"The Lord Loves the One (That Loves the Lord)" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison, released on his 1973 album Living in the Material World. Like the album's title track, it was inspired by the teachings of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), more commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement. The song is an uptempo rock track with elements of blues and gospel. Some commentators have described it as the musical highpoint of Living in the Material World, with Harrison's slide guitar playing singled out as being among the finest performances of his career.
The composition originated during a period marked by Harrison's devotion to a Hindu-aligned ascetic life and the height of his public association with the Hare Krishna movement, which included his donation of Bhaktivedanta Manor for use as an ISKCON temple. In his lyrics, Harrison sings of the falsehood of striving for wealth or power in the material world and advocates a direct relationship with one's deity as a genuine life goal. In doing so, he belittles the role of political leaders, as well as his own status as a celebrated rock musician. The song's Krishna Conscious message was also reflected in Harrison's choice of artwork for the Material World album, specifically the reproduction of a painting from a Prabhupada-published edition of the Bhagavad Gita.
Harrison recorded "The Lord Loves the One" between October 1972 and March 1973 with session musicians Nicky Hopkins, Klaus Voormann, Jim Keltner and Jim Horn. While the music has invited critical praise, the devout assertions in Harrison's lyrics typified what some reviewers in 1973 viewed as an overly didactic message on much of the parent album. Among reviewers in the 21st century, the composition continues to divide opinion. Although some commentators consider it an obvious choice as a live track, Harrison performed "The Lord Loves the One" only once in concert – on the opening night of his 1974 North American tour with Ravi Shankar.
Background
In his 1980 autobiography, I, Me, Mine, George Harrison credits the influence for "The Lord Loves the One (That Loves the Lord)" to A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), also known as the Hare Krishna movement. Harrison's association with ISKCON began in December 1968, when he befriended a small group of devotees that Prabhupada had sent to London to establish what became the Radha Krishna Temple. The Gaudiya Vaishnava teachings of Prabhupada, based on Hindu texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, resonated with Harrison, whose quest for an ego-less, God-conscious existence amid the false reality of Beatlemania had first taken him to India in September 1966.
Harrison provided the devotees with financial assistance, in addition to producing their hit recording of the 5000-year-old Hare Krishna mantra, to help spread the message of Krishna Consciousness. He then met Prabhupada in England in September 1969 and was impressed by the acharya's declaration that he was merely "the humble servant of the servant of the servant" of the Hindu god Krishna. In line with Prabhupada's contention that the chanting of Sanskrit mantras led to a direct connection with God, Harrison adopted the practice, counting out each mantra on Hindu prayer beads stored inside a cloth bag that he wore over his shoulder.
Further Harrison-produced recordings by the Radha Krishna Temple followed their "Hare Krishna Mantra" single, culminating in an eponymous album released on Apple Records in May 1971. By that time, the devotees were regular guests at Harrison's Friar Park estate, and he subsequently bought permanent accommodation for the growing UK arm of ISKCON, at what became known as Bhaktivedanta Manor. When Prabhupada died in November 1977, he bequeathed one of the rings he was wearing to Harrison, referring to him as the Hare Krishna movement's "archangel".
Composition
Author Dale Allison writes of the lyrical themes in "The Lord Loves the One (That Loves the Lord)": "this song preaches karma, warns about judgment at death, and exalts love as our most important aspiration." Harrison wrote the song over 1971–72, a period of heightened devotion on his part, as well as one of frustration due to the legal and business issues afflicting his Concert for Bangladesh aid project. The idea for the composition came about after a conversation with Prabhupada, when the latter visited Harrison at Friar Park.