The Philosophy of John

Lennon
What is it like to be a Beatle? Gary Tillery argues that Lennons
pronouncements, both cynical and idealistic, reveal a sincere and
original thinker.
In the closing months of 1!", #ohn Lennon $as sinking into a personal despair
completely unsuspected by the millions of Beatles fans $ho believed their image
as lovable %mop&tops. Like '.(. )obinsons )ichard *ory, he $as gro$ing more
alienated at the same time millions $ent to sleep envious of him. +o his close
friend ,ete -hotton he confided. /+he more I have, the more I see, and the more
e0perience I get, the more confused I become as to $ho I am, and $hat the hell
life is all about.1
2nfulfilled by material success, he had stumbled into $hat psychiatrist 3iktor '.
4rankl called %the e0istential vacuum, the state in $hich individuals /are haunted
by the e0perience of their inner emptiness, a void $ithin themselves.1 4rankl
summed up the predicament of modern man in Mans Search for Meaning. /5o
instinct tells him $hat he has to do, and no tradition tells him $hat he ought to
do6 sometimes he does not even kno$ $hat he $ishes to do.1 7e concluded that
each person can only fill the void of meaninglessness by discovering /for $hat, to
$hat, or to $hom he understands himself to be responsible.1
(t 8eorge 7arrisons suggestion, Lennon tried to find solace in t$o sacred books
of the 'ast. the Bhagavad Gita and The Tibetan Book of the Dead. 7e also began
a serious study of the Bible. 9ne night in the $inter of 1!!, unable to shake off
the pall of meaninglessness that ironically had settled over him $ith his success,
Lennon decided to follo$ the advice of #esus :/... $hen thou prayest, enter into
thy closet, and $hen thou hast shut the door, pray to thy 4ather $hich is in
secret...1;. 7e locked himself in the bathroom at his home in Weybridge, got
do$n on his knees and begged for an ackno$ledgment, a sign, a revelation <
some hint that his appeal $as being heard and some clue as to $hat he should be
doing. But there $as no response.
The Long, Dark Cynical Night
+hat unans$ered appeal marked the beginning of a search that lasted for a
decade, an anguished search for a ne$ foundation on $hich to base his life.
+he public first became a$are of his iconoclasm a fe$ months later, $hen Lennon
sparked a firestorm $ith an off&hand comment during an intervie$, that +he
Beatles $ere /more popular than #esus.1 +he Beatles songs $ere soon banned on
over => 2.-. radio stations, their records tossed into bonfires across the -outh,
and Lennon ultimately stumbled through a $idely&reported apology at the
beginning of their l!! (merican tour.
What $as not $idely reported $as the catalyst for his ne$ ob?ectivity about the
*hristian beliefs of his youth. 7e had ?ust discovered a book by 7ugh -chonfield,
one of the original @ead -ea -crolls scholars, titled The Passover Plot. Its sub?ect
$as a demythologiAed #esus, a #e$ $ho $as so convinced he $as the predicted
messiah that he conspired to fulfill the old biblical prophecies through a deliberate
plan of action. Lennon found intellectual satisfaction in having the haAy mysteries
of *hristianity e0plained so prosaically, and the book helped change his
conception of 8od. 7e began to envision 8od not as a personal deity but a
resonant energy that pervades the universe, a %po$erhouse $hich is intrinsically
neither good nor bad < ?ust as electricity can be used either to e0ecute a criminal
or to light a room.
By the end of the decade he had distilled his definition of this impersonal deity
into a memorable aphorism. /8od is a concept by $hich $e measure our pain.1
+he song in $hich it appears, God, served as Lennons personal declaration of
independence. -ystematically renouncing belief in #esus, Buddha, the Bible, the
8ita, and other glorified entities including 'lvis, he asserted himself as a free&
thinking individual.
In effect, he rephrased @escartes a0iom. /I dont believe, therefore I am.1
While re?ecting traditional idols, Lennon came to see his o$n cardinal value as
love. +he catalyst for this transformation $as his e0perimentation $ith drugs,
most notably L-@, $hich helped him break do$n some of the defensive $alls
erected in his traumatic youth. 7is $ife *ynthia noted, in her book A Twist of
Lennon, that $hile she had concerns about his indulgence, /In many $ays it $as
a $onderful thing to $atch. +ensions, bigotry, and bad temper $ere replaced by
understanding and love.1
In 1!B, he found an opportunity to $rite a song embodying his insight. +he
Beatles had been invited to perform for the historic first live $orld$ide television
broadcast, and in this opportunity Lennon also sa$ a responsibility. it $as in his
po$er to improve humanity. (s 3iktor 4rankl had asserted, that responsibility
gave meaning to his life. While to a critical listener All You eed !s Love might
seem naive, it is no more so than (lbert -ch$eitAers /)everence for life1 or
#esuss /@o unto others as you $ould have them do unto you.1 Lennons message
in the lyrics $as that those $ho $ant to go out and improve the $orld $ould be
$iser to first go inside themselves. If $e first do $hat no one else can do,
transform ourselves, then $e can positively influence those around us, and
ultimately, like ripples spreading out from a stone dropped in a pond, change the
$orld.
