Within You Without You

It's a song by the British rock band The Beatles from the 1967 album. Written by lead guitarist George Harrison, in classical Indian style, and inspired by his stay in India in late 1966 with his sitar mentor and teacher Ravi Shankar.

This beautiful and melodious song was recorded in London, it features Indian instrumentation such as the sitar, tambura, dilruba and tabla, and is performed by Harrison and members of the Asian Music Circle. The record marked a significant change, from the work of The Beatles; music, it evokes Indian devotional traditions, while the overt spiritual quality of the lyrics reflects Harrison's absorption in Hindu philosophy and Vedic teachings.

The song was Harrison's only composition on Sergeant. Pepper, though his support of Indian culture is further reflected in the inclusion of yogis such as Paramahansa Yogananda among the crowd depicted on the album cover. With the album's worldwide success, "Within You Without You" brought Indian classical music to new audiences in the West and contributed to the genre's pinnacle of international popularity. It also influenced the philosophical direction of many of Harrison's colleagues during the era of utopian idealism marked by the Summer of Love.

The song has traditionally received mixed responses from music critics, some of whom found it uninspired and pretentious, while others admired the authenticity of the music and found its message to be the most meaningful, describing it as "at once beautiful and heavy, a magnetic sermon on materialism and responsibility." communal answer amidst records devoted to anarchy".

The song is Harrison's second composition to be explicitly influenced by Indian classical music, after "Love You To", which features Indian instruments such as the sitar, tabla and tambura. Since recording the final track for The Beatles' Revolver in April 1966, Harrison has continued to look beyond his role as the band's lead guitarist, further immersing himself in studying the sitar, partly under the tutelage of master sitarist Ravi Shankar. Harrison said that the tone for "Within You Without You" came about through his regular musical practice known as a sargam, which uses the same scales as those found in Indian ragas.

"Within You Without You" is the first of many Harrison songs to include Hindu spiritual concepts in the lyrics. After incorporating elements of Eastern philosophy in "Love You To", Harrison became fascinated by ancient Hindu teachings after he and his wife, Pattie Boyd, visited Shankar in India in September–October 1966. Intending to master the sitar, Harrison first joined Shankar's students others in Bombay, until local fans and the press learned of his arrival. Harrison, Boyd, Shankar and the latter's partner, Kamala Chakravarty, were later transferred to a houseboat on Dal Lake in Srinagar, Kashmir. There, Harrison received personal guidance from Shankar while absorbing religious texts such as Paramahansa Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi and Swami Vivekananda's Raja Yoga. This period coincided with his introduction to meditation and, during their visit to Vrindavan, he witnessed singing together for the first time.

Being the only song on Sgt. Pepper written by George Harrison, Within You Without You was created with great influence from Indian style music, and was a great departure from the Beatles' previous work. It was written after Harrison spent six weeks of meditation in India with his mentor, Ravi Shankar, in 1966. Thus, it incorporates many of its ideas from hindu philosophy and teachings of the Vedas.

Within You Without You

We were talking about the space between us all

And the people who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion

Never glimpse the truth, then it's far too late when they pass away

We were talking about the love we all could share

When we find it to try our best to hold it there with our love

With our love, we could save the world, if they only knew

Try to realise it's all within yourself

No one else can make you change

And to see you're really only very small

And life flows on within you and without you

We were talking about the love that's gone so cold

And the people who gain the world and lose their soul

They don't know, they can't see, are you one of them?

When you've seen beyond yourself then you may find

Peace of mind is waiting there

And the time will come when you see we're all one

And life flows on within you and without you

Please listen to the song,

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