--- title: "George Harrison - IVU - International Vegetarian Union" description: "George Harrison: , MBE (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English rock guitarist, singer-songwriter, author and sitarist best known as the lead guitarist for The Beatles. photo right from 1974 the chronology below is from various conflicting sources about the origins of George's" url: "https://ivu.org/international-vegetarian-union/resources/interviews/4821-people-music-harrison.html" date: "2026-11-06T01:33:23+00:00" language: "en-GB" --- # George Harrison | **![](https://ivu.org/images/legacy/history/people/music/Harrison.jpg)George Harrison**, MBE (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English rock guitarist, singer-songwriter, author and sitarist best known as the lead guitarist for The Beatles. photo right from 1974 the chronology below is from various conflicting sources about the origins of George's vegetarianism: - 1965, February 25, George's 22nd birthday, filming Help in the Bahamas, Swami Vishnu Devananda 'walked up' and 'gave us a book'. It was not opened until 2 years later. - dentist friend puts LSD in coffee, beginning George's spiritual awakening - bought sitar in London - or found it among Help props - and played on Norwegian Wood (Kinks and Rolling Stones also using sitar) - 'after first visit to India (1966) became a friend of Ravi Shankar' - next chapter 'first met Shankar in 1965' - otherwise 'late spring' 1966 -dinner at the home of Mr. Angbadi who ran the Asian Music Circle in London. - 1966 stopped in Delhi on the way back from Philippines and bought new sitar - later Ravi to Esher with Allah Rakha, tabla - sitar lesson for George; John and Ringo watching. - mid-september 1966, 2nd visit to India, with Pattie, six or seven weeks. Yoga and holding sitar. Bombay then Kashmir for individual tuition, meditation. (or Benares as one of 200 pupils) - acquired Paramhansa Yogananda's 'Autobiography of a Yogi' - either from the Indica bookshop or from Ravi Shankar. - Clayson: 'George and Pattie had both embraced vegetarianism, and George had even gone through a phase of eating with his hands, Indian style. As well as the expected nut roasts and meatless curries, the Kinfauns kitchen also served dishes that, while common in Banares (*sic*), were exotic in Esher.On the menu might be pakoras (pasties stuffed with cauliflower and peas, deep fried in ghee), samosas or the consecrated prasadam. For dessert you could tunnel into a rasamlai (a milk sweet) and wash this down with lassi (yoghurt diluted with rose water). \[*Clayson gives no sources for any of this*\] - used sitar on Love to You on Revolver - back to India in 1967 - to Bangor with the Maharishi - sitar on 'Within you without you' on Sgt Pepper - February 1968 to Rishikesh with Maharishi - all vegetarian while there - 1968 stopped learning the sitar *from an interview on krishnatemple.com (undated but possibly 1989):* **Mukunda:** You've been a vegetarian for years, George. Have you had any difficulties maintaining it? **George:** No. Actually, I wised up and made sure I had dal bean soup or something every day. Actually, lentils are one of the cheapest things, but they give you A-l protein. People are simply screwing up when they go out and buy beef steak, which is killing them with cancer and heart troubles. The stuff costs a fortune too. You could feed a thousand people with lentil soup for the cost of half a dozen filets. Does that make sense? *from singmyheart.blogspot.com* : Joshua Green, the author of "Here Comes the Sun: The Spiritual and Musical Journey of George Harrison", attended several recording sessions with George. He said there would always be 'huge trays of vegetarian food' in the studio. "The thing that repelled me about eating meat was the idea of killing animals. But the main issue is that it's not healthy and not natural." - **George Harrison** **To buy Books, CDs or Videos by these celebrities, with commission to vegetarianism, go to:** | [![Famous Vegetarians](https://ivu.org/images/legacy/history/people/pics/carrot.gif)Back to the Famous Vegetarians Index](https://ivu.org/history-of-ivu/hv-general-people-index.html) | A note on this archive. The history section of this website is drawn from a body of legacy content originally compiled by John Davis, former manager of the International Vegetarian Union. It represents his curation of historical material, and in places includes passages written by him directly. Over the years, the IVU website has migrated between several different hosting servers. In the course of these migrations, a number of PDF files were unfortunately lost, and **some links to PDF documents may no longer function**. Where this is the case, we have chosen to leave the original link text in place, as it may itself carry information of historical value. - Hits: 1202 ### Vegan Recipes - [![African Peanut-Potato Stew](https://ivu.org/media/zoo/images/african-peanut-potato-stew-1777570227_1068c04dfd363be202f7f6621010c327.jpg "African Peanut-Potato Stew")](https://ivu.org/vegan-recipes-around-the-world/vegan-food-academy/front-page/item/african-peanut-potato-stew.html "African Peanut-Potato Stew") #### [African Peanut-Potato Stew](https://ivu.org/vegan-recipes-around-the-world/vegan-food-academy/front-page/item/african-peanut-potato-stew.html "African Peanut-Potato Stew") [Protein Rich](https://ivu.org/vegan-recipes-around-the-world/vegan-food-academy/front-page/category/proteiin-rich.html) [Main course](https://ivu.org/vegan-recipes-around-the-world/vegan-food-academy/front-page/category/main-course-for-lunch-and-dinner.html) [African](https://ivu.org/vegan-recipes-around-the-world/vegan-food-academy/front-page/category/african.html) - [![Odessa's Candied Yams](https://ivu.org/media/zoo/images/odessa-s-candied-yams-1777413873_5f062ba322b058f5a3ea87531185486f.jpg "Odessa's Candied Yams")](https://ivu.org/vegan-recipes-around-the-world/vegan-food-academy/front-page/item/odessas-candied-yams.html "Odessa's Candied Yams") #### [Odessa's Candied Yams](https://ivu.org/vegan-recipes-around-the-world/vegan-food-academy/front-page/item/odessas-candied-yams.html "Odessa's Candied Yams") [Desserts](https://ivu.org/vegan-recipes-around-the-world/vegan-food-academy/front-page/category/deserts.html) [Starters & side dishes](https://ivu.org/vegan-recipes-around-the-world/vegan-food-academy/front-page/category/snack-side-dishes.html) [African](https://ivu.org/vegan-recipes-around-the-world/vegan-food-academy/front-page/category/african.html) - [![Vegan Choy Sum Soup with Mushroom Balls](https://ivu.org/media/zoo/images/th11%20120_545295a5b3642d1ec5432f25864e0883.jpg "Vegan Choy Sum Soup with Mushroom Balls")](https://ivu.org/vegan-recipes-around-the-world/vegan-food-academy/front-page/item/vegan-grilled-mushroom-skewers.html "Vegan Choy Sum Soup with Mushroom Balls") #### [Vegan Choy Sum Soup with Mushroom Balls](https://ivu.org/vegan-recipes-around-the-world/vegan-food-academy/front-page/item/vegan-grilled-mushroom-skewers.html "Vegan Choy Sum Soup with Mushroom Balls") [Breakfast and brunch](https://ivu.org/vegan-recipes-around-the-world/vegan-food-academy/front-page/category/breakfast-and-brunch.html) [Fake Meats (Tofu etc)](https://ivu.org/vegan-recipes-around-the-world/vegan-food-academy/front-page/category/fake-meats-tofu-etc.html) [Main course](https://ivu.org/vegan-recipes-around-the-world/vegan-food-academy/front-page/category/main-course-for-lunch-and-dinner.html) ### VFA Blog - 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[ pdf ](https://ivu.org/nutrition/nutrition-articles/health-nutrition/250-2024-the-omniveg-study-health-outcomes-of-shifting-from-a-traditional-to-a-vegan-mediterranean-diet-in-healthy-men-a-controlled-crossover-trial.html) [ 2024 The OMNIVEG STUDY Health outcomes of shifting from a traditional to a vegan Mediterranean diet in healthy men A controlled crossover trial](https://ivu.org/nutrition/nutrition-articles/health-nutrition/250-2024-the-omniveg-study-health-outcomes-of-shifting-from-a-traditional-to-a-vegan-mediterranean-diet-in-healthy-men-a-controlled-crossover-trial.html) Popular 2782 downloads - [ pdf ](https://ivu.org/nutrition/nutrition-articles/health-nutrition/205-plant-based-nutrition-exploring-health-benefits-for-atherosclerosis-chronic-diseases-and-metabolic-syndrome-a-comprehensive-review.html) [ Plant Based Nutrition Exploring Health Benefits for Atherosclerosis, Chronic Diseases, and Metabolic Syndrome—A Comprehensive Review](https://ivu.org/nutrition/nutrition-articles/health-nutrition/205-plant-based-nutrition-exploring-health-benefits-for-atherosclerosis-chronic-diseases-and-metabolic-syndrome-a-comprehensive-review.html) Popular 3835 downloads - [ pdf ](https://ivu.org/nutrition/nutrition-articles/health-nutrition/204-2024-plant-and-animal-fat-intake-and-overall-and-cardiovascular-disease-mortality-main-folder-all-cause-mortality.html) [ 2024 Plant and Animal Fat Intake and Overall and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Main Folder All Cause Mortality](https://ivu.org/nutrition/nutrition-articles/health-nutrition/204-2024-plant-and-animal-fat-intake-and-overall-and-cardiovascular-disease-mortality-main-folder-all-cause-mortality.html) Popular 4052 downloads ![](https://ivu.org/media/yootheme/cache/02/adult-guide-029d8cad.png)### The International Vegetarian Union’s Vegan Nutrition Guide for Adults In 2 versions: - [For healthcare professionals](https://ivu.org/nutrition/nutritional-guide/the-international-vegetarian-union-s-vegan-nutrition-guide-for-adults-healthcare-professionals.html) - [General Public Edition](https://ivu.org/nutrition/nutritional-guide/guide-for-non-healthcare-professionals.html) [Get it now](https://ivu.org/nutrition/nutritional-guide.html) ![](https://ivu.org/images/banners/booklet2.jpg)### Vegetarian Nutrition Booklet A Dietary Approach to Vegetarianism for Kids and Adolescents The intention of this booklet is present to kids and adolescents a healthy vegan diet [Read more](https://ivu.org/nutrition/vegetarian-nutrition-book-for-kids-and-adolescents.html) Vegan Nutrition ![](https://ivu.org/media/yootheme/cache/a6/logo_IVU_01_SLOGAN-a678b962.png) ### Presidents, Chair and Council - 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