4or the ne0t several years Lennon continued to find meaning, and define himself
e0istentially, by his Cuest to improve the $orld. (t first he hoped it could be
through promotion of transcendental meditation, the techniCue taught by the
Daharishi Dahesh Eogi. +hough he ultimately became disenchanted $ith the not&
so&holy man, Lennon $as impressed by his drug&free method of self
transformation and maintained a pragmatic respect for meditation for the rest of
his life.
7is disillusionment $ith the guru reinforced Lennons natural cynicism, $hich $as
an integral part of his life stance. It $ould have been difficult not to be cynical in
vie$ of the machinations of the parasites $ho clung to the Beatles, the self&
interest displayed by his band mates and business associates during the groups
break&up, their harsh reaction to Eoko 9no < the $oman he considered his soul
mate, his e0perience $ith (rthur #anov, and the Aeitgeist of the 3ietnam War era,
during $hich the establishment steadfastly resisted the peoples clamor for social
and political change.
7is one certainty $as Eoko, $hom he al$ays maintained had rescued him from an
empty life as a rock star. 4rom 1!F on$ard, $ith her support, he emerged from
his Beatles cocoon and redefined himself e0istentially. +hey resolved to make
their life their art, capitaliAing on Lennons almost uneCualled access to the media
to bring attention to the cause of $orld peace. +heir ob?ective, he said, $as to
keep peace on the front pages, displacing stories about politicians and diplomats
making still more empty promises, and he and Eoko didnt care if the ?ournalists
considered them fools as long as their antics $ere reported.
2ltimately, years of incessant media e0posure and tireless campaigning for peace
and other social issues took their toll on the relationship, and Lennon and 9no
separated during his infamous %Lost Weekend. 4ifteen months later, having
learned that he $as unable to cope $ithout her, he moved back in and settled
into a long hiatus from public vie$. In the comparative tranCuillity of life as a
father and %househusband, he une0pectedly found a measure of fulfillment, a
balance to the restless life of artistic, political and social engagement he had
e0perienced ever since becoming an adult.
The Cynical Idealist
#ohn Lennon never, after his union $ith Eoko 9no, thought of himself as simply a
$riter of popular music. /If it $as another age,1 he once said, /I $ould be called a
philosopher.1 *an $e really consider Lennon a philosopher? If being a philosopher
means systematiAing ones thinking and conclusions into a grand scheme, he
doesnt Cualify. But then, neither does -ocrates. If ,lato had not reconstructed his
teachers peripatetic conversations $ith fello$ (thenians into tightly&$ritten
dialogues, the %philosophy of -ocrates $ould have remained ?ust half&
remembered bolts of lightning that had daAAled his supporters and infuriated his
verbal sparring partners.
Lennon did not leave behind a philosophical pro?ect along the lines of (ristotle,
Gant, 7egel or -artre, but he did leave a significant body of creative $ork <
songs, prose, poetry, dra$ings < as $ell as innumerable intervie$s. 4rom them
his philosophy can be gleaned.
4undamentally, Lennon stood for a secular approach to daily life and $orld affairs.
8od $as not a personaliAed being to be $orshiped but a nebulous, neutral energy
pervading the universe. Lennon could only call himself religious in a humanistic
$ay that $ould satisfy very fe$ believers. /If being religious means being
%concerned,1 as ,aul +illich, the late ,rotestant theologian, once put it, /$ell, I
am, then.... Im concerned $ith people.1 Lennon believed that humanity could
reach a higher plane, one $here violence and $ar $ere superseded and human
relations $ere based on love and respect. 7e thought that average men and
$omen had it in their po$er to help reshape their culture in that direction if only
they $ould recogniAe that capability, and he devoted considerable effort to trying
to make them a$are of their po$er.
7e proposed in All You eed !s Love that the key to this better $orld is self&
transformation. +he one thing each of us can do that no one else has the ability
to do is change ourselves and live up to our o$n potential < to /learn ho$ to be
you in time.1 +he more people $ho succeed at self&transformation, the better our
society $ill become.
9ne proven method of self&transformation is through meditation. ,ractitioners
have kno$n for thousands of years that something beneficial occurs as a result of
regular meditation. )ecent scientific studies have sho$n that in the meditating
brain, activity is redirected from the right hemisphere of the prefrontal corte0 to
the left < a shift that appears to reorient the brain from a %fight&or&flight stress
mode to one of acceptance and contentment. +his shift has been demonstrated to
enhance the immune system as $ell as significantly reduce blood pressure.
Doreover, research suggests that meditation can actually %reset the brain <
raising the threshold at $hich it becomes cogniAant of and affected by stress.
Lennon meditated, but he $as no Buddha. +hough idealistic and $ell intentioned,
he had a temper, and he found the disingenuous attitudes of authorities and ever&
present displays of human pettiness and self&interest e0asperating. :#ust listen to
Gi""e So"e Truth.;
In essence, #ohn Lennon $as a cynical idealist. 7e understood the innate self&
interest that hobbles our progress to$ard a better $orld, but he never lacked
optimism that $e $ould get there if $e kept our dream in focus. (s a philosopher
he kept encouraging us to gaAe at the horiAon6 as an artist he felt free to vent his
frustration about our constant myopia.
