Sexy Sadie? Sexy Maharishi morelike...

The death of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was reported this morning. The BBC described him as having influenced a number of Beatles's songs, including Sexy Sadie.

This is to understate matters.

The Maharishi didn't inspire Sexy Sadie. He was its subject. The song, the last Lennon wrote in India before packing his bags and heading home, was originally called Maharishi, but fears of legal action persuaded Lennon to change the words.

So if you listen to Sexy Sadie, inserting the word Maharishi whenever the title appears, you can discover what Lennon thought of his spiritual guru in the end.

What happened to sour the relationship?

Lennon came to believe that the Maharishi had attempted to seduce Mia Farrow, who was one of the party staying with him and the other Beatles. But was this true? Neither Paul McCartney nor George Harrison believe it was. Cynthia Lennon believed it was a rumour spread by the eccentric and jealous Lennon friend - Magic Alex.

The truth is that a bust up between the Maharishi and the Beatles was inevitable.

Lennon was too cynical, McCartney too wary and Ringo too grounded to have stuck with the Maharishi for all that long.

The only one still with the programme once the sixties had passed was George Harrison. Extraordinarily he even appeared at a concert for the Natural Law Party with its idea that the problems of society could be solved by getting everyone to begin Yogic Flying.