Jai guru deva om...
Chilling words that echo in my head this morning prompted me to write this entry. Reminiscent of the documentary “LENNONYC” shown on cable the other night (or was it early morning?), this line from the Beatles’ song “Across the Universe” and John Lennon’s distinct vocals keep turning over and over in my mind as I see flashes of the lead Beatle’s face and signature round sunglasses. |
Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup,
They slither while they pass, they slip away across the universe
It starts with a line that paints for me an image for spontaneity and inspiration. I often find myself drowning in a deluge of words and ideas from an overactive mind that I find difficulty in transcribing. I believe in magic that words, meaningfully put together, create. This ability to paint and stage images, long before the popularity of MTV, has been one of the core strengths and competitive advantage of the Fab Four --- considered music geniuses that transformed popular music and spearheaded the way towards popular culture.
Pools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my open mind,
Possessing and caressing me.
John Lennon and Paul McCartney collaborated on most of the Beatles' hits and although the Beatles have since disbanded, the magnitude of the loss resulting from Lennon's murder in 1980 cannot be measured for sure. There is no strong bias here. Although I grew up to the music of the Beatles, passed on and nurtured by my music-loving Beatle-fan father, I took on a childhood liking to Paul McCartney, with his boyish looks, incredible left-handed bass guitar playing and wide-range vocals. But, after watching the documentary about Lennon, I'll have to say it again: Yoko Ono's loss is also the world's.
Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes, The song could’ve been written during the band’s days of smoke and haze, but the lyrics, melody and harmonies come together (no pun intended) to convey a soothing, meaningful song to a romantic and thinker (dreamer) like me. As the cliché goes, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. What could, to many, be an image of a group pot session and hallucinations is to me a painting of a different kind. Nothing's gonna change my world... |
For me, it is a mantra of one who has found his place and was able to shape his corner into the world he wishes to see.
Sounds of laughter shades of light are ringing
Through my open views inciting and inviting me
Limitless undying love which shines around me like a
Million suns, it calls me on and on across the universe
He recognizes the uniqueness of each individual, who each revolves in their unique worlds within a vast universe composed of such unique worlds, connected by an unseen force... this "limitless undying love", as bright as "a million suns". For me it is a song of finding one’s individuality yet acknowledging the need for community.
Jai guru deva om