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Chant and be Happy - The Power of Mantra Meditation
Just what is the Hare Krsna mantra, the Great Chant for Deliverance? And what are the benefits of chanting it? This book answers those questions and many more you may have about the science of Krsna consciousness. Includes fifty pages of exclusive conversations with George Harrison and John Lennon.
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First published January 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
July 20, 2013
This book is simply amazing!! My first introduction to spirituality and this chanting works. Have been chanting on the way to my office and it already feels great. This is indeed mystical! Thank you George Harrison for setting me into a spiritual adventure.
April 2, 2018
The book gave me a basic idea about the Hare Krsna Mantra meditation powers. There are some interesting interviews, but in summary the book is quite boring and repetitive. More history about the movement would have been useful.
December 2, 2018
Some interesting snippets history. However religiously prejudiced at times and some shameless product plugging. It’s very one track minded in regards to the subject itself and can be a touch insulting.
The writing itself doesn’t flow well and is horrendously repetitive.
The writing itself doesn’t flow well and is horrendously repetitive.
May 13, 2012
Great conversations with John Lennon and George Harrison, interviewed by His Holiness Mukunda Goswami. Can be read online for free here: http://harekrishna.com/col/books/YM/cbh/
May 21, 2025
A good introduction to the Hare Krishnas/ISKCON and what they believe.
June 19, 2025
Was an interesting read for a book that a rando monk on my college campus gave to me. I’m a Beatles fan, so learning more about George Harrison’s thoughts behind his songs was fascinating. Other than that, the book was very repetitive, probs cuz it was about mantras, but that does not excuse its positive cherry picking bias towards Buddhist and shaming of sex workers.
August 13, 2016
This is a good book for an introduction into the Hare Krishna religion. It is a quick read, but as someone had previously mentioned, it is repetitive and could have been about two thirds the length. The interviews with John Lennon and George Harrison are sort of interesting. It was a bit difficult for me to keep all the Sanskrit words together, but I got by just mumbling them as best I could when they passed. Good book explaining Hare Krishna's movement to the West. I just feel like there must be a better book out there on the history of the religion.
January 19, 2024
Поучно штиво о томе како су Битлси упали у секту. 🕉️
May 24, 2020
This was my very first Krishna Conscious book. It has some Beatles interviews and outlines the basics of chanting the maha mantra. The movement was trying to raise a heap of cash back then. Airports and so on. Trying to grow, and fast. It lacks some background: what are mantras, why they work, comparisons with other mantras, why this one especially. Also how this particular meditation practice compares with other styles. Prabhupada however can defend the bhakti cult like a bulldog and rarely speaks well of other paths. Truth is: There ARE many paths as Krishna himself tries to explain in the Bhagavad Gita if he can slip a word in edgeways. Lighten up, Guru, won't you? Whichever way you paint it, Prabhupada is RIGHT (of course): yoga, karma and ghana don't actually work in the age of Kali. But bhakti does. Laugh and take it all with a pinch of salt. Don't throw the baby out with the dishwater or whatever. It's Prabhupada.
April 13, 2013
I'm not a spiritual person, but after reading Ms. Odell I found myself interested in learning more about Hare Krishna from an academic standpoint because of the influence it had over The Beatles. This past week, a monk was on campus handing out different books on Krishna spirituality. This one seemed the most interesting, so I snagged it in exchange for a small donation.
It's an interesting book and a quick read, but as with most books on spirituality it's incredible repetitive. As short as it is, it probably could have been cut to half of its length without difficulty. It also was somewhat difficult to read with all of the Sandskrit words. If you want to know more about the religion and how it affected George Harrison and the other members of the band, though, this book is a good place to look.
It's an interesting book and a quick read, but as with most books on spirituality it's incredible repetitive. As short as it is, it probably could have been cut to half of its length without difficulty. It also was somewhat difficult to read with all of the Sandskrit words. If you want to know more about the religion and how it affected George Harrison and the other members of the band, though, this book is a good place to look.
August 20, 2019
A little book that explains the simple philosophy of the ISKCON on chanting. While the book is at time repetitive, so too is chanting. The interviews with George Harrison, and other former members of The Beatles give this book testimony on how the movement impacted their spiritual paths. There are also stories that allow you to understand more about the history of the ISKCON. I particularly enjoyed the parts where other religions are compared in regards to the use of sacred language and holy names.
