George Harrison was a tremendously spiritual person. Materially successful to a degree that most of us could never even imagine he realised that there was much more to life. After his realisation that material success was hollow, and his subsequent spiritual awakening, he spent much of the rest of his life trying to help people find their true selves through spiritual practices. He lead John Lennon into this spiritual world.
Harrison lead by example, writing many songs, and organising many charity events to carry the message to the world. In My Sweet Lord he shares his journey of spiritual discovery, a journey in which he explored many religions including Hindu, and its element of meditative chanting to Krishna, so inviting a higher power of his own understanding into his life.
Meaning of the Hindu words in My Sweet Lord
"Hare" - Hare is a call, an invocation, to "he who removes illusion"
"Krishna" - Krishna is an incarnation of God, symbolic of divine, love, knowledge and beauty.
"Rama" - Rama is an avatar of one of the Hindu Gods. Rama is symbolic of morality, virtue, ideal son, ideal king, ideal student, ideal teacher, ideal brother, ideal husband.
Hinduism is a spiritual way of life that supports the concept of multiple manifestations of God. It is open to the 12-Step concept of a God of our own understanding.
So Hare Krisha and Hare Rama, collectively, are calls to a power of divine love, knowledge and beauty to remove our self-centred illusions, and deliver instead enlightenment about the ideal way to live in harmony with the Universe.
George Harrison, and many others, use the repeated chanting of Hare Krishna and Hare Rama as a form of meditation through which enlightenment is eventually delivered. In his My Sweet Lord lyrics George says, "it takes so long," then later affirms the positive view, "that it won't take long." His words are indicative of the ongoing process of discovery.
My Sweet Lord
My sweet lord
Hm, my lord
Hm, my lord
I really want to see you
Really want to be with you
Really want to see you lord
But it takes so long, my lord
My sweet lord
Hm, my lord
Hm, my lord
I really want to know you
Really want to go with you
Really want to show you lord
That it won't take long, my lord (hallelujah)
My sweet lord (hallelujah)
Hm, my lord (hallelujah)
My sweet lord (hallelujah)
I really want to see you
Really want to see you
Really want to see you, lord
Really want to see you, lord
But it takes so long, my lord (hallelujah)
My sweet lord (hallelujah)
Hm, my lord (hallelujah)
My, my, my lord (hallelujah)
I really want to know you (hallelujah)
Really want to go with you (hallelujah)
Really want to show you lord (aaah)
That it won't take long, my lord (hallelujah)
Hmm (hallelujah)
My sweet lord (hallelujah)
My, my, lord (hallelujah)
Hm, my lord (hare krishna)
My, my, my lord (hare krishna)
Oh hm, my sweet lord (krishna, krishna)
Oh-uuh-uh (hare hare)
Now, I really want to see you (hare rama)
Really want to be with you (hare rama)
Really want to see you lord (aaah)
But it takes so long, my lord (hallelujah)
Hm, my lord (hallelujah)
My, my, my lord (hare krishna)
My sweet lord (hare krishna)
My sweet lord (krishna krishna)
My lord (hare hare)
Hm, hm (Gurur Brahma)
Hm, hm (Gurur Vishnu)
Hm, hm (Gurur Devo)
Hm, hm (Maheshwara)
My sweet lord (Gurur Sakshaat)
My sweet lord (Parabrahma)
My, my, my lord (Tasmayi Shree)
My, my, my, my lord (Guruve Namah)
My sweet lord (Hare Rama)
[fade:]
(hare krishna)
My sweet lord (hare krishna)
My sweet lord (krishna krishna)
My lord (hare hare)