John Lennon

[Fantine]

When the Beatles discovered that fame, fortune, and worldly success did not give them the happiness and sense of purpose they craved, they turned to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Eastern philosophies to find that meaning. In doing so Lennon found that purpose and developed a commitment to peace and social justice.

The sad part is that they could have found exactly the same things within the Christian monastic tradition if they had looked.

And Jesus as revered as a great earthly teacher in most of the world's religious traditions, even those that do not recognize Him as the Son of God.

Most New Agers (whom I think would be most similar to Lennon in philosophy) put Jesus right up there with Buddha, Confucius, and the author of the Tao.

 

[NoDoubt]

That's fuuny about the cranberry sauce! But when you play # 9 backwards, I have done it myself, you do hear over and over again, turn me on dead man every time it says "#9" forwards. What were the lads thinking?

Have to say BTW, it doesn't sound like he says "cranberry sause." its right at the end of strwberry fields as clear as day. whatever...

Listen to the two short audio clips at the bottom of the page and you will hear John saying "cranberry sauce"

God Bless. I love your art!

http://www.turnmeondeadman.net/IBP/MysteryTour.php

 

[themaninblack1963]

MOST overrated band of ALL TIME!

 

[NoDoubt]

MOST overrated band of ALL TIME!

Of course not!

They are the GREATEST band of ALL TIME and Sgt. Pepper was voted the BEST album OF ALL TIME according to a poll by Rolling Stone magazine.

But everyone is entitled to their opinion.

1. The Beatles
The Beatles are unquestionably the best and most important band in rock history, as well as the most compelling story. Almost miraculously, they embodied the apex of the form artistically, commercially, culturally and spiritually at just the right time, the tumultuous '60s, when music had the power to literally change the world (or at least to give the impression that it could, which may be the same thing). The Beatles are the archetype: there is no term in the language analogous to “Beatlemania.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4595384

 

[CoyoteUgly]

Post Beatles...John and Yoko...pretty cutting edge and pushing the envelope. Oh hey...the Beatles White Album had a big influence on Charlie Manson and the Family. Mainly the song Revolution #9 and did you know that # 9 backwards says "turn me on dead man."?

Charles Manson's song of choice to influence his family and begin the race war was Helter Skelter, and not Revolution.
Other than advocating the LSD (Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds) that played a part in Manson's bizarre drug-induced psychopathy though, the Beatles really don't merit either blame or credit for the Charles Manson family's insane and hateful kind of race revolution.

The song Revolution itself was rather anti-revolutionary. As shown in the song Taxman the working-class-turned-bourgoise Beatles really did not have the 'benefits' of a post-secondary Marxist education that turned so many other young people of the upper classes of the time into violent, hatefilled Marxists and anarchists.

The Beatles themselves were not about the violence and the hatred at all, but like all the other hippies, it was all about peace and love for them, and maybe dropping the odd hit of acid here and there too, and regularily sharing a spliff of reefer with friends on a regular basis.

Not that there was anything wrong with that. Like most of their generation they eventually grew up too. Maybe John himself never got the chance, and George eventually died of the cigarettes rather than the drugs, one supposes, but Paul and Ringo at least, grew up like everybody else.

In the meantime though, a lot of people were permanently damaged by the pyschedelic experiments that a lot of their music was but a famous example of.
..............................
Arrrgh, and don't remind me of the idea of playing records backward to reveal secret and Satanic messages. Little sister ruined so many records doing that.

 

[CoyoteUgly]

See, the thing is, they weren't. Their idea of love was bedding hundreds of women in a year. They mostly sung of infatuation. Real love is contained within the Gospels.

I am pretty sure they were like kids with a key to the candy store in the beginning. I would be surprised really if that were not the case, until the whole thing eventually gave them a tummy ache at least.

But I really get the impression that Paul was totally faithful and devotedto Linda for many years, and the same thing for John with Yoko too. When it came to the love that they thier wrote songs about, there really was some sincerity in thier silly little love ditties.

I am pretty sure that Mick Jagger never really did grow up when it came to that, but for all appearances, the Beatles were more responsible when it came to that aspect of their lives.

 

[CoyoteUgly]

Yes I know and I do know that he rejected his faith he is IN HELL. ( He was Catholic)

WHY???

Maybe we should open a new thread...so far 2 Beatles in Hell...

As long as there are Catholics who still appreciate and love what good the Beatles have added to the world, there is no need to discount our prayers for the souls of the dead. Their fate in hell is by no means certain.

It is like we say every Saunday, 'Don't look aupon our sins, Lord, but upon the faith of your Church". The faith of the Church still extends to the dead in Catholic teaching, as far as I know.

The sins of John, Paul, George and Ringo most probably are no greater than my own. So personally, it is just not in my own interests to pass certain judgements on the fate of their souls then, for how could I do that without passing judgment on my own soul too?
As we bind, so whall we be bond, and as we forgive, so shall we be forgiven. It is clear what is in our own best self-interest then.
And even for the righteous, a little bit of magnaminity can't be a bad thing either.

For sure, it would be wrong to laud any of the Beatles as saints, whose salvation and place in heaven is all but assured, and whose behavior here on earth is a good example for us to follow. We can see how some of their bad behavior led even these privileged and advantaged lads to suffer, and how many that followed them suffered similarily.

But Jesus did not come for the righteous, but for the sinner. We would do well to follow His example, and continue to pray especially for those who are most in need for the Lord's mercy.
As long as there is prayer, there is hope.

 

[palewildwoodflowr]

When the Beatles discovered that fame, fortune, and worldly success did not give them the happiness and sense of purpose they craved, they turned to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Eastern philosophies to find that meaning. In doing so Lennon found that purpose and developed a commitment to peace and social justice.