June 21, 2018
I got this book as a parting gift from a good friend of my mum's and enjoyed reading it at the age of 15. I just love going back to this book, read it about 4 times already. ❤️❤️❤️
January 23, 2024
Simple, inviting, and instills a hope that’s rare. Such a charming idea that saying/singing one shared phrase is totally sufficient for salvation, and it is truly addicting to do so, I’ll say. Liked to hear about George and John’s relations to the Hare Krishna movement though the picture is pretty sparse (George buying them a manor house and recording some songs on Apple is about all the facts given, the rest is just musing which is valuable, though; his recording of the maha-mantra is just awesome, too). Lost me a bit more in the tales of conversions, but no matter, they were over so quick. HML if you want to try out a kirtana.
June 22, 2024
Two stars mostly for the interview with George Harrison. The overview of what was happening in San Francisco when Prabhupāda arrived in the USA was also insightful. Everything after that is kind of a mishmash.
I have to note that the book is based on the teachings of Prabhupāda and, sadly, whoever wrote it messed up at times. Here they mention how Krishna was in the Vedas and how the Hare Krishna mantra was promoted there... How could this be if he himself is talking about the Vedas in Mahabharata? The Vedas existed roughly around a thousand years before the war in Kurukshetra. I know some people count Mahabharata as part of the Vedas, but since it's not a widely accepted truth, I consider this a mistake.
The edition itself is beautiful and I can see how a lot of effort and devotion went into it, but I'm unsure if I'll recommend it to people because of instances like the abovementioned.
I have to note that the book is based on the teachings of Prabhupāda and, sadly, whoever wrote it messed up at times. Here they mention how Krishna was in the Vedas and how the Hare Krishna mantra was promoted there... How could this be if he himself is talking about the Vedas in Mahabharata? The Vedas existed roughly around a thousand years before the war in Kurukshetra. I know some people count Mahabharata as part of the Vedas, but since it's not a widely accepted truth, I consider this a mistake.
The edition itself is beautiful and I can see how a lot of effort and devotion went into it, but I'm unsure if I'll recommend it to people because of instances like the abovementioned.
July 9, 2024
Didn't really care about the religious aspect but the history and interviews with Beatles members were cool. It also helped to solidify my opinion that Yoko was always insufferable.
September 21, 2018
I found this to be a really good book explaining the Hare Krsna to Western Audiences.
It starts with a really succint explaination of the religion's crux, which is that the way to achieve enlightenment, or happiness, or spiritual satisfaction, etc.. is to perform devotional chants to Krsna, and through that all good things will follow. This central claim is explained in a really clear way.
It then goes into a couple of interviews with George Harrison from the Beatles, in which through an interview (a self-serving one by the org, admittedly) George discusses his personal relationship to the founder, to the religion itself, and how he works it into his life. There are many ways to analysis this if one is interested in the way westerners of the 60s engaged with India as far as orientalism and general cultural absorption/exporting goes, but the interviews were pretty good about being a tale by someone who adopted something and was generally finding it satisfying.
Afterwards there are more practical entries on how to chant, a much friendlier (and less in-depth) primer on cosmology and framework and terminology than the book The Matchless Gift, and then some claimed histories and morality tales. They are ultimately religious texts that assume you've already bought into the framework, but they seem like positive ones which will enable you to work within that framework, as a beginner.
A thing I appreciate about this text over The Matchless Gift is that it actually gave a clear decent explanation for how the enlightenment/absolute truth/etc... cannot come via pure rational exporation because those are finite attempts to describe the infinite/inefrfable, and that the devotional chants and mindspace and conduit that opens up is necessary. From a religious framework, this is reasonable, and much nicer than the "world is rank, here's a bunch of foreign terminology and proof via authority of said authority's claims" confrontational and outsider-attacking areforementioned book.
So far, if one wanted a book making the case for Krishna Consciousness, I'd recommend this one, it seems a nice balance of testimonial, primer, and some contextualizing literature (although as always, this is in no way an academic source and be mindful when an org writes an book about itself (no differently then when Vatican Cardinals write explanations of Catholic concepts ... it'll be educational but there's a presupposed narrative)
It starts with a really succint explaination of the religion's crux, which is that the way to achieve enlightenment, or happiness, or spiritual satisfaction, etc.. is to perform devotional chants to Krsna, and through that all good things will follow. This central claim is explained in a really clear way.