In the better $orld Lennon proposed, people $ould forgo violence and act out of
love and mutual respect. +hey $ould recogniAe that such traditional classifiers as
religion, nationality and skin color are meaningless from a cosmic perspective and
that any person should be treated simply as a fello$ human being. 4urther, they
$ould be content to share material $ealth and the earths resources in the
interest of having a milieu of social harmony $ithin $hich to e0plore the potential
of their o$n lives. 4or Lennon placed emphasis on the here&and&no$ < on ho$ $e
can best use the Cuantum of time chance has allotted to us6 on $hat $e can
achieve as individuals and societies $hile $e are still alive.
7e conceived of life as a $ork of art, and the metaphor applies for any of us.
-ome have more resources and advantages, some fe$er, but each of us has the
liberty to use them ho$ever $e decide. (n intervie$er once commented. /Eou
say everybody is eCual, but some people are more eCual than others.1 Lennon
replied. /But they are all infinite. +hey all have infinite possibilities, my friend.1
Imagine
9ne of the key concepts in Lennons thought is that every individual represents a
singularity of potential, each of $hom is capable of influencing others, and the
ripple effect can change society. +his vie$ lies at the heart of his song !nstant
#ar"a $ith its chorus of /We all shine on.1 +ailoring the 7indu concept of karma
to the here&and&no$, he asserts that the cosmic la$s of balance and retribution
also apply in our current lives. If $e approach the $orld as violent, self&gratifying
or inconsiderate people, $hat reaction $ill $e generate? If enough of us decide to
be the same $ay, $hat kind of society $ill $e have? We therefore need to be
mindful of our actions and attitudes and their conseCuences.
In another of his key concepts, $e also need to be mindful of our imagination and
its potential. Lennon took note as sports and business figures began to use
creative visualiAation to improve their real&life performance. *ould $e not use
collective visualiAation to improve the $orld? What if, instead of everyone
focusing their attention on the bugaboo of the day < the *ommunist menace, the
slide to$ard an 9r$ellian future, the looming threat of a nuclear holocaust < they
instead visualiAed a peaceful society, characteriAed by nonviolence and
harmonious relations?
+o that end he $rote Mind Ga"es, to encourage listeners to become %mind
guerrillas, $orking independently but in concert to visualiAe and bring about a
better society. 7e referred to the focus of the pro?ect as an %absolute else$here <
an ideal $orld imagined so vividly that people $ould start altering their behavior,
perhaps even subconsciously, to make it manifest.
Lennons most famous song had a similar aim. !"agine takes on three of the
most divisive issues of humankind < religion, nationalism and possessiveness and
gently invites us to look at them from a neutral perspective.
What if $e accept that neither 7eaven nor 7ell e0ist, and that 8od is simply the
name for a naturally&occurring background force in the universe? Without the
prospect of 7eaven or 7ell $e $ould have no e0pectation of re$ard or
punishment after death. Would $e suddenly descend to barbarism, looting,
mayhem in the streets? ,ossibly. Dore likely $e $ould simply focus better on our
e0istence here and no$, being keenly a$are of our transience and the $isdom of
trying to live a full life.
What if $e stopped defining ourselves by imaginary lines running across the
terrain? :9r at least began to think of demarcations of nations the $ay $e think
of postal districts?; What if, instead of considering ourselves patriots of a nation,
$e thought of ourselves first < like the great *ynic, @iogenes < as citiAens of the
$orld? Would $e find it more difficult to distrust, berate and even mercilessly
slaughter fello$ citiAens than $e $ould foreigners?
What if $e accomplished the hardest transformation of all and overcame our
possessiveness? 5otice that Lennon says imagining no 7eaven is /easy if you try1
and imagining no countries /isnt hard to do,1 but as for imagining no
possessions, /I $onder if you can.1 Wouldnt much of the $orlds misery vanish if
$e could simply begin to do $hat $e encourage our children to do? +o share?
+he ideal $orld Lennon envisioned in 1B1 $as not something he e0pected to see
in place the ne0t year. Its purpose $as to serve as an alternative destination to
the one to$ard $hich our culture seemed to be rushing headlong in the heyday of
5i0on, BreAhnev, Dao, the hot $ar in -outheast (sia and the *old War
every$here else < i.e., (pocalypse H>>>. 7is aural sketch represented $hat
)ichard )orty calls /a fuAAy but inspiring focus i"aginarius16 that is, /a handy bit
of rhetoric1 that might not hold up under analysis but nevertheless benefits
society for having /kept the $ay open for political and cultural change.1
!"agine crystaliAes Lennons philosophy. In it he reached hardest for the
universal and consciously tried to communicate a vision that $ould inspire
everyone every$here < from a sales clerk in +okyo to a mechanic in Warsa$ to a
florist in ,rague to a street musician in Barcelona to a teacher in 7avana.
(ll five cities have memorials to #ohn Lennon.