In order to understand the role Eastern philosophy played in the hippie culture, one must first have background in the gurus and teachers of the East. Gurus are individuals who teach the world about their spiritual way of life. Meher Baba was one of many gurus who had a large following in the United States in the sixties. He preached about Eastern philosophy and was popularized with influential quotes such as "Don't worry, be happy." He was one of the first people to bring Hinduism to a large group of Americans, although was a man of few words. 1920 through 1968, Meher Baba didn't say one word, yet maintained thousands of followers (Bhairava p.210). "He took a vo

Music had a large influence on the beliefs of the hippie culture, and was one of the best ways to protest the issues (war, hate, conformance, violence, etc.) that people felt were wrong with the country. The 60's rock and roll era caused more people to listen to the protest; it appealed to young and old alike. along with all different types of people. There was a tremendous Eastern influence on the music of the 60's. Many of the words of the songs written were preaching Eastern philosophy in some way.

Ravi Shankar was another influential musician in bringing eastern culture to the hippie culture. His citar playing brought Indian music to an audience that had never heard music so ethnically diverse. He was asked to play in concerts all over the United States, and his music affected many flower children. He played with acid rock bands in the sixties, and brought a new type of music to the popular world. This brought about a small musical revolution, showing musicians that rock and roll could be more than just noisy screams; it could be ethnic and eccentric.

Without the guidance of Indian gurus, the actions of many hippies would be viewed as reckless rather than spiritual. These leaders portrayed a new way of life rather than a new way to party. This could have perhaps influenced those who were not part of the hippie revolution to take its ideas more seriously because the reasons for the hippie's actions were based on intellectual beliefs.

The Beatles were not the only musical group whose art was influenced by the east. It's A Beautiful Day is another group who recorded music similar to that of the east. They wrote songs such as Bombay Calling. The song included instruments such as gourd, tambourine, sitar, nupur, and dotara (Pulomby p.4), all of which were originally from Indian music.

If the hippie movement didn't have Eastern influence, it very well could have become a big party rather than a revolution. Eastern Philosophy took the hippie culture and transformed it, bringing a group of radical liberal extremist together and turning them into revolutionaries.

Richard Alpert and Timothy Leary worked together in writing an interpretation of The Tibetan Book Of The Dead called The Psychedelic Experience, and claimed that this book of Eastern philosophy was meant to be an instruction manual on the use of hallucinogens. Both Alpert and Leary were very much into Hinduism and Buddhism at the time (they both were followers of gurus from India), and were both looking for a way to link religion and drugs. They felt that both drugs and Eastern religion were spiritual paths one should follow.

Visual art in the hippie culture was also influenced by the Eastern culture. Album covers of many acid rock bands had images and icons of Eastern art called mandala. Icons and images such as the Yin Yang and circular, geometric patterns originated from mandala art. The Beatles, The Mamas and Papas, Bob Dylan, and other sixties musical artist had album covers with mandala art on it. It was also purported to be a form of art that produced soothing powers that could help one meditate. The hippie culture took to the form quickly, and soon the psychedelic colors of mandala were seen on everything from cloths to Volkswagen Vans. This became almost a trademark for the Aquarian movement (Dahlke p.29). The art also worked hand in hand with the images some people would see while on LSD, making the art even more popular.

The best example of a musical group being influenced by the East is The Beatles. They sang songs such as Hare Krishna ( the mantra of the Hare Krishna movement) in concerts

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