Geez, I've read through all these crazy explanations, and finally the last guy - haloofflies - gets it right.
There are few people whom I love and honor more than John Lennon, so take the following as my best attempt at an explanation for some of his less than wonderful behavior.
John had a long, long bitterness with the Maharishi. While that trip to India triggered a long series of spiritual epiphanies in John (witness "Tomorrow Never Knows", "Across the Universe", "Number 9 Dream"), he could never get over what he saw as the Yogi's pretentiousness and undeserved sense of self importance - which became magnified for John, due to his strong projection of these qualities (actually dark qualities within John himself) onto the Hindu Master.
John saw his own flaws in the Maharishi, and envied and resented the Yogi’s throng of followers with their unconditional love.
John’s first putdown was mild –“Nowhere Man” somewhat affectionately casts the Mahesh as a person of no consequence. But by the time of the White Album, John’s envy of the Yogi had congealed into outright derision, most clearly stated in “Sexy Sadie”:
“How did you know the world was waiting for a lover?
You came along to turn on everyone”
...Clearly roles John cherished as his own. But the Maharishi had effortlessly seized them (and had in some way diminished John’s role, or so he thought).
“Everybody Has Something to Hide Except For Me and My Monkey” celebrates the truths taught by the Yogi, while at the same time fingering him as a hypocrite.
“your inside is out when your outside is in
your outside is in when your inside is out”
speaks to the bliss felt when one is able to let go of separateness and its accompanying fear, and just become part of everything – i.e., no distinction between the self and other (definition of “Nirvana”).
But then the speaker in the song goes on to shame himself by declaring that all people except himself have something to hide. Well to be exact, except for him and his monkey.
Well the Maharishi didn’t carry a monkey – unless it was hidden. So the speaker (the Maharishi) has stupidly revealed his hypocrisy.
John’s messiah complex was a western one, complete with required suffering. The Maharishi had no such requirement of suffering for himself. It was this accompanied by the Yogi’s apparent complete happiness (something John longed for but never reached) that ate at John so deeply and for so long.
John saw his fame, fans, and influence as a reward or compensation for the suffering he endured because of his deep sense of abandonment that haunted him throughout his life.
@jaZZjaZZ54 Brilliant and true. Remember, part of Lennon's genius is the fact that he was willing to be HONEST and thus authentic...warts and all...Lennon knew the Maharishi was speaking ultimate truth, but resisted it because a deep part of Lennon needed to remain an angry man...and that's okay...at least he was authentic. Not everyone is ready to ascend past the boundaries of their physical form. Lennon went as far as a human being could w/out actually letting it all go...btw, this is why George was so concerned about John when he was shot...George wanted John to ascend and hoped that...
@jaZZjaZZ54 Brilliant and true. Remember, part of Lennon's genius is the fact that he was willing to be HONEST and thus authentic...warts and all...Lennon knew the Maharishi was speaking ultimate truth, but resisted it because a deep part of Lennon needed to remain an angry man...and that's okay...at least he was authentic. Not everyone is ready to ascend past the boundaries of their physical form. Lennon went as far as a human being could w/out actually letting it all go...btw, this is why George was so concerned about John when he was shot...George wanted John to ascend and hoped that John would remember to focus upon his MANTRA while he was dying...the art of dying...
Geez, I've read through all these crazy explanations, and finally the last guy - haloofflies - gets it right.
There are few people whom I love and honor more than John Lennon, so take the following as my best attempt at an explanation for some of his less than wonderful behavior.
John had a long, long bitterness with the Maharishi. While that trip to India triggered a long series of spiritual epiphanies in John (witness "Tomorrow Never Knows", "Across the Universe", "Number 9 Dream"), he could never get over what he saw as the Yogi's pretentiousness and undeserved sense of self importance - which became magnified for John, due to his strong projection of these qualities (actually dark qualities within John himself) onto the Hindu Master.
John saw his own flaws in the Maharishi, and envied and resented the Yogi’s throng of followers with their unconditional love.
John’s first putdown was mild –“Nowhere Man” somewhat affectionately casts the Mahesh as a person of no consequence. But by the time of the White Album, John’s envy of the Yogi had congealed into outright derision, most clearly stated in “Sexy Sadie”:
“How did you know the world was waiting for a lover? You came along to turn on everyone”
...Clearly roles John cherished as his own. But the Maharishi had effortlessly seized them (and had in some way diminished John’s role, or so he thought).
“Everybody Has Something to Hide Except For Me and My Monkey” celebrates the truths taught by the Yogi, while at the same time fingering him as a hypocrite.
“your inside is out when your outside is in your outside is in when your inside is out” speaks to the bliss felt when one is able to let go of separateness and its accompanying fear, and just become part of everything – i.e., no distinction between the self and other (definition of “Nirvana”).
But then the speaker in the song goes on to shame himself by declaring that all people except himself have something to hide. Well to be exact, except for him and his monkey.
Well the Maharishi didn’t carry a monkey – unless it was hidden. So the speaker (the Maharishi) has stupidly revealed his hypocrisy.
John’s messiah complex was a western one, complete with required suffering. The Maharishi had no such requirement of suffering for himself. It was this accompanied by the Yogi’s apparent complete happiness (something John longed for but never reached) that ate at John so deeply and for so long.
John saw his fame, fans, and influence as a reward or compensation for the suffering he endured because of his deep sense of abandonment that haunted him throughout his life.
Yogi got it all for free.
You are very wise and have made a very wise comment. please use your obvious evolutionary skills to benefit mankind thank you
You are very wise and have made a very wise comment. please use your obvious evolutionary skills to benefit mankind thank you
@jaZZjaZZ54 Brilliant and true. Remember, part of Lennon's genius is the fact that he was willing to be HONEST and thus authentic...warts and all...Lennon knew the Maharishi was speaking ultimate truth, but resisted it because a deep part of Lennon needed to remain an angry man...and that's okay...at least he was authentic. Not everyone is ready to ascend past the boundaries of their physical form. Lennon went as far as a human being could w/out actually letting it all go...btw, this is why George was so concerned about John when he was shot...George wanted John to ascend and hoped that...
@jaZZjaZZ54 Brilliant and true. Remember, part of Lennon's genius is the fact that he was willing to be HONEST and thus authentic...warts and all...Lennon knew the Maharishi was speaking ultimate truth, but resisted it because a deep part of Lennon needed to remain an angry man...and that's okay...at least he was authentic. Not everyone is ready to ascend past the boundaries of their physical form. Lennon went as far as a human being could w/out actually letting it all go...btw, this is why George was so concerned about John when he was shot...George wanted John to ascend and hoped that John would remember to focus upon his MANTRA while he was dying...the art of dying...