 The " world press " arrived at the ashram gate and the Maharishi asked them to come back after the Beatles had had " a little time with the course " . According to author and course participant , Cooke de Herrera , the Beatles were " very happy at the way it was done " . De Herrara wrote in her memoir that the Maharishi gave " special attention " to all the celebrities despite her warnings not to feed their egos . Mia Farrow wrote that she felt overwhelmed by the Maharishi 's attention to her , including private sessions , gifts of mangoes , and a birthday party where he gave her a paper crown . Early the following morning the Maharishi arranged for a group photo and told everyone where to sit . Since it was her birthday the day before , Mia was asked to sit in the centre and each student was adorned with a marigold garland . All sat on a podium and the Maharishi had a large picture of his guru , Brahmananda Saraswati , behind him . The photo took half an hour and has been described as " one of the most iconic photographs in the history of rock ' n ' roll " . Photographers included Paul Saltzman , a Canadian filmmaker who was visiting the ashram after completing film work elsewhere in India . Saltzman 's snapshots from this time were later assembled into a book , The Beatles in India ( 2000 ) . 
