Meeting The Beatles In India

The time that The Beatles spent with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi proved to be an enlightening experience for “The Fab Four.” While spiritually each member set off on their own path, their creativity flourished into some of the most iconic songs and albums of their career. For filmmaker Paul Saltzman, his experience gave him the most intimate glimpse of one of the greatest bands. In Meeting The Beatles In India, Saltzman discusses the path on which he found himself traveling to India and how his time at the ashram with The Beatles encouraged him to pursue his own career.

At 23 years old, Paul Saltzman had felt disillusionment and felt adrift in his own life. It was not until he had an honest conversation with himself one night that he came to the realization that he needed to reconnect with himself and find purpose. Securing the means to travel through a college professor, Saltzman heads to India and finds hope in the words of the Maharishi. Determined to learn more from the Maharishi, Saltzman ends up at the gates of his ashram and after several days…is let inside. But Saltzman received more than he bargained for as he realized that The Beatles were also visiting the ashram at this time, taking pause to reconnect and create music that would later change their sound and influence generations to come. In present day, Saltzman now reflects on his experience with those who were at the ashram with him and shares never-before-seen pictures that he took during that pilgrimage to India.

Saltzman’s retelling of his time in India gives us a glimpse of The Beatles at one of the most enlightening and vulnerable times in their lives. While Saltzman was a rather big fan of The Fab Four, his ability to allow the fan side of him to take a back seat and take in a deeper experience towards his own self-reflection was refreshing. Whether it be through interviews with David Lynch or Pattie Boyd, documentarian Saltzman gives his own retelling with the space and breath necessary for fans to appreciate and remember their appreciation for such an iconic group. But as Saltzman realized, The Beatles were just regular people like he was…and that statement seemed to carry through the documentary as he spent time with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

An iconic moment in Meeting The Beatles In India that struck a chord with me was in Saltzman capturing pictures of John, Paul and Ringo sitting on the steps rehearsing music. While the lyrics at the time were incomplete, Paul had been delving into the lyrics and melody of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” and tinkering around. Catching such a simple moment of their creative process seemed to be paramount to Saltzman’s time there. He would later stumble on John writing lyrics and find spiritual enlightenment in listening to George play the sitar, retelling those memories in such a simple way but drawing you into something deeper. Members heading off and finding time to connect with the music in their own way, using their everyday experiences at the ashram to pen such tunes as “Bungalow Bill,” “Dear Prudence” and “The Inner Light.”

During his time in India, Saltzman realized something about the music that The Beatles wrote and recorded. While fans could relate to the lyrics and found solace in their meaning, the music was never for them. The Beatles wrote for themselves and bared a part of their own soul with the world. It is us who is lucky that we could find a connection to their message.