“Why The Beatles Went to India” An illustrated talk by Paul Saltzman

“Why The Beatles Went to India” An illustrated talk by Paul Saltzman.

Hosted by Martin Lewis

Please join us for a special evening with photographer, filmmaker and author Paul Saltzman discussing The Beatles’ legendary trip to India in 1968 - illustrated with the iconic intimate photographs Saltzman took of the group during their sojourn. The event is hosted by Beatles scholar, producer and humorist Martin Lewis

“In 1968, the Beatles travelled to India to find something that all their fame and fortune could not give them. They went to find inner peace. It was a time of creativity and a time of change. In seven short weeks at the ashram they wrote 48 songs. Not knowing they were there, I had arrived to learn meditation, desperate to heal a broken heart. We hung out together for a week. The meditation was life-changing, as was meeting the Beatles. It was a deeply private experience and back home I put the 54 photos I had taken away in a box and forgot about them for 32 years.” – Paul Saltzman

Paul Saltzman is a Toronto-based film & television director-producer with over 300 productions to his credit. His work has been recognized with multiple nominations and wins from US and Canadian academies and prestigious film festivals including two Emmy Awards.

In 1968, he studied meditation at the ashram in India of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi - an experience that changed his life. There he photographed the four Beatles and their then partners Cynthia Lennon, Pattie Boyd Harrison, Jane Asher and Maureen Starkey. And several of their friends including Jenny Boyd, Donovan, Mal Evans, Mike Love and actress Mia Farrow.

In a forthcoming book by music historian Harvey Kubernick that discusses the Beatles’ Indian adventure and Saltzman’s acclaimed documentary "Meeting the Beatles in India” - Martin Lewis is quoted in regard to Paul Saltzman’s photographs:

“Paul Saltzman’s still images of the Beatles in India – especially his portraits of John and Paul at work composing – are among the most intimate and touching photos ever taken of them. Because they were not professionally posed or set up for any commercial purpose, they have an honesty and authenticity that is unrivalled.”

Footnote by Beatles Historian Martin Lewis

For those more interested in philosophy, meditation and spiritualism than in the Beatles there are some rather less-publicized outcomes of their 1968 trip to India seeking enlightenment and a higher purpose in life that may be of interest.

The huge media coverage of the Beatles’ spiritual quest had a worldwide Johnny Appleseed impact. Millions of people - regular folks like us - and succeeding generations of entertainers, artists and future leaders - were inspired to explore meditation and Eastern philosophy. It’s a phenomenon that continues to this day. The Beatles proselytizing for a kinder, more thoughtful, more enlightened world was no small thing…

As Paul Saltzman wrote in his book ‘The Beatles in India’:

“For many of us, the Beatles were the avatars - the embodiment, the archetype - of western culture and society and when they turned to the East, millions of young people turned to see what they were looking at, where they were going, what they were doing. To the generations of the 60s, word that the Beatles were at an ashram in India aroused a curiosity in a great many people searching in their own lives for a deeper fulfillment than materialism could deliver. The Beatles were forging ahead, again.”

For the remaining 12 years of Lennon’s life - he continued his interest in broad philosophical concerns alongside his passion for political causes.

George Harrison was the Beatle most profoundly affected by India. He pursued a deeply spiritual quest all the way until his untimely death in 2001. He followed the Maharishi, he followed Indian music and culture. In accordance with his wishes - his ashes were scattered on the Ganges River that he had first visited in 1968.

Paul and Ringo were rather less vocal about their post-India views… until 2009.

In that year film director and Transcendental Meditation devotee David Lynch staged a benefit concert at Radio City Music Hall in NYC titled "Change Begins Within" for his “Consciousness-Based Education & World Peace Foundation”.

At the event there were on-stage testimonials by longtime meditators, Jerry Seinfeld, Howard Stern and Lynch's regular composer Angelo Badalamenti. And musical performances by Eddie Vedder, Ben Harper, Moby, Sheryl Crow, Bettye LaVette. And some of the musicians who had been in India with the Maharishi in 1968: Beach Boy Mike Love, jazz flautist Paul Horn, Donovan.

But the highlights of the concert were performances by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr - both very publicly reaffirming their still-active belief in what they learned from the Maharishi four decades earlier.

Prior to the concert McCartney reached out to Paul Saltzman seeking his iconic photos from 1968 to project on a screen behind his performance. Saltzman happily obliged by supplying all 54 of them. When McCartney enquired what fee Saltzman would like for the usage – Saltzman was pleased to reply “Absolutely no charge”

Not a surprise to me… The Zen echoes of India 1968 were still sounding in 2009. And they still resonate today...

Ticket Price: $10 (in-person event only)

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