It then goes into a couple of interviews with George Harrison from the Beatles, in which through an interview (a self-serving one by the org, admittedly) George discusses his personal relationship to the founder, to the religion itself, and how he works it into his life. There are many ways to analysis this if one is interested in the way westerners of the 60s engaged with India as far as orientalism and general cultural absorption/exporting goes, but the interviews were pretty good about being a tale by someone who adopted something and was generally finding it satisfying.
Afterwards there are more practical entries on how to chant, a much friendlier (and less in-depth) primer on cosmology and framework and terminology than the book The Matchless Gift, and then some claimed histories and morality tales. They are ultimately religious texts that assume you've already bought into the framework, but they seem like positive ones which will enable you to work within that framework, as a beginner.
A thing I appreciate about this text over The Matchless Gift is that it actually gave a clear decent explanation for how the enlightenment/absolute truth/etc... cannot come via pure rational exporation because those are finite attempts to describe the infinite/inefrfable, and that the devotional chants and mindspace and conduit that opens up is necessary. From a religious framework, this is reasonable, and much nicer than the "world is rank, here's a bunch of foreign terminology and proof via authority of said authority's claims" confrontational and outsider-attacking areforementioned book.
So far, if one wanted a book making the case for Krishna Consciousness, I'd recommend this one, it seems a nice balance of testimonial, primer, and some contextualizing literature (although as always, this is in no way an academic source and be mindful when an org writes an book about itself (no differently then when Vatican Cardinals write explanations of Catholic concepts ... it'll be educational but there's a presupposed narrative)
November 18, 2018
Whatever I felt I was going to find in this book, I definitely didn't. It was nice to know more about the Krishna movement and its impact in the western world during the 1960s and 1970s, but that was about as much as I got.
Very repetitive, made it at times hard to focus on the reading, somehow my mind was in the wrong kind of mantra.
Very repetitive, made it at times hard to focus on the reading, somehow my mind was in the wrong kind of mantra.
May 8, 2018
My favorite book this and Utopia. I almost always have them on me.. I read them all the time!!
February 7, 2019
Meh. It wasn't for me, but I can see that it would be enjoyable for someone who is more of a believer than I am.
January 17, 2023
Interesting. My favourite part was the interview with John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Srila Prabhupada. Would've liked to have read a longer interview and for it not to have been cut off. But alas.
Brought a new perspective one who were the Beatles, the 60s in the West Northern Hemisphere, and how did the Hare Krisna come about.
Memorable Quotes:
“Vrndāvana is one of the holiest cities in India. It was my most fantastic experience.
...
Unless you’re doing some kind of God conscious thin and you know that He’s the one really in charge, you’re just building up a lot of karma and not really helping yourself or anybody else.
One by one everybody’s got to escape māyā. Everybody has to burn out his karma and escape reincarnation and all that. Stop thinking that if Britain or America or Russia or the West or whatever becomes superior, then we’ll best them, and then we’ll all have a rest and live happily ever after. That doesn’t work. The best thing you can do is give God consciousness.
Manifest your own divinity first. The truth is there. It’s right within us all. Understand what you are. If people would just wake up to what’s real, there would be no misery in the world. I guess chanting’s a pretty good place to start.” -George Harrison
“…the ancient and authorised form of meditation practiced by the Hare Krsna people has a much deeper and more sublime purpose. Although it easily soothes the turbulent mind, it also awakens those who chant it to their original, joyful spiritual nature and consciousness, imparting a genuine sense of pleasure unavailable by any other means.
The VEDAS, scriptures contain the timeless spiritual knowledge of ancient India, state that such an awakening process is desperately needed because everyone in this material world is in a sleeping, dreamlike condition. We have forgotten our original, spiritual identity, accepting instead a temporary material body composed of physical elements as our real self. The VEDAS compare the material body to subtle forms we experience in dreams. While sleeping, we forget our normal waking identity and may find ourselves enjoying or suffering in different types of bodies. But when we hear the ringing of the alarm clock, we awaken and return to normal consciousness. We remember who we are and what we should be doing. Similarly, by hearing the powerful transcendental sound vibrations of the Hare Krsna mantra, we can gradually wake up to our original self, the soul, which is characterized by eternality and is full of knowledge and ever-increasing pleasure.
