A reader writes:
I'm a lifelong Beatles fan. I was 13 or 14 when I got my first Beatles record, "The Beatles 1967-1970" compilation. Several months later, I bought my first George Harrison solo album, "Somewhere in England", which has George's wonderful tribute to Lennon, "All Those Years Ago." There's another song on that album, though, that really zapped me right between the eyes. By that time (summer '81), I was coming up on my 16th birthday, and the Roman Catholicism that my parents had steeped me in – including five years of parochial school – was beginning to wear thin. The shell irreparably cracked when I heard "Life Itself."
It's a love song, really. You listen to the first two verses, and it could be about a wife, girlfriend, mistress, child… no one terribly specific. But then the middle eight of the song comes along, and he hits you with this:
"They call you Christ, Vishnu, Buddha, Jehovah,
"Our Lord
"You are, Govindam, Bismillah, Creator of All"George was unabashedly Hindu in his spiritual practice, with a healthy sprinkling of Buddhism thrown in. I often wonder, though, if he didn't have a slight tilt towards Bahá'í, thought:
In the Bahá'í Faith, religious history is seen to have unfolded through a series of divine messengers, each of whom established a religion that was suited to the needs of the time and the capacity of the people. These messengers have included Abraham, the Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad and others, and most recently the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh. In Bahá'í belief, each consecutive messenger prophesied of messengers to follow, and Bahá'u'lláh's life and teachings fulfilled the end-time promises of previous scriptures. Humanity is understood to be in a process of collective evolution, and the need of the present time is for the gradual establishment of peace, justice and unity on a global scale.
If I'm understanding it correctly, the boilerplate message of Bahá'í is, "Hey folks, they're all the same." God appeared as "Buddha" because that's what was needed at the time … as Yahweh/Jehova because that's what was needed at the time … then as Jesus, Mohammed etc. If we believe in God's existence, and if we do believe that God is all-powerful, then wouldn't communication skills be part of those boundless powers? The ability to tailor your message to your audience, whether they be in Asia, The Middle East, or even the Americas?
I'll leave the final word to Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice:
"If you'd come today
"You could have reached the whole nation
"Israel in 4 BC had no mass communication"
Another praises Harrison's "great song, 'Awaiting on You All'":
He sang it at the concert for Bangladesh. He expresses love for Jesus and disses the Pope:
You don't need no passport
And you don't need no visas
You don't need to designate or to emigrate
Before you can see Jesus
If you open up your heart
You'll see he's right there
Always was and will be
He'll relieve you of your caresAnd while the Pope owns 51% of General Motors
And the stock exchange is the only thing he's qualified to quote us
The Lord is awaiting on you all to awaken and see
By chanting the names of the Lord and you'll be free
The Dish 