George Harrison’s ‘My Sweet Lord’ Was Inspired by a Historical Figure

TL;DR:

• George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” was inspired by a book Ravi Shankar gave him.
• The quote featured a provocative quote about God.
• “My Sweet Lord” became a hit twice in the United Kingdom.

George Harrison‘s “My Sweet Lord” was inspired by a quote from a famous historical figure. The quote was about humanity’s relationship with God. In addition, the line helped convince George to abandon Christianity and convert to Hinduism.

George Harrison said a book about a famous Indian swami inspired ‘My Sweet Lord’

The book George Harrison on George Harrison: Interviews and Encounters features an interview from 1987. In it, George said he had a difficult time connecting with Christianity. He felt some Christians were trying to “cash in” on the popularity of Jesus.

“This gets to why I wrote ‘My Sweet Lord,’ because after going to India, I wanted to know about the swamis and yogis, and I got a book off of Ravi by the first Indian swami who ever came to the USA, who was called Swami Vivekananda,” he added. 

“‘Vivek’ means discretion; ‘ananda’ means bliss,” he said. “And he was a great swami. He came to Chicago in about 1890, I believe.” George referred to the famous speech Vivekananda gave at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in 1893 about Hinduism and its virtues.

George Harrison said 1 quote from Swami Vivekananda changed his life

George said one quote from Vivekananda really inspired him. “Anyway, in his book he said, ‘If there’s a God we must see him. If there’s a soul we must perceive it. Otherwise, it’s better not to believe. It’s better to be an outspoken atheist than a hypocrite,'” he added. 

George said the quote resonated with him because of his attitude toward Christianity. “And when I read that after all that stuff I’d been through with the Church, with ‘You just believe what we tell you. And don’t ask questions,'” he explained. “Whereas the Swami’s saying, ‘If there’s a God we must see him.’ I thought, ‘Right on, that’s the one for me!'”

How ‘My Sweet Lord’ performed in the United States and the United Kingdom

“My Sweet Lord” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for a quartet of weeks. It lasted on the chart for 14 weeks in total. The track is the most famous song from George’s album All Things Must Pass. That album reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for seven weeks. It lasted on the chart for 41 weeks in total.

According to The Official Charts Company, “My Sweet Lord” was No. 1 for five weeks in the 1970s. The tune lasted on the chart for 17 weeks altogether. In the 2000s, “My Sweet Lord” reached No. 1 for one of its 14 weeks on the chart. Meanwhile, All Things Must Pass topped the U.K. chart for eight of its 32 weeks on the chart. 

Subsequently, “My Sweet Lord” inspired covers. One was by the fifth Beatle: Billy Preston. Another was by The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson.

“My Sweet Lord” was a huge hit and it wouldn’t be the same without Vivekananda.