The sages of India therefore tell us that the goal of human life should not be to try to enjoy our temporary dreamlike situation in the material world. Rather, we are advised to awaken to our original, spiritual nature and ultimately return to our true home in the spiritual world, where we may enjoy our eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality Godhead, Lord Krsna.”
“The VEDAS state that conciousness is a symptom of the soul. In its pure condition, the osul exists in the spirtual world; but when it falls down into contact with matter, the living being is covered by an illusion called false egoism. False ego bewilders the consciousness, causing us to identity with our material bodies. But we are not our material body. When we look at our hand or leg, we say, “This is my hand” or “This is my leg”. The concious self, the “I”, is therefore the owener and the observer of the body. Intellectually, this fact is easily understandable, tand by the spiritual realization that results from chanting, this truth can be directly and continuously experienced.
When the living being identifies with the material body and loses awareness of his real, spiritual self, he inevitably fears death, old age, and disease. He fears loss of beauty, intelligence, and strength and experiences countless other anxieiteis and false emotions relating to the temporary body. But when we begin chanting Hare Krnsa, we soon realize ourselves to be pure and changeless spirit souls, completely distinct from the material body. Because the mantra is completely pure spiritual vibration, it has the power to restore our consciousness to its original, uncontaminated condition. At this point we cease to be controlled by jealousy, bigorty, pride, envy, and hatred.”
Mentioned Vedic literature:
brahmanda purana, Kali-Santarana, Upanisad, Agni pUrana, Srimad Bhagavatam
Brought a new perspective one who were the Beatles, the 60s in the West Northern Hemisphere, and how did the Hare Krisna come about.
Memorable Quotes:
“Vrndāvana is one of the holiest cities in India. It was my most fantastic experience.
...
Unless you’re doing some kind of God conscious thin and you know that He’s the one really in charge, you’re just building up a lot of karma and not really helping yourself or anybody else.
One by one everybody’s got to escape māyā. Everybody has to burn out his karma and escape reincarnation and all that. Stop thinking that if Britain or America or Russia or the West or whatever becomes superior, then we’ll best them, and then we’ll all have a rest and live happily ever after. That doesn’t work. The best thing you can do is give God consciousness.
Manifest your own divinity first. The truth is there. It’s right within us all. Understand what you are. If people would just wake up to what’s real, there would be no misery in the world. I guess chanting’s a pretty good place to start.” -George Harrison
“…the ancient and authorised form of meditation practiced by the Hare Krsna people has a much deeper and more sublime purpose. Although it easily soothes the turbulent mind, it also awakens those who chant it to their original, joyful spiritual nature and consciousness, imparting a genuine sense of pleasure unavailable by any other means.
The VEDAS, scriptures contain the timeless spiritual knowledge of ancient India, state that such an awakening process is desperately needed because everyone in this material world is in a sleeping, dreamlike condition. We have forgotten our original, spiritual identity, accepting instead a temporary material body composed of physical elements as our real self. The VEDAS compare the material body to subtle forms we experience in dreams. While sleeping, we forget our normal waking identity and may find ourselves enjoying or suffering in different types of bodies. But when we hear the ringing of the alarm clock, we awaken and return to normal consciousness. We remember who we are and what we should be doing. Similarly, by hearing the powerful transcendental sound vibrations of the Hare Krsna mantra, we can gradually wake up to our original self, the soul, which is characterized by eternality and is full of knowledge and ever-increasing pleasure.
The sages of India therefore tell us that the goal of human life should not be to try to enjoy our temporary dreamlike situation in the material world. Rather, we are advised to awaken to our original, spiritual nature and ultimately return to our true home in the spiritual world, where we may enjoy our eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality Godhead, Lord Krsna.”
“The VEDAS state that conciousness is a symptom of the soul. In its pure condition, the osul exists in the spirtual world; but when it falls down into contact with matter, the living being is covered by an illusion called false egoism. False ego bewilders the consciousness, causing us to identity with our material bodies. But we are not our material body. When we look at our hand or leg, we say, “This is my hand” or “This is my leg”. The concious self, the “I”, is therefore the owener and the observer of the body. Intellectually, this fact is easily understandable, tand by the spiritual realization that results from chanting, this truth can be directly and continuously experienced.
