michaelsharrington (Hridayam)

George Harrison’s tranquil final moments when he died at age 58 as described by his wife Olyvia.

“In a Buddhist sense, there is a process that may happen, if we’re lucky, where you let go of everything. I saw George at [the end], and he was so incredibly beautiful and so light, because the lightening is really the lightening of the load — of the angst, of the desire, of the past, of the future, of everything — and just being in the now,” Olivia recalls. “And it was like, ‘Whoa. Wow. Oh, wow.’

“Then our son Dhani walked in the room, and George went, ‘Dhani!’ — as if he hadn’t seen him in a hundred years. It was the most beautiful moment, just pure and utter joy: ‘Dhani!’ I thought, ‘OK, there’s nothing impeding him. There’s nothing in the way of that essence of who he is anymore. All the attachment is gone,’” Olivia continues. “It was something almost like birth, so pure and so beautiful. And it was really something that taught me a big lesson. It really showed me a beautiful possibility. I hope we can all come to that point and not be freaked out when we’re dying.”