What does "Jai Guru Deva" mean? Across the Universe line explained
Peter Jackson’s eight-hour docuseries, The Beatles: Get Back, has reached its conclusion on Disney+. The series explores the professional lives of band members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison, and episode one explains what the line “Jai guru deva, om” means from Across the Universe.
The three-part docuseries is an examination of the band’s professional life as well as a more intimate and humorous look at their time together. The extent of the narrative covers the band’s making of the 1970 album ‘Let It Be’ – under the titular working title ‘Get Back’ – and leans on material captured by Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s 1970 album documentary.
What does “Jai guru deva, om” mean?
“Jai guru deva, om” translates to “hail to the Heavenly Teacher” or “I give thanks to Guru Dev.”
The mantra was invented by an Indian guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi – the late protégé of Guru Dev.
Why did the band include the mantra in the song?
It was explained how Yogi met the band in 1967, and a year later, they visited the spiritual training camp in Rishikesh, India.
It was reported by The Beatles Bible that Yogi aided the band as they grieved for their manager, Brian Epstein, who died in 1967.
It is assumed that the band members formed an attachment to this mantra after Yogi’s teachings and included it in the song.
Across the Universe
Across the Universe is a song featured on the 1970 album, Let It Be, and was the third track in the listing.
The song was composed by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and was written after being inspired by Yogi’s introduction to transcendental meditation between 1967 and 1968.
The song has since been covered by many artists, including David Bowie and Young Americans.
The Beatles: Get Back is available to stream on Disney+.
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