George Harrison in 2001: The Final Year of His Life
"George Harrison's Final Years: A Deep Dive into the Last Chapter of a Legend"
George Harrison, 58, passed away on November 29, 2001, just before 1:30 p.m. Pacific time. His wife and son were present, and a few significant, close friends were also present, chanting, singing, and praying. Olivia Harrison described it as a "deeply beautiful moment... he yearned to be with God." Harrison's body was wrapped in a silk blanket, slathered in holy water and perfumed oils, and taken care of by Hollywood Forever Cemetery personnel in less than twenty minutes. After being driven to UCLA Medical Center in an unmarked white van, his body was cremated in ten hours during a straightforward Hare Krishna ceremony that included a Bhagavad Gita reading.
Olivia and Dhani Harrison were already on their way to Switzerland with his ashes when word of his passing spread. Later, these were dispersed at Allahabad, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers—the three holiest rivers in Hinduism—during a covert ceremony postponed to prevent fans and the media from snooping around.
Harrison's spiritual journey could be said to have started in Benares, which is nearby. It was there in the late summer of 1966 that he went with Ravi Shankar and experienced a transformative glimpse of a "bliss" that fame, wealth, pop music, and the likes of John, Paul, and Ringo could never quite provide. Harrison's ashes were also distributed there. For individuals who thought that spirits "nipping through" reincarnation.
Harrison's spiritual journey could be said to have started in Benares, which is nearby. It was there in the late summer of 1966 that he went with Ravi Shankar and experienced a transformative glimpse of a "bliss" that fame, wealth, pop music, and the likes of John, Paul, and Ringo could never quite provide. Harrison's ashes were also distributed there. He was at last home to those who believed in reincarnation and souls "nipping through the astral plane." Harrison's final journey to the holy city of Benares, which took place over 35 years after his initial one, demonstrated an impressive dedication to the pursuit of self-knowledge, even for those with a more skeptical disposition. Few musicians posed as many uncomfortable questions, both of themselves and of of God, of life itself. He was ready to hear some answers.
“When I met George he said his ambition was to have no ambition,” Olivia Harrison said. “And I think he achieved that. For the last five years he felt like that. He was free to go.”