The sad part is that they could have found exactly the same things within the Christian monastic tradition if they had looked.

In addition what you mention above, I think one of things that drove them to follow the Maharishi was they were and (still are) being constantly blamed and judged by Christianity as being depraved hedonists bent on secuding the masses into sin to increase their bankroll. No wonder they chose the smiley old Indian guy, rather than the condemnation of the pulpit. But in short order, they found more of the same emptiness...

I do genuinely believe the Beatles were good souls, but they were the first to really experience that crushing wave of international fame that consumes so many talented people and generally destroys their inner life. They walked away from it stronger in some things and vunerable in others.

While we cannot agree with everything they Beatles stood for, they were probably the most spiritual pop group of all time- just as interested in love ditties as they were in world affairs and the condition of the human spirit. I think that's why they will continue to play a major roll in western culture.

 

[kisstheson]

Listen to the two short audio clips at the bottom of the page and you will hear John saying "cranberry sauce"

God Bless. I love your art!

http://www.turnmeondeadman.net/IBP/MysteryTour.php

I'll take your word for it. Thanks for the comment about my art.

 

[kisstheson]

Charles Manson's song of choice to influence his family and begin the race war was Helter Skelter, and not Revolution.
Other than advocating the LSD (Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds) that played a part in Manson's bizarre drug-induced psychopathy though, the Beatles really don't merit either blame or credit for the Charles Manson family's insane and hateful kind of race revolution.

The song Revolution itself was rather anti-revolutionary. As shown in the song Taxman the working-class-turned-bourgoise Beatles really did not have the 'benefits' of a post-secondary Marxist education that turned so many other young people of the upper classes of the time into violent, hatefilled Marxists and anarchists.

The Beatles themselves were not about the violence and the hatred at all, but like all the other hippies, it was all about peace and love for them, and maybe dropping the odd hit of acid here and there too, and regularily sharing a spliff of reefer with friends on a regular basis.

Not that there was anything wrong with that. Like most of their generation they eventually grew up too. Maybe John himself never got the chance, and George eventually died of the cigarettes rather than the drugs, one supposes, but Paul and Ringo at least, grew up like everybody else.

In the meantime though, a lot of people were permanently damaged by the pyschedelic experiments that a lot of their music was but a famous example of.
..............................
Arrrgh, and don't remind me of the idea of playing records backward to reveal secret and Satanic messages. Little sister ruined so many records doing that.

LOL!

I agree with most of what you said here. Except I always heard the Manson took "#9" and got his idea for killing sharon tate by looking up revelations chapter 9. Some how a messgae came to him from that song.

And of course I don't blame the beatles for charlie's craziness.

 

[kisstheson]

Maybe it's both but...

In my hour of darkness, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking the words of wisdom, let it be...

It just too spot on theologically speaking form a Catholic perspective for it to NOT be about the Mother of God.

Wisdom is a reference to Jesus who is Divine Wisdom itself.. Mary indeed comes to us in times of need, speaking the words of Jesus, saying, let it be done to us according to His word.

That's how I always looked at it. I also thought that "Come Together" was about Jesus...

"He says one and one and one is three." (the Trinity)
"Got to be good lookin' cause He's so hard to see." (Jesus)

 

[NoDoubt]

I agree with most of what you said here. Except I always heard the Manson took "#9" and got his idea for killing sharon tate by looking up revelations chapter 9. Some how a messgae came to him from that song

And of course I don't blame the beatles for charlie's craziness.

Yep.

Unfortunately, the song Helter Skelter, just like Piggies, has been linked to Charles Manson in the killings of Sharon Tate and others in 1969, but has nothing at all to do with anything like that. On July 18, 1968, Paul and the other three Beatles were in the studio at Abbey Road, and Paul wanted to write a real rockin' song that would shock everyone. He got the idea from a newspaper review of a new song by "The Who," where their song received great reviews. Wanting to compete, Paul wrote this one. The name Helter Skelter is a roller coaster in England, described there as a spiral slide.

If one knows this information, the song makes perfect sense - how Mansion misinterpreted the lyrics again is a mystery, except for the fact that he was indeed quite deranged. In Mansion's mind, the phrase, "coming down fast," meant to him that the American radical conflict was soon to arrive. The murderers, as they did with the words "pig" and "piggy," wrote "Helter Skelter" on the walls with the victims blood. It also didn't help the song much when the Los Angeles District Attorney, Vincent Bugliosi, who prosecuted the case, named his best-selling book Helter Skelter.

http://www.iamthebeatles.com/article1167.html

 

[kisstheson]

Thanks for the info.

 

[CoyoteUgly]

Depending which step of Jacob's ladder one currently social status takes them to, the experience of Strawberry Fields may be heaven-or hell.

Ths is not the Beatles experience for sure, but it is worth the listen to really understand what the Beatles lifestyle help open up the rest of the world to.

"Nothing is real", but this is real in spite of all that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OwEyXFhZ9g

 

[Fantine]

While we cannot agree with everything they Beatles stood for, they were probably the most spiritual pop group of all time- just as interested in love ditties as they were in world affairs and the condition of the human spirit. I think that's why they will continue to play a major roll in western culture.

Well, Bob Dylan became a very committed Jew for Jesus....

Cat Stevens became an Islamic monk and went ot live in a cave in Spain.....

Dion DiMucci ("Runaround Sue") became a very committed Christian singer.....

And, of course, Bono went on to save the world, although I'm not sure if this was religiously motivated or pure humanitarianism. In either case, bravissimo, Bono!