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I sidste uge døde George Harrison 58 år gammel af lungekræft som følge af
cigaretrygning. George opnåede alt det et menneske kan drømme om, han blev
umådeligt rig-berømt-elsket. fik opmærksomhed som få. Men lige som Inderen
gautama Buddha følte han kun en umådelig tomhed, ved alle de ting der fulgte
med rigdom berømmelse, anerkendelse osv.

Han begyndte at søge efter en dybere mening med livet, og via rejser til
Indien mødte han "vedanta" den evige filosofi, og hans søgen efter gud
startede, det var i en tid hvor materialismen og hedonismen stod i højsædet
i vesten, og hvor religion og filosofi simpelthen ikke var noget almindelige
Mennesker beskæftigede sig med, med mindre man læste det som fag på
universitetet, han og the Beatles startede som disciple hos Maharishi mahesh
yogi, senere mødte George
Hare krishna bevægelsen, som for alvor indtog hans hjerte, og han forblev
til hænger af ISCKON resten af livet.

MVH P.N.



WORLD
December 3, 2001 VNN7010 Related VNN StoriesComment on this story

George Harrison Died Amid Chants Of Hare Krishna

FROM THE HINDUSTAN TIMES, NEW DELHI

USA, Dec 3 (VNN) - AFP (Los Angeles, December 1)

Former Beatle George Harrison died amid chants and prayers of Hare
Krishna practitioners with whom he had been close since the 1960s, a source
from the Hare Krishna Movement said.

The spiritual musician was surrounded by old friends from the
Hindu-based religious movement, which he embraced at the height of his fame
in the 1960s, Gauda Chandra of the International Society for Krishna
Consciousness said

"He had some close friends that he has known since the 1960s with him
at the end. There was chanting and praying and he was at peace," he said.

The Hare Krishna followers at his bedside in the home of a Los Angeles
friend of Harrison were Shyamasundar Das and Mukunda Goswami.

"During his last days, Krishna devotees were by his side and he left
his body to the sounds of the Hare Krishna mantra," they said in a statement
obtained here.

"Harrison probably did more than any single popular cultural figure
during the past few decades to spread spiritual consciousness around the
world," they said.

The two came from Britain and New Zealand to be with Harrison during
his final days until he lost his four-year battle with cancer on Thursday,
they said.

The bodies of Hare Krishna devotees are usually cremated and their
ashes scattered in the holy rivers of the Ganges and the Yamuna, but Gauda
Chandra Das said the Los Angeles temple did not know whether Harrison had
been cremated or not.

"It's up to the wishes of the family and the individual," he said. "We
do not know what Harrison and his family decided."

Media reports said the family had held a private funeral on Thursday
night.

Gauda Das said the movement was "deeply saddened" by Harrison's death.

Harrison led the other three Beatles to dabble in eastern religion in
the 1960s after he and Jo-hn Lennon met Krishna founder A.C. Bhaktivedanta
Swami Prabhupada. Harrison paid for the printing of the movement's Krishna
book in 1970 and wrote its foreword.










EUROPE
December 3, 2001 VNN7009 Related VNN StoriesComment on this story

Harrison's Ashes Arrive For Immersion In The Ganga

FROM THE HINDUSTAN TIMES

LONDON, ENGLAND, Dec 3 (VNN) - 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.