Here Comes The Sun

The legacy of pop superstar George Harrison is explored at a concert at Hofstra University on Friday, which delves into the former Beatle’s spiritualism and humanitarian interests. Hofstra’s Hinduism instructor, Joshua M. Greene, author of the bestselling biography “Here Comes the Sun,” leads the program. More than merely a tribute concert, (although there is plenty of music from The Beatles era to enjoy), the production features Indian music and meditative chanting by As Kindred Spirits, in a look into the life and times of the pop idol turned mystic.

Greene studied yoga with Harrison in the early 1970s, that led to his book, “Here Comes The Sun.” From that a show was born, which has been touring the country for the past three years to sell-out crowds. It features singer-guitarist Godfrey Townsend, with the Alan Parsons Project band.

In 1969, while studying comparative literature at the Sorbonne in Paris, Greene went to London and visited the Radha Krishna temple. There Krishna devotees were recording an album of Indian devotional music. When they learned that Greene played organ, he was invited to join them at Apple Studios where George Harrison was recording. As Greene recalls, “We walked in the door – and there was George Harrison. After recovering from the initial shock of meeting one of my boyhood heroes, I said to myself, ‘If I stay here, I get both God and the Beatles? Okay, I’m in.’”

His holiday visit turned into 13 years of intense study and practice of bhakti or Hindu devotional yoga.

Greene participated with other Krishna practitioners in a number of recording sessions with George Harrison. “George would play us new songs. He was very humble, unassuming, someone who was working hard to find a balance between his material success and spiritual happiness,” Greene recalls.

Harrison passed away two months after the twin towers fell. The two losses affected Greene. “I was about two miles away when the towers fell. Within an hour, people were walking by my office stunned, covered in white ash, like ghosts. I thought, ‘I’ve got to do something. Life is short!’”

Wanting to make a contribution in some way and to pass along what he’d learned about life’s spiritual dimension, he decided the best way would be to tell Harrison’s story.

When: Friday, Nov. 6, 8 p.m. $10.

Where: Hofstra University’s John Cranford Adams Playhouse, California Ave., South Campus, Hempstead. (516) 463-6644.