"Tomorrow Never Knows" & the Tibetan Book of the Dead

John Lennon wrote "Tomorrow Never Knows," the last track on Revolver, in January 1966. The song has been described by music critic, Richie Unterberger of Allmusic, as "the most experimental and psychedelic track on Revolver, in both its structure and production."

[Source] Some have claimed that the song was written under the influence of the psycho-chemical warfare agent, LSD, and was meant to describe an acid trip. However, the "LSD angle" appears to be a misinterpretation of the song. A re-examination of the song and lyrics reveals that "Tomorrow Never Knows" is actually quite metaphysical. It is describing what one experiences after death.

In the 1960s, prominent Indian yogis began travelling to the West to disseminate their knowledge. The Beatles met Swami Vishnu-Devananda, the founder of Sivandana Yoga, while filming "Help!" in the Bahamas in 1965. Swami gave the lads copies of his book, "The Illustrated Book of Yoga." George Harrison began studying yoga and Eastern religion, and in 1966, he traveled to India to study sitar with Ravi Shankar. [Source]

Harrison's interest in Eastern mysticism appears to have influenced Lennon. According to Peter Brown, the lyrics of "Tomorrow Never Knows" are based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead, also known as Liberation Through Hearing During the Intermediate State and the Bardo Thodol. The text is said to have been composed in the 8th century by Padmasambhava and re- discovered in the 12th century. (Evans-Wentz (1960), p. liv; and, Fremantle and Trungpa (2003), p. xi).

The Bardo Thodol describes what the consciousness experiences after death. The time after death and the interval between death and the next rebirth is known in Tibetan as the bardo, or "liberation." (Fremantle (2001: p.21)). This idea of liberation is related to bodhi in Sanskrit, which means awakening, understanding, or enlightenment. It is also related to nirvana, which means the end of illusion. The Bardo Thodol is recited by Tibetan Buddhist lamas over a dying or recently deceased person "in order for them to recognize the nature of their mind and attain liberation from the cycle of rebirth" [Source]. "Since the deceased's awareness is in confusion of no longer being connected to a physical body, it needs help and guidance in order that enlightenment and liberation occurs. The Bardo Thodol teaches how [one] can attain Nirvana by recognizing the heavenly realms instead of entering into the lower realms where the cycle of birth and rebirth continue." [Source]

The first bardo comes at the very moment of death, when there dawns the Clear Light of the Ultimate Reality. This is the very content and substance of the state of liberation, if only the soul can recognize it and act in a way to remain in that state. The instructions intended to be read at the moment of the person's death are designed to help him do this. He is told, first of all, to embrace this supreme experience not in a selfish and egoistic way but rather with love and compassion for all sentient beings. This will aid him in the second step, which is to realize that his own mind and self is identical with the Clear Light, implying that he himself IS the Ultimate Reality, "the All-good Buddha", transcending time, eternity, and all creation. If he can recognize this while in this supreme state at the moment of death, he will attain liberation-that is, he will remain in the Clear Light forever. This condition is called the "Dharmakaya", the highest spiritual body of the Buddha. [Source]

The lyrics of "Tomorrow Never Knows" describe the period after death when the consciousness is liberated.

Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream It is not dying

The consciousness does not die when the physical body dies.

Lay down all thought Surrender to the void It is shining

That you may see the meaning of within It is being
That love is all and love is everyone It is knowing

In the Tibetan Book of the Dead, the "void" is Reality, the All-Good (Source). It is not nothingness, but rather is "intellect itself, unobstructed, shining, thrilling, and blissful, is the very consciousness, the All-good Buddha." (Id.) The text describes own's own "consciousness, not formed into anything, in reality void, and the intellect, shining and blissful,-these two,-are inseparable. The union of them is the Dharma-Kaya state of Perfect Enlightenment. (Id.) One's "own consciousness, shining, void, and inseparable from the Great Body of Radiance, hath no birth, nor death, and is the Immutable Light-Buddha Amitabha." (Id.)

That ignorance and hate may mourn the dead It is believing

The ignorant mourn the dead. They do not understand the opportunity death offers. It is a chance to be liberated from the cycle of birth, death, and re-birth.

But listen to the color of your dreams It is not living

"The Bardo Thodol teaches that once awareness is freed from the body, it creates its own reality as one would experience in a dream." (Source) This state is not living, it is not dying. It is simply being.

Or play the game existence to the end of the beginning

If a soul does not attain liberation, s/he will be drawn back into the cycle of birth and death.

As I have stated in the past, I do not believe the Beatle pushed the LSD agenda. I feel that this song has been falsely interpreted in order to make it seem as though the Beatles promoted LSD. I hope this re-interpretation will help shed Light on what I believe Lennon and the other Beatles were trying to accomplish: using songs to educate and enlighten others to raise consciousness.

