The Inner Light
“He left this world as he lived in it, conscious of God, fearless of death, and at peace, surrounded by family and friends,” the Harrison family said in a statement. “He often said, `Everything else can wait but the search for God cannot wait, and love one another.”’
Associated Press 11/30/01
And once again. a little part of us dies. Those of us who remember when gods walked this earth, shaping whole societies with each thought and whim felt a profound and positively communal loss on the morning of November 30 as they awoke to the news of Beatle George’s death. Try explaining the severity of this loss to someone in their twenties and it will likely sound quaint and nostalgic to their ears but we who saw the last great age of heroes know the difference George and his brothers made to our lives. To those who came of age in the 80’s and beyond, the whole idea of public figures as heroes sounds naïve. Now, just being in the public eye betrays an innate corruption of intent because there are no happy accidents. Back then however, things happened by alchemy. The Beatles, and especially George, never asked for the leadership roles that were thrust upon them. It came to them simply because of who they were as individuals, real and genuine, unscripted and without negotiation. They reached the top of the pop charts in a home-grown fashion, playing clubs, getting a manager and then a record deal. Even now, the kitschy quality of those two words, “The Beatles” belies the great import of people who changed not only art and music, but people and governments as well. Film director Milos Forman once said that he could make a case for The Beatles having a prominent role in the fall of the Berlin Wall. He’s probably right and that is amazing.
The Beatles did all this with one basic, yet powerful act of magic: They made millions of people, all over the world believe that they could be better people. That doesn’t happen often and it’s the kind of thing that gets you remembered for hundreds of years. In their world of possibilities, love reigns supreme. You could see the best in other people and, in turn, the best in yourself. What a notion! Throughout recorded history, people have periodically risen up to tell us that love was all we needed and generally were not treated kindly for it in their own time. Days before he was murdered, a forty year old John Lennon said in an interview that he did not want to be regarded as a symbol for peace because “symbols get shot.” Yes, for their symbolic importance, John got shot and George got stabbed (the difference between living in America and England?) and that was not all. When asked to sum things up at the end of the Anthology series, George said, “The fans gave their love but we gave our nervous systems.” The youngest of the four, George was already one of the most well known people on Earth. Not famous like Britney Spears or Madonna but more like a statesman… a player on the world stage. People wanted to know his every thought so that it might help them find their way. It was a weight that, like it or not, he carried a long time. The particular grace with which he carried it earned him a level of love and respect that was apart from the others. While John challenged you to be better and Paul told you that you were already better, George led by example. He kept trying to make himself better, intellectually, spiritually, musically and if you wanted to come along, you were welcome. As he said in one of his first truly great songs, “Think for yourself because I won’t be there with you.”
After John’s instant martyrdom, George lost whatever taste he had for public life. Throughout the Eighties and Nineties, he mostly lived the dignified life of an English squire. Collecting antiques and religious objects in his 19th century Tudor manor and planting trees on the great property. Whenever he chose to resurface with a project we were there and when he wanted his privacy, it was enough to just know that he was there. He always seemed mildly surprised that his fame and influence had never waned. That his Apple Scruffs never left him and sincerely just wanted him to be happy.
Even though we all knew this was coming, dreading the final outcome after every new report on his health, we still welled up with pain and sadness. We watched tributes pour in all day in every major news outlet, effectively taking war and terrorism off the front page for the first time in months (a great tribute in itself) and, of course, we listened to the music. We went to the shrines we have created over the last 30 years in New York, London and around the world and looked around to make sure we were all still here. It’s hard to know if we ever did become the better people that we wanted to be but, all at once, we thanked George for wishing it for us. It was so very important.