“Dear Prudence” was written by John Lennon while The Beatles were in Rishikesh, India studying Transcendental Meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The song is about Prudence Farrow, Mia Farrow’s little sister. She became so serious about her meditation that she “turned into a near recluse” and “rarely came out” of the cottage she was living in.
John Lennon was asked to “contact her and make sure she came out more often to socialize”. So, Lennon wrote the song “Dear Prudence” basically trying to coax her to “come out to play.” Lennon said later that,
“She’d been locked in for three weeks and was trying to reach God quicker than anyone else”
Here’s a photo of Prudence Farrow (Bruns) then and now..
She arrived in Rishikesh, India on January 23, 1968 and The Beatles arrived shortly thereafter, on February 16 and 20. Farrow was dedicated to mastering the TM technique and would sometimes meditate for 23 hours a day. According to Farrow:
“I would always rush straight back to my room after lectures and meals so I could meditate. John, George and Paul would all want to sit around jamming and having a good time and I’d be flying into my room. They were all serious about what they were doing, but they just weren’t as fanatical as me”
Farrow taught TM for several decades after her TM teacher training course in India. She returned to India for further instruction from the Maharishi in 1986. She is married with three children, four grandchildren and currently lives in Florida.
BTW, Did you know that Paul McCartney and not Ringo Starr played drums on “Dear Prudence“. Click below to check it out…