__________________________________________________

Tina Foster is the author of

Plastic Macca: The Secret Death and Replacement of Beatle Paul McCartney &

The Splitting Image: Exposing the Secret World of Doubles, Decoys, and Impostor-Replacements

Email Tina at faulconandsnowjob at hotmail dot com.

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1965 Melody Maker interview with Paul McCartney

In this interview from the March 27, 1965 issue of "Melody Maker," James Paul McCartney talked about not telling Beatles' fans what to do. If you read the article carefully, you might pick up on some incongruities, such as Paul saying he would never leave England, yet he supposedly went to live in Scotland a few years later.

The most telling aspect about the article, in my opinion, is that Paul and the other Beatles refused to tell their fans not to drink. It is hard to imagine the Beatles being used to further an agenda, especially pushing LSD, if they were not team-players. Paul makes it clear in this interview they would not exploit their popularity to influence people to do anything.

********

During the group's stay in Austria, John Lennon was angered by the crowds who flocked to the set, ruining assorted shots; and he let them know it, loudly, most definitely and often crudely. Charm was not one of his major personality quirks. That was more Paul than anyone else in the group. George was funny, Ringo was a comedian, John was abrasive, and Paul was confident and often charming, perhaps more conscious of the press than the others. Not that he courted publicity. He was simply more thoughtful. Over dinner at the Hotel Edelweiss in Obertauern, Austria, he spoke with Coleman. Asked Coleman, "Do you think you have some sort of responsibility to your fans? Do they look up to you?"

PAUL: "No, it would probably be a nicer answer if I said yes, we have a responsibility to fans. But I can't be noble for the sake of it. The answer's no. I don't believe we have any responsibility frankly, and it takes a bit of saying. It's insulting the intelligence of a lot of young people to say we have. We used to get requests from people, asking us if we'd go to a meeting and tell loads of people they shouldn't drink. What do they take us for? We'd get laughed at if we said the youth of Britain shouldn't drink. It'd be bloody impertinent. I haven't the right to interfere with anybody else's life. Do you think just because a Beatle said, 'Don't go beating people up.' the crime figures would go down? They wouldn't. And it's a cheek to expect us to do it. And I'd feel a right nit saying, 'Thou shalt not drink'."

COLEMAN: "Is the image of the Beatles changing?"

PAUL: "Yes I think it is. At least I do feel it is switching a bit now. Let's get one thing clear though. It's other people looking at us that creates the image. We can't create it. We can just notice it and sort of say, 'Ah, well...' I think it is good that it's changing, as well. You ask how is it changing? I'd hesitate to use the word maturing. That word has certain connotations. People who are mature are respectable, ordinary, and I think dull. They use the word mature when what they mean is that people are in a rut. I hope we're not mature. My feeling about our changing image is this: Everybody goes through certain stages of growing up. For us, this is one of them. People are simply realising that we're growing up."

COLEMAN: "How will you feel, how will you react, if 'A Ticket to Ride' does not go immediately to number one?"

PAUL: "It would be a terrible drag and then I'll really pay attention to the knockers who say the Beatles are slipping. I mean, think of those horrible quotes we'd have to give people. 'Proves there's room for everybody.' we'd say, if it goes in the chart at number fifteen. Seriously, if it doesn't get to the top first go, I'd say damn and blast it, because as you know I never swear. I might say flipping heck! Come off it. Truthfully, I'd feel very depressed and I'd be in a disappointed mood."

COLEMAN: "Do you expect it will hit number one immediatly?"

PAUL: "It's not a question of expecting, but hoping. It's always hope rather than expectancy. Once you start expecting success you get blase'. We'll never get to the stage of releasing rubbish because we know people will buy it. Disaster. We've always been terrified with each new release and we're the same now. We like it, but people might hate it and that's their right. This business of singles has always been a real worry for us, and I mean this because every time, we've tried for something different and we have done it this time. Not that we've got the Black Dyke Mills Band backing us! The worst attitude anybody in the chart can have is: 'The last one did ok so this one will.' All I can say is, let us pray."

COLEMAN: "Are the Beatles knockers moving in?"

PAUL: "One thing on this subject has always struck me as stupid. You get people who say things like: 'A bit of criticism is always good for you. Being taken down a peg and getting advice never hurt anyone.' It's a load of rubbish. I've never met anyone yet who liked being criticised, even when the criticism was meant as advice. Let's face it, our knockers aren't interested in helping us, or giving us advice. They're simply malicious. Another thing I hate is where somebody tells you his opinion after the event, you know the sort, 'Well, if you want my honest opinion, I didn't like it in the first place.' We've had a lot of that and we hate it. It's cowardly. We've always been worried about knockers. Isn't everyone? If somebody walked up to another person in the street and said, 'That's a lousy jacket you're wearing,' he'd be a knocker. And the bloke wearing the jacket would hate it; so do we. If the knockers are moving in now, we don't like it. We don't like Clever Henrys."