When the living being identifies with the material body and loses awareness of his real, spiritual self, he inevitably fears death, old age, and disease. He fears loss of beauty, intelligence, and strength and experiences countless other anxieiteis and false emotions relating to the temporary body. But when we begin chanting Hare Krnsa, we soon realize ourselves to be pure and changeless spirit souls, completely distinct from the material body. Because the mantra is completely pure spiritual vibration, it has the power to restore our consciousness to its original, uncontaminated condition. At this point we cease to be controlled by jealousy, bigorty, pride, envy, and hatred.”
Mentioned Vedic literature:
brahmanda purana, Kali-Santarana, Upanisad, Agni pUrana, Srimad Bhagavatam
April 19, 2024
"The materialistic mind attempts to enjoy by employing the senses to experience matter and material relationships. It is full of unlimited ideas for sense gratification, and being perpetually restless, it constantly flickers from one sense object to another. In doing so, the mind vacillates between hankering for some material gain and lamenting some loss or frustration...Just as a reservoir of water is transparent when unagitated, our mental perceptions become clear and pure when the mind is no longer agitated by the waves of material desires. The mind in its pure state, like a mirror cleansed of dust, will then reflect undistorted images of reality, allowing us to go beneath the surface and perceive the essential spiritual quality of all life's experiences."
Bhakti Hinduism + the universal, inclusive and progressive spirit of 1960s pop culture/Counterculture + practical meditation techniques = the Hare Krishna Movement
An excellent introduction to the philosophy and rich literature of "Krishna Consciousness", which is really traditional Gaudiya Vaishnava interpretations of Vedic Hinduism packaged as such for Western audiences. In this sense the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)/Hare Krishna Movement, despite its controversies, is to be commended for simplifying, distilling and communicating the essence of Vedic teachings and wisdom in a simple and digestible format for the lay reader. Also, features George and John from The Beatles, so that's a plus.
I think A LOT of people would benefit from reading this book. Meditative chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra has certainly helped make me calmer and improved my sense of well-being. I highly recommend it.
Bhakti Hinduism + the universal, inclusive and progressive spirit of 1960s pop culture/Counterculture + practical meditation techniques = the Hare Krishna Movement
An excellent introduction to the philosophy and rich literature of "Krishna Consciousness", which is really traditional Gaudiya Vaishnava interpretations of Vedic Hinduism packaged as such for Western audiences. In this sense the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)/Hare Krishna Movement, despite its controversies, is to be commended for simplifying, distilling and communicating the essence of Vedic teachings and wisdom in a simple and digestible format for the lay reader. Also, features George and John from The Beatles, so that's a plus.
I think A LOT of people would benefit from reading this book. Meditative chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra has certainly helped make me calmer and improved my sense of well-being. I highly recommend it.
April 16, 2025
george: "well, we should try to see God in everything, so it helps so much having the food to taste. let's face it, if God is in everything, why shouldn't you taste Him when you eat?"
loved all the interviews with the Beatles of course, especially getting to see the stories behind My Sweet Lord. that song really saved me once upon a time! mantra can be such a powerful tool and something crazy happens in the mind when it gets accustomed to repetition. even a basic sound repeated over and over starts to access a kind of anticipatory rhythmic response which (i feel) is divinely charged. however, this book started to drift into a kind of materialism that i can't really get behind. this comes from a markedly different spiritual school than i'm used to, and although many of the words and concepts are similar they operate quite differently. but the quote from george says it all: we should try to see God in everything. so no, i personally don't care as much when it comes to lineage or whether a vibration is spiritual or material. i don't believe there is any such relevant distinction to be made. i was also teetering on this notion of God as personal or impersonal, and to be honest it seems kind of silly to me to draw such lines across your argument.
as far as mantra meditation itself goes, it seems to me to be a graceful blend of ecstatic and zen meditation. personally i'm starting to see that i have more of an ecstatic / tantric disposition, and mantra has totally served me there. mantra can be the slow beating drum that builds to frenzy. OR! mantra can be the steadily crashing waves on the shore. relentless, predictable, creating a space in the moments between. big mantra fan.. big repetition fan..
loved all the interviews with the Beatles of course, especially getting to see the stories behind My Sweet Lord. that song really saved me once upon a time! mantra can be such a powerful tool and something crazy happens in the mind when it gets accustomed to repetition. even a basic sound repeated over and over starts to access a kind of anticipatory rhythmic response which (i feel) is divinely charged. however, this book started to drift into a kind of materialism that i can't really get behind. this comes from a markedly different spiritual school than i'm used to, and although many of the words and concepts are similar they operate quite differently. but the quote from george says it all: we should try to see God in everything. so no, i personally don't care as much when it comes to lineage or whether a vibration is spiritual or material. i don't believe there is any such relevant distinction to be made. i was also teetering on this notion of God as personal or impersonal, and to be honest it seems kind of silly to me to draw such lines across your argument.
