🌱 After “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”
By the summer of 1967, The Beatles were untouchable. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band had just been released, hailed as a masterpiece that redefined popular music. Critics praised it, fans worshipped it, and the world saw them as prophets of a new age.
Yet behind the glory, the four were exhausted. Years of touring, fame, and substances left them drained. George Harrison, in particular, was disillusioned. He turned to Indian music, studied with Ravi Shankar, and grew interested in Eastern spirituality.
When they heard about Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and his practice of Transcendental Meditation (TM), curiosity sparked. By late August, the band, along with friends like Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithfull, and Donovan, traveled to Bangor, Wales, to attend a short seminar.
🌸 August 26, 1967 – Meeting Maharishi
That day, the Beatles boarded a train to Bangor. Maharishi appeared not as a stern guru, but as a joyful, giggling figure. He radiated warmth and simplicity.
Paul McCartney later recalled: “He wasn’t telling us to give up rock ’n’ roll, or become saints. He just said meditation could bring peace inside. That was all we needed to hear.”
They listened, took notes, and tried their first meditations. But the very next day, everything changed.
💔 The Tragedy in Bangor
On August 27, while still with Maharishi, the Beatles received devastating news: Brian Epstein, their longtime manager – their “fifth Beatle” – had died in London from an overdose.
Brian was the man who discovered them at the Cavern Club, who believed in them when no one else did, who secured their record deal, polished their image, and guided their career. Without Brian, there might never have been Beatlemania.
John Lennon later said: “That was it. I thought, we’re finished. If anyone was the Beatles’ father, it was Brian.”
Maharishi comforted them, urging them not to drown in grief. His words gave them a strange strength: to channel loss into a spiritual search.
🌍 The Road to India
Back in London, the absence of Brian left a void. But rather than collapse, the Beatles followed the path Maharishi had opened. By early 1968, they traveled to Rishikesh, India, staying at his ashram on the banks of the Ganges.
There, they wrote dozens of songs—many later appearing on The White Album. Tracks like “Dear Prudence,” “Blackbird,” and “Mother Nature’s Son” were born from meditation and stillness.
George found meaning, Paul balance. John, though inspired at first, grew disillusioned later. But the Rishikesh experience reshaped them all.
⚡ Bangor’s Double Legacy
The weekend in Bangor was paradoxical: a beginning and an ending. The Beatles discovered meditation and lost Brian Epstein, their anchor, within 24 hours.
If not for Maharishi, they might have broken apart immediately. If not for Brian’s death, they might never have gone so deep into spiritual searching.
Bangor became the crossroads of their journey: the close of one chapter, the fragile start of another.