COLEMAN: "What are your feelings about invasion of privacy?"

PAUL: "Mainly yes, we resent it a bit. It depends on my mood. If I'm away on holiday and photographers start chasing, I get fed up. But if the photographer's okay and asks if I'd pose for a picture or something, and he's reasonable about it, I'm not annoyed. After all, you've got to face the fact the press is after you, haven't you? It's when people start sneaking pictures and wrecking a private holiday that I get temperamental."

COLEMAN: "What do you think of John's idea of becoming a record producer in partnership with you?"

PAUL: "I don't mind the idea, as long as he lets me set up the mics for him. Just to keep my hand in, like. Seriously I'd love it. It'd be a challenge."

COLEMAN: "What do you dislike about show business?"

PAUL: "Shaving. Right, I'll answer that properly. Those daft people who go back stage after an opening night and say, 'Dahling, you were super.' Women in show business who swear like troopers to make everybody know they are in show business. Show biz women who act like men. I hate this type. All the 'Oh dahling types. Horrible. Also people who talk around, calling each other 'love'. Not the 'luv' that shop assistants in the North mean, but the show biz 'love'. This type is often the floor manger on a TV show. It is so affected. They think these affectations make them individual. Actually they are following every known rule in the book and falling into every possible show biz trap that makes them UN-individual. To me, this is one of the drags of show business."

John iterrupted saying, "That's it, Paul. Have a bash. Have a go."

COLEMAN: "How aware are you of personal images?"

PAUL" "I used to panic about images, because I'm very easily influenced, impressionable, truthfully. I used to worry about whether we should smoke on photographs. Then I realised it would be daft not to. I used to panic about being seen anywhere with Jane, because I used to have this old fashioned idea that recording people were never seen out with girlfriends. Now, I don't care much. No, these things don't matter to me or any of us, because we don't really believe in images. We never talk about them, except to send up the word image."

COLEMAN: "How would you define a hanger on?"

PAUL: "There are various kinds of hangers on, we find. Some hang on because they can tell their friends they've met the Beatles. Big deal.Some hang on because it's their job to do so. The very worst kind of hanger on is the one you discover was a hanger on three weeks after he's left your company."

COLEMAN: "Do you think anyone will ever have greater success than the Beatles?"

PAUL: "Yes. I think they might easily. Nobody thought Elvis's successes could ever be surpassed, but I think we might have surpassed one or two of his, haven't we?"

COLEMAN: "Would you ever leave Britain to live abroad?"

PAUL: "No definitely not. Out of everywhere I've been, I like England best."
And George added, "Leave England? Never. Best country in the world to live in."

COLEMAN: "How would you like to be remembered?"

PAUL: "With a smile."
John replied, "I won't be interested in being remembered. I'll be in a mental home and Melody Maker will run articles saying, 'Now, direct from the mental home, we present John Lennon in Blind Date.' No I'd like to be remembered as the one with the twinkle in his eye."

George said, "I just don't care." And Ringo added, "I'd like to be remembered as Mrs. Starkey's little boy."

********

Paul is remembered with a smile... and gratitude.

__________________________________________________

Tina Foster is the author of

Plastic Macca: The Secret Death and Replacement of Beatle Paul McCartney &

The Splitting Image: Exposing the Secret World of Doubles, Decoys, and Impostor-Replacements

Email Tina at faulconandsnowjob at hotmail dot com.

Tina's interviews on Youtube

Add Tina as a friend on MeWe

Forbidden Secrets of the Illuminati:

The Luciferian Deception

ALIEN INVASION:
Reptilians, Cetaceans and Frequency Wars on Planet Earth

Rock Gods: Were the Beatles Angels?

Today, June 18, 2011, would have been Paul McCartney's 69th birthday. In honor of that occasion, I would like to indulge in some wild speculation as to whether he and the other Beatles were angels.

Timothy Leary once declared "that The Beatles [were] Prototypes of evolutionary agents sent by God, endowed with a mysterious power to create a new human species, a young race of laughing freemen." (As quoted in Shout! (1981) by Philip Norman, p. 365; and in An Encyclopedia of Quotations about Music (1981) by Nat Shapiro, p. 303 [Link])

The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi told "George and Deepak Chopra that he could never be upset at the Beatles because he always knew they were angels on earth."

[Source: Beatles: Angels on Earth?]

