Harrison's ashes 'to be scattered in Ganges'

Harrison had a strong interest in Indian music and mysticism

NEW DELHI, India -- The ashes of former Beatle George Harrison are to be scattered in India's holy river the Ganges, news reports said Monday.

The legendary guitarist and songwriter died last week aged 58 after a long battle with cancer.

He was cremated over the weekend and Hare Krishna officials in New Delhi said Harrison's wife, Olivia, and his 23-year-old son, Dhani, would arrive in the country Monday for a 'private' ceremony to scatter his ashes.

"They don't want to disclose their identities," Mahamantra Das, a spokesman for the Hare Krishna movement told Reuters news agency.

Two members of the Hare Krishna movement are accompanying the family, Das said.

IN-DEPTH The Quiet Beatle: George Harrison 1943~2001

However, he added that he was unsure when the family would be arriving.

One likely destination is thought to be the holy city of Varanasi on the banks of the Ganges.

The group is also expected to head for the city of Allahabad, where Hinduism's three holiest rivers -- the Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati -- converge.

According to the beliefs of the Hare Krishna movement -- a sect of Hinduism -- the immersion of a person's ashes is symbolic of the soul's journey towards eternal consciousness.

Indian links

Since the mid-1960s Harrison had developed a long association with Indian mysticism and music.

The Ganges is India's holiest river

Known as "the quiet Beatle" he adopted the Hindu faith and was deeply influenced by his friendship with controversial guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

In 1967, Harrison introduced the other three Beatles to the teaching of the Maharishi and all four took up transcendental meditation.

However, Harrison was the only one of the four who remained a follower.

During an early visit to India he also formed a close friendship with Indian musician Ravi Shankar who taught him to play the sitar, a 21-stringed guitar-like instrument that came to feature in some of Harrison's music.

Shankar was at Harrison's bedside in Los Angeles the day before he died.

"We spent the day before with him, and even then he looked so peaceful, surrounded by love," Shankar said in a statement Friday.

"George has left so many precious memories and moments in all our lives which will remain with us forever."