IndiaPost.com - Maharishi & Mia

Deepak Chopra, called by Time magazine as the "poet-prophet of alternative medicine," has declared in a tribute, "I am who I am because of my Guru." Maharishi Mahesh Yogi died aged 91 at his home in the Dutch town of Vlodrop, on February 5.

He gained popularity as a guru to the Beatles and as one who introduced the West to transcendental meditation. Mahesh Yogi began teaching Transcendental Meditation (TM) in 1955 and brought the technique to the United States in 1959.

But the movement really took off after the world's most celebrated music group Beatles attended one of his lectures in 1967. The Beatles were so charmed by the self-effacing guru that they agreed to stay with him in Rishikesh, India, starting February 1968.

But once there, Maharishi had a falling out with the rock stars after rumors emerged that he was making inappropriate advances on attendee Mia Farrow. John Lennon was so angry he wrote a bitter satire, "Sexy Sadie," in which he vowed that Maharishi would "get yours yet."

Maharishi insisted he had done nothing wrong and years later McCartney agreed with him. Deepak Chopra, a disciple of Maharishi's and a friend of George Harrison's, has disputed the Farrow story, saying instead that Maharishi had become unhappy with the Beatles because they were using drugs. Writing elsewhere, Deepak Chopra explodes the myth that Mahesh Yogi fell out with the Beatles over a secret romance by insisting the Indian guru simply grew tired of the Fab Four's drug use.

Neither The Beatles nor the Maharishi spoke about their bitter falling out, leading many to speculate about the reasons for the bust-up. Some of those close to both The Beatles and the Maharishi have claimed the guru propositioned a friend of the group - possibly actress Mia Farrow - prompting John Lennon and George Harrison to leave India and cease communications with their former spiritual advisor.

But Chopra now insists the Maharishi simply "lost his temper when he learned they were doing drugs". Chopra adds, "The rumor was that Maharishi had misbehaved with Mia Farrow, but I met Mia years later at the airport while taking a flight to India, and she asked me to tell Maharishi that she still loved him."

The group had gone to the ashram in search of spiritual enlightenment, meditating during the day and writing songs in the evening. According to reports, they consumed no alcohol or drugs when they first arrived and kept to a strict vegetarian diet.

A few weeks into their much-publicised sojourn, however, relations soured between the guru and the band's entourage. In a subsequent television interview, John Lennon and Paul McCartney said they had lost interest in the maharishi's teachings.

Dr Chopra said of the rumour that the guru had misbehaved with Farrow, who was part of the entourage: "There was never any truth to stories about the maharishi's womanising. When he was sick in the UK, he wouldn't even allow any female nurses near him.

"As for the stuff about Mia Farrow, that was complete nonsense. I met her years later and she asked me to tell the maharishi that she still loved him," he said. During his guest editor stint for the Times of India newspaper on 14 February 2006, Chopra revealed he helped set up a top secret reconciliatory meeting between the Maharishi and Harrison in 1991.

He recalls, "We got on to a chartered plane... and flew to Vlodrop in the Netherlands, where Maharishi was staying." Chopra recalls it was an emotional meeting, during which Harrison apologized to the Maharishi for severing ties with him.

The Maharishi brought Harrison to tears, according to Chopra, when he forgave his former student, stating, "I knew the Beatles were angels on earth... I could never be upset with angels." Chopra credits the Maharishi with beginning of spiritual renaissance.

"He was one of the most significant figures of the century. Personally, I owe everything to him. Everything I have learnt, I have learnt from him. He has influenced some of the most important people of this century. The Maharishi had grandiose ideas - sometimes even impractical - but he was a great man." Chpra said, "The Maharishi didn't die like mere mortals do.

He just went into what we call 'maha samadhi'. On January 12 this year, his 91st birthday, he announced that his work in the world was over and he was going into silence. He didn't speak to a single soul after that day. And on Tuesday, he has passed so elegantly."