Prudence Farrow | |
---|---|
Born | Los Angeles, California, U.S.
[1] | January 20, 1948
Alma mater |
University of California, Berkeley University of California, Los Angeles |
Occupation(s) | Author, meditation teacher, producer |
Spouse | Albert Bruns (m. 1969) |
Children | 3 |
Parent(s) |
John Farrow Maureen O'Sullivan |
Relatives |
Patrick Villiers Farrow (brother) Mia Farrow (sister) Tisa Farrow (sister) Ronan Farrow (nephew) |
Prudence Anne Villiers Farrow Bruns (born January 20, 1948) is an American author, meditation teacher, and film producer. She is a daughter of film director John Farrow and actress Maureen O'Sullivan and younger sister of actress Mia Farrow. [2] Farrow is the subject of the Beatles song " Dear Prudence," which references her time studying Transcendental Meditation in Rishikesh with the Beatles in early 1968. [3]
Farrow was raised as a Catholic and attended convent schools. She learned the Transcendental Meditation technique (TM) in 1966 at UCLA, and the next year became interested in yoga, opening a yoga institute at a former church in Boston. [4] [5] [6] In 1968, Farrow, along with her sister Mia and brother Johnny, traveled with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi from New York to India, [7] and then to the Maharishi's ashram in Rishikesh for a Transcendental Meditation teacher training course. [2]
The Beatles arrived shortly thereafter. [8] Farrow was dedicated to practicing the TM technique so she could become a TM teacher. She said: "I would always rush straight back to my room after lectures and meals so I could meditate. John, George and Paul would all want to sit around jamming and having a good time and I'd be flying into my room. They were all serious about what they were doing, but they just weren't as fanatical as me". [2] She "turned into a near recluse" and "rarely came out" of her cottage. [9] Lennon was asked to "contact her and make sure she came out more often to socialize" and he wrote the song " Dear Prudence". According to Lennon, "She'd been locked in for three weeks and was trying to reach God quicker than anyone else". [2] [10]
Farrow taught TM for several decades after her teacher training course in India. [2] [11] Among those she mentored was comedian Andy Kaufman. [12] She returned to India for further instruction from the Maharishi in 1986 [4] and has taught Transcendental Meditation in Florida since 1970. [13]
Later in her life, Farrow earned a BA, an MA, and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, where she majored in Asian studies. [2] Her doctoral dissertation was on pulse diagnosis, titled Nadivijnana, the Crest-Jewel of Ayurveda: A Translation of Six Central Texts and an Examination of the Sources, Influences and Development of Indian Pulse-Diagnosis. [14] Farrow became an elementary school teacher [2] [15] and according to her résumé she has held teaching positions or presented at conferences held at the University of California at Berkeley, Rutgers University and the University of Wisconsin. [16]
Farrow has worked in the theater and film industry [17] as a production assistant on The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) and the art department coordinator for The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985). [2] She also "conceived and co-produced" the film Widows' Peak (1994), which featured her sister, Mia, in a part originally written for their mother, Maureen O'Sullivan. [17] [18] In 1999, she was one of four producers involved in staging Up From the Ground at the Westbeth Theatre in New York City. [17]
Farrow became a magazine writer in the 2000s. [15] Using her married name, Prudence Bruns, she has authored articles on Asian studies, world religions, ayurveda, and healthy living. [19] In 2012, Farrow established the non-profit Dear Prudence Foundation to raise funds for a documentary film of the 2013 Kumbh Mela festival which is held in India every twelve years. [20]
Farrow married teacher Albert Morrill Bruns in December 1969. [21] They have three children and four grandchildren. [2]