Maharishi Mahesh Yogi hated the Beatles smoking pot in his ashram

London, Feb 6 : Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the Indian founder of Transcendental Meditation, who died in the Netherlands on Feb 5, strongly disapproved of the fact that his most high profile followers, the Beatles took drugs while staying at his Indian ashram.

The Maharishi, who was believed to be 91, gained international status after guiding the Beatles, who spent time on a retreat in India in the late 1960s.

But, their relationship became unpleasant because the Maharishi was exasperated with the group taking drugs at his home in Rishikesh, northern India.

With the exception of the late George Harrison, the Beatles became disillusioned with the Maharishi and following a widely-publicised spat, left India.

Shedding light on the actual cause behind the bitterness, spiritualist and author Deepak Chopra, a former Maharishi disciple and a friend of Harrison, revealed that contrary to popular myth, the fight was nothing to do with claims that the Maharishi made sexual advances on Mia Farrow, the actress and friend of the band.

Instead, according to Chopra, the Maharishi had objected to the group taking drugs at his home in Rishikesh.

"What isn't generally known is that the maharishi had got fed up with the Beatles taking drugs while they were at his ashram [spiritual home]," the Telegraph quoted Chopra, as saying.

"They were smoking ganja [cannabis] and taking LSD. He hadn't come across anything like that before and he took a strong view," he added.

Maharishi died in his sleep at about 7 p.m. local time on Feb 5 at his home in the Dutch town of Vlodrop.

John Hagelin, a U.S.-based spokesman said that the Maharishi, died due to natural causes.''

The guru lived in a hermitage in Vlodrop, the Netherlands, since the 1990s and made it his international headquarters.

"He died peacefully at about 7 p.m.," said Bob Roth, a spokesman for the Transcendental Meditation movement, which introduced the West to a Hindu practice of mind control.

ANI