Working Class Mystic: A Spiritual Biography of George Harrison

by Gary Tillery

Overview

John Lennon called himself a working class hero. George Harrison was a working class mystic. Born in Liverpool as the son of a bus conductor and a shop assistant, for the first six years of his life he lived in a house with no indoor bathroom. This book gives an honest, in-depth view of his personal journey from his blue-collar childhood to his role as a world-famous spiritual icon.

Author Gary Tillery's approach is warmly human, free of the fawning but insolent tone of most rock biographers. He frankly discusses the role of drugs in leading Harrison to mystical insight but emphasizes that he soon renounced psychedelics as a means to the spiritual path. It was with conscious commitment that Harrison journeyed to India, studied sitar with Ravi Shankar, practiced yoga, learned meditation from the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and became a devotee of Hinduism. George worked hard to subdue his own ego and to understand the truth beyond appearances. He preferred to keep a low profile, but his empathy for suffering people led him to spearhead the first rock-and-roll super event for charity. And despite his wealth and fame, he was always delighted to slip on overalls and join in manual labor on his grounds. At ease with holy men discussing the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, he was ever the bloke from Liverpool whose father drove a bus, whose brothers were tradesmen, and who had worked himself as an apprentice electrician until the day destiny called.

Tillery's engaging narrative depicts Harrison as a sincere seeker who acted out of genuine care for humanity and used his celebrity to be of service in the world. Fans of all generations will treasure this book for the inspiring portrayal it gives of their beloved "quiet" Beatle.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780835609005
Publisher:	Quest Books
Publication date:	12/13/2011
Pages:	200
Sales rank:	1,130,122
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

A native of the Southwest, Gary Tillery was born in Phoenix in 1947. In 1968-69 he served in Vietnam with the United States Air Force. His enlistment was over in 1970. After two decades in the business world, primarily as co-owner of an advertising agency in suburban Chicago, he turned his time and energy to his lifelong passion for literature and art. He published a collection of interrelated short stories set in Vietnam titled "Darkling Plain", and began a series of humorous novels featuring "soft-boiled" detective Jack Savage—the first two titled Death, Be Not Loud and To An Aesthete Dying Young. Tillery is also a professional sculptor. His most prominent work is the sculpture for the Vietnam Memorial in Chicago. He also created the bronze bust of Steve Allen for the Steve Allen Theater in Hollywood; and through his association with the Rotblatt-Amrany Studio he created, among other works, the life-size bronze of Luis Aparicio at U. S. Cellular Field.

Editorial Reviews

Often called “the quiet Beatle” because of his silence both on and off stage, Harrison spoke forcefully and eloquently in the later years of the band and during his solo career about the power of the divine and our own capacities to embrace it within. In a meditation on Harrison’s music that is alternately repetitious and frustratingly superficial, Tillery (The Cynical Idealist) traces Harrison’s mystical journey back to an acid trip in April 1965 in which Harrison realized that he had embraced, and been embraced by, the divine. From that moment, he discovered an affinity with Hinduism. Tillery dutifully treads well-worn territory in narrating Harrison’s relationships with sitarist Ravi Shankar, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Swami Prabhupada, as well as Harrison’s deep engagement with the writings of Yogananda (Autobiography of a Yogi) and other Hindu spiritual teachers. Harrison’s songs, Tillery points out, strive to awaken us to the truths that he saw quite clearly: “to burn out our past karma, to become aware of our divinity, and to break free of eternal return.” Because it doesn’t engage Harrison’s song lyrics in detail, Tillery’s study lacks the depth of Dale Allison’s finely tuned The Love There That’s Sleeping: The Art and Spirituality of George Harrison (2006). (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"Harrison was generally known for his spirituality and embrace of Hinduism. Tillery examines Harrison's lyrics, life, and writings and convincingly explains their place—contradictions and all—within Hinduism and within Harrison's personal spiritual quest. The writing is clear and concise but occasionally veers into near proselytizing as Tillery extends his discussion beyond that for which he finds direct evidence in Harrison's work. This is a clear, generally well-documented, and fairly short read that will find favor among Harrison and Beatles fans. Recommended." —James E. Perone, Univ. of Mount Union, Alliance, O
, Excerpted from: Library Journal

Reviews

"Harrison was generally known for his spirituality and embrace of Hinduism. Tillery examines Harrison's lyrics, life, and writings and convincingly explains their place--contradictions and all--within Hinduism and within Harrison's personal spiritual quest. The writing is clear and concise but occasionally veers into near proselytizing as Tillery extends his discussion beyond that for which he finds direct evidence in Harrison's work. This is a clear, generally well-documented, and fairly short read that will find favor among Harrison and Beatles fans. Recommended." --James E. Perone, Univ. of Mount Union, Alliance, O
, Excerpted from: Library Journal

"Author Gary Tillery's approach is warmly human, free of the fawning but insolent tone of most rock biographers. He frankly discusses the role of drugs in leading Harrison to mystical insight but emphasizes that he soon renounced psychedelics as a means to the spiritual path. Tillery's engaging narrative depicts Harrison as a sincere seeker who acted out of genuine care for humanity and used his celebrity to be of service in the world. Fans of all generations will treasure this book for the inspiring portrayal it gives of their beloved "quiet" Beatle.
" --Excerpted from: DailyOm.com

"Tillery (The Cynical Idealist) traces Harrison's mystical journey back to an acid trip in April 1965 in which Harrison realized that he had embraced, and been embraced by, the divine. From that moment, he discovered an affinity with Hinduism. Tillery dutifully treads well-worn territory in narrating Harrison's relationships with sitarist Ravi Shankar, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Swami Prabhupada, as well as Harrison's deep engagement with the writings of Yogananda (Autobiography of a Yogi) and other Hindu spiritual teachers. Harrison's songs, Tillery points out, strive to awaken us to the truths that he saw quite clearly: "to burn out our past karma, to become aware of our divinity, and to break free of eternal return." --Excerpted from: Publishers Weekly

"Having first known him back in the days when he was called only 'the quiet Beatle,' it thrills me no end that George's inner journey has now been so splendidly chronicled.
" --Victor Spinetti

"From the early days I noticed George had an inner talent he hadn't seemed able to unlock. I actually encouraged him to begin writing again after he seemed blocked by the song-writing success of Lennon & McCartney. I saw how he became the member of the Beatles most stretched by his friends, his philosophy and his search for meaning....a meaning which he eventually discovered. Gary Tillery has captured George's spiritual odyssey in his latest work, which enables us to take the journey with him to unlock the secrets, move aside the veil and gain a remarkable insight. It provides an invaluable companion to his recent work on John Lennon The Cynical Idealist.
" --Bill Harry, Founder of Mersey Beat

From the Publisher

Tillery has analyzed the spirituality of John Lennon (The Cynical Idealist) and written a short story collection set in Vietnam (Darkling Plain) and humorous detective novels, and he is a celebrated professional sculptor. Perhaps his breadth of interests allowed him to take this wide-screen look at the spirituality of George Harrison. As a member of the Beatles and a somewhat reclusive solo pop star until his death in 2001, Harrison was generally known for his spirituality and embrace of Hinduism. Tillery examines Harrison's lyrics, life, and writings and convincingly explains their place—contradictions and all—within Hinduism and within Harrison's personal spiritual quest. The writing is clear and concise but occasionally veers into near proselytizing as Tillery extends his discussion beyond that for which he finds direct evidence in Harrison's work. VERDICT This is a clear, generally well-documented, and fairly short read that will find favor among Harrison and Beatles fans. Recommended.—James E. Perone, Univ. of Mount Union, Alliance, OH

Library Journal