Across the Universe

John wrote this song during his long rounding (series of yoga asanas, pranayama, transcendental meditation) in India. Without this context it makes no sense.

It desribes the process of meditating: "words are flowing out like endless rain..." John is at once thinking, and detached from his thoughts. He is evidently deeply into his program, as he describes his experiences of feeling his thoughts and impulses eminating from him, outward, across the universe.

This is a very accurate description of the experience of practicing TM, and hearing sounds coming in through a window, and feeling the inner bliss bubbling up: "Sounds of laughter, shades of earth, are ringing through my open mind, inciting and inviting me. Limitless undying love which shines around me like a million suns, it calls me on and on across the universe."

Even with the eyes closed, "images of broken light" come in through the eyelids, and the light is also part of his inner light, emanating and reaching everywhere in creation (an important part of Maharishi's vedic teaching, how everything affects everything else in creation, which is one of the important principles of TM and vedic knowledge).

Jai Guru Deva is the traditional sanscrit reminder of thanks to the guru of the holy tradition. In this case, it refers to Maharishi's master, Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, generally called "Guru Dev." Maharishi ends virtually every talk with "Jai Guru Dev," loosely translated as "thanks to the master," more precisely translated as "All glory to the master of the gods."

"Om" is a traditional vedic mantra used by recluses and not householders, and therefore was not used or recommended by Maharishi duringthis course, but usually gets asked about it by course participants. My guess is the John thought it fit the end of the sanscrit phrase as a tag on like "oh." Also, he was always a bit of a bad boy even around Maharishi, and probably fancied using it in spite of Maharishi's advice.

The "nothing's gonna change my world" line has to do with the Wildlife Foundation, to whom John donated the song, and seems to be a declaration wanting to protect the natural environment. But it may also be a description of the eternal nature of John's inner life. My guess is that after rounding for a few weeks he was identifying with his inner immortal consciousness.