The photographer of some unpublished photos of the Beatles also noted something special about the Pre-Fab Four: "I knew they were going to be successful because they had an aura, and months later they were world famous..."

[Source: "The Beatles new release: Unpublished pictures to go on display after they sat in an attic for 50 years"][Please support this blog by clicking on our sponsors' ad ~ Thanks!]

Charles Manson also believed the Beatles were angels, and that Revolution 9 from the White Album was a reference to the Holy Bible’s Revelations 9:

Revelations 9
From the Holy Bible

And in those days men shall seek death, and shall not find it; and
shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

And the shapes of the locusts like unto horses prepared unto battle;

And on their heads as it were crowns like gold, and their faces as the faces of men.
And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as of lions.

And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their
wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle.

And they had tails like unto scorpions, with stingers; with their
tails they had power to harm people for five months.

The locusts = The locusts can be an interpretation of insects, bugs or maybe beetles. The Beatles

Faces of men = The Beatles being men had faces of men.
As the hair of women = The Beatles had faces of men and the hair of women. Very original and unique to them for a time.

Breastplates of iron = their guitars with metal strings strapped to their chests
Sound like thundering horses and chariots rushing into battle = the sound of The Beatle’s loud amplified music.

Their tails they had power = The Beatles’ amplifiers had electric chords,
power chords= This is interesting in that the tails were not described as having venom or poison but instead “power.”

[Source: The Lennon Prophecy: A New Examination of the Death Clues of the Beatles]

In this back-masking done by Sunssol, it appears that the Beatles reject money, and seek peace and passion:

I hate money, it's a lie
I hate money, it's a lie
I hate money, it's a lie
I hate money, it's a lie
I hate money, it's a lie

Ah...real tickets without peace
Ah, ah, ah, real tickets without peace
Ah, real tickets without peace...so
Here we burn and no peace
We now can reverse, now reversed
Ah...real tickets without peace
Ah, ah, ah, real tickets without peace
Ah, real tickets without peace...so
Heaven will watch it and we will all suffer
We now can reverse, now reversed...we will
We then have passion

At 6:20, this back-masking reveals "Paul is hare Krishna."

Krishna was the 8th incarnation of Vishnu.

...Saturn, the ascendant lord, acts as the Vishnu planet...
So it is clear that Saturn is representing Vishnu...[Source: ]http://www.osfa.org.uk/pt.htm

George wrote "Gopala Krishna," which was never released:

It is said that "[B]irds often symbolize the divine. They are often viewed as gods in disguise, or else they are the vehicles of gods and goddesses..."

[Source: Swan at http://www.khandro.net/animal_bird_swan.htm]

In Faul's video for the song, "This One," reference seems to be made to such an entity:

On the cover of Sgt. Pepper, is Faul trying to make a connection between himself and Vishnu/Krishna?

Terry Knight sang in "St. Paul":

"I think there's something wrong

It's taking you too long to change the world
Sir Isaac Newton told you it would fall."

Does this mean that Paul was supposed to change the world for the better but was thwarted by being replaced by someone who played for the "other team?"

David Icke forum member, Jo_6, made this observation:

...The original Beatles were a massive force for the light!
They were laughing lovely men who gave you a warm feeling inside, wrote ace music and obviously thoroughly enjoyed performing it live. I believe they were a massive force of goodness and love, with like an etheric gold shining energy coming from them.

The dark controlling forces do not let this be when it occurs in a way that effects the masses. (Look at JFK and Bob Marley). They do not want Light forces of truth and goodness to effect the masses and lift us up and wake us up. So they stamp on it and suppress it, snuff it out, nip it in the bud. And , perhaps this is what happened to the Beatles. They were a massive force that effected the masses, and they weren't going to 'co-operate' with the dark controlling forces...so they were took out. And to carry on with the juggernaut powerboat that was the Beatles, to keep cashing in and using them as a tool to manipulate the masses, they were replaced. Anyone close was bought off, or threatened, scared into submission...

[Source: David Icke Forum link]

Philip Norman, author of "Shout!," referred to the Beatles as "supernatural" in an interview at the beginning of this video:

These are all questions with no easy answers. They are interesting to ruminate and speculate upon, however.

__________________________________________________

Tina Foster is the author of

Plastic Macca: The Secret Death and Replacement of Beatle Paul McCartney &

The Splitting Image: Exposing the Secret World of Doubles, Decoys, and Impostor-Replacements

Email Tina at faulconandsnowjob at hotmail dot com.

Tina's interviews on Youtube

Add Tina as a friend on MeWe

Forbidden Secrets of the Illuminati:

The Luciferian Deception

ALIEN INVASION:
Reptilians, Cetaceans and Frequency Wars on Planet Earth