"Living in the Material World" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison that was released as the title track of his 1973 album. In the song's lyrics, Harrison contrasts the world of material concerns with his commitment to a spiritual path, and the conflict is further represented in the musical arrangement as the rock accompaniment alternates with sections of Indian sounds. Inspired by Gaudiya Vaishnava teacher A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the song promotes the need to recognise the illusory nature of human existence and escape the constant cycle of reincarnation, and thereby attain moksha in the Hindu faith. The contrasts presented in "Living in the Material World" inspired the Last Supper-style photograph by Ken Marcus that appeared inside the album's gatefold cover, and also designer Tom Wilkes's incorporation of Krishna-related symbolism elsewhere in the packaging.
Harrison references his Beatles past as one of the trappings of the material world and refers by name to each of his three former bandmates. Ringo Starr, the Beatles' former drummer, plays drums on the track, which was recorded in England between October 1972 and February 1973. The rock portions include a slide guitar solo by Harrison, saxophone solos, two drummers, and prominent Hammond organ, while the meditative Indian interludes feature flute, tabla and a rare post-Beatle sitar contribution from Harrison. Jim Horn, Gary Wright and Zakir Hussain are among the other musicians on the recording.
The production and musicianship on the track has received favourable comments from several reviewers. On release, Stephen Holden of Rolling Stone described the song as "an incantatory, polyrhythmic rocker with a falsetto-on-sitar refrain". In addition to providing the title for the Living in the Material World album, it inspired Harrison's choice for a name for his charity, the Material World Charitable Foundation, to which he donated his publishing royalties from the composition. The 2006 reissue of the album includes a film clip of "Living in the Material World", featuring archival footage of the vinyl LP's manufacturing process. Film-maker Martin Scorsese used the song's title for that of his 2011 documentary on the life of George Harrison.
Background
In his 1980 autobiography, I, Me, Mine, George Harrison credits the influence for "Living in the Material World" to A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder and leader of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement. Harrison adds that the song specifically espouses the message that "we are not these bodies, we are in these material bodies in the physical world." His friend Ravi Shankar once observed that Harrison exhibited tyagi, a trait meaning non-attachment or renunciation, a point to which Shankar added: "He had everything – all the wealth, the fame, whatever he wanted. But he was not attached to it ... because he was searching for something much higher, much deeper. It does seem like he already had some Indian background in him [from a previous life]." Harrison later said of life in the material world, referring to the need to break the cycle of rebirth associated with reincarnation: "The whole point to being here, really, is to figure a way to get out."
Author Gary Tillery draws parallels between Harrison's approach to "[going] through the motions of living in the material world" and the way someone in the 21st century might play a virtual reality game. Tillery writes that "what we see and experience during the game is actually an illusion" – or maya in the Hindu belief to which Harrison subscribed – and that "[w]hat does matter in the great scheme of things is to wake up from the dreamlike state we mistake for reality." Speaking at a 1974 press conference, in reply to whether there was a "paradox" between his spiritualism and the lifestyle of a musician, Harrison conceded: "It is difficult ... You can go to the Himalayas and miss it completely and [yet] be stuck in the middle of New York and be very spiritual ... I think one by one we all free ourselves from the chains that we have chained ourselves to, whatever we're chained to."