb 6] Due to the interest generated by their first appearance on the show, Frost invited the pair back a week later, where they discussed TM with a studio audience of clergymen, academics and journalists.
[71][72] In his book American Veda, author Philip Goldberg likens the Maharishi's Hilton lecture to Swami Vivekananda's visit to the West in 1893 in terms of its importance for Indian religion.
[76] At a court event in October, Queen Elizabeth II remarked to Sir Joseph Lockwood, the chairman of EMI: "The Beatles are turning awfully funny, aren't they?
"[76] Now publicised as "The Beatles' Guru", the Maharishi went on his eighth world tour, giving lectures in Britain, Scandinavia, West Germany, Italy, Canada and the United States.
Donovan later said that he and Harrison had avidly read Hindu spiritual texts and discussed meditation as a way to achieve genuine higher consciousness, but had lacked the method or a "guide" until meeting the Maharishi.
[83] Other artists who followed the Beatles' lead into TM included members of the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane,[84] all of whom met the Maharishi with Jagger and Donovan in Los Angeles that autumn.
"[84] In February 1968, having twice delayed their departure for India,[68] the Beatles and their romantic partners joined the Maharishi at his ashram in Rishikesh,[87] alongside Donovan, Mike Love of the Beach Boys, and American actress Mia Farrow.