as far as mantra meditation itself goes, it seems to me to be a graceful blend of ecstatic and zen meditation. personally i'm starting to see that i have more of an ecstatic / tantric disposition, and mantra has totally served me there. mantra can be the slow beating drum that builds to frenzy. OR! mantra can be the steadily crashing waves on the shore. relentless, predictable, creating a space in the moments between. big mantra fan.. big repetition fan..
September 22, 2023
Revelatory though short-lived in my life. I suspect this bringing me closer to a god of my understanding will outlive it’s initial revelations which is a great thing. Had me chanting for an hour forty five driving to mayan ruins in Chiapas & then joining the hare krishna community in Norwood for four hours, chanting the great name of the god name. A wonderful experience which showed to me the true power of music at its most grand.
I resent the final chapter in the book unfortunately. One should leave the need to have sex in which way they wish I believe, I don’t see why that should ever come into the equation, sex and love addiction aside. The whole point of the mahamantra to me seemed to liberate people and be accesible, why the ting of systemic oppression from religion, praying on people’s easiest targets as ‘greatest weaknesses’, must rear its most evil, spiritually-antithetical head frustrated me as much as it profits those power hungry people in charge of perpetuating it, perhaps in equal measure. I find this particularly vexing as i vehemently disagree with this as a fundamental value from a catholic upbringing, perhaps i am being a tad unfair but i also don’t think i wholly am.
I resent the final chapter in the book unfortunately. One should leave the need to have sex in which way they wish I believe, I don’t see why that should ever come into the equation, sex and love addiction aside. The whole point of the mahamantra to me seemed to liberate people and be accesible, why the ting of systemic oppression from religion, praying on people’s easiest targets as ‘greatest weaknesses’, must rear its most evil, spiritually-antithetical head frustrated me as much as it profits those power hungry people in charge of perpetuating it, perhaps in equal measure. I find this particularly vexing as i vehemently disagree with this as a fundamental value from a catholic upbringing, perhaps i am being a tad unfair but i also don’t think i wholly am.
Read
July 23, 2024This was given to me by ISKCON representatives from the temple round the corner from where I live. It reads like what it is: a bit of a jumble of articles written by three different people in essentially three different formats.
Originally released in the early 1980s, the accessibility point is the interviews with George Harrison (from which I learned that a Harrison-produced version of the Hare Krishna mantra had gone Top 20 and was on Top of the Pops), and with the sceptical-seeming John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who seem less persuaded by Swami Prabhupada than Harrison. The rest is a messy blend of myth, history and guidance which - like the mantra itself - repeats itself a lot.
(Despite the evasive cover and spine, the book’s authors are eventually revealed as Drutakarma Dasa, Mukanda Goswami and Bhutatma Dasa. It’s Goswami who interviews Harrison; the two Dasas are white converts to Krishna using their ISKCON names. I’ve used those names here, although their birth names are also given.)
Originally released in the early 1980s, the accessibility point is the interviews with George Harrison (from which I learned that a Harrison-produced version of the Hare Krishna mantra had gone Top 20 and was on Top of the Pops), and with the sceptical-seeming John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who seem less persuaded by Swami Prabhupada than Harrison. The rest is a messy blend of myth, history and guidance which - like the mantra itself - repeats itself a lot.
(Despite the evasive cover and spine, the book’s authors are eventually revealed as Drutakarma Dasa, Mukanda Goswami and Bhutatma Dasa. It’s Goswami who interviews Harrison; the two Dasas are white converts to Krishna using their ISKCON names. I’ve used those names here, although their birth names are also given.)
August 14, 2023
YES I GOT THIS FROM A GUY AT A TRAIN STATION AFTER WORK AND I MAY HAVE BEEN A BIT DESPERATE WITH ESCAPIST THOUGHTS AND THE GUY WAS BELIVEITORNOT GREEK WITH BEAUTIFUL BLUE EYES AND I JUST THREW MONEY AT HIM AS IF HE WAS A BOUZOUKSHIOU AT THE SKILLADIKA. Yes. I am that person. And then I reached out to him to see what's up. And he asked if I read the book (if this is even considered one - it's tiny). And I felt guilty (CHRISTIANITY VIBEZ). So I read it. Or read as much as I could before my eyes rolled so far back I could look deep into the soul of my kidneys.
That being said, I do appreciate the Hare Krishna peeps. Why not do yo thing if it works for you. And that orange is beautiful. And they look happy and radiant. You do you my peeps.
That being said, I do appreciate the Hare Krishna peeps. Why not do yo thing if it works for you. And that orange is beautiful. And they look happy and radiant. You do you my peeps.
October 5, 2025
I picked up this book while strolling around the garden of an ISKON temple in Houston. A local devotee was selling related books, and the one with the Beatles on the cover stood out.
This is a really nice read, simple and spiritual. The connections between music, the brain, and the spirit are unique—something science and art already know. The Beatles weigh in on a material vs spiritual life in this sense, becoming a musical proselytizer for Hare Krishna around the world.
It’s fascinating to also understand the history of religion in this context and the stories that are repeated in various forms in all religions. Regardless of which religion, deity, or human “started it”, it’s clear that there are messages and understandings of the universe that are timeless and true.
This is a really nice read, simple and spiritual. The connections between music, the brain, and the spirit are unique—something science and art already know. The Beatles weigh in on a material vs spiritual life in this sense, becoming a musical proselytizer for Hare Krishna around the world.
It’s fascinating to also understand the history of religion in this context and the stories that are repeated in various forms in all religions. Regardless of which religion, deity, or human “started it”, it’s clear that there are messages and understandings of the universe that are timeless and true.
July 17, 2024
Amazing book! I gave it 4 stars because some of the pages are repetitive. YOU STILL NEED TO READ THIS BOOK! If you're looking for a guide to Krishna consciousness, this book is a great start. It also includes a guide on how to chant at the end of the book.
This book has led me to true happiness just by reading it. I couldn't put it down once I started. All I have to say is, if you're planning to read this, JUST DO IT! READ THIS! It's not a coincidence that this book caught your attention. There's a reason for it. Open your mind and embrace new information; this book will give you peace and happiness!
HARE KRISHNA!
This book has led me to true happiness just by reading it. I couldn't put it down once I started. All I have to say is, if you're planning to read this, JUST DO IT! READ THIS! It's not a coincidence that this book caught your attention. There's a reason for it. Open your mind and embrace new information; this book will give you peace and happiness!
HARE KRISHNA!
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September 26, 2025DNF
i got this book because i accidentally made eye contact with a monk from the meditation club on campus LMAOOO
they sure promise a lot from a chant. ultimate happiness? bye it’s really amusing. i find it so interesting how books like these solely rely on anecdotal experience and state beliefs as if they were facts. im curious why they put george harrison and john lennon interviews in here as if their experience is authoritative at all? like they’re famous but i really dont gaf
i would still give meditation club a chance but trying to get through this was a headache and a half
i got this book because i accidentally made eye contact with a monk from the meditation club on campus LMAOOO
they sure promise a lot from a chant. ultimate happiness? bye it’s really amusing. i find it so interesting how books like these solely rely on anecdotal experience and state beliefs as if they were facts. im curious why they put george harrison and john lennon interviews in here as if their experience is authoritative at all? like they’re famous but i really dont gaf
i would still give meditation club a chance but trying to get through this was a headache and a half
October 30, 2019
I wouldn’t say it teaches much about mantra meditation, except that George Harrison was elated about it and had once chanted Hare Krishna non stop for 20plus hours.
The book and its interviews were done at a time when meditation first spread to the UK and popularized with the Beatles being the most famous spokesmen. It’s great for setting a backdrop to the rise of mindfulness and meditation practices that’s common nowadays.
The book and its interviews were done at a time when meditation first spread to the UK and popularized with the Beatles being the most famous spokesmen. It’s great for setting a backdrop to the rise of mindfulness and meditation practices that’s common nowadays.
January 8, 2024
I found this book to be quite boring, however there were certain portions of it that were so interesting to me. The peace formula for example was super interesting, I wish parts like these were longer and more in detail, that would make the book more compelling to me as a lot of it just felt like waffle. However, as someone who isn’t spiritual it was a very informative book and does a really good job of explaining the concept of chanting.
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